Introduction

The concept of emotional and cognitive changes in adolescents and the concept of social and personal development in the middle adulthood are of great significance and applicability to psychologists that work with the aim of facilitating positive thinking and changes in the lives of people at the two critical life stages. As discussed in the paper below, there are numerous emotional and cognitive changes that adolescents face and there are several psychological changes that people at middle adulthood face and these changes affect how they develop in personal and social terms. Professional psychologists (as I aspire to be) need a deep understanding of these two concepts so they can be able to offer psychological help that results into positive changes and transitions in both adolescents and young adults.

Social and Personal Development in Middle Adulthood

Description

In the middle adulthood, there are many transitions people in this stage face. The changes are the basis of their social and personality development. Examples of the significant changes that occur at this age and that affect how people develop socially and personally are that people begin to focus more on the finite state or nature of living and life, people realize that life can end or they will not live forever, people focus more on the present, people begin to seriously question most of their fundamental assumptions, the first aging signs are experienced, people begin doubting the standing value of their accomplishments in relation to their life goals, and people get into a psychological state of confronting the fact or thought that they might fail to accomplish all vital goals and objectives before death (Pulkkinen, 2017). These are just a few internal and external transitions that have an effect on the personal and social development of people in the life stage middle adulthood. Depending on how a person approaches and handles these changes, both positive or negative personality and social developments might be experienced.

In addition to the above, many people at this stage are likely to experience what is referred to as the “Midlife Crisis” where how people interact internally and externally is defined by their achievements and life goals. In many occasions, people in this crisis experience regrets about their living if they have not achieved their desires though individuals that implement positive change do better psychologically. In the crisis, people also feel and act younger than they actually are (Pulkkinen, 2017).

Reflection

From the description of the concept of social and personality development in middle adulthood, it is clear that many changes that most people experience at this age are psychological in nature. Personality and social development of individuals are directly connected to the psychological state of an individual. This means that people can develop positively is they take the changes negatively and make positive changes. On the other hand, the changes can negatively affect an individual if they face the changes negatively and turn into a state of regret and stagnation. In the stage of stagnation, no positive developments can be achieved by an individual and this stage calls for the assistance of a psychologist to help restore a good psychological state since a positive change is necessary to achieve positive progress. As a professional psychologist, I need a deep understanding of the concept of social and personal development at middle adulthood so I can be instrumental in helping the people realize positive development. Being a psychologist is all about helping people make positive changes in life by improving how they think and view different life aspects and changes.

With a detailed understanding of how the people at this age think, then I can be in a position to offer professional psychological services that can help them think positively and make good life changes. The positive changes then help people utilize their thinking and environments in facilitating good social and personality changes.

Emotional and Cognitive Changes in Adolescence

Description

Adolescence has been defined as the maturation of the neurobiological process that underlies higher cognitive functions and social and emotional behavior. The transition from childhood to the stage of adolescence has advanced according to various studies which show new advances in magnetic resonance imaging to increased understanding of the neurobiological changes that occur. Cognitive development has been defined as progressive thinking from the way a child thinks to the way an adolescent thinks. There are three main areas of cognitive development which occur during adolescence and they include advanced reasoning skills, the ability to explore a full range of possibilities inherent in a situation, and enhanced abilities to think hypothetically and using a logical thought process (Berk, 2017). These changes affect how adolescents think and behave and at times, they might require the help of a psychologist to foster good changes and developments.

There are also emotional changes that occur during adolescence. They do happen due to the hormonal changes which result to the adolescents receiving unpredictable mood swings and frequent change in their tempers. They do have intense and wide-ranging emotions than children or adults and they do exaggerate their problems as well. Adolescents are adversely affected by peer pressure with an imagination that each activity they partake should be noted and approved which makes them indulge in bad and risky behaviors. In adolescents, the prefrontal cortex tends to mature faster and later than other regions. Adolescents have increased abilities in reasoning, attention shifting, processing speed, and response inhibition (Berk, 2017). There are also changes in emotional capacity that might impact behavior and thinking patterns to an extent of requiring the help of a psychologist.

Reflection