Adolescent Psychology Cognitive and Affective Development in Adolescence
The human brain continues to develop even beyond childhood. The prefrontal cortex continues to undergo changes in synaptic pruning throughout adolescence. Beginning at puberty, there is an increase in white matter in the frontal cortex and the parietal cortex, which means that the myelin sheathing has already occurred, and this makes connections faster and more active in the brain. As the hormonal changes of puberty takes place during the remodeling of the brain in adolescent period, the frontal regions of the brain become more integrated with the other regions, so that it improves cognitive control. This can affect the language areas of the brain, making the adolescent more sensitive to social and emotional stimuli. The adolescent becomes more active in abstract, idealist, and logical thinking.
This paper revolves around the adolescent psychology and the cognitive and affective development of the brain during adolescence period. There are four basic objectives in this paper first is to do a self-reflection about how the writer has changed since the beginning of her adolescence period second is to do some research on cognitive and affective development and look for journals that discuss the identified issues third is to integrate the theory being reflected in the journals into the self-reflection paper fourth and final is to integrate information from the book Adolescence written by Santrock (2010) into the self-reflection paper. In general, it shall reveal the writers social and emotional stimuli, which proliferate the abstract, idealist, and logical thinking in the brain.
Main Body
Self-reflection
My adolescence began when I first got my period when I was nine years old between the fourth and fifth grade sometime in 1999. We lived in Montgomery Country in Marylandspecifically in North Potomac. I started off kindergarten at Stone Mill Elementary School, which was the school in my neighborhood. However, there was a fire when I was in middle of kindergarten, and they allowed us to transfer schools, so I moved to Cold Spring Elementary School that was about 15-20 minutes away from where we live. However, when I reached my third grade I didnt like it at Cold Spring anymore, so I went back to Stone Mill, which was bigger than Cold Spring. I remember I was very unhappy during that time (probably because of changes in peers), so I applied and got into a special science program at Poolesville Highschool, which was one of the smallest highschools in the country, and was about 20 minutes away from where we lived. At Poolesville, most of the students were white kids. I stayed there for 9th and 10th grade, but then transferred to another neighboring school, Wootton Highschool for the 11th and 12th grade. Wootton was extremely big with about 2,500 students, and were usually composed of whites and Asians.
For the majority of my adolescence I was extremely shy and I loved reading, so I didnt have many friends even though I wasnt neglected or ignored at school. At Poolesville I came out of my shell quite a bit, where I became more popular in the small school. I knew all sports and I was in the science program, so I was a part of what they call the smart group. My best friend and my boyfriend wouldve been considered part of the druggie category and I was going through a not-so-good phaseall the skipping schools and such. At Wooten, however, I wouldve also been considered part of the neglected category with not so many friends at school. But at Poolesville I was popular and had many friends. I was confident and adventurous, always having fun with my friends, always up trying new things.
My family life was fairly good up until middle school. I was just very shy when I was younger and spent most of the time by myself. My older brother and younger sister were very outgoing but I didnt spend a lot of time with them because I was so shy and a little bit jealous of them. Then in middle and high school I was going through a rebelling phase, a trouble maker, so I wasnt extremely close to my parents (to their credit I wasnt easy to deal with and they dealt with it fairly well). My parents had an authoritative parenting style, so for the most part I didnt spend a lot of time with my family and I was more interested in friends and boyfriends. I was a trouble maker even though I acted very respectful. At home I was just very independentas I was in schooland I didnt really like to play with other kids. When I reached the 11th grade I went to Wootton where I became more matured and was done with my rebelling phase, so I started getting much closer to my parentsparticularly my mom who became one of my best friends.
Even though I was much more matured than most people around me, I still matured a lot from the beginning of adolescence to the end. I also learned to deal with my problems better and be happy just being alone with myself, since I have never had a whole lot of friends. With my family we usually talk about problems or something wrong that I had done.
In terms of friendship formation, however, towards the end of adolescence I got a lot pickier with friends. Since I was okay being alone, I would only want to be friends with someone whom I truly like I didnt make friends just for the sake of having friends. My relationship with my parents started out good, got very strained in middle school and the beginning of high school, but then go very good and we have had a very strong relationship since then.
Cognitive and affective development
There are two peer-reviewed journal articles that talk about cognitive and affective development. The first is entitled Cognitive and Affective Development in Adolescence, written by Laurence Steinberg (2005), which centers on the nature of normative and atypical development in adolescence, how it reflected special significance these years. According to the article, adolescence refers to
A period of especially heightened vulnerability as a consequence of potential disjunctions between developing brain, behavioral and cognitive system that mature along different timetables and under the control of both common and independent biological processes. Taken together, these developments reinforce the emerging understanding of adolescence as a critical and sensitive period for a reorganization of regulatory systems, a reorganization that is fraught with both risks and opportunities. (Steinberg, 2005, p.69)
As reflected in the passage, the developing brain during adolescence matures at different rates and intervals under the control of common and independent biological processes. This leads to increased vulnerability and adjustment, with the emotional, intellectual, and behavioral tendencies and capabilities being formed in the coordination process. The vulnerability is caused by the gaps between emotion, cognition and behavior, which affect judgment and decision-making, making the adolescent more susceptible to risk-taking and sensation-seeking. There is a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems being linked to this, including depression, violent delinquency, and substance abuse (Steinberg, 2005, p.69). There is an attainment of a more fully conscious, self-directed and self-regulating mind (Steinberg, 2005, p.70). There is marked improvements when it comes to reasoning (e.g., deductive reasoning), to information processing (i.e., efficiency and capacity), as well as expertise (Steinberg, 2005, p.70), as the prefrontal cortex undergoes changes in the brain.
The second journal article is being written by Veira Bailey (2001) entitled Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Children and Adolescents. This article supports the idea that cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT can be used in successful treatment of cognitive disorders, encouraging therapeutic change and using performance-based procedures in the therapy. The effectiveness is steadily mounting, and usually the psychiatric disorders usually center on cognitive distortions, such as emotional disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, somatising problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Bailey, 2001, p.225).
The obsessive-compulsive disorder, for example, is being treated with precise diagnostic assessment of the severity of the disorder. By enabling the child or adolescent to appreciate that anyone can have odd thoughts in the mind, and advising them and to ignore the thought is the best way to deal with it. However, it is indicated that Trying to avoid, suppress or neutralize the thought will only cause them to return more strongly than before (Bailey, 2001, p.228). Thus, the therapist may use stories about habits, the intrusive thought, and the effects of control (which can increase the frequency of the thought). Therefore, the aim would be to use the graded-exposure format set as homework tasks in a randomized controlled trial. The anxiety management training or AMT could also be used in this case.
Conduct disorders is another example that is being treated in CBT. In this case, parent-management training appears to be effective in both group and individual formats. Here, the parents are being trained using cognitive-behavioral methods to alter the parents beliefs that encourage effective child management. The multi-modal approach involves not only the parents, but also the schools where teachers may be trained on positive teaching methods that support the cognitive development of the child or adolescent. According to the article, Children with conduct disorders are frequently deficient in social skills and general problem-solving strategies (Bailey, 2001, p.229). The way to deal with it is to use social-skills training and operant techniques that discourage anti-social behaviors.
Self-reflection over the writers cognitive and affective development
My cognitive and affective development during my adolescence was a bit troublesome. Because I frequently switched schools I was always out of peersone factor that encouraged my joining the special science program in school. I was new at Stone Mill, and then I transferred to Poolesville during the 9th and 10th grade, and then transferred again to Wootton Highschool for the 11th and 12th grade. Because of this I was always out of friends, especially since Wootton was an extremely big school composed usually of whites and Asians. I felt vulnerable to outside peers and other distant groups. As Steinberg (2005) indicates, this is because of the potential disjunctions between the developing brain, behavioral and cognitive system that mature along different timetables (p.69). I felt the vulnerability, the adjustment that I had to make going to different schools and meeting various people whom I did not know. I felt being defenseless in terms of my emotion, my cognition and my behavior, and it affected my judgment and decision-making. For example, it was my own reasoning that I should transfer to other schools other than my own because of the vulnerability that I felt when I am with peers. My decision making was being affected by the changes taking place in my prefrontal cortex. The gaps between my emotion, cognition, and behavior caused me to do some sensation-seeking, such as when I had friends who were part of the druggie category as well as when I was in Poolesville Highschool. I was unhappy, but because I loved to be part of the school community, I did my best to be more popular in school by having friends and being part of the peer community.
The way to deal with this, therefore, would be to use cognitive-behavioral therapy discussed in the article of Bailey (2001). What I experienced was a sign of cognitive distortion, especially when, in a way, I ignored and misinterpreted my parents. There were emotional disorders that I experienced during my adolescence more prevalent in the form of conduct disorders. These would have been treated with the use of the multi-modal approach.
Self-reflection over the writers peer group functions
Based on the book of Santrock (2010),
Adolescents have strong needs to be like and accepted by friends and the larger peer group, which can result in pleasurable feelings when accepted or extreme stress and anxiety when excluded and disparaged by peers. (Santrock, 2010, p.219)
This explained why I did my best to be part of the peer community at schooldoing all I can to be one of the smart kids, and getting a boyfriend that was really liked by my peers. It gave me pleasurable feeling to be one of the few successful students, especially that I already experienced being one under the neglected category. I became confident and adventurous, and I always had fun, always trying new things no matter what. This, however, changed over the years when I was in high school. I became part of the druggie category because it gave me extreme stress and anxiety to be out of peers.
This reflects the negative peer relations
Being rejected or overlooked by peers leads some adolescents to feel lonely or hostile. Further, such rejection and neglect by peers are related to an individuals subsequent mental health and criminal problems the adolescent peer culture is a corrupt influence that undermines parental values and control. (Santrock, 2010, p.320)
It was good that I had my mom with me to settle some problems and think over what I had to focus on. Her advises were very helpful and useful for me. She was my best friend.
As for the positive peer influences, I experienced what Santrock (2010) mentioned about the principles of fairness and justiceabout working with disagreements with peers. Because I was shy I felt like everything was my fault and I had to make some effort so that my peers would understand my point. I experienced reasoning with myselfabout the role of fairness and justice and whether it was my fault that my peers were slowly drifting away. With the help of my mom, I came to understand that, for all I know, my peers were just busy doing things in their own time. I should stop being too juvenile and immature when thinking.
Conclusion
The human brain continues to develop even beyond childhood. Because of the changes that took place in my prefrontal cortex during adolescence, it made me more sensitive to social and emotional stimuli, making me more active in abstract, idealist, and logical thinking. I was matured than most people around me, and with the help of my mom, I learned to accept some things about peersthat I had to accept being alone at times, or being out of the accepted category. I learned to deal with my problems one at a time, to take away sensation-seeking, while decreasing my vulnerability and adjustment. It appears that there were not much gaps between my emotion, cognition, and behavior, since my judgment and decision making was good enough. Perhaps I was just one of the more fortunate ones.
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