Personal

Development
LESSON 1
KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING
ONESELF DURING MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE
 Personal Development
 A process in which a person:
 reflect upon themselves,
 understand who they are,
 accept what they discover about themselves,
 learn new sets of values, attitudes, behavior, and thinking
skills in order to;
 reach their fullest potential as human beings.
 Adolescence
 Transition age from childhood to adulthood.
 A period of dramatic changes in physical, emotional,
psychological, social, and cognitive areas.
 Stages of Adolescence:
1) Early Adolescence (Ages 10 – 13)
2) Middle Adolescence (Ages 14 – 17)
3) Late Adolescence (Ages 18 – 21)
Give an example or situation of the
struggles that you are facing as an
adolescent.
 Five leading characteristics of
Adolescence
1) Biological growth and development
2) An undefined status
3) Boost in decision making
4) Increased pressures
5) And the search for the self
What is the main catalyst that marks
the beginning of adolescence (which
induces growth spurt, mood swings,
etc.)?

Puberty
Physical Changes during Adolescence
 Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty.
 Puberty – a developmental period in which hormonal changes
cause rapid physical alterations in the body, culminating in sexual
maturity.
 The average age range for reaching puberty is between 9 and 14
years for girls and between 10 and 17 years for boys.
 What happens during Puberty?
 Puberty begins when the pituitary gland begins to stimulate the
production of the:
♂ testosterone – male sex hormone
♀ estrogen & progesterone – female sex hormone
 The release of these sex hormones triggers the development of
the primary and secondary sex characteristics.
 Primary Sex Characteristics
 The sex organs concerned with reproduction.
 For boys, these include the enlargement of the testicles and the
penis.
 While for girls, include the development of the ovaries, uterus,
and vagina.
 Secondary Sex Characteristics
 Features that distinguish the two sexes from each other but are
not involved in reproduction such as:
♀ enlarged Adam’s apple ♂ enlargement of the breasts
♀ a deeper voice ♂ widening of the hips
♀ broadening of the chest and ♂ pubic and underarm hair
shoulders
♀ facial, pubic and underarm hair
 Cognitive Development during
Adolescence
 The hormonal surge that is associated with puberty, which
primarily influences emotional responses, may create strong
emotions and lead to impulsive behavior.
 Developing new thinking skills, such as thinking more about
possibilities, thinking more abstractly, thinking in multiple
dimensions, and seeing things as relative rather than absolute.
 Psychosocial Development during
Adolescence
 Grow more attachment to their peers and increasingly away from
their parents.
 Romantic crushes are common, and some dating begin.
 Helping each other explore and develop their own identity.
According to Erikson, the main social task of adolescents is the
search for a unique identity — the ability to answer the question:

In the search for identity, adolescents experience role confusion in

which he or she is balancing or choosing among identities.
 Self-Concept
 It is generally thought of as our individual perceptions of our
behavior, abilities, and unique characteristics – a mental picture of
who you are as a person.
 At its most basic, self-concept is a collection of beliefs one holds
about oneself and the responses of others. It embodies the answer
to the question “Who am I?”
 Self-Concept
 Self-concept tends to be more malleable when people are
younger and still going through the process of self-discovery and
identity formation.
 Humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers believed that there were
three different parts of self-concept.
 Self-Image
 How you see yourself.
 Each individual's self-image is a
mixture of different attributes
including our physical characteristics,
personality traits, and social roles.
 Self-Image
 Self-image doesn't necessarily
coincide with reality.
 Some people might have an inflated
self-image of themselves, while others
may perceive or exaggerate the flaws
and weaknesses that others don't see.
 Self-Esteem
 How much you value yourself.
 A number of factors can impact self-
esteem, including how we compare
ourselves to others and how others
respond to us.
 Self-Esteem
 When people respond positively to
our behavior, we are more likely to
develop positive self-esteem.
 When we compare ourselves to
others and find ourselves lacking, it can
have a negative impact on our self-
esteem.
 Ideal Self
 How you wish you could be.
 In many cases, the way we see
ourselves and how we would like to see
ourselves do not quite match up.
 Congruence and Incongruence
 As mentioned earlier, our self-concepts are not always perfectly
aligned with reality. Some students might believe that they are great
at academics, but their school transcripts might tell a different story.
 According to Carl Rogers, the degree to which a person's self-
concept matches up to reality is known as congruence and
incongruence.
 Congruence and Incongruence
 Congruence occurs when self-concept is fairly well aligned with
reality. Incongruence happens when reality does not match up to
our self-concept.
 If there is a mismatch between how you see yourself (Self-
Image) and how you wish you could be (Ideal Self) then this may
likely affect how much you value yourself (Self Esteem).