Description
Write 3–4 pages in which you apply developmental theories to your own adolescence and early adult development to understand how theory explains behavior, thoughts, and emotions.
Preparation
On the Internet, look for research articles on adolescent and early adult development. The articles should focus on how theories of development explain cognitive and psychosocial development. Find at least two scholarly or professional articles to use in this assessment.
Requirements
For this assessment, apply developmental theories to your own adolescent and early adult development. Think about how the developmental theories – cognitive, psychosocial, moral, attachment, and ecological - relate to helping you better understand your own development. Think about your life experiences during these stages and how those experiences shaped your development in specific areas. For example, you might consider how certain educational (or other) experiences helped you reach formal operations thinking in your cognitive development. Also think about your identity development and the relationships or experiences in your life that contributed to your sense of identity.
Please note: Since this assessment is asking you about your personal development, it is appropriate to write it in the first person. However, you must still follow APA guidelines for references and citations. Also be sure you include a title page and reference page.
Select two specific areas of development on which to focus:
- Cognitive.
- Psychosocial.
- Moral.
- Attachment.
- Ecological.
Be sure to address the following:
- Explain what theory informs us about the areas of development you selected.
- Describe at least two life experiences during adolescence and two experiences during early adulthood that were significant in shaping your development in each of the areas you selected.
- Apply ideas and concepts from theory to explain your behavior, thoughts, and emotions during adolescence and early adulthood.
Additional Requirements
- Written communication: Your writing should be free of errors that detract from the overall message and is consistent with expectations for members of the psychological professions.
- APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA style.
- Resources: Minimum of two scholarly or professional resources. Note: Popular resources such as Wikipedia or About.com are not considered to be appropriate.
- Length: 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages not including title page and reference page.
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point font.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: ADOLESCENCE AND EMERGING ADULTHOOD
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood
Institution Affiliation
Date
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ADOLESCENCE AND EMERGING ADULTHOOD
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Introduction
The adolescence and early adult development have been explained by various theories
which explain the behavior, emotions, and thoughts associated with these development stages
(Arnett, 2014). This paper focuses on cognitive and psychosocial development in adolescence
and early maturity whereby it explains the theories which explain more on these developments.
The paper discusses the Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the Fisher’s skill theory,
and the Erik Erikson psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial development in adolescence and
early adult development. It also describes life experiences during adolescence and early adult
which significantly shaped my cognitive and psychosocial development. Finally, the paper
applies the concepts and ideas from the theories in explaining my thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors during adolescence and early adulthood. Therefore, the thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors during adolescence and early adult can be explained by a variety of development
theories.
Development Theories explaining cognitive development in adolescence and early adult
development
Among the theories that explain the cognitive development in adolescence and early
adulthood is the Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. According to Piaget’s theory, the
development of formal operational thinking takes place during the early adolescence and keep on
developing through adulthood. During adolescence, the thinking capacity becomes more abstract
whereby there is a decrease in egocentric thoughts (Demetriou, Shayer, and Efklides, 2016).
During early adulthood, the cognition development starts to stabilize and this is whereby
relativistic thinking occurs in which young individuals start looking at concepts and ideas from
ADOLESCENCE AND EMERGING ADULTHOOD
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various perspectives. This is also where there is the development of a sort of expertise in either
career or education which enhances the creativity capacity and problem-solving skills.
Cognitive development is also explained by Fischer’s skill theory which explains that the
cognitive development is a dynamic process whereby people show a range of cognition in real
life. Fischer’s theory indicates that there are various development levels which indicate the levels
of achievement for any age group. Fischer’s theory thus explains that the cognitive development
is never static and the development can be noticed from simple observation whereby
understanding the human cognition properly require observing the entire cognitive range rather
than the potential peaks only (Arnett, 2014). Psychosocial development in adolescence and early
adulthood is well explained by the Erik Erikson psychoanalytic theory of psychosocial
development.
The theory is comprised of eight stages from infancy to adulthood whereby individuals
experience a psychosocial crisis in each stage. According to Erikson theory, the adolescence
stage is marked by a crisis of identity vs. role confusion whereby the adolescents establish a
sense of personal and self-identity. This is exploring their personal goals, beliefs, and values. The
early adulthood stage is marked by a crisis Erikson refer as intimacy vs. isolation whereby
individuals start sharing with others more intimately. This is whereby there is the exploration of
relationships which aim at achieving long-term commitments with individuals who are not
family members.
Life experiences during my adolescence and ea...