The Psychology of Adolescence

http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/psych214/p214syl.html
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Doug Davis
Department of Psychology
Haverford College
Sharpless310
Phone: 896-1236
ddavis@haverford.edu
The Newsgroup
The Final

An introduction to the psychology of adolescence, with emphasis on personality development and socio-cultural issues in the period from puberty to adulthood. Pre-requisite: Haverford Psychology 109g or equivalent or consent. Topics include: theoretical discussions of adolescence by psychologists, psychoanalysts, anthropologists and sociologists, personal and literary accounts of adolescent experience, and cross-cultural studies of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Class discussions will often build on issues raised in the Psych 214a Web Forum. To use Web forum you must first register. For instructions on setting up a login identity in Web Forum, see the Guided Tour of Haverford's Web Forum or contact me for help.

Topics, Assignments

Weeks I-III: Theory Applied

• Why Freud?
• Erikson: Life-Cycle, Identity (Erikson, 1968/1994, pp. 9-142, 165-294)
• Boeree: Notes on Erikson)
• My So-Called Ego: An Epigenetic Exercise
• Sullivan: Chumships, Lust, Intimacy (Sullivan, 1953, Ch. 15-17)

Week IV: Cognitive Growth in Adolescence

• Flavell, J. Concrete and formal operations.
• Inhelder & Piaget, Chapter 18: Adolescent Thinking.
• Kagan, J. A conceptualization of early adolescence.
• Kohlberg, L. Hypothetical dilemmas; Kohlberg, L. Moral Stages.
• Kohlberg & Gilligan. The adolescent as philosopher

Week V: En-gendered youth

• Gilligan: Woman's Place in Man’s Life Cycle, Teaching Shakespeare's Sister (cf. Woolf)
• Lyons, N.P. (1990). Listening to Voices We Have Not Heard. pp. 31-72.
• Apter, T. (1990). Altered Loves, pp. 20-89.

Weeks VI-VII: Identity Tested

• Sex

o Tanner, J.M. Sequence, tempo, and individual variation in growth and development of boys and girls aged twelve to sixteen

o Gagnon, J.H. The creation of the sexual in early adolescence

o Coles, Robert, & Stokes, J. (1985) Sex and the American Teenager

o Thompson, Sharon. Search for tomorrow: On feminism and the reconstruction of the teen romance

o Troiden, R. The formation of homosexual identities

o Herdt, G. Gay and Lesbian youth

o Teen Pregnancy

o Just Say Yes

o Coming out at the 'Ford, 1996

• Drugs

o Shedler, J., & Block, J. Adolescent drug use and psychological health: A longitudinal study

o Stoned at the 'Ford, 1971, 1996

o The Spring '96 Bi-Co Alcohol Task Force Report

o “Nancy”

Weeks VIII-IX: Youth and The Media

• Rock and Roll
• Arnett, J. Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents.
• Arnett, J., Larson, R., & Offer, D. Adolescents and the effects of media, real and imaginary.
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, & Larson, Reed. (1984). Being Adolescent: Conflict and growth in the teenage years. (pp. 57-126)
• Larson, R. Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents private use of media.
• Youth in Cyberspace
• Baumbach, Jim. E Pluribus Unum. Word. ("Single Personality Disorder"?!)
• D2. Adventure, MUDs and MOOs
• Making Tomorrow's Internet a Good Place for Children, By Pamela Mendels
• Chat rooms are teen hangouts of the '90s

Weeks X-XI: Culture and Adolescence

• Morocco, Islam
• Adolescence in a Moroccan Town
• Formal thought in Morocco
• Sexual values in a Moroccan town
• Possessed by Love
• The Mosque and the Satellite

Writing

I hope for several short pieces of writing this semester. Think of them as something between a short creative writing essay and an open-book take-home quiz. Much of your grade will depend on these, and the rest on regular participation in class and in the newsgroup.

The Film Series

I'll be showing a number of films and TV episodes related to adolescence during the semester. Attendance at these is optional, with the understanding that those who cannot attend will be able to obtain the film from the library if it is needed to prepare an essay. Possible titles:

• "My So-Called Life"
• "Now and Then"
• "Stand By Me"
• "Kids"
• “Halfouine: A Boy of the Terraces”
• "Omar Gatlato"

Books

• Davis, S.S., & Davis, D.A. (1989). Adolescence in a Moroccan Town: Making Social Sense. Rutgers.
• Erikson, E.H. (1994). Identity: Youth and Crisis (IYC). Norton. Original work published in 1968.)
• Gay, P. (1989). The Freud Reader. Norton. (Optional)

Coursepack and On-line Resources

• A Young Girl's Diary. Eden and Cedar Paul (Trans.) Prefaced with a (1915) letter by Sigmund Freud. New York: Thomas Seltzer. (English translation of the third German edition.)
• Arnett, J. Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents.
• Arnett, J., Larson, R., & Offer, D. Adolescents and the effects of media, real and imaginary.
• Atwood, M. This is a photograph of me.
• Atwood, M. (1989). Cat's Eye (pp. 43-155)
• Benayad, S. (1987). "If the Crazies Talked."
• Boeree, C. George. Notes on Erikson
• Bruckman, Amy. (1996). Finding One's Own in Cyberspace.
• Coles, Robert, & Stokes, J. (1985) Sex and the American Teenager (pp. 1-30, 56-71)
• Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, & Larson, Reed. (1984). Being Adolescent: Conflict and growth in the teenage years. (pp. 57-126)
• Davis, D.A. (1987). Formal operational thought and the Moroccan adolescent. In J. Valsiner (Ed.) Cultural context and child development: Towards a culture-inclusive developmental psychology. Hofgrefe, 1988.
• Davis, D.A. (1990). Writing Freud.
• Davis, D.A., & Davis, S.S. (1993). Sexual values in a Moroccan town. In W.J. Lonner & R.S. Malpass (Eds.) Psychology and culture. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon, pp. 225-230.
• Davis, D.A., & Davis, S.S. (1995). Possessed by love: Gender and romance in Morocco. In W. Jankowiak (Ed.) Romantic passion: A universal experience? New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 219-238.
• Davis, S.S., & Davis, D.A. (1995). "The mosque and the satellite": Media and adolescence in a Moroccan town. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 577-593.
• Flavell, John H. (1963). The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget. Chapter 6: Formal Operations and Perception: Concrete and formal operations.
• Gagnon, J.H. The creation of the sexual in early adolescence.
• Gilligan, C. (1979). Woman's place in man's life cycle. (In a Different Voice, Ch 1)
• Gilligan, Carol. (1984) The conquistador and the dark continent: Reflections on the psychology of love. Daedalus (Summer 1984), pp. 75-95.
• Gilligan, C. (1989). Teaching Shakespeare's sister.
• Herdt, G. Gay and Lesbian youth
• Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence: An essay on the construction of formal operational structures. Chapter 18: Adolescent Thinking.
• Kagan, J. A conceptualization of early adolescence.
• King, S. "The Body."
• Kohlberg, L. Hypothetical dilemmas.
• Kohlberg, L. Moral Stages.
• Kohlberg, L., & Gilligan, C. The adolescent as moral philosopher.
• Larson, R. Secrets in the bedroom: Adolescents private use of media.
• LeGuin, U. (1986). The Mother Tongue.
• Merriam-Webster's WWW dictionary
• My So-Called Life: Scripts and Clips
• Shedler, J., & Block, J. Adolescent drug use and psychological health: A longitudinal study
• Sullivan, H.S. (1953) The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton. Chapters 15-17.
• Sullivan, H.S. The Juvenile Era. In The Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry. (pp. 227-296)
• Tanner, J.M. Sequence, tempo, and individual variation in growth and development of boys and girls aged twelve to sixteen.
• Thompson, Sharon. (1984). Search for tomorrow: On feminism and the reconstruction of the teen romance. In C.S. Vance (Ed.) Pleasure and danger: Exploring female sexuality. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• Troiden, R. The formation of homosexual identities.
• Woolf, Virginia. (1929). A Room of One's Own. [excerpt]. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc..