Individuation
When I was looking through my notes at everything we have learned at this point I wanted to just show up to class with my notebook and hand that in. Show you every page and say THIS is the process. But instead, of course, I went through and found everything I needed to write this paper. A lot of factors go into the process of adolescent individuation. Individuation involves an adolescent taking increasing responsibility for the self, rather than expecting others to accept that responsibility. Individuation requires a transformation in how the adolescent views him or herself and how he or she acts with adults. Adolescent individuation is influenced by many different theorist such as Piaget, Marcia, and Erikson. An adolescent’s sense of morality described by Kohlberg. Parenting styles play a role in individuation, as does autonomy.
PIAGET
According to Jean Piaget all people pass through fixed sequences of cognitive development. They are learning how to think logically and about specific things, but they still struggle with abstract thinking, which is the ability to use concepts and to make and understand generalizations. At the age of 11 kids should be reaching the developmental milestone of thinking abstractly. Being in the fourth stage they think more creatively, process information, and use imagination and memory better. During this stage adolescents hit the milestone of systematic problem solving. They start to think of things out and see a solution. They search for answers methodically, and try one solution at a time. This is the stage they start to carry out experiments on problems. Dopamine though, is an opposing force to this milestone because it causes adolescents to need reward now rather than take the time to see the problem all the way through. The next milestone they hit is using logic. In addition to systematic problem solving, teens become more scientific and logical in the way they approach problems. Piaget called this hypothetico-deductive reasoning. They can now consider a problem, or situation, and can identify the many variables that may influence or affect the outcome. This ability has very practical applications because it enables youth to select the most logical or sensible solution to a problem. This is the process that underlies how adolescents think and behave. This is how they start to come up with their idea, why they are sassy, why they rebel, and why they are so moody. HDR gives them the ability to see that consequences lead to an outcome. HDR leads them right along to propositional thinking; which is their ability to think out of the “concrete”, and can make logical assumptions just based off what they know.
Schemes are mental patterns that represent behaviors and actions. They grow through assimilation: the way we understand a new experience in terms of our current cognitive development and way of thinking, and accommodation: changing your existing way of thinking in response to encounters with new stimuli or events. Piaget also called these “personal fables”. Kids are very impulsive. Adolescents’ prefrontal cortex, which decides impulse control and need for reward, is immature at this age; it is undergoing development. If the prefrontal cortex is immature than that means they have poor impulse control, and they have a need for immediate gratification.
ELKIND
David Elkind bases his theory of development off Piaget. Elkind came up with adolescent egocentrism. This describes the tendency for adolescents to have differing perceptions between what they believe others think about them and what other people actually think about them. Adolescents typically think others are more aware and attentive of their behavior and appearance than people actually are. They tend to think the entire world revolves around them. Elkind referred to this as a personal fable. Adolescents have a personal fable that that their feelings are unique and uncommon. They think they are special and no one can feel the same way that they do.
DOPAMINE
During adolescence dopamine is tripled in the brain. This enhanced dopamine release can give adolescents a powerful sense of being alive and invincible; dopamine is the reason adolescents take such risks. It can also lead them to focus solely on the positive rewards they are sure are in store for them, while failing to notice risks and downsides. The more dopamine they have, the more they need. Adolescents are addicted to the pleasure it brings them.
KOHLBERG
Lawrence Kohlberg agreed with Piaget's theory, but wanted to develop it further. Kohlberg has 3 levels with 2 sub-stages each. Level one is Pre-Conventional Morality. The Pre-Conventional level is usually younger kids. In level one we don't have a personal code of morality, instead our moral code is shaped by the standards of adults, and the consequences that come with breaking their rules. Sub-stage one is obedience and punishment oriented. The individual is good in order to avoid punishment, and they know that when they are punished they have done something wrong. Sub-stage two is reward oriented. They follow the rules for their own benefit; they know they are getting something out of it. This level is usually children because at a young age our parents are usually the ones making decisions for us. The way we dress, what we think, who we hang out with, and where we go are a few of the things that are dictated by our parents. Therefore they are really the role model that we are basing our actions off of.
Level two is Conventional Morality. This level is the level most adults/adolescents get to. At this level we approach morality as a member of society; we begin to internalize the moral standards of adults. The views of others matter greatly, and we seek approval. Sub stage 3 is where the individual wants to maintain the respect of others, and do what is expected. We want to be seen as a good person by doing the right thing. In this stage the individual does things with good intentions to conform to “good behavior”. Sub-stage four is where the individual conforms to society's rules, and does what is “right” according to society; one's “duty”. The goal is to maintain social order, but it's not necessarily because we want to. In this stage we are trying to avoid chaos and disappointment. As we are growing cognitively we should also be growing in the sense of what is right and what is wrong. As we go through the stages our ability to judge a situation increases.
Level three is Post- conventional Morality. This level is where our morality is broader than society's; our individual judgment is based on the principles we have chosen for ourselves. Our moral reasoning is based on individual rights. According to Kohlberg this is the farthest level people can get to, but not many people have the abstract thinking that is necessary for this level. This is because many people decide their moral views from others. Only a few can think of doing things because they are good, understanding why they are good, and then adhering to them emotionally and intellectually. Sub-stage five is where the individual will do what is right out of sense of obligation to societal laws. In this sub-stage we know that laws can be changed. Though we are aware of the laws that exist for the greater good of society, there are times when they won't work for particular individuals. This sub-stage tests how far someone will go to better the life of another individual. Sub-stage six is based on following laws because they are based on universal principles. The individual takes into account the views of everyone affected by moral decision. In this stage the individual isn't afraid to go against the law for the right of the people, but they're also aware of the consequences and disapproval that will come with doing that. Kohlberg doubts few people even make it to this stage.
ERIKSON
Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development considers the impact of external factors such as parents and society on a person’s development from childhood to adulthood. According to Erikson everyone passes through a series of 8 stages. An adolescent though, is going through stage 5: Identity vs. Role Confusion, and stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation. Up until stage 5 a child is heavily influenced by its parents. They spend their time about equally with parents and their friends. When they it stage 5 at age 13 this is where they make the change to spending more time with friends; and in doing so they become heavily influenced by their friends. Like I mentioned before this is where they develop formal operational thinking, and find their sense of self. They start to develop their personal identity. Next they reach stage 6. In this stage they start to establish intimacy, the feeling of being close to someone whether it be emotional or physical. They start to develop interpersonal relationships and these serve to establish “who” a teen is. When teens or young adults start dating this helps separate themselves from their family of origin. They fulfill their need for companionship, and it is good practice for when they’re older and in more serious relationships.
MARCIA
Based on Eriksons work on identity and psychosocial development Psychologist James Marcia extended Erikson's model, but focused on adolescent development. Marcia's theory of identity achievement argues that two distinct parts form an adolescent’s identity: crisis and commitment. He describes crisis as being a period of decision making when values and beliefs are reexamined. The end outcome of crisis leads to a commitment made to a certain role or value. As his research on identity developed he proposed 4 identity statuses of psychosocial identity development. Identity Diffusion is the status where an adolescent feels they have no sense of choice, they aren't willing to, or have not yet made a commitment. Identity foreclosure is where adolescents seem willing to commit to some roles, values, or goals. They have not gone through a crisis though, they aren't re-assessing their past values. Generally they conform to expectations of others. Identity Moratorium is when the adolescent is currently in crisis, and has yet to make a commitment. They are exploring various commitments trying to make choices. Identity Achievement is the status where the adolescent has gone through an identity crisis and has made a commitment to a sense of identity. All of these statuses are not stages; research suggests that you can be in more than one period of identity formation.
PARENTING STYLES & AUTONOMY
Parenting styles influence a teens self-concepts, internal locus of control, and conduct. There are four types of parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. The uninvolved parent is emotionally detached, inconsistent in boundaries, and had little interaction with children. The permissive parent is nurturing and affectionate, but acts more as a friend than a parent. The authoritative parent is affectionate and nurturing as well, but sets up boundaries and disciplines through guidance. The authoritarian parent is the strictest of the four. This kind of parent is strict, and inflexible. They use punishment rather than discipline. These parenting styles play a huge role in the outcome of a teen’s individuation. Each style is going to affect an adolescent’s identity achievement differently.
During adolescence, kids begin to establish autonomy, or independence. They start to become a self-governing person. Adolescents develop emotional autonomy, they are less likely to turn to their parents for assistance, and also develop emotional relationships outside the family. Behavioral autonomy is where adolescents make independent decisions and carry through with them. Attitudinal/ Value autonomy involves developing a set of beliefs that will guide their thinking and behavior about right and wrong. Adolescent's beliefs become more abstract. One’s internal locus of control is the amount of autonomy they feel they have.
CONCLUSION
As you can see many things play a role in the process of adolescent individuation.