EDT Assignment 02

Unique No: 577010

Student number: 57506760

Question 01
Body Image:
Body image for boys and girls are different however they both show dissatisfaction with their bodies
during the adolescent phase. For boys one of the first signs of the adolescent phase is growing of
facial hair and for girls its the development of their breast. For boys the ideal boy image is being tall
and have a muscular body and for girls its being slim and having big breasts. Some adolescents that
does not meet this preconceive ideas of the perfect body image will go to extreme measures to
achieve this body image. The media and social media plays a big role with this preconceived ideas of
what the perfect body image is. When the body does not conform, adolescents usually tend to think
they are unattractive. Their personality then may be hampered. Children being teased about their
physical appearance may develop a negative body image, for example being teased about being fat
or a crocked nose. Signs that an adolescent have a negative body image is shyness, not participating
in activities or a lack of motivation due to the fact they fear humiliation.
Sleep deprivation:
When a child enters the adolescent phase they are required to get a minimum of 8 to 10 hours sleep
a night. They may require even more sleep during their growth spurt. Sleep is where the brain
develops the most. Adolescents need enough sleep and to go to bed earlier during schooldays as
they need to get up early to be in time for school. They can go to bed later on weekends as they can
sleep in. As adolescents get older they will sleep less due to psychosocial and biological changes in
their life. Psychosocial changes can include more homework, chatting to friends or maybe having a
job to maintain. During the adolescent phase their brain transform from a sponge like high energy to a
more efficient, lower energy adult form. Adolescents that are sleep deprived may display the following
symptoms:

High levels of depression

Poor performance in certain memory tasks
Low levels of motivation

Cognitive Neuroscience:
Actions, thoughts and experience are all factors that is responsible for brain development. MRI scans
are used to get a better understanding of how the brain develops. Some people claim that with
cognitive neuroscience they can change how we can approach education. There are 5 concepts
about brain development according to Papilia&Feldman.

The brain is changing and developing throughout one life

The brain functions by mixing cognitive , emotional and social capacities
Bad stress can affect the brain in many negative ways and can cause learning disabilities,
mental health, behavioural and physical issues
In the adolescent phase is where structural and developing changes take place
That there are two sides or lobes in the brain.

The left lobe that is control of the right side of the body and the right lobe that is in control of the left
side of the body. The left lobe is responsible for academics and the right lobe is the responsible for
creativity.

Big Five higher personality traits:

It is believe that most personality traits are derived from just 5 traits.

Extroversion- These people are fun, positive and like to be sociable. They like to be around
people and dont usually mind attention. They represent the LION.
Neurotism- These people choose to see the glass half empty. They are generally negative
and suffer from anxiety or depression. These people represent the RHINO.
Conscientiousness- These people are well organised, diligent and dependable. They
represent the BUFFELO
Agreeableness- These people are friendly, kind hearted and humble. They represent the
ELEPHANT
Openness- These people are creative, flexible and sensitive. They represent the LEOPARD.

Cyber bullying:
Cyberbullying is the use of a computer, the internet or any other digital device used to send harmful
images or text to another electronic device. There is many platforms that one can use to cyberbully
someone. Posting harmful or embarrassing photos on someones Facebook profile can be considered
as cyberbullying. Spreading rumours about someone on the web can also be considered as
cyberbullying. For example saying that a girl in school is sleeping with a boy and posting it on your
wall for all your friends on Facebook to see.

Question 02
Bronfenbrenner ecological model shows us that an adolescents development is shaped by the
environment they live in. In other words they are a reflection of what goes on around them.
Bronfenbrenner focuses on 5 major systems of environmental development.
Microsystem-This is your daily, main interactions with the people closest to you for example family,
peers, church group and the neighbourhood playground. Most of a childs behavioural traits are
learned in the microsystem. Factors that can have a negative impact in microsystem is parents getting
divorced, poverty, drugs and friends. For example we had a girl in our class whose parents got
divorced and then started seeking inappropriate attention from older boys.
Mesosystem- This is your environment where your daily interactions with people take place. There is
a link between the mesosystem and the microsystem. The one as an effect on the other. For example
a child that gets bullied at home by a big brother and then the boy bullies the other children at school
or at the neighbourhood play park.
Exosystem- This is a social system that does not affect the adolescent directly. Things affecting the
people we interact with in the microsystem and then, by their actions affects the adolescent in a way.
For example if the parents have a stressful work environment, then come home and take out their
work frustration on the adolescent at home.
Macrosystem-This is an adolescents external environment that they grow up with. This affects their
religion, culture or traditions of their community. Adolescents that grow up in a different culture group
environment will feel forced to change their cultural believes and traditions to the culture and traditions
of the majority. For example an adolescent of one religion growing up in an environment of where the
majority believes something else the adolescent will start to doubt, the believe and traditions of their
own.
Chronosystem-This refers to an end of an era or a change in history that can affect adolescents.
South Africa is a very good example. A change of government ensured the end of apartheid and all
people the freedom of choice and equality. For example every one that lived in South Africa had the
same rights and one race is not better or more privileged that another.

Question 03
Gender role identity
Gender role identity is the view of oneself as male or female. Up to puberty there is no identification of
muscular or femininity. Boys baking or girls playing with cars or climbing tress is seen as normal
childs play. From puberty adolescents are pressured to do either more muscular or feminine activities
that relates to ones gender. There are two types of people that can influence gender role identity. The
first type of people are the peers of an adolescent. For example boys doing a muscular activity and
putting pressure on the other boys to join in on the activity for example playing rugby or doing karate.
The other group of people is adults whether its a mother, father, uncle or aunt it doesnt matter. The
adult forces the identity of a gender down on the adolescent to make sure that adolescents make a
successful transition to adulthood for example a father that tells a boy that real men dont cry or a
mother that tells her little girl that real women dont get their hands dirty or that only boys wear pants.
Research has shown that gender role identification is more difficult girls than for boys. In some
schools they encourage boys and girls to be competitive, independent and achievement orientated.
However on leaving school its not always the case. Some careers are believed to be a man world for
example being a successful manager of a company or being an engineer on site. Girls are still
expected to stay at home or become nurses. Over the years this perception has changed and we see
a lot of women becoming managers in the corporate world or becoming lead engineers. There is now
a trend called androgynous. This refers to choosing between male and female however choosing the
identity of the opposite sex .For example two young woman that both identified the gender as woman
however the on choose that of a male role identity and the other woman the identity of a woman
Career Identity
There are two phases of career identity. The first phase is when young children make a career choice
by what they are familiar with. For example children wanting to become whatever their parents do for
example if the father or mother is a doctor or a nurse the children would generally want to become
doctors or nurses. Adolescents between the ages 14-18 years enters into the first phase. This phase
is known as crystallisation. In this stage adolescents get a broader pictures of what careers are out
there and what their interests is. The second phase is the specification phase where adolescent
decide on a specific career to follow. For example an adolescent deciding to go study accounting after
school to become an accountant.

Ethnic Identity
Adolescent phase is usually where strong ethnic identity comes forward. This is where adolescents
feel strong about any injustice being done to their ethnic identity. At this stage they feel a strong
belonging to a certain group of ethnic culture. The minority of an ethnic identity group usually ask
questions when they are part of big ethnic group. For example Jewish students attending a Christian
school. Minority ethnic groups dont always share the same view points as the majority group.

Biography
The adolescent 4th edition edited by E Gouws