CHAPTER 16 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESENCE

ADOLESCENT COGNITION Piaget’s Theory – Adolescence is characterized by formal operational thought wherein abstract reasoning becomes more sophisticated. Adolescents can develop hypotheses and can test them through questions and tests. Another characteristic is assimilation of new information into existing knowledge, but the world is perceived subjectively and idealistically.

Adolescent Egocentrism – A consciousness in which adolescents believes that others are as interested in them as they themselves are. Elkind calls this the imaginary audience, the adolescent’s attempt to get attention. He also notes that adolescents have a sense of personal fable in which they feel invulnerable and unique.

Information Processing Memory – Long-term memory increases substantially in the middle and late childhood years. Learning activities are directly correlated with long-term memory improvement. Decision making – Adolescence is characterized by better decision making – more competent than each successive group of younger children. Critical thinking – Adolescence is considered a transitional period for critical thinking – characterized by increased speed, greater range, and spontaneity. Self-regulatory learning – Characterized by setting goals for extending their knowledge, monitoring their progress, evaluating obstacles, and revising their strategies.

VALUES AND RELIGION Values – Beliefs and attitudes that form their ideologies. Today’s college students are strongly motivated to gain wealth, with some indication that many are beginning to shift their incentives toward greater welfare for the American society, with the increase in service learning where students involve themselves in community service.

Moral Education The hidden curriculum – Often referred to as the moral atmosphere of the school, children can learn a great deal of morality by experiencing peer and adult roles, school regulations, and the general value of their environment. Character education – A proactive role in actually teaching children how to achieve good character traits, values, and morals. Values clarification – Also a proactive technique to outline exactly what is and what is not to be valued in our society. The exercise exemplified on page 522 of the text is typical of a class strategy in values clarification. Cognitive moral education – An increasingly popular effort to inculcate an appreciation for justice, democracy, and the role of citizenship in a moral society.

Religion – Religion is an important aspect in the lives of many American teenagers. Developmental changes – Early adolescence is when they begin to challenge the beliefs taught by their parents. Children seem to develop along the lines of Piaget’s three cognitive stages going from not understanding Biblical stories (preoperational), to composing their own interpretations of the stories (concrete), to constructing possible alternative interpretations (formal). Religiousness and sexuality in adolescence – Studies show that teenagers who attend religious services regularly are less apt to become involved in problem behaviors, especially in the matter of sexuality.

SCHOOLS The Transition to Middle or Junior High School The advent of the middle school placed in the ninth grade within the configuration of high school, but many junior high school structures still remain where ninth graders are still not participating in high school curricula or activities. There are indication that the transition from elementary to middle school can be stressful. A typical result of this transition is an overall drop in grade average; however, many middle schools have effective programming to override the transitional effects.

Effective Schools for Young Adolescents – Successful middle schools attend to the individual differences of their students, provide advising and counseling, and monitor student progress with frequent feedback to parents. Effective schools have low teacher-student ratios, incorporate a community lifestyle, and work hard on integrating curriculum for relevance.

High School Dropouts – A characteristic of a high school dropout is that their educational deficiencies are brought into the workforce and depress their chances for success. Dropout rates – Although the dropout rate is much higher than that of the 1940’s (more than 50% to 11.8%), it is higher among minorities. A distaste for school and economic pressures are the chief reasons offered by dropouts. Reducing the dropout rate – A step-up of career information and a focus on localized community services seem to be the initiatives that help school dropouts.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons – The American system of education differs considerably from those of other nations. National curriculum, a national test, and a de- emphasis on sports are three major areas of difference. Accordingly, when American students vie with foreign students in tests of academic achievement, there are often great discrepancies.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND WORK

Career Development Theories of career development – There are three main theories: Ginzberg’s developmental theory, Super’s self concept theory, and Holland’s personality-type theory. Ginzberg: Adolescents go through three career choice stages – fantasy, tentative, and realistic. Super: Individual’s self-concept plays a central role in career choice. Holland: The career choice should e matched with the individual’s personality. Exploration, decision making, and planning – Unfortunately, most teens are not given the guidance necessary to make good career choices; therefore, many adolescents have an unrealistic and uniformed approach to choosing a career.

Sociocultural influences Socioeconomic status – Adolescents with parents who graduated from college are more likely to pursue higher education as an immediate career. Where you come from is where you’re going. Parents and peers – Parents have a tremendous influence on career choices both by support and modeling. School influences – Too few counselors and too little time for teachers are two factors that inhibit quality counseling for adolescents making career choices. Ethnic minority adolescents – Once again, parental influence is strong in decisions made by this cohort.

Work Part-time work – The number of students working part-time has increased tremendously since the 1940s. These jobs are almost always in the service sector, pay minimum wage, and affect how students work at and view their school lives. Gender – Males do more labor-type jobs and get paid more overall than female adolescents. The advantages and disadvantages of part-time work in adolescence – Adolescents are often fatigued from working, have less time to work on school projects, and tend to withdraw from extracurricular activities; however, they manage their time better, have a greater sense of responsibility and maturity, and become more goal-oriented than their counterparts who do not work.