Page 107 - Understanding Psychology

Physical and Sexual Development
s Main Idea
All adolescents experience dramatic changes in their physical size, shape, and capacities, as well as biological development related to reproduction.
s Vocabulary
• initiation rites
• puberty
• menarche
• spermarche
• asynchrony
s Objectives
• Describe the physical changes that
characterize adolescence.
• Describe research related to the sexual
attitudes and roles of adolescents.
Reader’s Guide
Exploring Psychology
The Nature of Adolescence
Of all the periods in human life in which the instinctual processes are be- yond question of paramount importance, that of puberty has always attracted most attention. Adolescents are excessively egotistic, regarding themselves as the center of the universe and the sole object of interest, and yet at no time in later life are they capable of so much self-sacrifice and devotion. . . . On the one hand they throw themselves enthusiastically into the life of the community and, on the other, they have an overpowering long- ing for solitude. They oscillate between blind submission to some self-chosen leader and defiant rebellion against any and every authority.
—from The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense by Anna Freud, 1946
As Anna Freud described above, adolescent development is compli- cated. Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and adulthood, and while we all have an idea about what adoles- cence is, defining it precisely is difficult. Some define it in psychological terms: a time period of mixed abilities and responsibilities in which childlike behavior changes to adultlike behavior. In some societies, adolescence is not recognized as a separate stage of life; individuals move directly from childhood to adulthood.
In our own society, however, adolescence is looked upon as a time of preparation for adult responsibilities (Hall, 1904). There are many
Chapter 4 / Adolescence 93