Intellectual Developmental Transitions from Youth to Adulthood (VCE SSCE Health and Human Development): Revision Notes
Intellectual Developmental Transitions from Youth to Adulthood
Understanding intellectual development
Intellectual development is a lifelong process that continues well beyond childhood. While we often think of learning as something that happens mainly in our early years, the brain keeps developing and adapting throughout life. As you pursue a career, raise a family, take up new hobbies, or become a grandparent, you continue to develop intellectually.
Intellectual development refers to the increase in complexity of processes in the brain, such as thought, knowledge and memory. This development happens because of changing processes within the brain and because the brain itself becomes more complex (which is linked to physical development).
There are five key aspects of intellectual development that work together to help us learn, think, and understand the world around us.
The five aspects of intellectual development
Knowledge and memory
Knowledge refers to the range of information and concepts you're familiar with and understand. As you develop intellectually, your knowledge becomes more complex and extensive. The longer you live and continue learning, the more opportunities you have to gain knowledge.
Memory is your ability to retain and recall information. Your memory capabilities change throughout your life. While memory can decline in the later stages of adulthood, actively using the parts of your brain responsible for memory can help maintain good memory function as you age.
Language
Your understanding and use of language develops continuously throughout your life. When you were born, you couldn't understand speech or language at all. Within months, however, you could distinguish between different sounds and began to understand what people were saying to you. Eventually, you learned to speak, and your use of words and sentences continued to develop into adulthood.
Bilingual means being able to speak two languages fluently. If you're bilingual, this further develops the parts of your brain responsible for producing speech and understanding language.
Thought patterns and problem solving
The way you think changes dramatically as you develop, moving from concrete thought to abstract thought.
Understanding Concrete vs Abstract Thought:
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Concrete thought is a simple thought process that centres on objects and the physical environment. In the early stages of life, you could only think in concrete ways - about things you could see and touch.
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Abstract thought is a complex thought process where ideas are the focus rather than tangible objects. As you develop intellectually, you become able to consider concepts and situations you haven't encountered before.
For example, young children often learn to count by simply memorising numbers. As abstract thought develops, they begin to notice the patterns in how numbers are formed.
Problem solving means finding a way from your current situation to your desired goal when no clear path exists. It's one of the most complex thinking processes.
Examples of Problem Solving:
Problem solving appears in everyday situations such as:
- Fitting multiple commitments into a tight schedule
- Working out why a computer has crashed
- Calculating how much weight an unbuilt bridge could hold
Trial and error plays an important role in problem solving. As your experience and knowledge grow, your problem-solving abilities improve.
Creativity and imagination
Creativity and imagination involve thinking in new ways. Both can be developed through exposure to many different experiences, including books, music, and interactions with other people.
Imagination is essential for optimal development during childhood. Children engage in imaginative play, such as pretending and making up stories. This imaginative play helps all four areas of development (physical, social, emotional, and intellectual). As you develop, imagination becomes more connected to artistic pursuits, problem solving, and forming life dreams and goals.
Attention
Attention means focusing on one aspect of your environment while ignoring others. It's an important aspect of intellectual development because it helps you learn new material.
Young children can only focus their attention for short periods compared to older children. You can develop your attention span by attaching an intrinsic (internal) reward to a task, such as feeling satisfied when you complete it. The more you enjoy something, the longer you can focus your attention on it.
Intellectual changes as youth transition to adulthood
During youth, physiological changes occur in the brain and in how young people perceive problems. These changes result in significant advances in intellectual development.
Knowledge and memory
As young people transition to adulthood, they often focus more on the future. This can guide how their knowledge develops. For example, if you want to study science, you might develop a strong interest in learning about scientific principles and choose science subjects in your final years of school.
More complex concepts are learned in the final years of school and through employment or tertiary education. During this time, you might develop an understanding of how you learn best (for example, whether you're a visual or aural learner), which can further help you acquire knowledge.
As the brain continues to develop during youth and early adulthood, so does your capacity to remember past events and concepts. You might also start using memory strategies to help recall information, such as acrostics and association techniques.
Language
As your knowledge and memory develop, so does your ability to remember words and their meanings. The transition to adulthood is often accompanied by increased skills in vocabulary, grammar, and language use. For example, you might begin to use figurative speech such as metaphors, similes, and puns.
Language develops through many experiences, including reading, communicating with others, and exposure to media such as newspapers, magazines, music, television, and the internet. Young people who have a strong interest in language and reading may develop a greater understanding of language than others.
Thought patterns and problem solving
As you transition to adulthood, you begin to see 'grey' areas in problems when you would have seen only 'black and white' in the past. During this stage, brain structures mature and abstract thought develops, replacing the concrete thought you relied on during childhood.
You can process information more efficiently, and groups of concepts that you previously viewed individually might now be linked together and viewed as an interrelated whole. You develop the ability to create hypothetical solutions and evaluate the best options. This comes from previous experiences and from applying old knowledge to new situations. In contrast, most children can only see concrete solutions.
Your reasoning skills continue to be refined into adulthood through the challenges presented by employment or further study. As an older youth, you can often distinguish between fact and opinion and may challenge views presented by others, including adults. This critical thinking continues into adulthood and for the rest of your life.
The Developing Brain and Risk-Taking:
Some research suggests that the frontal lobe (a part of the brain) isn't fully developed until a young person is in their twenties. The state of the brain during these years may influence thought patterns and make youths and early adults favour immediate rewards whilst disregarding long-term consequences.
This aspect of brain development may help explain why these age groups are more likely to take risks than children or older adults.
Creativity and imagination
The increase in knowledge and thought patterns can promote creativity and imagination as youth transition to adulthood. Creativity and imagination contribute to developing new ideas and innovations in areas of interest such as career or hobbies.
Young people who have an interest in creative pursuits, such as music, painting, or poetry, may develop skills through practice that facilitate further creativity and imagination. For example, if you regularly practise and play guitar, you may have more opportunities to express your imagination and creativity through this instrument.
Although the transition to adulthood can bring greater levels of creativity and imagination, some research suggests that these skills can decrease if you don't actively promote their development.
Attention
Like creativity and imagination, attention can develop as youth transition to adulthood. If you develop a deep interest in a career or hobby, you may be able to focus your attention on a related task for hours at a time.
Conversely, as you transition to adulthood, you may lose interest in activities that seem pointless or meaningless. In this respect, attention can become more targeted and focused during adulthood.
Exam tips
Tips for Discussing Development Impacts:
When discussing an impact on development, make sure you clearly state the type of development and use specific examples linked to the chosen type of development.
For example, if you're making links to intellectual development, provide examples that relate to either:
- Knowledge and memory
- Attention
- Language
- Thought patterns and problem solving
- Creativity and imagination
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Intellectual development involves five key aspects: knowledge and memory, language, thought patterns and problem solving, creativity and imagination, and attention.
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During the transition from youth to adulthood, thinking moves from concrete (focused on physical objects) to abstract (focused on ideas and concepts).
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The frontal lobe of the brain isn't fully developed until a person's twenties, which may explain why young people are more likely to take risks.
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Language skills become more sophisticated during youth, including the use of figurative speech such as metaphors and similes.
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Attention becomes more targeted and focused as young people develop deeper interests in specific careers or hobbies.