Adolescence: A Time of Development

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the biological and environmental transitions that can have a negative or positive effect on an adolescent. The paper considers the issues of an adolescent's physical appearance not being in accordance with his intellectual and behavioural adaptations, the self-consciousness of body image and the cognitive development in perception, attention and memory that can lead to a quest for identity development.

From the Paper:

"Adolescence, marked by the onset of pubertal maturation and represented by a period during lifespan where a child becomes an adult, is characterised by many transitions which can either be biologically based (the body) or environmentally based (people, relationships, general society, etc.). Biological transitions include physical and mental transitions whereas environmental transitions consist of social transitions. These transitions enable a child to encounter new experiences and to adjust their thinking to them which allows the child to then become an adult. Therefore, both biological and environmental transitions have an effect on each other and can either have a negative or a positive effect on the adolescent."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism in adolescence. Child Development, 38, 1025-1034.
• Elkind, D., Koegler, R., & Go, E. (1964). Studies in perceptual development. II: part-whole perception. Child development, 35, 81-90.
• Hagen, J. (1967). The effect of distraction on selective attention. Child development, 38, 685-694.
• Harter, S. (1983). Developmental perspectives on the self-esteem. In C. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social development. New York: Wiley.
• Keating, P. & Bobbitt, L. (1978). Individual and development differences in cognitive processing components of mental ability. Child development, 49, 155-167.

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