Lesson_06_Commentary - Social Redefinition a period when...

Social Redefinition
 a period when the individual is being redefined by their society, from that of a child towards that of
an adult (increased privileges and responsibilities)
 social redefinition tends to be more pronounced in traditional societies compared to our
contemporary western society here in the United States
A Brief History of Adolescence in the West (~100 years)
 Inventionists Perspective
 adolescence exists and is defined by society
 for example, why do you think we have a rating system for movies? boundaries of what is
appropriate based on age
 Adolescence in Ancient Times
 Both Plato and Aristotle viewed adolescence as the stage of life where the capacity for reason
first developed
 Plato viewed adolescence as 3rd distinct stage of life (age 14 to 21)
 Plato believed adolescence was a period that was argumentative, impulsive and risky
 Aristotle compared children to animals, driving by impule and reward rather than reasoning;
reasoning doesn't fully take control over impulse until age 21
 Adolescence Through the Middle Ages
 The Children's Crusade of 1212
o led by a young French shepherd boy, thousands of youth headed out to what would
ultimately be their deaths, in a crusade for the Holy Lands
 Preformationalists
 perspective that held that children and adolescents were not qualitatively different from adults,
only quantitatively different
 one of the greatest supporters is a medievalist by the name of Philippe Aries
o idea that children were basically miniature, imperfect adults
o much of his support is based on looking at various aspect of society at the time, such as
artwork

Adolescence in Western Cultures: A Brief history
 Life-Cycle Service
 practice began in the 1500s; involved moving out of the family household and into the
household of a master to learn skills for a vocation while working at free labor
 also occurred on colonial US but in this case, but in the US it was more likely to occur in the
home of a relative or close friend of the family
 life-cycle service began to fade significantly during the 18th and 19th century as nations moved
away from agriculture and became more industrialized
 Contemporary Views of Adolescence
 Age of Adolescence (1890-1920): society begins to seriously view adolescence as a separate
developmental time period
 roots embedded in the Industrial Revolution; no child labor laws at this time which lead to a
massive increase in the number of children working in factories
 number of pressures for change due to the industrial revolution
o Child Labor Laws: to stop exploitation and exposing children to dangerous environments;
opposition due to financial reasons
o economic pressures: threat to the common adult worker's job
o school requirements: required attendance in primary and secondary schools to educate
them for the future; required once they were no longer learning trades
o today: a lengthy period of preparation for adulthood requiring guidance and support from
adults
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