The major cognitive characteristics in the teen years include making and testing hypotheses, recognizing that possibility dominates reality, introspecting about their own thought processes, and think abstractly (Bornstein & Lamb, 2015). In terms of social behavior this translates to developing complexity in thought and verbal approaches such as formulating ideas and debating opinions with others, considering many points of views, and thinking about possibilities that influence personal decision making. These approaches influence empathy and social competence skills that predict prosocial behaviors and healthy inter-individual relationships in the environment. Thompson and Gullone (2008) examined associations between attachment and development of empathy in a sample of 281 students aged 12- to 18-year-old. The study investigated direct predictive roles played by attachment and empathy for prosocial and antisocial behaviors directed at both humans and animals as well as the mediating role played by empathy. The study found that attachment and empathy significantly predicted prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Both empathy and attachment are social behaviors linked with the cognitive attribute of considering others’ perspectives. Other developing social behaviors in teens include development of identity and self that is linked to greater autonomy, spending more time with peers, and exploring relationships (Nelson et al., 2018). These behaviors are also linked to developing cognitive skills such as to think and reason in concrete and abstract ways.

In contrast to teen years, emerging adulthood is a stage characterized by transition to adulthood. Cognitive development at this stage may include strengthening of operational thought, integration of processes that govern planning, problem solving, and decision making. Such cognitive attributes may dynamically interact with the ecological systems that may embed the five characteristics of emerging adulthood which include age of identity explorations, the age of instability, the self-focused age, the age of feeling in-between, and the age of possibilities (Arnett, 2004; Arnett, 2007). Cognitive and social behaviors within these stages may include perspective taking, interpersonal and self-understanding, and mentalizing. Perspective taking at this stage differs from earlier stages in that, by emerging adulthood, an individual can assume the perspective of the social system as a whole and be aware of a systems perspective which involves understanding of multiple inter-individual perspectives and how views can be understood from multiple perspectives (Lapsley & Woodbury, 2016). This influences interpersonal relationships at various levels of the ecological system. For instance, within the domain of empathy and understanding, emerging adults may have to consider multiple ways of extending that to several individuals in their environments. In terms of differentiation, such distinction is absent from toddlerhood as during that stage there are no boundaries between the physical and psychological and children are present in the moment. Additionally, during younger years when children learn the difference between the subjective and the objective worlds, they hold the concept of consistency. For instance a person smiling must always be happy is the internal understanding at that level. When the child is older, they may realize that inner subjective and outer physical need not be consistent. For instance, it is possible to say that one is happy but not feel happy. At this stage, the child may also experience that they have privileged access to their inner psychological experience (Lapsley & Woodbury, 2016). This is different from early adolescence where the young teen is self-aware of their inner psychological states causing them to act, think, and express emotion from the perspective of their own affect and motivations. This may further inspire self-reflection and the awareness of initiating an action (Lapsley & Woodbury, 2016). Teens also become aware of personal control and intrusive mental experiences. They form exclusive friendships within a tightly bound clique. This contrasts with the emerging adult stage because during the emerging adult stage understanding of friendship demonstrates greater acknowledgement of the fact that we require dynamic friendships in different contexts based on the complexity of interpersonal needs. Interpersonal understanding and negotiation are at the foundation of emerging adulthood.

Relation to Later Life Functioning

As development of self and identity are central constructs of adolescence and emerging adulthood, sound self-exploration and awareness at both these stages could lay a strong foundation for cognitive wellness and functioning in later years. For instance, if adolescents are allowed to securely explore their motivations and self-reflections and express them in a safe and validating context its impact on later life cognitive wellness could be explored in terms of the choices for new learnings and its qualitative influence on later life cognitive capabilities. Similarly, one can also explore the meaning of autonomy and its various expressions. Motivating the youth to narrate their emotions could create a long-lasting value for and enhancement of language use in later life years. Individuals who have learned the power to express and narrate emotions will learn verbalization of thought and emotion in later years. This may have a positive influence on later life cognitive functions that relate to problem solving and decision making.

Conclusion

There is a meaningful overlap between teen and emerging adult cognitive and social functioning. Where teens become aware of personal autonomy and peer relationships, emerging adulthood is characterized by multiple dynamic interactions within the systems perspective. Because of the overlap between the two stages, it is important to create a safe space to explore identity, autonomy, and peer interactions in relation to self- and interpersonal- awareness. A healthy balance of exploring expectations at both the stages will pave the path for cognitive and social wellness in later life functioning.

References

Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.

Arnett, J. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: What is it, and what is it good for? Child Development Perspectives, 1(2), 68–73.

Bornstein, M. H., & Lamb, M. E. (Eds.). (2015). Developmental science: An advanced textbook. Psychology Press.

Lapsley, D., & Woodbury, R. D. (2016). Social cognitive development in emerging adulthood. In J. J. Arnett (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 142–159). Oxford University Press.

Nelson S. C., Kling J., Wängqvist, M., Frisén, A., & Syed, M. (2018). Identity and the body: Trajectories of body esteem from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Development Psychology, 54(6), 1159-1171.

Thompson, K. L., & Gullone, E. (2008). Prosocial and antisocial behaviors in adolescents: An investigation into associations with attachment and empathy. Anthrozoos A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 21(2), 123-137.