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Adolescence:Intellectual AdvancementsEgocentrismMaking Important Decisions – School, Work, Graduation, etc.
Cognitive Development – Ch. 15
Feb 12-19, 2010Classes #11-13
Basic cognitive skills continue to emerge
Logic emerges Intuitive thinking becomes quicker
and more compelling
Intellectual Advances
Every basic skill of information process continues to develop
Brain maturation continues myelination is ongoing, so reaction time
shorter prefrontal cortex becomes more densely
packed and more efficient helps in planning, analyzing, and being able to
pursue goals Language mastery improves
More and Better Cognition
Piaget’s formal operational thought, characterized by ability to think logically about abstract ideas Qualitatively different from children’s
thoughts
New Logical Abilities
NEW COGNITIVE ABILITIES
Abstract reasoning
Hypothetical reasoning
Reflective thinking
Greater flexibility in thinking
FAILURE TO OBTAIN FORMAL OPERATIONS
Neurological maturation makes
formal operational thinking possible
BUT NOT INEVITABLE
Education and culture must
encourage & provide opportunities
for skills to develop
Research Studies
Characteristic of adolescent thinking that sometimes leads young people to focus on themselves to the exclusion of others and to believe that their thoughts feelings and experiences are unique
Adolescent Egocentrism
Adolescent Egocentrism
Invincibility Fable Adolescents feel they are immune to the laws of
mortality and probability (and nature) They therefore take all kinds of risks
Personal Fable Adolescents imagine their own lives as mythical
or heroic They see themselves destined for fame or
fortune
Recent studies provide evidence that teen brains are incomplete
It seems that a vital part of their brain is closer to a child’s than an adult’s
Part of prefrontal cortex Kuhn (2003); Bjork (2004); Giedd
(2005) New findings…link brain immaturity to
teens making foolish judgments & reckless decisions
Adolescent Egocentrism
Imaginary audience Adolescents fantasize about how others
will react (opinions of onlookers) They assume everyone else is judging
their appearance They’re not at ease with social world
Adolescents do these things…but is it really a waste of their time???
Social Spotlight Effect
Researchers say we may overestimate the extent to which we’re in the public eye
Gilovich, Medvec, & Savitsky (1996, 2000)
The “un-cool T-shirt” experiments
These researchers got students to wear a “Barry Manilow” t-shirt into their classes
The Social Spotlight Effect The Social Spotlight Effect
The students who wore the t-shirt predicted that nearly half of the others would know who was on the shirt
The students who wore the t-shirt predicted that nearly half of the others would know who was on the shirt
50% 50%
40%40%
30%30%
20%20%
10%10%
0% 0% PredictedPredicted
The Social Spotlight EffectThe Social Spotlight Effect
In reality, less than a quarter of the other subjects recalled who was on the shirt
In reality, less than a quarter of the other subjects recalled who was on the shirt
50% 50%
40%40%
30%30%
20%20%
10%10%
0% 0% PredictedPredicted ActualActual
Nevertheless, many adolescents display…
Public self-consciousness The tendency to have a chronic
awareness of oneself as being in the public eye
Self Monitoring The tendency to be chronically concerned with
one’s public image and to adjust one’s actions to fit the needs of the current situation
Maybe it just begins in adolescence…
Why would someone want to undergo over 20 operations to try to obtain the “perfect” figure and face?
What would drive a woman to spend a fortune to look like a “Barbie”?
Cindy Jackson, the small town Ohio woman did just that…
Cindy: Before…
Cindy: After…
A total transformation?
1979 1990 1994 2003
Cindy as a child…
For Michael Jackson it didn’t quite work out as well…
Lunch with Michael Jackson: What do you think they talked about?
Adolescence is a time for personal decisions and independent choices with far-reaching consequences
Adolescents think about possibilities, not practicalities; thus, few decide important matters rationally egocentrism and intuitive thinking make it
hard to analyze and plan ahead
Adolescent Decision Making
Few adolescents can or should decide their future career
Courses studied and leisure choices do make a difference
Career Choices
Graduation from high school confers many benefits graduates stay healthier, live longer, are
richer, and more likely to marry, stay out of jail, and buy homes
Worldwide, more adolescents are attending high school
High School:Graduate vs. Drop-out
Volatile mismatch current needs often conflict with
traditional structures of schools person-environment fit—degree to which
environment is conducive to growth of particular individual
Reasons for Dropping Out
Secondary schools focused on the elite; thus, they do not reflect needs of most adolescents
School schedules undercut education In large schools, only a few juniors and seniors
can be involved in extracurricular activities Internationally, education systems vary in
expectations, curriculum, pedagogical methods, and legal requirements
Reasons for Dropping Out
Starting at the beginning…
What we know and
What we don’t
We know ... General agreement on benefits of a high school education…
Compared to graduates, Dropouts… are more likely to be unemployed earn lower wages have higher rates of public assistance are more likely to be single parents have children at younger age (for women)
Asking the Obvious Question
Do we have a problem with
graduation rates?
Is there a problem with graduation rates?
Answer 1: NO Graduation rates are high and stable - probably can’t
go much higherHigh School Completion Rate by Year (CPS)
0
20
40
60
80
100
1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Year
Co
mp
leti
on
Rate
(%
)
Total86.5%
Is there a problem?
Answer 2: YES Graduation rates high BUT there some large
disparities among groupsHigh School Completion Rate by Year for Major Racial-Ethnic Groups (CPS)
0
20
40
60
80
100
1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Year
Co
mp
leti
on
Rate
(%
)
White
Total
Black
Hispanic
Answer 2: YES
There are 4 Million ninth graders attending public schools this year
1.3 Million students of these ninth graders will not finish high school
Most of those failing to graduate will be racial/ethnic minorities
How do we fix these problems?
Balfanz and Herzog (2005) New collaborated study from John
Hopkins University and Philadelphia Education Fund suggest looking at four variables effecting six graders
Why Look in the Middle Grades?
Students who enter high school two or more years behind grade level in math and literacy have only a 50/50 chance of on-time promotion to the 10th grade
Ninth grade retention is the biggest risk factor for dropping out of high school
Why Middle Grades?
Student attendance, behavior, and effort all influence the likelihood that students will significantly improve their achievement levels during grades 6-8
Adolescence and living in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty have been shown to negatively impact student attendance, behavior, and effort In combination, their impact is heightened
Balfanz and Herzog (2005) Data and Methods
Followed all students enrolled in the 6th grade in 1996-1997 through 2003-2004 (one year beyond standard time to graduate)
Looked at more recent cohorts of 6th graders (1998-99, 2000-01, 2003-04) to verify our findings
Did a preliminary screen of about 20 variables (i.e., test scores, overage, course failures, attendance, behavior marks) to see which, if any, could identify as early as 6th grade students at high risk for falling off the graduation track
Data and Methods
They looked for variables with a high yield (i.e., 75% or more of students with this characteristic do not make it to 12th grade on time)
Once they identified these variables, they looked at their impact on four key schooling outcomes: 8th grade test scores age in 8th grade 10th grade on- time promotion graduation status (on-time and within one extra year)
Balfanz and Herzog (2005)
Findings: 4 Powerful 6th Grade Predictors of
‘Falling Off Track’ Attending school 80% or less of the time
Receiving a poor final behavior mark
Failing Math Failing English
Balfanz and Herzog (2005)
Other Findings… 6th graders who do not attend regularly,
receive poor behavior marks, or fail math or English have no more than
a 10% chance of graduating on time a 20% chance of graduating one year late
U.S. teenagers work more and learn less than teenagers elsewhere
Teenagers usually oriented not toward future skills but to earn spending money
The United States has fewer school-to-work arrangements than other countries
Some kids must work to help their families
Working Outside of School
International differences in teen birth rates are dramatic rate is higher in United States because
more teens sexually active Cultural differences in onset of sexual
intercourse before age 18 years are vast
What Teenagers Decide About Sex
What Teenagers Decide About Sex
Teen birth rate worldwide is decreasing Use of contraception, especially by
teenage boys, has at least doubled in most nations since 1990 and tripled in the United States since that time
Being sexually active includes other sexual behaviors than penile-vaginal penetration
New wave of sex education more practical focus on social interaction: communication and
specific knowledge information from friends, older siblings, and parents
Teaching teens about sex does not necessarily lead them to act upon what they’ve learned
Sex Education in School
Risk Taking, Decision Making, and Cultures
Culture and national trends are very influential risk taking varies by ethnic group
Final decisions about sex, drugs, school, and other matters tend to be made in consultation with families and peers and guided by the community
Credits http://bhsu.edu//artssciences/psychology/ http://www.laredo.edu/socialbehavior/facultyAndStaff/MHasla
m/Psyc2314/ http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/edpsyppt/ http://www.all4ed.org/publications/MeasuringGraduationToMe
asureSuccess/2 http://www.philaedfund.org/powerpoint/4
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