Schema Adjustment + Adolescent & Adult Social Development

Schema Adjustment

theory of Jean Piaget

What are schemas?

concepts informed/developed by our experiences

How do people use and adjust

their schemas throughout life?

by assimilating and accommodating

based on experience

aSSimilation = Same Schema

Practice Questions:

Assimilation or Accommodation?

assimilation = using existing knowledge to understand new info;

accommodation = changing your existing knowledge based on new info

Multiple Choice

A child learns that a tree without its leaves is still a tree.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

A baby learns his father is called “Daddy,” so he calls other men “Daddy.”

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

A toddler sees an airplane and realizes that though it does fly, it is not the same thing as a bird.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

A computer programmer learns a new programming language.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

A child is raised in a home that presents a stereotyped schema about another social group. The child grows up and moves away for college, finding himself surrounded by people from the stereotyped group. Through real interactions with members of the group, he realizes his existing knowledge is wrong.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

On 9/11, after the first plane hit, some people thought it was an accident. However, when the second plane hit, they were forced to realize it wasn’t an accident.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Multiple Choice

It is widely accepted nowadays that gender is a fluid mixture of biological, psychological, and social factors—whereas in the past, our societal definition of gender was more rigidly based on biological factors.

• assimilation

• accommodation

Adolescent Social Development

(continuation of

Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development)

Identity vs. Role Confusion

• Teens into 20s

• Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, OR they become confused about who they are

A supplemental / alternate way

of understanding identity development:

"identity status"

(James Marcia)

Poll

Politics is something that:

• (a) I can never be too sure about because things change so fast. But I do think it's important to know what I can politically stand for and believe in.

• (b) I haven't really considered because it doesn't excite me much.

• (c) I feel pretty much the same way as my family. I follow what they do in terms of voting and such.

• (d) I have thought through. I realize I can agree with some and not other aspects of what my family believes.

Poll

When it comes to religion:

• (a) I'm not sure what religion means to me. I'd like to make up my mind but I'm not done looking yet.

• (b) I don't give religion much thought and it doesn't bother me one way or the other.

• (c) I've gone through a period of serious questions about faith and can now say I understand what I believe in as an individual.

• (d) I've never really questioned my religion. If it's right for my family it must be right for me.

Answer Guide:

• Politics: a=Moratorium, b=Diffusion, c=Foreclosure, d=Achievement

• Religion: a=Moratorium, b=Diffusion, c=Achievement, d=Foreclosure

Adolescent Cognitive Development

(Piaget)

formal operational thinking

abstract reasoning

(being able to make predictions,

being able to imagine others' perspectives)

Ability to imagine others' perspectives can lead to

• adolescent egocentrism:

• ---imaginary audience

• ---personal fable

Imaginary Audience

• adolescent's belief that others are constantly focusing attention on them, scrutinizing their behaviors & appearance

• adolescent feels they're continually the central topic of interest to an audience (when in fact that's not the case)

• leads to self-consciousness

Personal Fable

• adolescent's belief that they're unique and invulnerable

• can lead to risk-taking behavior

Other factors related to adolescent risk-taking behavior

• biological: prefrontal cortex not fully developed

• social: peer influence

Practice Questions

Multiple Choice

Carlos wants to be a doctor like both of his parents when he gets older. He never thought of doing anything else. Which of the following best explains Carlos's decision?

• He has not fully developed his identity.

• His parents have a permissive parenting style, which has left him with an underdeveloped identity.

• He is in a moratorium state of identity.

• He is in a foreclosed state of identity.

Multiple Choice

As a child, Nicky was always focused on school and liked spending her free time outdoors with her two closest friends whom she had known since preschool. At age 14, she has a new group of friends and prefers to play video games than do her schoolwork. She recently surprised everyone by getting a super short haircut for the first time. According to psychologists, which of the following would best explain Nicky's changes in behavior?

• Her parents had an authoritarian parent style growing up, so she is confused.

• She's going through a process of identity exploration that many adolescents experience.

• The neural pathways in her cerebellum are not fully developed.

• She's having a difficult time getting along with peers.

• He is the middle child in his sibling group.

Multiple Choice

18-year-old Mary has been engaging in risky behaviors such as reckless driving, unprotected sex, and large unmasked gatherings. Psychologists would most likely say that

• Mary is still developing new neural connections.

• Mary is rebelling against her parents because she feels left out.

• Mary's temperament makes her prone to risk-taking behavior.

• Mary is depressed, as most adolescents are.

Adult Social Development Stages

Intimacy vs. Isolation

• 20s to early 40s

• young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain capacity for intimate love, OR they feel socially isolated

Generativity vs. Stagnation

• 40s to 60s

• middle-aged people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, OR they may feel a lack of purpose

Integrity vs. Despair

• late 60s and up

• Reflecting on their lives, older adults may feel a sense of satisfaction OR failure