PSYC 2240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Midlife Crisis, Reinforcement, Peer Pressure
Document Summary
Family is the most important and most intimate social context for adolescents. A family is a complex developmental system that responds to its members as well as to the settings it is embed- ded in. As children move into adolescence, the functions of the family and the expectations of family members change. Family means nuclear family of a set of parents and their children. Extended family i. e. grandparents, aunt and uncles, other members. The attitudes and actions of parents have a major role in determining how families function. May be a self-fulfilling prophecy: the idea that individuals" behaviour is influenced by other"s expectations for them; parents act in ways that make it happen. Studies show teens and parents have surprisingly similar beliefs about things like the importance of hard work, education, and personal characteristics and attributes that are important. Most teens: feel close to parents, respect parents" judgment, feel loved by parents, respect parents as individuals.