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