COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT

Period of Adolescence
Rapid growth
Interaction of physical, psychological, and environmental
factors
Off timing of systems (Dahl, 2004)
Puberty
Physical growth
Emotion and behavior regulation
Importance of understanding interaction of all the systems;
Transitions all occur sequentially but not necessarily at the
same time

Facts
Adolescent morbidity
Health Paradox (Dahl, 2004):
Developmental period of strength and resilience
both physically and cognitively
Yet, morbidity & mortality rates increase 200%
Difficulties in controlling behavior and emotion

Facts
Usually studied as decision making (Steinberg, 2004)
In lab: similarities in adolescent & adult decision making
processes

Adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to risk taking

Novelty & sensation seeking increase dramatically at
puberty
Development of self-regulation lags behind

Risk taking as group behavior (Steinberg, 2004)

Facts
Frequently sleep longer - 9 1/2 hours
May be more clumsy because of growth
spurts-body parts grow at different rates
Girls may become sensitive about weight 60% trying to lose weight
1-3% have eating disorder

Theories on
Cognitive
Development

PIAGETS CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE

During this stage thought is logical, flexible, and organized
in its application of concrete information.
The capacity for abstract thinking is not yet present.
The ability to execute conservation tasks is a clear indicator
of this stage:
Decentration-The ability to focus on several aspects of a problem
at once and relate them
Reversibility-The ability to mentally go through a series of steps
in a problem and then reverse the direction, returning to the
starting point.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
Seriationthe ability to order items along a
quantitative dimension, such as length or width.
Transitive Inferencethe ability to seriate or
order items along a quantitative dimension
mentally.
Spatial ReasoningBy age 8 to 10, children can
give well organized directions to important places.

INFORMATION PROCESSING
THEORY
Alternative view of cognitive theory
Proposes that practice creates well organized
cognitive schemes. Consequently, they demand
less attention, become more automatic, and
working memory is freed up (Berk, 1999; Case,
1998).
This theory focuses on the dimensions of memory,
attention, and thinking

INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY

DIVIDES THE MIND INTO:
Sensory Register: The area of the mental system in
which sights and sounds are held briefly before they
decay or are transformed into working or short-term
memory.
Short-Term Memory: The conscious part of a mental
system where we active work on a limited amount of
information to ensure it is retained.
Long-Term Memory: The part that contains our
permanent knowledge base. Knowledge base is
limitless.

Mental Strategies
In information processing, procedures that operate on
and transform information, thereby increasing the
efficiency and flexibility of thinking and the chances
that information will be retained
Organization. Memory strategy of grouping together related
items. Taking notes
Elaboration. Mental strategy of creating a relation between
two or more items that are not members of the same category
Rehearsal. Memory strategy for repeating information

Mental Strategies Cont.

By continuing these mental strategies, you
develop greater organization of information and
significantly increase knowledge retention.
Failure to apply appropriate mental strategies
reduces the amount of knowledge retained

Middle Childhood and Information

Processing
An increase in information-processing capacity. Most
likely due to synaptic pruning and mylenization.
Gains in inhibition. Due in part to brain maturation,
middle schoolers develop increased ability to control
external influences that may inhibit concentration.
Attention improves sharply between ages 6 and 9.

Intelligence
Nature or Nurture?
In the past, general assumptions were in support of genetic
predisposition and stability over time.
Today, there is increasing evidence to suggest that intelligence
is equally impacted by genetics and the environment.

Stability of Intelligence?
In general, studies of DQs in infants do not correlate to later
expectations of IQ. However, there is some evidence of
predictability from age 4 throughout adolescence.
Other studies purport extreme fluctuations by as much as 20
pts.

Multidimensional Views of Intelligence

Sternbergs Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Componential: Highly intelligent individuals apply
appropriate strategy application, knowledge acquisition,
metacognition, and self-regulation.
Experiential: Highly intelligent individuals process
information more skillfully in novel situations.
Contextual: Highly intelligent people skillfully adapt their
information-processing skills to fit to a situation, they try to
shape, or change it to meet their needs

Gardners Multiple
Intelligences

Gardners Multiple Intelligences

Linguistic. Sensitivity to the sounds,
rhythms, and meanings of words and the
different functions of language. (Poet,
journalist).
Logico-mathematical. Sensitivity to and
capacity to detect logical or numerical
patterns; ability to handle long chains of
logical reasoning. (Mathematician)

 Musicial. Ability to produce and

appreciate pitch, rhythm (or melody), and
aesthetic sounding tones; understanding of
the forms of musical expressiveness.
(Violinist, composer).

Spatial. Ability to perceive the visualspatial world accurately, to perform

transformations on those perceptions, and to
re-create aspects of visual experience in the
absence of relevant stimuli.

 Bodily-kinesthetic. Ability to use

the body skillfull for expressive as
well as goal-directed purposes;
ability to handle objects skillfully.
(Dancer, athlete)
Naturalist. Ability to recognize and
classify all varieties of animals,
minerals, and plants. (Biologist).

 Interpersonal.

Ability to detect and

respond appropriately to the moods,
temperaments, motivations, and intentions
of others. (Therapist, salesperson).

Intrapersonal.

Ability to discriminate
complex inner feelings and to use them to
guide ones own behavior; knowledge of
ones own strenghts, weaknesses, desires,
and intellingence.

Cognitive Development
Advanced Reasoning Skills
Abstract Thinking Skills
Meta-Cognition

Beginning to Gain Advanced

Reasoning Skills
Options
Possibilities
Logical
Hypothetically
What if

Think Abstractly
Can take others perspective
Can think about non-concrete
things like faith, trust, beliefs, and
spirituality

Ability to Think About Thinking

Meta-cognition
Think about how they feel and what they are
thinking
Think about how they think they are
perceived by others
Can develop strategies for improving their
learning

How Do These Changes

Affect Teens?
Heightened self-consciousness
Believes no one else has experienced
feelings/emotions
Tend to become cause-oriented
Tend to exhibit a justice orientation
It cant happen to me syndrome

What Can Adults Do?

Dont take it personally when teens discount
experience
Discuss their behavior rules/consequences
Provide opportunities for community
service
Ask teens their view and share own

Questions?