HSH206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Personal Fable, Egocentrism, Pituitary Gland
Physical development
Puberty
Adolescence is characterised by puberty which is a significant change that occurs within physical
development during this period of the lifespan. Puberty is physical maturation involving hormonal
change. For most individuals, puberty is over before the constructed timeframe of adolescence has
ended. A key factor that triggers puberty is body mass. For menarche to begin and continue, fat
must make up 17% of the female body. Teenagers who suffer from anorexia and have rapid weight
loss do not menstruate. For boys, the pubertal sequence may occur as early as 10 years of age or as
late as 13 and a half years. It therefore may end as early as 17 years of age.
Characteristics of puberty
Males- Become taller, voices deepen, fertility
Females- Hips widen, breasts develop, childbearing capabilities
Sexual maturation
Predominate feature of pubertal change; in females it is signifies by menarche, and in males
ejaculation. Towards the end of puberty, primary sexual development occurs with secondary sexual
characteristics also developing. For example, males become taller than females and develop deeper
voices and characteristic patterns of facial and body hair. Females become wider at the hips and
their breast development continues for several years. They also develop childbearing capabilities.
Within a year of the hormonal increases ,the first noticeable physical changes appear and about a
year later, a growth spurt begins, when boys and girls gain height and weight and undergo muscle
development
• Increased hormone levels
• First physical changes
• Growth spurt
• Menarche (girls), ejaculation (boys) signify reproductive potential
Hormonal changes
• Interaction of the hypothalamus, pituitary glands (Control growth and regulates other glands)
and gonads occur
• Testosterone- Genital development, height and voice change
• Estradiol- Assists with breast development, uterine and skeletal change
Cognitive development
Piaget's 'Formal operational stage' (11 + years) - The final stage of cognitive development, arises
from a combination of maturation and experience
Adolescent thinking continues to advance in three ways:
Basic cognitive skills continue to develop
Various parts of the brain become more elaborate and adolescents become quicker and deeper
thinkers
Logic emerges
Formal operation thought of cognitive development, arises from a combination of maturation and
experience. Adolescents are no longer concrete in their thinking, they prefer to imagine the possible,
the probably and the impossible, instead of focusing on what is real. Adolescents are said to develop
hypotheses and explore, using deductive reasoning which put simply is that they begin
Intuitive thinking
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Document Summary
Adolescence is characterised by puberty which is a significant change that occurs within physical development during this period of the lifespan. For most individuals, puberty is over before the constructed timeframe of adolescence has ended. A key factor that triggers puberty is body mass. For menarche to begin and continue, fat must make up 17% of the female body. Teenagers who suffer from anorexia and have rapid weight loss do not menstruate. For boys, the pubertal sequence may occur as early as 10 years of age or as late as 13 and a half years. It therefore may end as early as 17 years of age. Predominate feature of pubertal change; in females it is signifies by menarche, and in males ejaculation. Towards the end of puberty, primary sexual development occurs with secondary sexual characteristics also developing. For example, males become taller than females and develop deeper voices and characteristic patterns of facial and body hair.
