Physical Changes
Describe the physical changes adolescents, boys and girls experience during this stage of life.During this chapter of life many physical changes occur. Children begin to grow several inches as they begin to change and transform into young adults. A very significant change in height and weight for both boys and girls takes place. Girls average height increases around this time approximately 3.5 inches each year, while boys on average around 4.1 inches every year. As we all know both sexes pass through these changes but ultimately girls develop much faster than boys, girls around age 10 and boys around age 12. Soon after around age 13 boys often catch up to females and often become taller than females and this usually continues throughout the rest of life. Adolescents pass through a life checkpoint known as puberty around these years as
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well.
Puberty is the period during which the sexual organs mature. For girls, this time is marked by the beginning of the menstruation cycle. Menstruation is one of the many changes that occur in both primary and secondary hormones of a female. The primary sex hormones are linked with the growth of organs and body structure related directly to the reproductive processes. Secondary sex hormones are the more obvious signs of maturity for example the development of breast and pubic hair. Girls usually begin this whole menstruation process today around the age of 11 or 12. Boys usually begin their process of puberty around age 12. At this time the scrotum and penis begin to grow more quickly, but not reaching adult size for about another 3 to 4 years down the road. Another primary sex characteristic besides the growth of the penis and scrotum is known as the prostate gland and seminal vesicles, which produce semen which is a fluid that carries
sperm.
What type of cognitive development takes place during adolescence and what cognitive development causes difficulty for adolescents?
Changes in the brain are often results of the independence that teens begin to gain at this time. These changes in the brain bring important growth and more advanced cognitive abilities. Myelination which is the process of insulating our nerves cells with fat cells,, this process increase during this time which makes transmission of neural messages more effective. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which allows people to think and evaluate and make judgments in complex situations, develops quite a bit during adolescents, but does not fully develop until around approximately the early 20’s. The prefrontal cortex also provides impulse control and allows one with a fully developed prefrontal cortex to begin to have a desire to act on such emotions like anger and rage. As I said above the prefrontal cortex does not reach full development until around early 20’s this could pose a problem for these adolescents since their prefrontal cortex is not fully matured. This immaturity of the brain might often lead to some of the risky behaviors taken by adolescents. Another things discussed in this chapter on cognitive changes in adolescents is the information processing perspective. This is described as changes in cognitive abilities as gradual transformations in capacity to take in, use, and store information. Many things are said to change during this time due this such as the ways people organize their thinking, developmental skills that help deal with new situations, sort facts, and improve memory ability and perception abilities. One of the main reasons for the advances in mental ability is growth of the metacognition. Metacognition is knowledge of ones own thinking processes, and the ability to monitor ones own cognition.
What types of social relationships with peers occur during adolescence?
Social Comparison Peers become more important, they enable adolescents to compare and evaluate opinions, abilities, and physical changes
Gender Relations as children enter adolescences their social groups are universally of the same sex friends. Boys hang with boys and girls hang with girls this is called sex cleavage. Both boys and girls experience a hormonal surge that causes the sex organs to mature. Adolescence is a vital time to have relationships with peers. Continuing from middle age to adolescence spend increasing hours with these peers as their relationships grow. Friends become drastically more important at this time, they allow adolescence to compare and evaluate opinions, abilities, and physical changes which is a process called social comparison. The changes one goes through at this time are so unique and obvious. Adolescence need to turn to others who share the same experiences as their peers so that information about what roles and behaviors are most acceptable, these people are referred to as a reference group. A person with whom one compares oneself is called a reference group. As children enter these adolescent years of life and form these social groups, the groups typically become made up of the same sex friends. This sex segregation is called sex cleavage. Boys hang out with boys, and girls hang out with girls, although this will quickly change at the onset of puberty. A major topic in adolescents is the topic of popularity, who is popular and who is not. Controversial adolescents are liked by some but disliked by others. There are also rejected adolescents who are defined as neither liked nor disliked. Popular and controversial adolescents tend to hold a higher social status and have more friends and engage in more activities with peers. Those that fall into the category of being rejected and neglected are not nearly as pleasant as the “popular” ones. The neglected and disliked groups have fewer friends and often hold a lower social status. Sometimes forming friendships may have a negative impact due to peer pressure. We all have probably at some point in our lives have experienced peer pressure of some sort.
How does self-concept and self-esteem develop during adolescent years?
Self-concept
Adolescents describe who they are by taking into account their view of themselves and also how others view them. This broader view of themselves is one way adolescents increase sense of self identity. They look at themselves from a psychological perspective, viewing traits not as concrete things but rather as ideas. During this time adolescents may be troubled by the difficulty of their personalities. Younger adolescents may want to view themselves in a certain way, and they become concerned when their behaviors contradict or make them question that view. However, by the end of adolescents teenagers find it easier to accept that behaviors and feeling change with the situation.
Self-Esteem
Although adolescents increasingly perceive who they are (which is self-concept), does not mean they are happy with it which is described as self-esteem. Their increasingly accurate self-concept permits them to see themselves fully. The way they act upon these perceptions is what determines their esteem of themselves. Adolescents may have low self-esteem regarding athletic abilities, while on the other hand a very high self-esteem regarding academics. I think we all would agree to a certain extent that normally a person doesn’t always like something about himself or herself and wish they could fix it or change it. May like some things but yet dislike others, for example a girl and their weight or a boy being short.
What is the role of religion and spirituality during adolescent years?
Questions of religion and spirituality begin to be asked during adolescents. Religion is important to many people due to the fact that it offers a formal means of satisfying spiritual needs. Spirituality is a sense of attachment to some higher power such as God, nature, or something sacred although typically towards a religious belief. Since cognitive abilities are increasing during this time teenagers are able to think more abstractly about these religious matters. As they build their identity adolescents typically develop core beliefs and values. They understand that there are many different views of God and also understand that their views are one of the many due to this. The conjunctive stage is the final stage of faith development in which individuals develop a broad, inclusive view of religion and all humanity. They begin to see humanity as a whole and may work to promote a common good. In this stage, they move beyond formal religion and hold a combined view across the globe.
Citations:
Felman, Robert. Discovering Lifespan. 3rd edition. University of Massachusetts. Pearson Education. 2012.Print
well.
Puberty is the period during which the sexual organs mature. For girls, this time is marked by the beginning of the menstruation cycle. Menstruation is one of the many changes that occur in both primary and secondary hormones of a female. The primary sex hormones are linked with the growth of organs and body structure related directly to the reproductive processes. Secondary sex hormones are the more obvious signs of maturity for example the development of breast and pubic hair. Girls usually begin this whole menstruation process today around the age of 11 or 12. Boys usually begin their process of puberty around age 12. At this time the scrotum and penis begin to grow more quickly, but not reaching adult size for about another 3 to 4 years down the road. Another primary sex characteristic besides the growth of the penis and scrotum is known as the prostate gland and seminal vesicles, which produce semen which is a fluid that carries
sperm.
What type of cognitive development takes place during adolescence and what cognitive development causes difficulty for adolescents?
Changes in the brain are often results of the independence that teens begin to gain at this time. These changes in the brain bring important growth and more advanced cognitive abilities. Myelination which is the process of insulating our nerves cells with fat cells,, this process increase during this time which makes transmission of neural messages more effective. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which allows people to think and evaluate and make judgments in complex situations, develops quite a bit during adolescents, but does not fully develop until around approximately the early 20’s. The prefrontal cortex also provides impulse control and allows one with a fully developed prefrontal cortex to begin to have a desire to act on such emotions like anger and rage. As I said above the prefrontal cortex does not reach full development until around early 20’s this could pose a problem for these adolescents since their prefrontal cortex is not fully matured. This immaturity of the brain might often lead to some of the risky behaviors taken by adolescents. Another things discussed in this chapter on cognitive changes in adolescents is the information processing perspective. This is described as changes in cognitive abilities as gradual transformations in capacity to take in, use, and store information. Many things are said to change during this time due this such as the ways people organize their thinking, developmental skills that help deal with new situations, sort facts, and improve memory ability and perception abilities. One of the main reasons for the advances in mental ability is growth of the metacognition. Metacognition is knowledge of ones own thinking processes, and the ability to monitor ones own cognition.
What types of social relationships with peers occur during adolescence?
Social Comparison Peers become more important, they enable adolescents to compare and evaluate opinions, abilities, and physical changes
Gender Relations as children enter adolescences their social groups are universally of the same sex friends. Boys hang with boys and girls hang with girls this is called sex cleavage. Both boys and girls experience a hormonal surge that causes the sex organs to mature. Adolescence is a vital time to have relationships with peers. Continuing from middle age to adolescence spend increasing hours with these peers as their relationships grow. Friends become drastically more important at this time, they allow adolescence to compare and evaluate opinions, abilities, and physical changes which is a process called social comparison. The changes one goes through at this time are so unique and obvious. Adolescence need to turn to others who share the same experiences as their peers so that information about what roles and behaviors are most acceptable, these people are referred to as a reference group. A person with whom one compares oneself is called a reference group. As children enter these adolescent years of life and form these social groups, the groups typically become made up of the same sex friends. This sex segregation is called sex cleavage. Boys hang out with boys, and girls hang out with girls, although this will quickly change at the onset of puberty. A major topic in adolescents is the topic of popularity, who is popular and who is not. Controversial adolescents are liked by some but disliked by others. There are also rejected adolescents who are defined as neither liked nor disliked. Popular and controversial adolescents tend to hold a higher social status and have more friends and engage in more activities with peers. Those that fall into the category of being rejected and neglected are not nearly as pleasant as the “popular” ones. The neglected and disliked groups have fewer friends and often hold a lower social status. Sometimes forming friendships may have a negative impact due to peer pressure. We all have probably at some point in our lives have experienced peer pressure of some sort.
How does self-concept and self-esteem develop during adolescent years?
Self-concept
Adolescents describe who they are by taking into account their view of themselves and also how others view them. This broader view of themselves is one way adolescents increase sense of self identity. They look at themselves from a psychological perspective, viewing traits not as concrete things but rather as ideas. During this time adolescents may be troubled by the difficulty of their personalities. Younger adolescents may want to view themselves in a certain way, and they become concerned when their behaviors contradict or make them question that view. However, by the end of adolescents teenagers find it easier to accept that behaviors and feeling change with the situation.
Self-Esteem
Although adolescents increasingly perceive who they are (which is self-concept), does not mean they are happy with it which is described as self-esteem. Their increasingly accurate self-concept permits them to see themselves fully. The way they act upon these perceptions is what determines their esteem of themselves. Adolescents may have low self-esteem regarding athletic abilities, while on the other hand a very high self-esteem regarding academics. I think we all would agree to a certain extent that normally a person doesn’t always like something about himself or herself and wish they could fix it or change it. May like some things but yet dislike others, for example a girl and their weight or a boy being short.
What is the role of religion and spirituality during adolescent years?
Questions of religion and spirituality begin to be asked during adolescents. Religion is important to many people due to the fact that it offers a formal means of satisfying spiritual needs. Spirituality is a sense of attachment to some higher power such as God, nature, or something sacred although typically towards a religious belief. Since cognitive abilities are increasing during this time teenagers are able to think more abstractly about these religious matters. As they build their identity adolescents typically develop core beliefs and values. They understand that there are many different views of God and also understand that their views are one of the many due to this. The conjunctive stage is the final stage of faith development in which individuals develop a broad, inclusive view of religion and all humanity. They begin to see humanity as a whole and may work to promote a common good. In this stage, they move beyond formal religion and hold a combined view across the globe.
Citations:
Felman, Robert. Discovering Lifespan. 3rd edition. University of Massachusetts. Pearson Education. 2012.Print