PSY 205 Week 3 Middle Childhood and Adolescence Example

From Fourth Grade to Eighth Grade: Two Siblings and the Changes of Middle Childhood and Adolescence

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

PSY/205: Life Span Human Development

Week 3 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The family and school are composites written for a model paper; research findings come from the sources listed.

Middle childhood, roughly ages six to eleven, is a period of steady growth and expanding skills. Adolescence, beginning with puberty, brings rapid physical, cognitive and social change. Comparing the two in the same family makes the differences clear. This paper follows composite siblings in Chandler, Arizona: Sofia, nine, in fourth grade, and Andre, thirteen, in eighth grade.

Physical Development

Sofia grows steadily, a couple of inches each year, as most children her age do. Her coordination has improved enough for soccer and gymnastics after school, and her body has not yet begun the changes of puberty.

Andre is in the middle of puberty. He grew four inches in the past year, his voice is changing and he is often hungry and tired. Puberty is triggered by hormonal changes and varies widely in timing; Andre's growth spurt came later than some classmates' and earlier than others'. The timing matters socially, since teens who mature much earlier or later than peers may feel self-conscious.

Cognitive Development

Sofia fits Piaget's concrete operational stage. She reasons logically about real objects and events, understands conservation and can classify her baseball cards by team and position. She struggles with purely hypothetical questions, such as what would happen if people had no need to sleep.

Andre is moving into formal operational thinking. He enjoys debating hypothetical situations, can test ideas systematically in science class and has begun to think about abstract ideas such as fairness and justice. Formal thinking does not appear all at once, and many adolescents use it in some areas and not others.

The Adolescent Brain and Risk Taking

Andre recently rode his bike off a ramp with friends filming, something he would not try alone. Steinberg (2008) proposed that risk taking rises in adolescence because the brain's socioemotional system, which responds to rewards and social cues, becomes more active around puberty, while the control system behind self-restraint keeps maturing slowly until the mid-twenties. The gap between the two systems makes teens especially sensitive to rewards, particularly when peers are present.

Gardner and Steinberg (2005) tested this in an experiment with a driving video game. Adolescents, young adults and adults played either alone or with friends watching. The presence of peers increased risk taking substantially for adolescents, moderately for young adults and little for adults. Andre's ramp jump is a textbook example: alone, he weighs the danger; with friends watching, the social reward wins.

Andre knew the ramp was dangerous; what changed was who was watching.

Identity and Self-Esteem

Sofia's self-esteem rests on her skills: she knows she is good at math and soccer and less good at drawing. For Erikson, Sofia's age centers on industry versus inferiority: feeling capable or falling behind.

Andre is beginning Erikson's stage of identity versus role confusion. He is trying out styles of clothing and music, questioning some of his parents' views and wondering what kind of person he wants to be. This exploration is a normal and healthy part of development.

Peers and Family

Sofia's friendships are based on shared activities and loyalty; she has a best friend and plays with the same group at recess. Andre's friendships have become more intimate and more important; he talks with friends for hours and cares intensely about their opinions. Conflict with his parents has increased, mostly over everyday issues such as chores and screen time. Research finds that for most families, this conflict is mild and coexists with continued closeness.

School and the Middle School Transition

Eccles et al. (1993) proposed the idea of stage-environment fit: motivation and well-being decline when school environments do not match adolescents' developmental needs. Their research found that many middle schools offered less student choice, more teacher control and more competitive grading just as young teens wanted more autonomy and closer relationships with adults. Andre's grades dropped after he moved to middle school, and he says teachers "don't know who I am." A poor fit, rather than a lack of ability, may explain the change.

Sleep and Screens

Puberty shifts the body's sleep timing later, so many teens feel alert late at night and struggle to wake for early classes. Andre often stays up texting friends, then sleeps through his alarm. Sofia still falls asleep easily by nine. Late phone use adds to the problem because evening light and social messaging keep teens awake. Sleep loss can worsen mood, attention and grades, which may contribute to Andre's slipping performance alongside the school transition. Charging phones outside the bedroom at night is a simple step that protects sleep without banning phones altogether.

Moral Reasoning

The siblings also reason about right and wrong differently. Asked whether it is wrong to take an extra cookie when no one is looking, Sofia says yes because she might get in trouble. Andre says it depends on whether it is fair to others, reasoning about rules as social agreements. Kohlberg (1981) described this shift from reasoning based on rewards and punishments toward reasoning based on social expectations and fairness, a change that tracks the cognitive development described earlier.

Supporting Both Children

For Sofia, parents can encourage effort and new skills, praise progress rather than talent and support her friendships. For Andre, parents can grant more choices with clear limits, such as letting him plan his weekend schedule once homework is done, keep talking even when he seems distant and get to know his friends. Because peers raise risk taking, setting rules about supervised activities and safety gear makes sense. At school, Andre may benefit from an adult advisor or teacher who knows him, which addresses the fit problem Eccles and colleagues identified.

Conclusion

Comparing Sofia and Andre shows how much changes between nine and thirteen: body, thinking, identity, friendships and the fit with school. Research on brain development, peer influence and stage-environment fit explains Andre's risk taking and slipping grades without labeling him a problem teen. With support suited to each child's stage, both can thrive.

References

Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., & Mac Iver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. American Psychologist, 48(2), 90-101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.2.90

Gardner, M., & Steinberg, L. (2005). Peer influence on risk taking, risk preference, and risky decision making in adolescence and adulthood: An experimental study. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 625-635. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.625

Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the idea of justice. Harper & Row.

Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002