Chapter 2
1. Seek to determine what appears to be factual from what might
be based on opinion or impression.
2. Research is objective, systematic, and testable
3. Steps: (a) conceptualize the problem—what specific problem
do you want to study; draw on theories to make predictions; generate a specific hypothesis that yields a
prediction that can be tested;
(b)
gather information or data; (c) analyze the data to draw conclusions; and (d)
draw conclusions and use them to revise the theory or existing literature base
Theories
of adolescent development
Psychoanalytic
Cognitive
Behavioral
and Social Learning
Ecological
Other
theories: biological—how do
physiological factors (rate of maturation, hormones, diet, exposure to drugs and
chemicals at various developmental stages) affect growth and development
Anthropological
and sociological—how do various cultures, social contexts, communities, and
groups affect development
Psychoanalytic
theories
Freud’s stages
Latency: between approximately age 5 or 6 to puberty
(age 10-12)—considered a stress free time when child channels energies into
social and intellectual activities
Genital: puberty onward, concerned again with sexual
issues, this time focused on individuals outside the family
Erikson
Stressed identity
development throughout the life span, not primarily in the first five years as
did Freud
Industry vs. Inferiority: approximately age 6 to puberty—direct energy toward mastering knowledge and intellectual skills; the danger is that mastery failure may lead to feelings of inferiority and incompetence
Identity vs. Identity
confusion: the adolescent years (approximately age 10-20)—time for fully
exploring who adolescents are and what they want to be ; the danger is that
failure may lead to confusion as to one’s identity and future role
Cognitive theories:
stress the importance of conscious thoughts and information processing
Piaget: stressed
that development brings with it differences in how the world is understood
Concrete operational stage: (approximately age 7-11); logical reasoning can be applied and classification can be done as long as the events are concrete in nature
Formal operational
stage: (11-15 years through adulthood): reasoning can be applied to abstract
concepts, and thinking becomes more logical and idealistic (can test
hypotheses)
Vygotsky: essentially stressed the importance of both
language and social relations in the development of thinking and cognition
Information processing: how information is perceived, stored in
memory, retrieved, and used and transformed in processes such as
problem-solving and reasoning
Ecological,contextual theory: theories that emphasize the importance of ecology and
culture in adolescent development
Bronfenbrenner:
proposes five systems that interact and shape the individual that range from
the “microsystem” [impact of schools, peers, family, organizations and
activities] through the “chronosystem” [patterning of events, life transitions,
and sociohistorical circumstances, e.g., girls pursuits of careers that
historically were male-dominated]
Glen Elder:
proposes that adolescence is best understood by considering their lives in
their historical time and place, timing of life events, and constraints on
decision-making.
Timing [e.g., when to have children in
historical context]
Linked lives [e.g., how generations are
connected and how setbacks in one generation affect another]
Agency and social constraints [e.g., how
one plans one’s life given the impediments to reaching goals]
Eclectic approach:
selects the best of each theory
Research methods
Terms to know
How data is collected: observation,
interviews and questionnaires, standardized tests, case studies
Research designs: correlational,
experimental (independent and dependent variables, control group, random
assignment)
Time span: cross-sectional, longitudinal
Research issues
Ethics: informed consent and
confidentiality
Proper recognition of gender and ethnicity
Focus: problems vs. strengths