Social Development during Adolescence

1. Social Development during Adolescence Chapter 4

2. Social Development and Rites of Passage • Formal Rites of Passage • Religious (Bar/Bat Mitzvah; Confirmation; Walk-About) • Academic (Transition in Schooling; Graduation) • Informal Rites of Passage • Drivers’ License • Social Clubs • What others????? • What functions do rites of passage serve?

3. Social Roles • Contexts of Roles • Family Roles • Friendship Roles • School/Student Roles • Employee • Role Conflicts • Within Context • Across Contexts

4. Personality Development • Psychoanalytic Theories: • Largely driven by unconscious forces • Largely formed by childhood • Neuroscientific evidence suggests that some of our drives may be outside our conscious awareness • Problems with Psychoanalytic Theory • Explanations occur in hindsight • Traumatic events across the lifespan can bring about change in personality

5. Personality Development • Trait Theory—The Big Five • Trait: Relatively stable over time with some variability • Openness to experience • Conscientiousness • Extraversion • Agreeableness • Neuroticism • Traits tend to be relatively stable across adolescence

6. Personality Development • Trait Theory (cont’d) • South, Krueger, Johnson & Iacono (2008) • The contribution of genetic and environmental forces varied as a result of the adolescent’s personality and parent interaction; • The genetic-environment interaction is complex and varies according to multiple factors

7. Temperament • Temperament: • Patterns of arousal and emotionality that are consistent and enduring (Feldman, 2008, 122) • Activity level • Irritability level • Strong genetic component • Frequently observable in neonates • Impact of temperament can be moderated by environmental forces (e.g. parental reactions, peers’ reactions)

8. Moral Development • Piaget—Understanding rules & intent • Heteronomous morality • Rigid rules with no necessary agreement on rules • Little or no focus on intent • Incipient cooperation: • Rigid rules, but shared understanding • Some focus on intent based on rules • Autonomous cooperation: • Rules exist • Rules can be changed by participants • Intent is considered

9. Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory • Moral reasoning: Process of making a judgment, not the judgment itself is the object of study • Tied to cognitive development and experience • Assessment is based on moral dilemmas and the reasoning one uses to resolve them • Based on Levels and Stages of reasoning

10. Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory • Level 1: Preconventional • Self-serving interests • Focus is on outcomes for the individual • Stage 1: Rules followed to avoid punishment; morality is based on decisions that will avoid negative outcomes • Stage 2: Transition from avoiding negative to seeking benefit or reward

11. Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory • Level 2: Conventional • Moral decisions are based on societal rules and conventions for being accepted as good members of society • Stage 3: Moral decisions are made in order to manage others’ impressions and maintain their respect; • Stage 4: Moral decisions are made to comply with rule of law and societal rules

12. Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory • Level 3: Postconventional • Moral reasoning at this level transcends specific societal or personal rationales and moves to a broader set of principles that transcend time and context • Stage 5: Reasoning here is based on a sense of what is right; rules and laws are seen as malleable based on social contracts • Stage 6: Decisions are based on universal principles that transcend time and context; Rules or Laws that violate these principles are not obeyed

13. Moral Development • Gilligan’s Moral Development: • Kohlberg’s model was based on a masculine/male perspective of justice • Feminine approach would be based on relationships and care (the ethic of care) • Gender role may be more important than biological sex

14. Moral Development • Gilligan’s Moral Development: • Stage 1: Self-Care from Need: Orientation toward individual survival • Stage 2: Other-Care from Need: Sacrifice self for others’ needs • Stage 3: Self-Other Care from Need: Recognize the value in working to balance costs and benefits for all concerned • Research has demonstrated that both Kohlberg’s ideas and Gilligan’s ideas work for both sexes

15. Moral Development • Social Learning Models of Moral Development • Modeling moral behavior (e.g. observing a coach reinforcing winning at any cost; observing a teacher rewarding one of your friends for helping a special needs student) • Model Characteristics: • Well respected • Viewed as competent • Seen as similar to the observer

16. Moral Development • Moral reasoning VS Moral Behavior • Evaluation of moral reasoning takes place out of context • Moral behavior is typically contextualized and brings emotional loading • Adolescents are vulnerable to peer pressure and influence hence the context can sway decisions to act even in the face of high levels of moral reasoning • Perceived negative outcomes (costs) can be see as being outweighed by positive outcomes (benefits) • Personal fable and imaginary audience