ADOLESCENT EMOTIONAL & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC POLICIES
Cognitive development refers to the growth of a person’s thinking and reasoning abilities. The process of cognitive development happens in different ways for different individuals, and more so, it might occur between the years 6 to 12 and 12 to 18 depending on one individual to another (Casey et al., 2018). This is also the period when a person experiences adolescence. Therefore, cognitive development can be associated with the experiences of adolescence. The objective of this paper is to explore how adolescent emotional and cognitive development should be used to influence public policy. The paper considers the possibilities of differentiating adolescents’ emotions from cognitive development and, more so, if they’re a particular view of adolescent development, which is better for informing public policy.
Adolescence is the period in a person’s life, which marks the transition of growth from childhood to adulthood. This life stage is characterized by various changes and developments in multiple parts of a person’s body. Some of the changes and developments are physical, meaning that they can be observed easily (Casey et al., 2018).
On the other hand, some changes and developments are not tangible but can be observed by considering some of the biological processes that an individual demonstrates. In simpler words, the adolescent stage comprises all the changes and developments that occur in a person in cognitive development, psychosocial, and emotional development (Casey et al., 2018). This means that there is so much relationship or association between adolescent emotional and cognitive development in a person’s body. For this reason, it is wise to assert that there is no essence of separating adolescent emotional and cognitive development, but instead, the two should be addressed together. More so, a person’s behavior is largely influenced by a person’s emotions. However, a person’s emotions are not the only factor that can influence their behavior. There are other factors at play. One of these factors is the person’s cognitive ability. This means that adolescent emotions and cognitive development are quite entangled, and there separating or holding each as distinct from the other would not be appropriate.
A proper understanding of adolescent emotional and cognitive development of a person can be incorporated, among other factors, to influence public policy. The public policy describes the framework upon which social laws are built. There public policies in a particular community or country go hand in hand with virtues for morality that distinguish bad and good behavior (Olivo & Schiöth, 2019). In this context, a person’s behavior is indeed influenced significantly during the adolescent stage. This is the stage in which a person develops and adapts to a particular line of discipline. However, the stage is characterized by significant challenges in modeling the expected behavior according to the public policy’s standards and rules. In this context, considering the issues that a person goes through adolescent emotional and cognitive development could be of great importance when implementing public policies.
Adolescent emotional and cognitive development should be incorporated as another dimension for establishing public policies. During the processes that take place during this stage, a person shifts from being a concrete thinker (one who thinks of objects that they are in contact with or what they already know only). The adolescent tends to shifts to being an abstract thinker (one who can think of imaginary things which they never interacted with for seen before) (Olivo & Schiöth, 2019). Abstract thinking is one component of the cognitive ability of an adult. It is this kind of thinking that a person starts thinking of love, reasonable spirituality, advanced mathematics, and more so, one can think of other abstract issues such as crimes and other behaviors, especially those involving sexuality. This leads to a condition that occurs mostly in adolescents. This condition is referred to as personal fable. An individual in this condition tends to believe that they are special and unique compared to others. An individual in this behavior is usually convinced that there can be no fatal consequence resulting in their behavior regardless of how bad it is. Therefore, it is essential to have procedures that incorporate the understanding and concepts of adolescent emotional and cognitive development to establish public policy.
On the other hand, some research on this topic affirms that adolescents experience more risk than adults (Lambert, 2017). The fact that an adolescent is aware of a particular risk does not divert them from avoiding risk-taking behavior. It is the work of the brain to process all the emotions of a person. This means that a person cannot process any emotion without the participation of the brain. In this context, adolescents tend to experience emotional satisfaction from behavior, which is associated with a tendency for high risks. On the other hand, the primary goal or obj3ective of public policies is to curb or regulate the behavior of everyone in society for peaceful coexistence among the people in that particular community. However, there cannot be peaceful coexistence in the community if public policies do not monitor adolescents’ behavior. For this reason, it is undeniable that a proper understanding of the concepts of adolescent emotional and cognitive development is of significant influence when it comes to the establishment of public policies.
This means that these processes play a significant role in the behavior of a person. A person’s behavior has a very close relationship or association with public policies. In other words, public policies act like a platform form upon which social laws and requirements are created. The laws established under the public policy have the primary purpose of modeling an individual’s behavior (Lambert, 2017). In this case, this is a dire need to establish the reason for incorporating the understanding of adolescent emotional and cognitive development of a person into the processes and procedures of development of public policy development.
Various scholars have different views or understanding of the adolescent emotional and cognitive development in human beings. Some of these views are those made by Fischer and Steinberg. After reviewing the opinions by the two scholars, my opinion is that both views are quite instrumental when it comes to the issues of informing public policies. However, Steinberg views demonstrate some evidence that provides for public policies that demand adolescents’ protection from harm due to their behavior (Steinberg, 2020). This cannot be achieved without a proper understanding of the processes that occur during adolescence and adolescents’ experiences. This is because scientific evidence proves that the brain for adolescents is relatively immature compared to that of an adult. In this case, adolescents might fall into a victim for making wrong judgments not because they are willing to, but because that is what their minds tell them to do. However, the public policymakers should understand this and improve the public policies to anticipate and accommodate for the adolescents’ behavior.
References
Casey, B. J., Cannonier, T., Conley, M. I., Cohen, A. O., Barch, D. M., Heitzeg, M. M., … & Orr, C. A. (2018). The adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) study imaging acquisition across 21 sites. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 32, 43-54.
Olivo, G., Gaudio, S., & Schiöth, H. B. (2019). Brain and cognitive development in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a systematic review of fMRI studies. Nutrients, 11(8), 1907.
Lambert, H. K. (2017). Differential associations of threat and deprivation with emotion regulation and cognitive control in adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 29(3), 929.
Steinberg, L. (2020). Should the Science of Adolescent Brain Development Inform Public Policy? | Issues in Science and Technology. Issues in Science and Technology. Retrieved 28 August 2020, from https://issues.org/steinberg/.