Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Adolescent egocentrism leads an individual to focus on themselves, often believing they are more important or more skilled than others. An adolescent spends considerable time hypothesizing the opinions of others and using these hypotheses as facts. Psychologist David Elkind hypothesized that adolescents exhibit such behaviors due to the inability to differentiate between the unique and the universal. An extension of adolescent egocentrism is the Invincibility Fallacy , in which adolescents believe the dangers connected to high risk behaviors cannot befall them. The personal fable is the idea that adolescents believe they are heroic, unique, or destined for fame. This notion can lead to an inflated sense of self, but can also be a motivator at times. Adolescents also tend to act as if their lives are interesting to everyone and that the “world is a stage.” They feel as though the rest of the world is an imaginary audience , who is as concerned with the life of the adolescent as much as the adolescent. Adolescent Sexual Activity: Adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages across the globe than in previous years. Because of younger ages of activity and lack of proper education, adolescents are at a higher risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI) or diseases (STD). These infection and disease include, but are not limited to: syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, chlamydia, human papilloma virus, and HIV. In addition to disease and infection risk, adolescents also face the possibility of unwanted pregnancies. In recent years, 80% of teenage mothers remain unmarried and almost all enter the workforce. In comparison, teenage mothers in the 1960s were married before children and stayed home. It is believed one of the main reasons for poor life choices is the lack of good judgment and good examples to follow. Sexual activity is further affected by the notion of the Invincibility Fallacy. Many schools are steering away from ‘abstinence only’ and toward teaching choices adolescents have to protect themselves, if they choose to become sexually active. Some say it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of sex education programs due to the wide variety of cultures, language, and sexuality (straight, homosexual, etc.). Despite the variety amongst adolescents, there is a general consensus that teenagers are more open to talking about sex than were previous generations. However, sexuality tends to remain a personal and private matter until the individual decides it is appropriate to share their opinions.

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