Introduction
Adolescence can be described as the period of transition between late childhood and the start of adulthood. Adolescence usually marks the start of the reproductive lifespan in human beings, and involves sexual maturity in the form of physical development of the body, hormones, and social behavior. According to Lerner & Steinberg (56), research indicates that children tend to become progressively self-conscious and concerned with the opinions of other people as they reach and go through puberty and the adolescence period. Therefore, it can be said that adolescents’ psychosocial context differs markedly from that of adults and children. Relationship with family, society and peers undergo distinct changes during the period of adolescence. Adolescents start asserting more autonomous control over their actions, emotions and decisions, and begin disengaging from parental control. Therefore, adolescents undergo various forms of development which include physical growth, cognitive intellectual development, social affective development, moral development and religious or spiritual development. This report examines cognitive development during adolescence.
Cognitive Development during Adolescence
Basically, cognitive development is the advancement of the ability to reason and think. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 years develop thinking ability in concrete ways which include combining (adding), separating (subtracting or dividing), placing in order (sorting and the alphabet), and transforming actions and objects. It is at adolescence that individuals develop thinking processes which are more complex. Such processes include abstract thinking, ability reasoning using known principles, ability of considering many viewpoints and ability of thinking about the thinking process (Choudhury et al. 166). According to Cobb (44), at adolescence, adolescents are capable of logically analyzing situations in terms of cause-effect and begin using symbols and hypothetical situations imaginatively.
Ausubel & Ausubel (403) describes the six-year interval of adolescence (12-18 years) as the transition from concrete to formal logical operations. It is during adolescence that a teenager gains the ability of systematically thinking about logical relationships. Cognitive development in adolescents can be broken down into three areas which are early adolescence (12-15 years), middle adolescence (15-18 years) and late adolescence (18-22 years). During early adolescence, there is adoption of more thinking processes which are complex and focused on individual decision making in home and school environments. For example, the early adolescent starts demonstrating the application of formal logical operations in his or her school work, he or she starts questioning society standards and authority, him or her starts forming and verbalizing his or her own views and thoughts on a range of topics that are more linked to his or her own life. These include sports to play, groups to associate with, and personal appearances. Therefore, at this stage, an adolescent moves from only concrete thinking to abstract and hypothetical thinking, concentrates on self and other people’s perception of self, engages an imaginary audience and exhibits certain intelligence strengths.
During middle adolescence, more futuristic and philosophical concerns become evident. The middle adolescent tends to question and analyze more extensively, and he or she thinks about and starts developing a code of ethics (Cobb 46). This is where the adolescent starts making decisions on what are right and what is not. The middle adolescent also thinks about various possibilities and starts developing a self identity, thinks about and starts to systematically take into consideration possible future goals. At this stage, the adolescent starts thinking about and begins making his or her own plans, and thus starts thinking long term. It is this way of thinking that starts influencing relationships with others. Therefore, at middle adolescence, a person is capable of thinking inductively, deductively, conceptually and hypothetically, is capable of synthesizing and suing information efficiently and starts engaging in celebrating new mindfulness about self such as journal writing.
In late adolescence, the focus of complex thinking processes is on concepts which are less self-centered, as well as making personal decisions. This is because the late adolescent is nearing adulthood, and he or she starts having more thoughts about global or socio-political concepts such as patriotism, politics, history and justice. They start developing unrealistic views on particular concerns or topics. For example, late adolescents often engage in debate, and they might become intolerant to opposite views. At this stage, thinking is focused on making career decisions and the adolescent’s role in adult society. Therefore, during late adolescence, a person becomes open to learning, tends to express ideas with more skill, embraces many points of view and start being sources of knowledge. Cognitive development during adolescence is greatly influenced by environmental stimulation, brain maturation, culture and schooling. However, despite the fast developing capacity for higher thinking levels in adolescents, most of them need guidance to grow their potential for balanced decision making (Zarrett and Eccles 17).
Conclusion
Cognitive skill development during adolescence is significant because it enables adolescents to become increasingly capable of managing their own learning and problem solving while facilitating their identity formation and maturation of moral reasoning. The successful development of these cognitive skills relates to the ability of the adolescent to be capable of planning, an aspect that is important for succeeding in educational and occupational goals. Therefore, cognitive development is an important area of development for adolescents during adolescence.
Works Cited
Ausubel, David P, and Ausubel, Pearl. Cognitive Development in Adolescence. Review of Educational Research, 1966; 36(4): 403-413.
Choudhury, Suparna, Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne, and Charman, Tony. Social Cognitive Development During Adolescence. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2006; 1(3): 165-174.
Cobb, Nancy J. Adolescence: Continuity, Change, and Diversity. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2004.
Lerner, Richard, and Steinberg, Shirley. Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Zarrett, Nicole, and Eccles, Jacquelynne. The Passage to Adulthood: Challenges of Late Adolescence. New Directions for Youth Development, Fall 2006, No. 111, pp. 11-28.
