1. Adolescents should be treated differently because they are more vulnerable. They are going through changes, their cognitive abilities are still immature and they are more likely to be influenced by coercive factors. People are not the same as they were when they were adolscents which proves that adolescents ARE different from adults and should not be held as or tried as adults.
2. On the other hand, adolscents should not be held differently because their body changes should not be a valid excuse to commit crime. What about all the other adolscents that do not commit crime? Does that mean that the non offenders do not go through the same changes that offenders go through? No. All adolscents go through the same changes, some choose to commit crimes and others do not. So we should hold them accountable for their actions. In my opinion it should be the severity of their crime that deems their sentence and how they are tried. If these kids are starting out young, then how will their crimes intensify if they are not held for life?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Shedler and Block
1. What I found the most interesting is that scientists were able to pinpoint early in life the characteristics that would make children nonusers, some users and high users when they were in elementaty school. And the fact that they were able to predict which child would be which user is something that I had never seen before in a study.
2. The authors say that this study is important because it builds on a previous study done by Block and Block. Their study followed kids from preschool to the age of fourteen. And this study is building on that, interviewing those same kids at age 18 This study is different from others because it is the longest longitudinal study, spanning 13 years rather than three or four.
2. The authors say that this study is important because it builds on a previous study done by Block and Block. Their study followed kids from preschool to the age of fourteen. And this study is building on that, interviewing those same kids at age 18 This study is different from others because it is the longest longitudinal study, spanning 13 years rather than three or four.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Rafielli and Crocket
1. Self-regulation is being able to stop and action that you are currently participating in and deciding that it is wrong or not advantageous and being able to alter course and eliminate that action before completion. A lot of adolescent do not self-regulate when it comes to sexual risk taking. They tend to not think and if they do think they figure that it is not so risly. Self-regulaiton occurs in the prefrontal cortex, so maybe that part of the brain is not developed yet when these teens engage in sexual risk taking.
2. When I was an adolescent I did a lot of self-regulation. I did not partake in any kind of sexual risk taking to after I was out of high school. I had figured that I did not want to be one of those girls who had intercourse with whoever she dated, I also thought that relationsips would get in the way of my attending college. So self-regulation played a big role in my adolescent years. I definitely think that self-regulation had a large impact on my decisions and course of life. I graduated early from high school and I imeediately entered a four year college, whereas people that I knew in high school who did whatever they wanted entered junior colleges or just did not graduate high school. There has to be boundaries that you set for yoursef. to self-regulate, so that you have a clear course of action to take when trying to accomplish what you want to in life.
3. When I was younger my parents told me to not do anything that I would be ashamed to tell my future children. They also said that school is the way to becoming successful. They were always in my business and always at scool meetings. I think that these three things had a huge impact on self-regulaiton with me. Because they were so involved I never wanted to do things that would make them embarrased or ashamed at me. I remember that I did partake in risky behavior outside of school but when caught I did not like the feeling that I got, like I had disappointed them. So for parents I would encourage them to be involved in their adolescent's lives, to not be afraid to not give them space when you know that they need you. Always have open communication with them and to set a good example, because, ultimately, children learn directly form their parents. If parents start molding their children young to think twice before doing then that could go a long way.
2. When I was an adolescent I did a lot of self-regulation. I did not partake in any kind of sexual risk taking to after I was out of high school. I had figured that I did not want to be one of those girls who had intercourse with whoever she dated, I also thought that relationsips would get in the way of my attending college. So self-regulation played a big role in my adolescent years. I definitely think that self-regulation had a large impact on my decisions and course of life. I graduated early from high school and I imeediately entered a four year college, whereas people that I knew in high school who did whatever they wanted entered junior colleges or just did not graduate high school. There has to be boundaries that you set for yoursef. to self-regulate, so that you have a clear course of action to take when trying to accomplish what you want to in life.
3. When I was younger my parents told me to not do anything that I would be ashamed to tell my future children. They also said that school is the way to becoming successful. They were always in my business and always at scool meetings. I think that these three things had a huge impact on self-regulaiton with me. Because they were so involved I never wanted to do things that would make them embarrased or ashamed at me. I remember that I did partake in risky behavior outside of school but when caught I did not like the feeling that I got, like I had disappointed them. So for parents I would encourage them to be involved in their adolescent's lives, to not be afraid to not give them space when you know that they need you. Always have open communication with them and to set a good example, because, ultimately, children learn directly form their parents. If parents start molding their children young to think twice before doing then that could go a long way.
Two Good and Two Hazy
When it comes to the articles that we have been reading over the past few weeks there are concepts that I understand and ones that I am still a little fuzzy on. I understand pruning. I also understand that executive functioning, frontal cortex ect, occur last, after adolescence. What I still do not quite understand is the elimination of gray matter and the increase in white matter, does that mean that gray matter becomes white matter? I understand progenisis in gray matter and then a progeisis in white matter, but then the gray matter starts to decrease and I am unsure as to where it goes or what it turns into. Another thing that I still don't fully understand is whether brain size is affected during adolescence and during all these changes. A few articles mentioned density in the brain changing, but that implies growing of the brain. Do these changes cause the brain to grow and get heavier?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Cognitive and Affective Development in Adolescence
1. I think that the difference between the way adolescents and young children think is that children have friends, but they are not at that stage where they are influenced by them. Adolescents, on the other hand, are at that stage where everything they do, or decide to do, is influenced by their peers, even if they are unaware of this fact. Children are still influenced by their parents and their way of thinking is more of "follow the rules," and adolescents are defiant and their thinking is based on emotion and social status. Young adults are more in control of their faculties and have more life experiences becuase they have been in that adolescent stage. Young adults are more likely to with logic and reason based on their in tact, new cognitive pathways, and of course their experience will helo them along the way.
2. I think that cognitive pathways have a lot of impact in the way that adolescents think, because they have this heightened sensitivity to things and their brains are not ready for that sensitivity. The brain is making the changes to deal wih these new changes but the changes are not yet complete and this could easily cause confusion and anger. Storm and stress.
2. I think that cognitive pathways have a lot of impact in the way that adolescents think, because they have this heightened sensitivity to things and their brains are not ready for that sensitivity. The brain is making the changes to deal wih these new changes but the changes are not yet complete and this could easily cause confusion and anger. Storm and stress.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Latin Dating
Question1:
The gap between expectations and dating caused tension because parents did not always describe what dating should and should not entail. I think that parents should explain appropriate dating behavior and be open with their kids when questions arise. I can understand how being told to not get pregnant would feel, especially if you had no clue as to how to get pregnant, as some of those girls didn't know. I think that it should be up to the teens as well to broach the subject. They can explain that they are not going to jump right into sex and that a little bit of trust is called for.
Question 2:
I have a few Indian friends and I believe that they have a lower rate of AIDS and unplanned pregnancy because their marriages are arranged. Honor is very crucial in those societies and virtue and pureness are highly valued. If a girl has had sex before marriage the family is shamed. The fact that arranged marriages take place so often has to help also because they sometimes do not meet their spouses till the day of the wedding.
Question 3:
What I find most surprising is that parents did not want to talk to their daughters about sex, like if that would keep them virginal. I also thought that it was weird how fathers did not want to meet boyfriends until marriage was around the corner. From my experiences as a teen, my father wanted to know everyone I went out with, it was a matter of safety and I cannot imagine why a father would not care to know.
The gap between expectations and dating caused tension because parents did not always describe what dating should and should not entail. I think that parents should explain appropriate dating behavior and be open with their kids when questions arise. I can understand how being told to not get pregnant would feel, especially if you had no clue as to how to get pregnant, as some of those girls didn't know. I think that it should be up to the teens as well to broach the subject. They can explain that they are not going to jump right into sex and that a little bit of trust is called for.
Question 2:
I have a few Indian friends and I believe that they have a lower rate of AIDS and unplanned pregnancy because their marriages are arranged. Honor is very crucial in those societies and virtue and pureness are highly valued. If a girl has had sex before marriage the family is shamed. The fact that arranged marriages take place so often has to help also because they sometimes do not meet their spouses till the day of the wedding.
Question 3:
What I find most surprising is that parents did not want to talk to their daughters about sex, like if that would keep them virginal. I also thought that it was weird how fathers did not want to meet boyfriends until marriage was around the corner. From my experiences as a teen, my father wanted to know everyone I went out with, it was a matter of safety and I cannot imagine why a father would not care to know.
Adolescent Romance
Question 1:
Feiring said that teens have problems in their relationships when the relationship becomes long-term. I think this is caused by how the teens pick partners. When I was an adolescent I picked partners that were cool or cute, not because we had anything in common or because he was smart or funny. Teens pick partners depending on trivial matters and do not think ahead to the fact that their compatibility might be low.
Question 2:
When you have friendships with people of the same sex it helps you adjust smoother than if you just had romantic relationships because someone of the same sex has an idea of what you are feeling and the issues that might be at hand. Someone of the opposite sex might sympathise but that does not mean that they understand. A same-sex friend is more of a support system, someone who understands and can help you through it.
Feiring said that teens have problems in their relationships when the relationship becomes long-term. I think this is caused by how the teens pick partners. When I was an adolescent I picked partners that were cool or cute, not because we had anything in common or because he was smart or funny. Teens pick partners depending on trivial matters and do not think ahead to the fact that their compatibility might be low.
Question 2:
When you have friendships with people of the same sex it helps you adjust smoother than if you just had romantic relationships because someone of the same sex has an idea of what you are feeling and the issues that might be at hand. Someone of the opposite sex might sympathise but that does not mean that they understand. A same-sex friend is more of a support system, someone who understands and can help you through it.
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