Adolescence

How to read primary sources:

• Never start with the abstract
• Identify the big question
• Summarize the background in 5 sentences or less
• Identify the specific question
• Identify the approach
• Read the methods actively
• Summarize the results – what the results are not what they mean (significant, non-significant, the graphs, sample size)
• Do the results answer the specific question?
• Read conclusions and discussions
• Then read the abstract
• And read the comments for extra info

Intro and historical perspective

• Stanley Hall’s is know for the storm and stress view: adolescent is a turbulent time charged with conflict and mood swings.
• Society believe that adolescents are immature
• Margaret Mead’s view is a sociocultural view: basic nature of adolescence is not biological as hall envisioned but rather sociocultural. – we tend to view adolescence as inferior and that’s why. Our social environment is what creates the storm and stress environment.

Stereotyping of adolescents:

• Experimental
• Disrespectful
• Lazy
• Self-centered
• Adolescent generalization gap = refers to generalizations that are based on info about a limited, often highly visible group of adolescents.
• The human brain wants to put people into groups as a information processing strategy

Positive view of adolescence?:

• Negative view comes from: media (we do not trust adolescences), personal experiences. 
• Study done in 1998 by Offer et al., said that 73% of adolescents have a positive self-image. Suggests that its not all that bad.
• Positive youth development: approach adolescents from a positive side. A positive psychology approach.

Video: We view adolescents as a period of conflict, stress, risk, and danger. So when we think of adolescents we think of psychosocial crisis or developmental disturbance. We define what kids are not doing right instead of what they are positively doing. We want to look at exemplary development.

Biological, cognitive and Socioemotional processes.

• Biological processes: physical changed in an individual’s body
• Cognitive processes: changes in an individuals thinking and intelligence
• Socioemotional processes: changes in an individuals emotions, personality, relationships with others and social contexts
• They are all intertwined.
• Emerging field: developmental cognitive neuroscience or developmental social neuroscience

Periods of development:

- Childhood: prenatal period, infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood.

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