CHILDHOOD & ADOLESCENCE

CHILDHOOD

•Physical Development

•More extensive neural networks continue to

develop in the brain

•Growth rate continues to decline

CHILDHOOD

• Social Development• Interaction with the environment

provides a sense of gender identity• A greater sense of independence

develops as peer relationships begin to become more important• Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial

Development

CHILDHOOD

Cognitive Development-Continues at a rapid rate. There are advances in the areas of:

1. Learning2. Language3. Thinking Skills

-Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

ADOLESCENCE• Begins as early as...• 9 years old (early onset of puberty)/10-

12 years old• Ends around…• 18 – 21 years old

• ***Adolescent development relates to many important societal problems including suicide, teen pregnancy, & eating disorders

ADOLESCENT PHYSICAL & SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

• Physical/Sexual Development• Puberty• Rapid skeletal & sexual maturation• Dramatic physical changes happen

mostly in early adolescence• Brain Changes• Amygdala – processes info about

emotions• Prefrontal Cortex – involved in high

order functioning & decision making

ADOLESCENT PHYSICAL & SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUED

• Hormonal Changes• Testosterone (males) development of genitals,

height increase, voice change• Estradiol (females) breast, uterine & skeletal

development

• Hormonal changes account for at least some of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence• Physical and Socioemotional developments are

intertwined

SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Social Development• Peer groups take an increasingly important role• Opposite-sex relationships gradually become

less recreational & more intimate

Erikson believed the key challenge of adolescence is: Identity formation

IDENTITY FORMATION VS IDENTITY CONFUSION

• Faced with challenge of finding out who you are, what you are all about, and where you are going in life• Confronted with new roles & a “young adult” status

• Erikson argued parents should allow teens time to explore different roles & paths & those who explore can reach some resolution and emerge with a new healthy sense of self• Those who are denied this might become withdrawn & isolated

from peers

ADOLESCENCE: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

• Cognitive Development• Capability for logical, hypothetical and

introspective thinking develops• Growing awareness of one’s mental

processes develops -> metacognition• Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Thinking