Page 115 - Understanding Psychology

Personal Development
Reader’s Guide
Exploring Psychology
The Tattoo
“I had this tiny butterfly in a circle of roses tattooed on my left shoulder. No one else knew it was there, but I did, and whenever I thought about it I felt happy, like a different person. My mother was furious when she found out I’d had it done, but I think it’s really pretty.” (Barbara, age 19)
—from Adolescence: The Survival Guide for Parents and Teenagers by Elizabeth Fenwick and Dr. Tony Smith, 1994
s Main Idea
The transition from childhood to adult- hood involves changes in patterns of reasoning and moral thinking, as well as the development of one’s identity.
s Vocabulary
• rationalization
• identity crisis
• social learning theory
s Objectives
• Describe the cognitive and ideological
changes that characterize adolescence.
• Outline the process by which adoles-
cents find a personal identity.
During adolescence, a sense of identity and self-esteem are very important and depend very much on friends. Barbara’s butterfly tattoo served as a statement of identity and made her happy and confident. Also during adolescence, many changes are occurring in ways of thinking and feeling. Becoming an adult involves much more than becoming physically mature, although that is an important part of the process. The transition from childhood to adulthood also involves changes in patterns of reasoning and moral thinking, and adjustments in personality and sexual behavior.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
During adolescence, the thinking patterns characteristic of adults emerge. Jean Piaget described this as formal operations thinking (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969). From about age 11 or 12, most people’s thinking becomes more abstract. For example, the adolescent can consider the
Reading Check
How does an adoles- cent’s thinking differ from that of a child?
Chapter 4 / Adolescence 101