Research Paper on "Interview Psychology the Physical, Cognitive and Socio-Emotional"

Research Paper 4 pages (1309 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Interview Psychology

The physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development of adolescence

Adolescence is a formative, yet often difficult time in human development. The most obvious changes manifested in adolescents are physical or biological in nature, such as the development of mature sex organs. However, there are also profound changes as the brain lurches to psychological maturity. For example, according to the developmental theorist Piaget, adolescence is the time in which the final stage of cognitive development, the formal-operational stage is realized. In contrast to the earlier stages of childhood, adolescents during the formal-operational stage are capable of understanding abstractions (Santrock 2011: 370). Piaget's theories have been challenged, however, by many developmental theorists, who point out that there is considerable evidence that young children can engage in higher-level abstract reasoning, such as when they compute mathematical equations.

Additionally, I noticed in my interview with an adolescent named Georgia Brown, that adolescents are not always inclined to apply intense self-scrutiny on an abstract and philosophical level to their own lives. When I asked Georgia: "how does your cultural background contribute to your experience as an adolescent," she simply shrugged and said "I'm not sure. In all honestly, I don't look at myself as having a culture." She interpreted culture in a very narrow sense to mean deviating from what is considered the norm of American culture, and simply because she did not have a specific tie to a nation outside of America, she saw herself as standing outside of culture. Georgia did, however, show a belief in abstract moral principles when she stated that because she was a Catholic, she did not endorse some of her friend's more liberal sexual morals: "Because of my beliefs as a Catholic, there are things I feel like I can't do. I believe in waiting till marriage and sometimes I feel left out with some of my friends." However, in terms of moral reasoning, Georgia's Catholicism seemed less abstract, and more along the lines that she believed in doing what she had been told to do. She was obeying the dictates of how she was brought up rather than applying higher-level reasoning.

Adolescents can often experience a certain degree of moral blindness, despite the fact that they are in the formal operational stage of development. One commonly-noted phenomenon is adolescent's sense of physical invulnerability. Adolescents are often convinced that bad things cannot happen to them (or conversely, that they are the ugliest or worst person in the world). Because this time period is characterized by intense egocentrism, adolescents fall into the trap of viewing things in an either/or fashion. In general, Georgia's thinking did not seem to be characterized by this type of extreme black-and-white perspective. However, she did say that: "it seems like we have more worries than previous generations. More pressure to be perfect." But overall Georgia's thinking did not seem to be characterized by intense narcissism.

Georgia stated that "For the most part, I am okay with my overall appearance. Sometimes, it is hard because I feel as though I am expected to look a certain way to fit in -- I have to wear certain clothes, wear certain makeup, etc." Georgia was able to separate her internal sense of self from societal pressures to look a certain way. Even though she might feel compelled to dress in certain clothes, be slim, and wear makeup, she was able to identify this as a social force, rather than to internalize any failure to measure up to these standards as something negative about her essential character.

The most notable feature of Georgia's interview was the extent to which she felt subject to parental pressures. For example, she stated that her father refused to pay for the community college she was now attending, forcing her to pay for it on her own: "My dad wanted to me attend a four-year school but I wanted to go to a two-year, since I… READ MORE

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