In what five ways are the intellectual abilities of adolescents superior to those of children? Explain and give a concrete illustration of each developmental trend.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

There are five chief ways in which the thinking of adolescents is more advanced, more efficient, and more effective than that of children. First, during adolescence individuals become better able to think about what is possible, instead of limiting their thought to what is real or directly observable. Second, adolescents become better able to think about abstract things, rather than being limited to the concrete. Third, during adolescence individuals begin thinking more often about the process of thinking itself. Fourth, adolescents' thinking tends to become multidimensional rather than limited to a single issue. Finally, adolescents are more likely than children to see things as relative rather than absolute.

Key Points:

a) Think about what is possible.

b) Think about abstract concepts.

c) Think about thinking-metacognition.

d) Thinking is multidimensional.

e) See things as relative rather than absolute.