Adolescence 9th edition

1. Adolescence 9th edition By Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D. Chapter Two: Cognitive Transitions Insert Image

2. Chapter 2 Overview What are the major changes in cognition that take place during adolescence? What are the major theoretical perspectives on adolescent thinking? What changes take place in the adolescent brain? Do individual differences in intelligence in adolescence exist? How do changes in cognition affect real-world situations that adolescents encounter?

3. Changes in Cognition (Thinking) Main advantages over children’s thought: Thinking about possibilities Thinking about abstract concepts Thinking about thinking (metacognition) Thinking in multiple dimensions Seeing knowledge as relative (relativism)

4. Thinking about Possibilities Example: Ways in which their lives might be affected by different career choices Moves easily between the specific and the abstract to generate alternative possibilities Development of deductive reasoning “If-then” thinking Major intellectual accomplishment

5. Thinking about Abstract Concepts Ability to comprehend higher-order abstract logic: Puns, proverbs, metaphors, and analogies The growth of social thinking (social cognition) during adolescence is directly related to the young person’s improving ability to think abstractly

6. Metacognition: Thinking About Thinking Monitoring one’s own cognitive activity during thinking Increased introspection: thinking about our own emotions Increased self-consciousness: thinking that others are thinking of us Increased intellectualization: thinking about our own thoughts

7. Metacognitive Consequences Adolescent Egocentrism Imaginary audience Believe that everyone is watching Behavior is the focus of other’s concern Personal fable Experiences are unique Nothing bad can happen to them because they are special

8. Thinking in Multiple Dimensions Ability to view things from more than one aspect at a time More sophisticated understanding of probability Understand sarcasm Understand double-entendres

9. Adolescent Relativism Ability to see things as relative rather than as absolute Skepticism becomes common Everything may seem uncertain No knowledge seems completely reliable

10. Adolescent Thinking: Piaget’s View

11. Adolescent Thinking: Piaget’s View Cognitive-developmental view Interaction between biological change and environmental stimulation Leads to intellectual growth Each stage is characterized by a particular type of thought Adolescent thinking is thought to be qualitatively different from the type of thinking employed by children

12. Adolescent Thinking: Piaget’s View Abstract system of logical reasoning Chief feature that differentiates adolescent thinking from that of children Framework on which to organize the range of possibilities, and the likelihood of outcomes for both concrete and abstract situations Competence and performance A large gap exists between what can be done and what is done in daily life

13. Adolescent Thinking: The Information-Processing View Question of Interest What is it about the ways in which adolescents think about things that make them better problem solvers than children?

14. Adolescent Thinking: The Information-Processing View Five areas of improvement: Selective attention and divided attention Working memory and long-term memory Processing speed Organization Metacognition

15. The Adolescent Brain Brain maturation is studied using noninvasive imaging techniques: fMRI DTI EEG Brain maturation in adolescence is linked to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive development during this period (Keating, 2004)

16. How your Brain Works A Typical Neuronal Cell • Your brain contains about 100 billion neurons

17. The Synaptic Cleft: How Neurons Communicate

18. What Changes in The Brain? • Both structural and functional changes in the brain during adolescence • Important changes in: • The prefrontal cortex • The limbic system

19. Changes in Brain Structure during Adolescence Changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) improve efficiency of information-processing: Synaptic "pruning” Myelination Decrease in grey matter and increase in white matter Increased white matter reflects improved connectivity within and across brain regions.

20. Changes in Brain Function during Adolescence Full Maturation of PFC Not complete until mid-20s Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex Important for planning ahead Ventromedial prefrontal cortex Important for gut-level, intuitive decision making Orbitofrontal cortex Important for evaluating risks and rewards

21. Changes in Brain Function during Adolescence

22. Changes in Brain Function during Adolescence • Two important changes in brain function involving the prefrontal cortex: • Patterns of activation within PFC generally become more focused • Activity in the PFC becomes increasingly coordinated with activity in other parts of the brain.

23. Changes in Brain Function during Adolescence • Functional change in the limbic system • Changes in the levels of several neurotransmitters • Dopamine • Serotonin • Changes make individuals: • More emotional • More responsive to stress • More likely to engage in reward seeking and sensation seeking behavior

24. Changes in Brain Function during Adolescence

25. Implications of the Timing of Brain Maturation Limbic system matures at puberty Seek novelty, reward, stimulation Prefrontal cortex matures several years later Time gap may explain why adolescence is a period of heightened experimentation with risk

26. Individual Differences in Intelligence in Adolescence Measurement of IQ Intelligence quotient First test developed in 1905 Most widely used – and misused – psychological instrument Cohort A group of people born during the same historical era

27. Individual Differences in Intelligence in Adolescence Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Componential Experiential Contextual Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Seven types of intelligences Verbal, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, self-reflective, interpersonal, music

28. Test Performance in Adolescence Intelligence test scores become increasingly stable during childhood (age 6 or 7) and are remarkably stable during adolescence. Sex differences

29. Culture and Intelligence Vygotsky emphasized context in which intellectual development occurs Zone of Proximal Development Scaffolding

30. Culture and Intelligence Culture-fair tests Intelligence tests that attempt to reduce sources of ethnic or cultural bias Based less on verbal skills Oriented toward performance tasks

31. Adolescent Thinking in Context: Social Cognition Adolescents’ conceptions of interpersonal relationships become more mature: Understanding of human behavior is more advanced Ideas about social institutions and organizations are more complex Ability to figure out what other people think is more accurate

32. Adolescent Thinking in Context: Social Cognition Studies fall into four categories: Social perspective taking How individuals think about social relationships Individuals’ conceptions of laws, civil liberties, and rights Individuals’ understanding of social conventions

33. Adolescent Thinking in Context: Risk-Taking Risk-taking is more common among males than females This gender gap has been narrowing over time Young people behave in risky ways because a variety of emotional and social factors influence their judgment

34. Emotional and Contextual Influences on Risk-Taking

35. Adolescent Thinking in Context: Risk-Taking Behavioral decision theory Decision making is rational and individuals try to maximize benefits of alternative courses of action and minimize costs Personal fable about invulnerability Early adolescents less likely than young adults to feel invulnerable Adolescents vary more than adults in interpreting words describing risk

36. Adolescent Thinking in Context: Risk-Taking • Age differences in values and priorities • Adolescents and adults evaluate the desirability of possible consequences differently • Adolescents are more attuned to the potential rewards than adults are • Might be more beneficial to convince adolescents that the rewards of a risky activity are small than to persuade them the costs are large