Cognitive Changes In Adulthood

Someone 's identity defines who they are. There are no two identities that are the same., Everyone is unique in different ways. Finding oneself may take time and might not be exactly what you are expecting. In the novel “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli, the protagonist Jack assumes many identities but ultimately does not know who he is. Jack is a young orphan living in Warsaw, Poland when World War II broke out. He is affected by the events around him. Jack’s experiences during the war lead to his personal growth and self-identity.

A1.3 Adolescence is a time of great change for young people when physical changes are happening at an accelerated rate. Puberty is accompanied by physical, psychological and emotional changes adapted to ensure reproductive and parenting success. But adolescence is not just marked by physical changes – young people are also experiencing cognitive, social/emotional and interpersonal changes as well. It marks a transition in risks for depression and other common mental disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders and anti social behaviours. As they grow and develop young people are influenced by outside factors, such as their environment, culture, religion, school and the media. There are a number of different theories

In the article Beautiful Brains by David Dobbs, evolutionary research conveys that during the adolescent and teenage years the brain encounters an astonishing amount of growth and transformation. Dobbs states that these developments contribute to many of the irresponsible decisions made by teens. In the past, the brain was thought to cease maturing around the age of ten, however, new investigations have found that between the ages of twelve and twenty five, the brain continues to develop, undergoing a considerable metamorphosis. During this metamorphosis, myelin insulates a greater number of neuron’s axons, increasing the speed in which messages are exchanged, dendrites branch out and become broader, accelerating the rate at which messages are received, and synaptic pruning occurs which causes the brain’s cortex to become slimmer and more adept. During teenage years, the brain is still learning to network as well as deal with day to day obstacles such as stress, exhaustion and problems. Dobbs explains that teens act the way they do because their brains are not done maturing.

During puberty the body will go through many changes and a young person will start to become more aware of their body and their personal appearance.

The article “ Inside the Teen Brain” by Marty Wolner, states that recent resherchers on the human brain provides parents with shocking evidence abou there teenager that probably explains there irational, ilogical, and impulsive behavior. As it turns out, brain developement during the teenage years is radically more active than previously thought. Even though the brain is almost matured the grey matter in the thinking part of the brain is still making connections. The information proccesed in the limbic system, without benefit of higher level processing in the pre-frontal cortex may result in impulsive, egocentric,, and even risky behavior. Because of the construction of the teenage brain is that its not capable of fully processing information

There are certain instances of juveniles being tried as adults and sometimes ending up getting a life sentence without a chance of parole. I find that pretty harsh because there have been some cases where the juvenile meant no harm, they were either confused or brought along by gang members and they end up being charged along with the gang members for just being with them when a crime goes down. I believe that juveniles do not deserve to be given a life sentence because for one they are still maturing, they can learn from their mistakes and make amends, we still have to combat crimes like intended murder committed by a juvenile with extreme punishments especially if they are well over the age of 16.

Should teenagers be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole? Many believe that teens should spend life in prison based on the severity of their crime. Others argue that LWOP does not rehabilitate, but punishes teens. Looking at the documentary, When Kids Get Life, I believe that teens should not receive life without parole due to the fact that a teen’s brain is not yet fully formed, causing teens to struggle with decision-making and have an impulse control. Teens should be given a second chance to change in society.

Identity is a convoluted subject. It is difficult to define and to determine in a person. In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is obvious to see that the characters’ identities change throughout the story. It is less obvious to see how they change, and what causes the changes. Identity is always developing. It is influenced by other people’s ideas and actions and relationships, and by one’s own choices and changing opinions.

“Emerging adulthood” article written by Arnett states that emerging adulthood is a stage that has been introduced for the beginning of the age 18 till 25. This new stage is a bridge that connects the adolescences and adult childhood. Various characteristics have described to define the emerging adulthood. The methods that have used includes the age of change, the age of possibility, the age of feeling in between and age of identity exploration. Emerging adulthood is time has been given to young people where they learn how to become adults. This stage helps them to explore their choices, educations, and careers. Arnett also states that emerging adulthood most likely to seem in the developed countries rather than countries where adulthood is more cultural based. This stage is very

The defining of ones identity has been undoubtedly a very tricky issue for philosophers, psychologists or sociologists throughout the human history. There has been many attempts to describe personal identity and what has the major influence on creating it.

As adolescences enter adulthood, they enter a long transitional period, often known as “emerging adult”. This transitional period takes place over a range of 18 to 25 years old (Santrock, 2013). At this stage, emerging adults are still in exploration in the various aspect of life such as the career path they are interested in, defining their identities and a style of living they would want to adopt. Thus, adolescences who are in transition will be caught with many intense changes and will experience major life events that are all of great importance.

There are many potential benefits and pitfalls of these social and biological changes that are occurring in the second decade of the twenty-first century. Many examples come from the essays, “The Limits of Friendship”, “What Is It about 20-Somethings?”, and “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era.” All three authors describe these social and biological changes in different ways. In some ways, Restak, Henig, and Konnikova have similarities in their essays.

During US history, labels had played an important role in identifying groups and individuals belonging to groups. This has been especially true for racial and ethnic groups in general, but for Blacks in particular. Identities are the way you recognize yourselves and how you are viewed by the world. Your features and characteristics defines your self-identity while your national and cultural identity defines your group identities.

For my Personal Developmental Autobiography, I choose to talk about my journey through the adolescence developmental stage. The Adolescence Developmental Stage is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to legal adulthood. During this stage so many things happen. Puberty has already happened or is about to happen. Being interested in the opposite sex and going on dates happen. Some teenagers are having sex. Some teenagers start working during this time. Some teenagers later in adolescences start college application and prepare for graduations. I believe that the adolescence stage covers so much and is a huge transition. I decided to talk about several important changes

During my observations, I have come to the conclusion that because middle adulthood is filled with so many physical, cognitive, mental, and social changes, that my subject’s behavior on both a physical and mental level is a normal response to such changes. While researching developmental theories for middle adulthood, I kept in mind some common stereotypes that people think of for this stage of life; declining in one’s physical shape and cognitive performance, trying to gain a sense of purpose in life, etc.