Week 1: Introduction to Personal Development
Human development covers the whole lifespan of human
existence in relation to the three domains. Personal development
is one’s development and growth within the context of the three
aspects of human development. And there are also three factors that
could affect human development such heredity, environment and
maturation.
THREE ASPECTS OR DOMAINS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
1. Physical Development
- Covers the growth of the body and brain, motor and sensory skills,
and physical health.
2. Cognitive Development
- Covers our capacity to learn, to speak, to understand, to reason,
and to create.
3. Psychosocial Development
- Includes our social interactions with other people, our emotions,
attitudes, self-identity, personality, beliefs, and values.
FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
1. Heredity or the inborn traits
- Passed on by the generations of offspring from both sides of the
parents; natural process by which physical and mental qualities are
passed from a parent to a child.
2. Environment
- The world outside ourselves and the experiences that result from
our contact and interaction with this external world; it is also the
condition that surrounds and affects the growth, health and
progression of someone.
3. Maturation
- The natural progression of the brain and body that affects the
cognitive (thinking and intelligence), psychological, and social
dimensions of a person.
Thus, human development refers to the physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial development of humans throughout the lifespan. It
covers the three domains where personal and personality
development also occur.
PERSONALITY VS. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Human nature is very complex. There is no one singular school of
thought in any form of scientific study, including psychology, which
can completely and satisfactorily define human nature.
Human beings have the sole capacity to reflect upon itself, and in the
process develop self-awareness, become motivated, and then desire
to grow and change for the better; and are prompted to mature and
improve until it reaches its desired level of development (Carl Rogers,
1961).
Personality Development
- Personality is the sum total of a person’s qualities, both desirable
and undesirable in nature.
• It is the set of emotional qualities, ways of behaving, attractive
and unusual qualities that make a person distinct from another.
• Personality development is about grooming yourself so that you
become more distinctive. Your aim is to develop, polish, and
refine your image.
• Personality development involves studying our inborn traits,
behavioral and cognitive patterns that influence how we act and
think.
• Understanding how you act and think can help you change your
character.
• Your ability to change your mindset and behavior will help in your
personal development.
• Some of the first influences that we received from our parents
affect the way we behave and the type of personality we develop.
• Those who were shown adequate love and care by parents and
guardians usually grow up to have a healthy character while
those who lacked this develop certain dysfunctional character
and behavior.
Personal Development
- It deals with needs and issues within an individual that are sensitive
and very personal to him/her.
• There cannot be a right or a wrong answer or assessment to
them because they are based on the individual and the cultural
values and beliefs that we grew upon.
• It focuses on helping you become the best version of
yourself. When you pay attention to personal development, you
become more aware of who you are, your passions, talents, and
potentials.
• Each day, you work to get a good life, make a difference in the
world, and realize your dreams and aspirations.
• At every stage of our lives, there are things we should do that will
help improve our position in life. It is a process that is targeted at
improving our skills and abilities.
Personal development occurs as a result of an individual's
decision to make his life better. It requires personal effort and
consistent planning for it to succeed.
And so, as Jef Menguin said, “Be more passionate about personal
mastery, excellence, and becoming an authentic leader. Be more
excited about personal development. It is okay to distinguish yourself,
to get ahead, or to shine. But go beyond image building, make a
remarkable impact.”’
Zorka Hereford in her book 9 Essential Life Skills – A Guide for
Personal Development and Self-Realization, also said that personal
development is “the process of striving to be the best that you can be
in order to reach and realize your full potential. It is a journey of self-
discovery, self-improvement, and self-
realization.”
Can you now distinguished personal development from personality
development? They may be used interchangeably but they are
distinct from each other yet intertwined. Now that we learned the
concept of personal development, we are now ready to discuss about
Humanistic Psychology.
Psychology and Personal Development Hierarchy of Needs
Do you know that psychology, being the study of human thinking and - In the 1950’s Maslow became one of the founders and driving
behavior, serves as a foundation for personal development? Let us forces of the school of thought known as humanistic psychology. His
know more about psychology and the school of thought that gave theories on the hierarchy of needs and self-actualization became
birth to the understanding of personal development. fundamental subjects in the humanist movement.
- Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs in his
1934 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” and his subsequent
Humanistic Psychology
book “Motivation and Personality”
- The school of thought that gave birth to the contemporary - In the hierarchy of needs, Maslow theorized the 5 stages of human
understanding of personal development started during the flourishing development based on the hierarchy of needs.
of Humanistic and Positive Psychology in the 1950’s which dealt
- The hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest
with personal growth and meaning as a way of reaching one’s fullest
levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the
potentials.
more complex needs are located at the top of the pyramid.
- The two proponents of Humanistic Psychology were Abraham
Maslow and Carl Rogers.
- While Maslow theorized the five stages of human development
based on the hierarchy of needs, peaking in what he termed as “self-
actualization,” Carl Rogers, in his psychotherapy practice, theorized
that the individual has within himself the capacity and the tendency,
latent if not evident, to move forward toward maturity.”

ABRAHAM MASLOW
- Born Apr. 1, 1908 in NY, USA.
- Earned all his degrees in Psychology from the University of
Wisconsin.
Types of Needs
- In the 1950’s Maslow became one of the founders and driving
forces of the school of thought known as humanistic psychology. His 1. Physiological Needs
theories on the hierarchy of needs and self-actualization became - These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival: need
fundamental subjects in the humanist movement. for water, food, air, and sleep.
- Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive
needs in the hierarchy.
2. Security Needs
- These include needs for security and safety.
3. Social Needs
- These include needs for belonging, love, and affection.
- Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological
and security needs.
- Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and
families help fulfill these needs for companionships and acceptance.
- Involvement in social, community, or religious groups will help to
attain these needs.
4. Esteem Needs
- These include the need for things that reflect self-esteem, personal
worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
- After the first 3 needs have been satisfied, esteem needs become
increasingly important.
5. Self-actualization Needs
- Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal
growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in
fulfilling their potentials
- The highest in Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs
- It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, to become actualized
CARL ROGERS
- Born Jan. 8, 1902
- Widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of
psychotherapy research
- Received award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions by the
American Psychological Association in 1956
- An influential American psychologist and among the founders of the
humanistic approach to psychology
Person-centered Approach
- Carl Rogers’ unique approach to understanding personality and
human relationships bestowed the Award for Distinguished
Professional Contributions to Psychology in 1972.
- This approach was found to be effective in its application in various
domains such as psychotherapy and counseling (client-centered
therapy), education (student-centered learning), organizations, and
other group settings.
The Fully Functioning Person 5. Creativity
- Rogers theorized that a fully functioning person is an individual who - more free to be creative, more creative in the way they adapt to
has within himself the capacity and tendency to move forward toward their own circumstances without feeling a need to conform most of
maturity, either this capacity is evident to the person or latent. the times
6. Reliability and constructiveness
Characteristics - can be trusted to act constructively
1. A growing openness to experience 7. A rich full life
- means move away from defensiveness - the life of the fully functioning person is a rich full and exciting life
- ready to try new things that will experience joy and pain, love and heartbreak, fear and
courage more intensely
2. An increasingly existential lifestyle means move away from
defensiveness * Indeed, Maslow and Rogers are telling us that we must live a
- living each moment fully life filled with joy and laughter and at the same time taking into
account those things that we need to fulfill.
- “Enjoying life to the fullest.”

3. Increasing organism trust

- trusting your own judgment and ability to choose behavior that is
appropriate for each moment

4. Freedom of choice
- being able to make a wider range of choices more fluently; believe
that they play a role in determining their own behavior and so, feel
responsible for their own behavior
 Week 2: The Self, Personality, And Personality Tests
CHAPTER II. Knowing Oneself
Have you ever asked yourself this question: WHO AM I? If you
have, you are not alone. Adolescence is the time when young
people start to ask questions about themselves, about their future,
and even about their religious and political beliefs.
 During the Adolescence stage of development, the young
person grapples with his or her identity.
 This may seem very philosophical to some, but to know
oneself is the first step in personal development.
It is believed that the words “Know Thyself,” which was written at
the entry of the oracle at Delphi by seven Greek philosophers,
statesmen, and lawgivers became the corner stone of western
philosophy. Socrates, who came decades after these two words
were scripted at Delphi, said that it seems ridiculous for him to
investigate other unimportant things when he has not known his
self yet. For Socrates the most important thing to pursue was self-
knowledge, and admitting one’s ignorance is the beginning of true
knowledge.
For Plato, one of Socrates’ students, the beginning of knowledge is
self-knowledge. Other ancient philosophers from other cultures saw
wisdom in knowing oneself
Defining the Self
How do you describe yourself? Do you fully know yourself? Before
we discuss how to know one’s self, we have to define first the
concept of the “Self.”
Self
- The self is an individual person as the object of its own
consciousness.
- Consist of thoughts, feelings, actions, experiences, beliefs, values
and principles.
-Composed of union of elements: body, thoughts and Emotions or
Sensations.
In philosophical terms, it is the being which is the source of a
person’s consciousness. it is the agent responsible for an individual’s
thoughts and actions.
The “Self” is identified in various contexts, such as in psychology,
sociology, or religion. The “Self” includes a person’s life purpose,
meaning, and aspirations. It is not just about the physical self but
also the holistic essence of a person.
It is defined as the cognitive and affective representation of one’s
identity such as behavior and thought.
In Psychology, the term personality is referred to as the set of
behaviors, feelings, thoughts and motives that identifies an individual.
Personality is the essence of who we are and is the embodiment of
one’s physical, psychological, cognitive, affective, and spiritual
self. Therefore, when we speak of the “Self”, we will describe it
in personality terms.
 KNOWING ONESELF
 Knowing yourself must be your first priority in life. If you don’t
know who you are or what you want, you cannot set realistic
goals, go about life and have successful relationships.
 Not getting familiar with yourself will lead you to confusion
and wasting much time in hit and miss situations.
Oftentimes you tend to undervalue the importance of knowing yourself.
Frequently, you go through each day reacting to events and just getting
by rather than making mindful choices based on who you are and what
you want.
 When you do not know where you are headed it is difficult to
set goals, get motivated and decide the best course of action.
 Before you can do any of these things you must establish who
you are.
 Knowing yourself is not just about taking a personality test
(although it helps) or learning about your family history.
 Neither is it about talking about your favorite colors, your best
childhood friend or your high school prom experience.
 Discovering yourself is about something much greater and of
higher significance.
 It is understanding who you are at your core, what most
concerns you, what makes you come energetic, what
nourishes your soul and what exhausts your spirit, and how to
know the distinction so you decide well as you go further in
life.
Knowing yourself is the development of understanding you as
the human being on profound levels.
 It is an irregular road that you must be prepared to discover. It
brings you face-to-face to the full of meaning of your self-
doubts and insecurities.
 It makes you grab a serious look at the way you are living
your life and put it to question.
 Like anything else, a little hard work at the beginning returns
with plenty of dividends for the rest of your life.
 Knowing yourself means respecting your values in life, your
beliefs, your personality, your priorities, your moods, your
habits, your wonderful body, and your relationships.
Knowing yourself also means understanding your strengths and
weaknesses, your passions and fears, your desires and dreams.
 It means being conscious of your peculiarities and inclinations,
your likes and dislikes, and your tolerances and limitations.
The following ways may help you know yourself:
1. Get to know your personality
Appreciating your own personality is the first key. You have the
combined opinion of others which is one feature and you also have
your own folder of information about what your personality is like.
 Who you are in your personal moments as well as in your
unrestricted ones.
 The thought is to get to know your personality thoroughly.
 Know what makes you respond in a distinct way to life's
numerous situations.
2. Get to know your core values
Your core values are the moral codes and the principles you hold
close to and treasured by your heart.
 Surely, you have values that play a big role in decision-
making, influencing, persuading, conflict-resolution,
communication, living your day to-day life, in school and at
home, and in all aspects of your life, core values are those
you can never negotiate with anything.
 Your core values may include honesty, integrity, security or
flexibility. It may consist of dedication to others, wisdom and
learning, financial comfort or fun.
 Your core values may be loyalty above excellence,
responsibility above ambition, or innovation above
improvement.
3. Get to know your body
Take time to become truthfully intimate with the most sacred temple
on earth, your own body.
Trying a physical challenge may reveal what your body can or cannot
do.
4. Get to know your dreams
- Your dreams and hopes form the trail to your future. They help you
make a fulfilling and rewarding life that everyone could be proud of.
 Your dreams can make a difference, it is valuable to pursue
so you must start getting to know your dreams.
 Know the details of your dreams and make them part of your
daily quests.
5. Get to know your likes and dislikes
- A lot of people who go through life liking what is chic and disliking
what's not "cool". Find time and effort to identify your likes and
dislikes, and do not rely on what your family or friends will tell you.
 You make a decision yourself.
 It actually takes a lot of nerve to define your own likes and
especially dislikes. You have to remain true to your likes and
dislikes.
Knowing yourself is also about knowing your purpose in life
because it leads to improved decision-making setting and
attaining goals and eventually living a more fruitful life.
 Acknowledging who you are is the key to easter and sweeter life
ahead.
REAL SELF VS. IDEAL SELF
1. Real self
 Refers to who we actually are. It is how we think, how we feel,
look, and act.
2. Ideal self
 Refers to how we want to be. It is an idealized image that we
have developed over time, based on what we have learned
and experienced.
A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually
happens in life and experiences of the person. Hence, a
difference may exist between a person’s ideal self and actual
experience.
NATURE VS. NURTURE
- Personality is influenced by both nature and nurture. There is no
single gene that creates a trait. It is always always a complex
combination of genes, environmental exposure and experiences, and
cultural backgrounds.
Nature (Heredity)
- influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors
- Nativism - Extreme Nature Position
Nurture (Environment)
- generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception
e.g. the product of exposure, experience and learning on an
individual.
- Empiricism- Extreme Nurture PositioN
The Nature vs. Nurture debate involves whether human behavior is
determined by the environment, either prenatal or during a person’s
life, or by a person’s genes.
TRAIT THEORY
- It is an approach in identifying types of personalities based on
certain traits or attributes, which vary from one person to the other.
- This theory was developed over the past 60 years, started by D. W.
Fiske (1949) and later pursued by other researches including
Norman (1967) Smith (1967) Goldberg (1981) and McCrae and
Costa (1987).
FIVE FACTOR MODEL (THE BIG FIVE)
- Psychologists Costa and McCrae(1992) developed a categorized
scheme that described personality. Based on their research they
discovered the existence of five universal and widely agreed upon
 dimensions of personality. They called it the Big Five or Five- Factor - Adaptation of Carl Gustav Jung’s study entitled The Psychological
Model. Types.

1. Openness to experience The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-

report questionnaire indicating differing psychological preferences in
- curiosity, interest, imagination, and creativity to new ideas. how people perceive the world and make decisions.
2. Conscientiousness
- planning, organizing, hard working, controlling, persevering and FOUR PREFERENCES OF THE MBTI
punctuality.
3. Extraversion
- sociable, talkative, active, outgoing, and fun-loving
4. Agreeableness
- friendly, warm, trusting, genrous, and kind-hearted
5. Neuroticism
- sadness, moodiness and emotional stability

Personality Trait
- A disposition to behave consistently in a particular way.
- Personality is a broader term that comprises of traits, motives,
thoughts, self-concept, and feelings. An example of personality trait is
shyness or social awkwardness.

MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR (MBTI)

- It was developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.
- It is a personality model based on four preferences of individuals.
1. E or I (Extraversion or Intraversion)
- How an individual prefers to channel his or her energy when dealing
with people, whether it is inward (introversion) or outward
(extraversion).
2. S or N (Sensing or Intuition)
- How one prefers to process information, whether the use of senses
such as being able to describe one sees or intuitively like dealing with
ideas.
3. T or F (Thinking or Feeling)
- How an individual prefers to make decisions, either thinking or using
logic and analysis, or feeling which uses the cognitive senses based
on values or beliefs.
4. J or P (Judgment or Perception)
- How an individual prefers to manage one’s life, whether through
judging, which means a planned and organized life, versus
perception, which has a more flexible approach to living.

We can really say that the “Self” can be defined in different ways:
philosophically, psychologically, spiritually, and also in
thoughts, actions, or behavior. The “self” is described in terms of
personality which is referred to as the set of behaviors, feelings,
thoughts and motives that identifies an individual. Personality is the
essence of who we are and is the embodiment of one’s physical,
psychological, cognitive, affective, and spiritual self.
 Week 3: Developing the whole Person

HOLISTIC DEVELOMENT OF ADOLESCENT While exploring these developmental characteristics of young

adolescents, two concerns demand consideration.
What makes you a whole person? Are there processes to
become a whole person? Let us now discuss the whole person and • First, the developmental characteristics are overlapping and
holistic development. interconnected signifying each affects another characteristic.
• Second, the developmental characteristics may be oversimplified
or described in most adolescents.
- Childhood is a sensitive phase of one’s life. The resources, and
nurturing one receives during their childhood has a profound impact
on their blossoming into adulthood while adolescence is a distinct Many factors like race, ethnicity, gender, culture, family, community,
phase of human growth and development. During this significant environment, genetic and biological influences, events,
period of the life cycle, adolescents experience fast and major socioeconomic status and the like influence development.
developmental changes.
• The many changes experienced by an adolescent can be VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT
grouped into several major categories which are physiological,
cognitive, psychological/emotional, spiritual, social, and Here are the developmental characteristics of young people:
behavioral developments.
• Understanding and responding to the exceptional developmental
Physiological Development
characteristics of adolescents are vital for their holistic
development. - It refers to bodily changes including growth, improved gross and
fine motor skills, and biological maturity.
• The physical attributes
Holistic development is a practical approach to a comprehensive
• Includes the five physical senses
learning system where physical, social, emotional, mind and
spiritual growth of a child is taken care. • The most significant change that a human being has to go
through occurs during the stage of puberty.
• This style of education not only focuses on mere learning but
also on implementing what is learnt.
• It is the development of the whole person, emphasizing the The physical changes of adolescence often lead to:
complete aspects of a person or his totality.
 1. new responses from others – In response to these physical
changes, middle and late adolescents begin to be treated in a
new way by those around them. They may no longer be seen as
children, but as sexual beings to be protected or targeted.
2. new concern with physical appearance and body image –
Both adolescent boys and girls are known to spend hours
concerned with their physical appearance. They want to “fit in”
with their peers yet achieve their own unique style as well.
The physical as well as the emotional and mental abilities of
adolescents are affected by the partial development of their brains.
This is evident in their inconsistency of controlling their emotions,
impulses, and judgments.
Early maturation influences boys and girls in a different way. Boys
who mature earlier are likely to be admired by peers and hold more
chances to become leaders.
• Often, early maturing boys are assumed to be cognitively mature
as well by adults.
• However, this inaccurate assumption can be repeatedly direct to
incorrect expectations on an adolescent’s ability to handle bigger
responsibility.
On the other hand, early maturing girls, due to their physical
appearance, are more prone to experience demand to become
mixed-up in relationships with elder boys or even adult men before
they are emotionally prepared.
• Girls do not have yet the social maturity to handle these
advances, placing them at risk for unwanted pregnancies and
sexually transmitted diseases.
COGNITIVE
- Intellectual development refers to the improved ability of people to
understand and reason out. In young adolescents, intellectual
development is not visible as physical development, but it is
just as intense and can be even more dramatic.
• The intellectual functions of the mind referring to the mental
processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension
• Thinking, recognizing, reasoning, analyzing, projecting,
synthesizing, recalling and assessing
From being solid black-and-white thinkers, they suddenly become
adolescents who are able to think theoretically and in shades of gray.
• Most boys and girls enter adolescence still perceiving the world
around them in concrete terms.
• They rarely set their sights beyond the present, which explains
younger teens’ inability to consider the long-term consequences
of their actions.
Advances in thinking among adolescents can be divided into several
areas such as:
1. Improving higher reasoning skills (Advance reasoning
skills) – include the developing ability to reflect about many choices
and perspectives.
• It includes the ability to think rationally; it involves asking and
answering the question, “what if…?”
• By late adolescence, their capacity to explain difficult problems
and to sense what others are thinking has honed significantly.
2. Improving abstract thinking skills – thinking about things that
cannot be seen, heard or touched means abstract thinking; faith, trust,
belief, and spirituality are good examples of abstract things.
• During this time, adolescents are able to evaluate situations
rationally in terms of cause and effect and they can understand
imaginary situations.
• Adolescents can discern the underlying principles of various
phenomena and apply them to new situations.
3. Improving metacognition – it is the ability to know one’s thought
process; it allows adolescents to assess their feelings and what are
in their thoughts.
• Metacognition involves being able to think about how a person is
seen by other people.
4. Tendency to believe that no one else has ever experienced
the same feelings and emotions – Adolescents may grow to be
excessively dramatic in unfolding things that are displeasing to them.
• They may speak things like “You’ll never understand”, or “My life
is ruined!”
5. Tendency to demonstrate “justice” orientation – Adolescents
are inclined to be curious about adults and are often keen observers
of adult behavior.
• They are fast to identify various contradictions involving adult
words and their actions.
• They have trouble seeing shades of gray and they notice slight
room for error.
As adolescents begin to exercise their new reasoning skills, some of
their behaviors may be confusing for adults. However, it is normal for
them to:
• Argue for the sake of arguing – adolescents often give the
impression of disputing side issues for no obvious reason which
can be extremely annoying to many adults; adolescents are
simply exercising their new found reasoning capabilities which
can be exciting for them.
• Jump to conclusions – despite the new found capabilities for
logical thinking, they occasionally jump to surprising conclusions;
adolescents may not want to be corrected for their reasoning
even if their logic is at fault because they desire to be given the
opportunity to be heard in order for them to build trust.
• Be self-centered – adolescents can be very “me-centered”; it
takes time for them to find out how to take others’ viewpoints into
account.
• Constantly find fault in adult’s position – adolescents’ new
found ability to think critically gives them confidence to look for
inconsistencies, disagreements, or exceptions in what adults say.
• Be exceedingly dramatic – everything seems to be a “big deal”
to adolescents; for several adolescents, being too dramatic or
exaggerated about their opinions and behaviors merely comes
with the subject.
Psychological
 In addition to being a time of physiological and cognitive change,
adolescence is also a period of psychological/emotional development
and in particular, changes in the way individuals view themselves and
in their capacity to function independently.
• How thinking, feeling, and behaving interact and happen in a
person.
• In this aspect adolescents begin to be more conscious, not
only with their looks, but also actions with high regard to what
their peers think and feel.
Psychological development means establishing a practical and
logical sense of identity in the perspective of relating to others.
• It is also learning to deal with stress and handle emotions.
• Identity refers to how adolescent see themselves right now.; it
also includes what has been termed the “possible self” or
what individuals might become and who they would like to
become.
• The new cognitive skills of maturing adolescents give them the
cognitive capacity to willfully search who they are and what
makes them exceptional.
Identity includes two concepts which are:
1. Self-concept – is the set of beliefs one has about oneself; this
includes beliefs about one’s attributes (e.g., tall, intelligent), roles and
goals (e.g., occupation one wants to have when grown), and interests,
values, and beliefs (e.g., religious, political).
• The process of identity formation is strong for late adolescents.
They try out diverse roles, likes, looks, sexuality, values,
friendships, ethnicity, and especially occupations.
• Some girls may experience obsessive dieting or eating disorders.
2. Self-esteem – this involves evaluating how one feels about one’s
self-concept; it develops exclusively for each adolescent.
• Thus, self-esteem, whether high or low, may remain reasonably
stable during adolescence or may gradually improve or worsen.
a) Global self-esteem refers to how much an adolescent likes or
approves of his/her perceived self as a whole.
b) Specific self-esteem refers to how much an adolescent feels
about certain parts of himself/herself (e.g., as an athlete or
student, how one looks)
- Low self-esteem develops if there is a space between one’s self-
concept and what one believes one “should” be like. The following
characteristics have been identified with low self-esteem in
adolescents: a. feeling depressed, b. lacking energy, c. disliking
one’s appearance and rejecting compliments, d. feeling insecure or
inadequate most of the time, e. having unrealistic expectations of
oneself, f. being excessively shy and rarely expressing one’s own
point of view.
Every adolescent should start to know the emotional skills required to
deal with stress and be sensitive and effective in connecting with
other people.
• These skills have been called emotional intelligence which
involves self-awareness and relationship skill to get along well
with other people and make friends.
Spiritual
 During adolescence, young people start to think about larger life
questions, like why there is good and evil, what it means to be a
human being and the reality of the soul. The answers to these
questions lie within the boundaries of spirituality.
• Spirituality focuses on the relationship to a reality greater than
oneself and can embrace the holy practice of religious awe and
reverence.
• It entails deep feelings and beliefs, such as a person’s sense of
purpose, connection to others, and understanding of the real
implication of life.
Spiritual development is a developmental process for making a
meaning of one’s life. Acceptance of the spiritual domain among
adolescents is important.
• Adolescents often crave to discover spiritual matters, develop
connections between self and others, and achieve a sense of
themselves and the world.
• Spiritual development is shaped both within and outside of
religious traditions, beliefs, and practices.
Adolescence is the stage during which young people commence to
shape their own spiritual identity and viewpoint.
• As they mature, adolescents build up an understanding of the
unknown and unknowable; it can be a time of concentrated
religious and spiritual questioning for many young people.
• Middle adolescents draw from two sources of their spiritual
beliefs namely synthetic and conventional.
a) Synthetic means that the adolescent tries to draw together
the incongruent elements of his or her life into an integrated
identity.
b) Conventional indicates that the spiritual values and beliefs
the adolescent holds are taken from other people who perform
significant roles in his or her life and, for the most part, are
received as is.
Social
-Accompanying the biological, cognitive, spiritual and emotional
transitions of adolescence are important changes in the adolescent’s
social relationships, or the social development of adolescence.
• Adolescents will start to shape different types of relationships.
• A lot of their relationships may turn into more intensely involved
and more emotionally intimate.
During adolescence, social networks of adolescents get bigger to
include more people and many different types of social relationships.
• Adolescent social development, then, entails a remarkable
change in the extent and value of social relationships.
• The social development of adolescents is best considered in the
perspectives relating to peer, family, school, work and
community.
One of the most significant social developments that transpire in
adolescence is about sexual and romantic relationships.
• In modern society, adolescents begin dating sometime during
early adolescence which can indicate a number of things.
• Going out on a date could mean group activities that bring males
and females together without much actual contact between the
sexes.
• Dating could be in the form of group dates, in which a group of
boys and girls go out jointly and spend part of the time as
couples or casual dating as boyfriend and girlfriend.
- Understanding a person holistically means that one aspect cannot
be seen in isolation from the whole person. When you look at a
person and try to understand this individual, it is always good to
consider these five aspects and what it is about this person that
makes him or her unique from yourself and from others. For Example,
to judge a person because of behavior alone is not balanced. One
must see how the interplay of all five aspects occurs within an
individual.
Emotions and Feelings
- Emotions and feelings are often used interchangeably, but they
really aren’t the same thing. So, what is the difference between
emotions and feelings? This time, let us discuss emotions and
feelings and become aware of these concepts.
What is Emotion?
• Immediate physiological response to perceived stimulus.
• Chemicals released throughout our body that last about six
seconds. 
Why do we have Emotions?
• Emotions continuously regulate every living cell to adapt to
emerging threats and opportunities.
• They provide raw data about the world around us that is
essential to our functioning.
• From the Latin word “movare” which means to move or be upset
or agitated
• Emotion is a descriptive term referring to variations in level of
arousal, affective state or mood, expressive movements, and
attitudes (Smith, 1973).
Paul Ekman
• happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust
• Research by Neuroscience and Psychology (2014)
• Current Biology Journal
• There are only 4 basic emotions: happy, sad, afraid or surprise,
and angry or disgusted.
- Emotions are lower-level responses occurring in the subcortical
regions of the brain, the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal
cortices, creating biochemical reactions in your body altering your
physical state.
- Emotional reactions are coded in our genes and while they do vary
slightly individually and depending on circumstances, are generally
universally similar across all humans and even other species. For
example, you smile and your dog wags its tail.
• Because they are physical, they can be objectively measured
by blood flow, brain activity, facial micro-expressions, and body
language.

What is Feeling?
• The physical & mental sensations that arise as we internalize
emotions.
• Feelings are cognitively saturated emotion chemicals.
• Originate in the neocortical regions of the brain; they are mental
associations and reactions to emotions; and are subjective being
influenced by personal experience, beliefs, and memories
Why do we have Feelings?
• Feelings are how we begin to make meaning of emotion; they
cause us to pay attention and react to the perceived threats or
opportunities.
• We’re acting on emotional data.
• Feelings arise from the brain as it interprets an emotion, which is
usually cause by physical sensations experienced by the body
as a reaction to a certain external stimulus (Dr. Antonio Damasio,
2005, interviewed by online article of Scientific American
titled Feeling our Emotions)
• SarahMckay, neuroscientist and author of the Your Brain
Healthblog explains it as:“Emotions play out in the theater of the
body. Feelings play out in the theater of the mind.”
Which comes first, FEELINGS or EMOTIONS?
- The short answer is: Time. Emotions come first, then feelings come
after as the emotion chemicals go to work in our bodies. Then moods
develop from a combination of feelings.
• Emotions are chemicals released in response to our
interpretation of a specific trigger.
• Emotion chemicals are released throughout our bodies, not just
in our brains, and they form a kind of feedback loop between our
brains & bodies.
• Feelings happen as we begin to integrate the emotion, to think
about it, to “let it soak in.”
• In English, we use “feel” for both physical and emotional
sensation — we can say we physically feel cold, but we can also
emotionally feel cold.
• This is a clue to the meaning of “feeling,” it’s something we
sense.
• Feelings are more “cognitively saturated” as the emotion
chemicals are processed in our brains & bodies.
• Feelings are often fueled by a mix of emotions, and last for
longer than emotions.
Attitude and Behavior
- One of the widely accepted facts about human beings is, no two
people are alike, whether in terms of physical appearance (i.e., body
structure, height, weight, color, etc.) or abstract aspects (like
intelligence, attitude, personality, behavior and so on).
• Many people take a person’s attitude as their behavior.
• Although directly or indirectly they are interrelated, they are
different.
Attitude
• Person’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions about another person,
object, idea, behavior or situation.
• Attitude is a result of a person’s evaluation of an experience with
another person, object, idea, behavior, or situation based on his
or her values and belief systems.
Behavior
• Manifestation or acting out of the attitudes an individual has.
• The way in which an individual acts towards others.
 Week 4: Development Stages in Middle and Late Adolescence
CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPMENT STAGES IN MIDDLE AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE
The ages during adolescence may be bracketed as follows:
 Early Adolescence – ages around 10 to 13
 Middle Adolescence – ages 14 to 16
 Late Adolescence – ages 17 to 20
- American psychologists differ slightly with their age definitions of
adolescence. Feist and Rosenberg (2012) pegged early adolescence at
age 11 or 12, and late adolescence at about age 18. Hence, in America,
a child is usually out of the house by the age of 18 because this is the
age on how they define young adulthood. This age definition of
adolescence is not a cut-and-dried rule as some individual mature ahead
of others, or some experience delayed maturity due to many factors like
genetics, environment or even conditions.
Early Adolescence (Preteen or the “tween” stage)
 The time when you enter the stage of puberty.
 It is considered as the most uncomfortable period of physical
growth and sexual development.
 This stage is often over during the middle adolescence.
Middle Adolescence (Teen Age)
 This stage is consisting of emotional and psycho- social
development.
 This is the stage in which teens are searching for their
identity.
 The stage where teens are beginning to assert their
independence.
Late Adolescence (“young men” or “young women”)
 Teens are already finding their way through the social scenes.
 Expected to act independently.
ERIKSON’S 8 STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
- Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of personality development define
each stage of human development with a crisis or a conflict. Each
crisis or conflict either gets resolved or may be left unresolved,
resulting in favorable or unfavorable outcomes.
- In referring to these eight stages of development espoused
by Erikson, it is important to know that the stages are borderless and
flowing, not strictly fixed and definite.
1. Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy) Birth-18 months)
 Psychosocial Crisis: Trust vs Mistrust
 Major Question: "Can I trust the people around me?"
 Basic Virtue: Hope
 Important Event(s): Feeding
According to Erikson, the trust vs. mistrust stage is the most
important period in a person’s life. If met they will develop a sense of
trust and will still feel secured even if threatened, but if not, then the
child may develop a sense of mistrust, suspicion and anxiety. In this
situation the child will not have confidence in the world around them
or in their abilities to influence events. Success on this stage will lead
to the virtue of Hope.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood 18 months-
 Psychosocial Crisis: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt
 Major Question: "Can I do things myself or am I reliant on the
help of others?"
 Basic Virtue: Will
 Important Event(s): Toilet Training
- Children at this stage are focused on developing a sense of
personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. If
children are criticized, or not given the opportunity to assert
themselves then tendency is that they will become dependent and
will have low self-esteem in the future. They will become confident
and secured in their own ability to survive.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (PLAY AGE 3-5)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Initiative versus Guilt
 Major Question: “Am I good or bad?”
 Basic Virtue: Purpose
 Important Event(s): Exploration, Play
- During the Initiative versus Guilt stage children assert themselves
frequently. This is the stage in which a child asks many questions
because they are thirst with knowledge, a stage wherein the child
starts to interact with the other children at school. The main focus on
this stage is letting the children play. (Through playing they can
explore their intrapersonal skills)
- If met they will have the sense of initiative and feel secure in their
ability to lead and make decisions.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (SCHOOL AGE 6-12)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Industry versus Inferiority
 Major Question: "How can I be good?"
 Basic Virtue: Competence
 Important Event(s): School
- Industry means competence- the stage in which they learn to read,
write and to do things on their own. Teacher plays a special role in
teaching them specific skills and peer group will become the major
source of a child’s self-esteem.
- The children in this stage begin to develop their sense of pride in
their accomplishments.
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (ADOLESCENCE 12-20)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Identity Versus ROLE Confusion
 Major Question: "Who am I?"
 Basic Virtue: Fidelity
 Important Event(s): Social Relationships
- A major stage of development in where the child has to learn the
roles he will occupy as an adult. In this stage they begin to search for
a sense of self and personal identity through an intense exploration
of their values, beliefs and goals. They begin to form their own
identity based on the outcome of their explorations.
- Fidelity involves being able to commit one’s self to others on the
basis of accepting others, even when there may be ideological
differences.
IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION
Identity
 is the concept of an individual about himself and is often
referred to as “self-identity”
 Role forms part of this self-identity, such as birth order in the
family, the nature of work, occupation or title, and academic
and social standing
 Self-identity is molded through various interactive experiences
around himself, such as family, friends and the community,
and also his thinking, attitude and behavior to external stimuli
Role confusion
 is the negation of self-identity, in a sense that there is
confusion over one’s self-concept or the lack or absence of
such a concept.
 it affects an individual’s relationship with others because there
is no clear definition of what he is and how he relates to
others.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (EARLY ADULTHOOD 26-44)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Intimacy Versus Isolation
 Major Question: "Will I be loved or will I be alone?"
 Basic Virtue: Love
 Important Event(s): Romantic Relationships
- In this stage, we become more intimate with others. It is the stage in
which we make commitments with someone other than family
members.
 Positive – sense of happiness, commitment and care
 Negative- may lead to isolation, loneliness and sometimes
depression.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (MIDDLE ADULTHOOD 45-59)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Generativity Versus Stagnation
 Major Question: "How can I contribute to the world?"
 Basic Virtue: Care
 Important Event(s): Parenthood and Work
- This is the stage in which we give back to the society through
raising our children, being productive at work and becoming part of
community activities and organizations. Through generativity we
develop a sense of being a part of the bigger picture. Success on this
stage leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishments while
failure may result in shallow involvement in the world.
8. Integrity vs. Despair (LATE ADULTHOOD 65-Death)
 Psychosocial CRISIS: Integrity versus Despair
 Major Question: "Did I live a meaningful life?"
 Basic Virtue: Wisdom
 Important Event(s): Reflecting back on life
- It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments and
can develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life.
 We experience despair when we see our lives as unproductive or feel
that we weren’t able to achieve our goals in life this may lead to
dissatisfaction, despair and depression. While wisdom enables a
person to look back on their live with the sense of completeness and
also accept death without fear.
CHANGES DURING ADOLESCENCE
- This time, we are to focus our discussion about the changes during
adolescence. What changes that you are experiencing right now that
you this are prominent?
- The adolescent’s physiological transitioning is very pronounced at
this stage.
 Puberty kicks in and is fueled by the hormonal changes that
are occurring and pushing adolescent toward sexual
maturation.
- Cognitive growth among adolescents is usually marked by the way they
are able to comprehend abstract concepts, such as freedom and human
rights.
 At this stage, the brain also continues to develop. Their belief
about morality, religion and politics are also starting to evolve.
 This is the stage when young men and women begin to ask
questions about the status quo, about the way things happen,
and usually counter questions or situations with challenging
question of, “why not?” Idealism is very prominent among
adolescents and also their inclination toward becoming very
self-conscious and egocentric.
- Reckless behavior of adolescents is sometimes attributed to the
development of their brains since their ability to make plans and see
the consequences of their actions are not yet fully developed unlike
in adults. (Feist and Rosenberg 2012).
- Sexual experimentation also happens in this stage that is why right
information and education is needed. Due to their underdeveloped
cognitive and affective capacities and education of the matter, this
experimentation sometimes ends up in a disaster.
DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS IN THE MIDDLE AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE
- What tasks do middle and late adolescent have as they become
mature adults? Let us know learn the developmental tasks in middle
and late adolescents.
- Achieving adolescent developmental tasks requires a person to
develop personal independence and a philosophy of life.
 Adolescents are confronted with learning to achieve new
forms of intimate relationships, preparing for an occupation,
achieving emotional independence from parents, and
developing a mature set of values and ethical principles.
 The peer group plays a major role in facilitating the
achievements of adolescents’ developmental tasks by
providing a context in which some of these tasks can be
accomplished.
- A developmental task is a task that arises at or about a certain
period in life, unsuccessful achievement of which leads to inability to
perform tasks associated with the next period or stage in life.
 The concept of developmental tasks assumes that human
development in modern societies is characterized by a long
 series of tasks that individuals have to learn throughout their
lives.
 Some of these tasks are located in childhood and
adolescence, whereas other arise during adulthood and old
age.
 Successful achievement of certain tasks is expected to lead
to happiness and success with later tasks, while failure may
result to unhappiness of an individual, disapproval by the
society, and difficulty with later tasks.
- Some years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst of the University of
Chicago proposed that stages in human development can best be
taught in terms of the developmental tasks that are part of the normal
transition (from childhood to adulthood). Let us now discuss the
developmental tasks identified by Professor Havighurst.
1. Adjust to sexually maturing bodies and feelings – Adolescents
look less like children and more like physically and sexually mature
adults. The effect of this rapid change is that adolescents often
become focused on their bodies.
 They are faced with adjusting to growing bodies and newly
obtained sexual characteristics.
 They must learn to manage sexual feelings and to engage in
healthy sexual behaviors.
2. Develop and apply abstract thinking skills – In addition to a
sudden spurt in physical growth, adolescents experience a sudden
increase in their ability to think about their world.
 They are also able to visualize their world with a new level of
awareness; this new way of thinking allows them more
effectively to understand and coordinate abstract ideas.
 They start to think about possibilities, test hypotheses, plan
forward, reflect about thinking, and create philosophies.
3. Develop and apply new perspective on human relationships –
Adolescents on average get hold of a powerful new ability to
comprehend human relationships.
 They initiate to take into consideration both their viewpoint
and another person’s viewpoint at the same time having
learned to “put themselves in another person’s shoes”.
4. Develop and apply new coping skills in areas such as
decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution –
Adolescents initiate to obtain new abilities to reflect about and
prepare for the future, to employ more defined strategies for decision-
making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
 Adolescents acquire new thinking capabilities that will help
them engage in more creative strategies for problem-solving,
decision-making, and resolving conflict
 They should be able to project toward the future and see the
consequences of their decisions.
5. Identify meaningful moral standards, values, and belief
systems – In due course, the adolescent questions and make
assessment of the parents’ values as they come into inconsistency
with the values expressed by peers and other sectors of society.
  Because of their idealism, adolescents develop more complex
understanding of morality, justice, and compassion.
 This will lead to the formation of their own belief systems that
will guide their decisions and behaviors.
6. Understand and express more complex emotional
experiences – Adolescents move to an ability to spot and
communicate more complex emotions, to appreciate the emotions of
others in more complicated way, and to consider about emotions in
abstract ways.
 Becoming more in touch with their emotions and see the
complex variances among strong emotions and feelings.
 Understanding the emotions and feelings of others, and
learning how to detach themselves from emotional situations
whenever needed.
7. Form friendships that are mutually close and supportive –
Adolescents develop peer relationships that engage into powerful
roles in giving support and connection in their lives.
 Peer influence is very strong among adolescents and this
should be able to steer an adolescent towards productive and
positive relationships.
 Learning how to trust others is an important task for an
adolescent to develop.
8. Establish key aspects of identity – Prior to adolescence, one’s
identity is an extended image of one’s parents. During adolescence,
young people begin to distinguish their distinctiveness and
separation from parents.
 Be encouraged to develop their own healthy self-concepts
that reflect their uniqueness in relation to themselves, their
families and friends, and with the bigger community.
9. Meet the demands of increasingly mature roles and
responsibilities – Most adolescents engage in one or more
behaviors that place them at physical, social, or educational risk as
they move to adulthood.
 It is important for the emerging adult to acquire skills and
knowledge that will provide him/her with meaningful careers
and jobs and to live up to the expectations regarding
commitment to family, community, and nation-building.
10. Renegotiate relationships with adults in parenting roles –
The task of adolescence has at times been expressed as
“separating” from parents. Nowadays, it is more broadly observed
since adults and adolescents are making joint effort to settle on a
change in the relationship that balances independence and constant
bond.
 The adolescent stage sees the movement toward
independence and maturity.
 Although this is not as pronounced with other western
cultures, in the Philippines, adolescents should be able to
communicate their need for a certain degree of independence
as they mature to young adults.
 Week 5: The Challenges of Middle and Late Adolescence
CHALLENGES OF MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE
1. Attitudes and behavior toward sexuality and sexual
relationships
- Puberty drives the adolescent to experience surges of sexual
desires, which often lead them to experimentation and exploration.
While this is often healthy to talk and engage in, there is the danger
of losing control over one’s sexual drives which inevitably end up in
lifetime of regrets.
 Adolescents exploring their sexuality should be able to draw
their limits in terms of sexual expressions and should be
responsible enough to see the future results or consequences
of their behavior.
 Sexual relationship is healthy when the adolescent sees this
as a part of a loving relationship and not as something that is
just for exploration or pleasure.
 The attitude of being responsible for one’s actions is the
guiding principle toward a healthy sexuality.
- Responsibility implies dealing with one’s sexuality as part of
establishing a healthy self-concept or self-identity. Being responsible
also implies that entering into relationships is all about genuine loving
and caring for the other person and not just one’s urges and needs
which can lead to bigger problems like teenage pregnancies or
sexually transmitted diseases.
 Love is genuine when the intent is to help the other person
develop his or her talents and potentials according to
personal values, and to encourage them to become a better
person.
 Love is also based on respect for the other person’s
uniqueness, which means accepting and respecting that he or
she is different from you, has different set of priorities in life,
different values that he or she gives more importance to, has
a personal plan for the future, and has different emotions and
feelings, attitudes, thoughts, likes and dislikes.
2. Academic concerns
- The role of a student is the primary role of an adolescent who is still
in school. Although there are other roles he or she may take, being a
student takes primary importance. While many adolescents become
problematic with their academic studies, what is most important is the
attitude that they need to embrace when studying.
 Being responsible is called for when dealing with academic
challenges. Be aware that academic grades are not the only
indicators of learning.
 Discipline, openness, perseverance, diligence, excellence,
curiosity, critical thinking, understanding, cooperation and
teamwork, respecting other people’s opinions and beliefs,
social interactions, leadership and followership are some of
the more important skills and values that an adolescent
student can also learn while in school.
 Oftentimes, what is being tested in schools is the body of
knowledge one acquires and absorbs and also critical thinking
and reasoning which are also tested and graded. This is the
reason why grades are important, in spite of some contrary
belief that they do not accurately measure genuine learning.
If one wishes to pursue academic excellence and further studies,
then grades are critical in achieving these goals.

3. Group belongingness
- An adolescent wants to belong. While there is an urge to be
independent and autonomous from his family and parents, there is
also an urge to seek a replacement of this support system, this time
in the form of social groupings such as school friends, memberships
in organizations and community.
 An adolescent with a low self-esteem might be drawn toward
organizations that promise camaraderie in the form of “walang
iwanan”, “do or die”, or “one for all and all for one” kind of
social support.
 However, there is a possibility that these types of organization
may be more destructive than constructive. Healthy and
wholesome organizations whose objectives to help individuals
develop themselves are better choices.
 An adolescent should not be lured by organizations that
promise “exclusivity” or “superiority”, often touting false
courage through strength in their numbers. Avoiding
organizations that adhere to violence and other anti-social
behaviors is a responsibility of the adolescent because he is
responsible for his own welfare, his family, his friends, and his
school.
Do you consider the characteristics of informal groups before you join
them? Be very aware of peer pressure that says, “Do this or you
cannot join our group because you are not like us.” Healthy and
wholesome organizations respect the individuality of each person
and would therefore NOT lure him into doing something that goes
against time-honored human values.
4. Health and nutrition
- A healthy mind and body is what every adolescent (and everybody
else) should strive for. However, adolescents, because of their
growing bodies and brains, are gifted with so much energy that
seems inexhaustible, resulting in one’s body and mind. Lack of sleep
and poor eating habits often result in disaster.
 Learn to listen to your body. Avoid unhealthy foods. Drink
plenty of clean water and regulate intakes of rich foods such
as desserts and animal meat and fat.
 Dieting might work for some but the long-term results are not
commendable because more often than not, the person
returns eventually to his bad eating habits.
 Instead, embrace a healthy lifestyle for yourself. Every time
you put something inside your body, ask first the question
“Will this make me healthy or not?”
 Long exposures to television and screen gadgets are also
unhealthy. Regulate the hours you spend with technology.
Read books and take time to exercise.
5. Developing or regaining Self-Esteem
- Are you having difficulty acknowledging your strength and positive
traits? Many experienced life coaches and facilitators for personal
growth often observe how many adolescents, and even some adults,
when asked the question about what their strengths are, would often
get stumped by the question and will take a long time before they
could create a list. It seems easier for them to recognize their
weaknesses and challenges, and more often longer than the list of
their strengths.
  Adolescents who are creating their self-identity should be
objective and balanced when viewing themselves. Being
objective means seeing one’s self as having both strengths
and weaknesses or having positive or negative characteristics.
 Balancing how one sees one’s self means to avoid over-
emphasizing an aspect of one’s identity to the detriment of
another aspect. For example, being too negative by
only recognizing one’s faults and dwelling on them is neither
healthy nor balanced.
 Adolescents have to learn to be gentler and kindler, and less
demanding in order for them to maintain a balance in their
view of what and who they are.
 Individuals who often encounter criticism at home and in
school often develop low self-esteem. This is because the
underlying message in the criticism is “you are not good
enough for me.” This is especially true when the criticism
comes from an important person in a person’s life.
 Children who grow up with criticisms often result in losing
their self-respect. Claiming back what had been lost when
they were often criticized and scolded for certain behavior and
were labeled as “bad boys or girls” requires a lot of work in
restoring self-respect.
 A healthy, evolving adolescent’s tasks should be about caring
for oneself and self-healing, creating and owning positive and
healthy self-concepts like “I am a good person” or “I am
strong and can accept challenges.” Only in this way can an
adolescent develop his self-esteem necessary for him to lead
a healthier life.
Related to self-esteem is one’s perception of one’s body
type. Adolescents at this stage are very self-conscious, and often
view themselves as unattractive, lacking the kind of physical look that
is often dictated by the advertising and the image business.
 The healthy thing for adolescents to do is to understand that
there is such a thing as body types, and their genes dictate
each body type.
 Accepting one’s body type is better than rejecting it when
there is not much one can do (except plastic surgery,
liposuction, regular exercise, body building, etc.) to alter this.
 Accepting one’s body type and selecting appropriate cuts and
designs for one’s clothing to improve the visual perception of
one’s overall image, and celebrating one’s physical beauty as
one’s own and not as dictated by the society or media is the
way to go.
 Proper grooming and self-care can help improve one’s feeling
and attitude about oneself.
6. Roles
- All human beings have roles to play in their lives. Roles are part of
one’s identity, such as being a son or daughter to your parents, being
a brother or sister to your siblings, being a student in your school, or
a member of your organization.
 Although these roles seem separate and different from each
other, adolescents must learn to integrate all these roles and
it should be clear that these roles are related to the tasks
expected of them by others.
 When there is a disparity between one’s self-identity and the
roles one play, then confusion arises. For example, an
adolescent, who is a student, has studying as his or her top
priority. However, this adolescent, being the eldest in his
family may also be required by the parents to take care of his
 or her younger siblings and may be asked to work after
school to help in providing for the family. A healthy adolescent
whose self-identity is clear and whose roles are integrated will
understand and accept the situation.
- A healthy adolescent will recognize not merely the roles but the
values being expected from him or her, such as personal and family
responsibility, love for family and basic survival. When these values
are clear in the mind of this adolescent, role confusion is diminished.
7. Material Poverty
- There are many stories about school children and adolescent
students who live in far-flung areas where infrastructure is not
available and of those who do not have much choice but to walk
when going to school.
 Poverty in our country is quite alarming because many
families, particularly in Metro Manila, are still under the
poverty line. Numerous of these families have many children
who cannot attend school due to financial constraint.
 Some surmounted the challenge of poverty in their lives and
how poverty awakened their advocacy in helping others.
 Grab the opportunity of having the capability of going to
school, be thankful to your parents who are really working
hard for you to be able to have schooling and become
professionals someday. But do not also forget to help others
and give them hope that poverty is not really a hindrance to
fulfilling dreams in life.
8. Parents working abroad
- Another social phenomenon experienced by many Filipino families
today linked to poverty are parents who leave their families to work
abroad to support the needs of their families. Studies are showing the
social costs of this labor migration that leaves young vulnerable
children behind.
 Professors Reyes and Garcia said that “several studies
showed how migration of parents is indeed heart- breaking for
children, making them long for parental care, get confused
over gender roles, be vulnerable to abuse, and even develop
consumerist attitudes.”
How can an adolescent minimize the impact of a parent’s
absence? First of all, there must be recognition of the emotions and
feelings brought about by the situation. Sadness, loneliness, and
thoughts of being abandoned are often experience by adolescents in
this given situation.
 The behavior exhibited behind these feelings and thoughts
vary from person to person. Some may react negatively by
being angry at themselves or feel resentment toward the
absent parent/s, some may act in rebellious way toward
elders who stay with them at home, or may become over-
dependent on their friends and other people who serve as
substitutes for their absent parent/s.
 Those who react in a more positive way will see their situation
as a consequence of the socio-economic needs of their family
to survive and to have better lives.
 They see their parents who work abroad as offering so much
sacrifice for their welfare.
 Another positive reaction is to turn the unpleasant situation
into an opportunity and challenge for growth and improvement
to achieve higher and greater results in whatever they do. An
example of this is getting good grades and learning desirable
qualities like discipline and hard work.
How do family systems impact on the development of the individual
throughout the life span?
8. Career choice
- The adolescent who is creating identity for himself is faced with an
urgent need to identify what course to take in college and establish a
career path for the future.
 When finding the right career, adolescents need to know what
their interests are, what things they find exciting and
challenging, and what their skills are
 It has often been said that in pursuing a career, look at what
you love to do and are passionate about, and the money will
just follow. But here is a word of caution: be ready to make
sacrifices before you van attain the kind of wealth and fame
that may come in doing what you love to do.
10. Relationships
Is maintaining healthy relationships require a certain level of
maturity? Absolutely, YES! healthy relationships require a certain
level of maturity. An adolescent who is still in the process of acquiring
maturity may often find maintaining relationships challenging.
 At home, a female adolescent who desires autonomy and
independence will encounter more parental objections. She
may not be allowed to attend social gatherings without
chaperones. When this happens, relationships at home are
strained, and the adolescent who does not see the real
purpose of why her parents are restricting her will react
negatively to such restrictions.
 What is important is for the adolescent to understand that her
parents are concerned for her safety and well-being, and for
the values of her parents uphold, and restricting her may be a
way of showing that they care for her.
 Among friends, adolescents can be more relaxed. This is the
stage when friendships develop easily and frequently.
Adolescents find it easier to bond with friends rather than with
family members who “do not understand them”.
 Healthy friendships are necessary for adolescents’ social
development, but the challenge in maintaining them are also
equally challenging. Rumors can easily destroy friendly
relationships.
 Romantic relationships are inevitable and equally challenging
to adolescent. When emotions are involved, it is often difficult
to be objective, and many adolescents are still developing
their skills in understanding their emotions. Breakups in
romantic relationships occur very frequently among
adolescents because of immaturity. However, experiences
such as breakups are positive ways to grow toward emotional
maturity.
Child and Adolescent Development (Corpus et al, 2010)
- As adolescents, what do you think are the important values and
attitudes that must be developed in order to become a fully mature,
and goal-oriented individual? Let us be aware of these developments.
Developing occupational skills
 Skills that can help adolescent develop responsibility as a
preparation for gainful employment ahead.
 Filipino authors Corpus et al, in their book Child and Adolescent
Development, identified similar developmental tasks a Filipino
adolescent need to learn.

Self-reliance
 The ability to identify their own skills and knowledge, capabilities,
and resources to engage in meaningful activities and not rely too
much on others.
Ability to manage their finances
 Be able to discern what is the difference between “wants” and
“needs” and be able to learn self-control when handling their
finances.
 As early as possible, the adolescent should learn financial
literacy through various means available to them.
Social responsibility
 Adolescent should be able to see beyond themselves, take into
consideration the greater community around them, and see their
role in improving and developing these communities, serving as
agents of change.
Mature work orientation
 Develop pride in what they do and raise standards of excellence
in the quality of their work.
Personal responsibility
 To be fully responsible for their own decisions and actions by
owning them, become aware of the repercussions or results of
the decisions they make and be mature enough to “own” these
results.\
 Refrain from putting blame on others for the results of their
decisions and actions.
Positive attitude toward work
 In the book by Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran The Prophet, he
wrote, “Work is Love made Visible”
 Developing a healthy and positive attitude toward work means
that we see work as an expression of our love for people who
are important to us.
 One can learn new things and grow to become highly skilled,
knowledgeable, and loving person if he/she sees work as a way
toward self-improvement and as an expression of love for his/her
significant others.
Additional list of developmental tasks and skills a Filipino adolescent
should acquire:
Being courageous in standing up and being different from your
friends
 Belonging to a group doesn’t necessarily mean losing one’s
identity and being guided by “mob rule” or what the majority does.
 The adolescent needs to feel he/she belongs to a group. While
this is important, knowing your limit still matters.
 This is especially effective when offered to smoke a cigarette or
to drink alcoholic beverages or even to try out dangerous drugs.
 Being courageous means learning to say “NO” to what one think
is going against his or her belief and values system even if this
would mean rejection by the group.
Developing self-esteem
 Learn to understand, accept, and appreciate oneself as a unique
person.
 Avoiding comparisons between you and other people is also a
healthy way to develop self-esteem.
 Being true to yourself and avoiding the tendency to please others.
 Adolescents find it difficult to assert their individuality or
uniqueness because they are afraid others will not approve or
like them, or will not allow them to be a member of a group.
 The value of conformity often occurs during this stage of
development.
 By developing self-esteem, the need for approval from others
become less.
Learning how media and advertising are trying to influence your
thinking and feelings
 Understanding that news or advertisement is reported for a
reason, usually to serve the purpose of someone or some
organization.
Becoming aware, critical, and being involved with social issues
 Ask questions and speak up whenever possible to address
social issues such as poverty and corruption
 Let our leaders know how you think and feel about our society,
learn to suggest solutions in improving our lives.
Clearly, high self-esteem is vital to good mental health, yet it is given
less protectio
Embracing a healthy lifestyle
 Becoming aware of your health and the food you eat, and
engaging in sports and other physical activities beneficial to your
well-being.
 Learn to relax.
Developing your spirituality
 Finding what gives meaning to your life and to all the
experiences you are going through.
ADOLESCENT AS A LOVABLE AND CAPABLE PERSON
Do you feel loved? Do you consider yourself as a capable person? If
all adolescents feel lovable and capable there will be significantly
less depression, anxiety or panic as diagnosable conditions.
 Every time someone says something or something happens that
adolescents view as hurtful or negative, a piece of their being
lovable and capable gets turned off.
 Not being lovable and capable erodes the self-esteem of
adolescents.
 They become more vulnerable to depression, anxiety and panic
  They must be provided with straight compliments and they
should learn to accept compliments.
Adolescents with high self-esteem achieve more, develop better  Adolescents of today can quickly sense if those compliments
relationships and generally make the most of themselves in life. given to them are sincere or not.
 Positive self-esteem is important because when adolescents
4. Others have shown interest to them – Adolescents are very
experience it, they feel better about themselves, they are
fond of music, television and computer. They also show interest in
effective and productive, and they respond to other people and
friends who are very important to them at this point in their lives.
themselves in healthy, positive ways.
 They know that they are lovable and capable and they care  Adolescents often invite their friends in the house therefore
about themselves and others. they must be welcomed and entertained well.
 They should feel safe and comfortable whenever they talk
about their favorites, their friends and their interests.
Adolescents can have high self-esteem if:
5. They are given appropriate responsibility – Most of the time
1. They know when they have done well – Adolescents must be parents try to do everything for their adolescent, or do not allow them
given positive feedback for showing they are capable. to do it for the reason that they do not do it properly. Adolescents
 Telling them they are capable is an important message to often get hurt when they hear this reason.
offer everyone at every age.  There are skills that they need to learn and improve upon with
 They learn that they can do well. practice and will give the message that they are capable to
2. They know they are loved – Adolescents need to hear the build the bricks of their self-esteem.
message that they are important and lovable just because they exist
too.
 They need to know that they are worthy of love just for being
themselves, that everyone is glad that they were born, and
that they are very important.
 These messages are conveyed in so many ways through
interaction with them like being glad to see them, saying “I
love you”, giving hugs, showing interest.
3. They received compliments freely – Adolescent must be given a
genuine compliment when they have something good.
 Week 6: Stress and Its Sources
Defining Stress
Are you stressed? What makes you feel that way? How do you deal
with stressors?
 Stress is defined as a reaction of the mind and body to a
stimulus that disturbs the well-being, state of calm, or equilibrium
of a person.
 There is a common belief that stress is unhealthy, but experts
conclude that this is not entirely unhealthy.
 Small and sporadic amounts of stress can be helpful and
beneficial to individuals.
 Excessive amounts of stress sustained over a lengthy period of
time can be destructive to both physical and mental health.
Stress is the means your body reacts to challenges and makes
you all set to face them with strength, attention, and energy.
 When you sense that you can deal with the challenges coming
your way, stress gives you the necessary enthusiasm to get
things done.
 However, stress can be challenging if the problems are too
difficult to solve specially being an adolescent.
When stress overloads your life, you will experience both
physical and emotional disturbances. The neurotransmitters in
your brain will start to stop working.
 The first one to provisionally shut down is your body clock and
more often than not, it causes sleeplessness.
 The second one is in-control of energy levels that causes a
decline of wanting to get things done.
 The final neurotransmitter is in the pleasure part of the brain that
causes unhappiness and hopelessness.
 As these shut down, it becomes more difficult to respond to
stress.
Stress impacts the thinking and feelings of adolescents plus
their behaviors later on in adulthood.
 Adolescents who experience high amounts of stress can
experience more mood disorders later in life.
 Stress is also a cause for concern because of the incidence of
illegally or socially undesirable behavior like smoking, drug use
abuse, and substance addiction among adolescents.
 Stress influences the manner adolescents deal with social
groups, like family, peers in school, and peers outside the school.
Three Points of View About Stress
Are you in a fight or flight mode when dealing with stress?
Why? There are three ways to view and how to deal with stress. Let
us be aware of them.
1. Stress as a stimulus
Caused by situations that may be life threatening or life changing,
such as separation, moving into a new home, or having a new job.
2. Stress as a response
The way the body reacts to challenging situation. This involves the
interactions between the hormones, glands, and nervous system
where the adrenal gland drives the production of cortisol or better
known as “stress hormone” and norepinephrine.
3. Stress as relational
is when a person experiencing stress takes a step back to look at the
situation that is causing the stress, and assesses it.
Two Types of Stress  conflict in interpersonal relationships
1. EUSTRESS  Bankruptcy/Money Problems
Two Sources of Stressor
 This is the good stress that motivates you to continue working.
1. EXTERNAL STRESSORS
Examples of Eustress
 Receiving a promotion or raise at work  These are those that come outside of you like situations,
people, and experiences.
 Starting a new job
 Marriage 2. INTERNAL STRESSORS
 Buying a home  These are those coming from within you, like thoughts that
 Having a child you have that caused you to feel fearful, uncertainties about the
future, lack of control over situations, etc.
 Taking a vacation
 Holiday seasons STRESS AND ITS SOURCES DURING ADOLESCENCE
 Taking educational classes or learning a new hobby There are several specific sources of stress. Definitely,
 Retiring identifying them can help adolescents cope up and overcome them.
Here are some types of stress that challenge adolescents:
2. DISTRESS
Academic Stress
This is a stress that describes unpleasant feelings that may cause
 One of the chief reasons for stress in adolescents is the
problems to your mind of thinking.
continuous pressure to perform well academically in addition to
Examples of Distress extracurricular demands.
 The death of a spouse  Students suffer from pressure to complete daily/weekly tasks,
 Filing for divorce finish projects and study for exams.
 Losing contact with loved ones  On top of the pursuit of good grades, adolescents may also
 The death of a family member involve extracurricular activities, like sports, student council, and
clubs.
 Hospitalization (oneself or a family member)
 The extra past times may add to adolescent’s stress and anxiety
 Injury or illness (oneself or a family member) if the activities are cutthroat and need scheduling that slashes
 Being abused or neglected the study and relaxation time.
 Separation from a spouse or committed relationship partner
 Adolescents must be mindful of their academic and recreational Stress Due to Family Problems
obligations to make certain they are not taking on too much
 Adolescents can also experience stress at home due to family
responsibility.
pressures and problems. Any small or big changes in the family
Social Stress may have a negative impact in an adolescent.
 Adolescents learn to interact socially and adjust in this highly  Any small or big changes in the family may have a negative
complicated world when they reach adolescence. impact in an adolescent. Most often, lack of attention also poses
threats to many adolescents due to parents’ stressful jobs.
 Getting along with friends or getting into the “in crowd” can be
very stressful for them.  Constant quarrels between parents, sibling rivalry, disagreement
with parents over rules, expectations and the need to
 Gradually, they may realize how important it is to gain social
consistently care for younger siblings can greatly make
acceptance- whether from family, relatives, friends or peers.
adolescents suffer from stress.
 During adolescence, teens are learning how to navigate the
 Adolescents need to feel secure, protected and cared for at
multifaceted and upsetting world of social interaction in new and
home. When they do not get this from their safe place, they may
complicated ways.
take the stress out, carry it outside, and act it out.
Financial Stress
Romantic Relationship
 Financial stress may be defined as the inability to meet one’s
 Adolescence is the age when most young people feel that they
financial obligations, but can also include psychological or
have to be loved and dating is highly stressful aspect of romantic
emotional effects.
relations in adolescence.
 If there is any financial problem in the family, it sometimes
 The pressure from peers to have a partner and becoming closely
becomes hard for an adolescent to handle.
involved are not easy to handle.
 Although an adolescent may not be a breadwinner in their
 From the desire of a particular boy or girl as their love interest to
household or responsible for balancing the budget, that does not
breakups with their lovers to unreciprocated affection from their
mean that he/she is unaffected by an unsteady financial situation
budding love may become significant aspect of adolescents’
within the family.
lives.
 Knowing that money is too stretched can be a very disturbing
 Adolescents might find these painful instances really hard to
situation, especially if he/she is worried about the possibility of
overcome resulting in high stress.
losing the home or the standard of living he/she is comfortable to.
COPING STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHFUL LIVING IN MIDDLEAND
LATE ADOLESCENCE
Do you have coping mechanisms in dealing with stress? Now
that you learned the concept of stress, its point of view, types and the
stressors, you must also be aware on the different coping strategies
when stress strikes.
Coping is the process of spending conscious effort and energy
to solve personal and interpersonal problems. In the case of
stress, coping mechanisms seek to master, minimize or tolerate
stress and stressors that occur in everyday life. These mechanisms
are commonly called coping skills or coping strategies. All the coping
strategies have the adaptive goal of reducing or dealing with stress,
but some strategies could be maladaptive or merely ineffective.
ADAPTIVE VS. MALADAPTIVE STRATEGIES
Coping strategies can also be positive (adaptive) or negative
(maladaptive).
 Positive coping strategies successfully diminish the amount of
stress being experienced and provide constructive feedback for
the user.
 Examples of adaptive coping include seeking social support from 
others (social coping) and attempting to learn from the stressful
experience (meaning- focused coping). Maintaining good
physical and mental health, practicing relaxation techniques, and
employing humor in difficult situations are other types of positive
coping strategies.
 Proactive coping is a specific type of adaptive strategy that
attempts to anticipate a problem before it begins and prepare a
person to cope with the coming challenge.
 Negative/Reactive coping strategies might be successful at
managing or abating stress, but the result is dysfunctional and
non-productive.
 They provide a quick fix that interferes with the person’s ability to
break apart the association between the stressor and the
symptoms of anxiety.
Therefore, while these strategies provide short-term relief, they
actually serve to maintain disorder. Maladaptive strategies include
dissociation, sensitization, numbing out, anxious avoidance of a
problem, and escape.
Coping Strategies
Do you have a certain strategy when you are confronted with
stress? While psychologists disagree on the specific classification of
the hundreds of coping strategies available today, distinctions are
often made among various contrasting strategies. The three most
common distinctions are appraisal- focused, problem- focused, and
emotion-focused coping strategies.
1. Appraisal- Focused Strategies
This strategy attempts to modify thought processes
associated with stress. People alter the way they think about a
problem by approaching it differently or altering goals and values.
2. Problem- Focused Strategies
 This strategy aims to deal with the cause of the problem or
stressor. People try to change or eliminate the source of stress by
researching the problem and learning management skills to solve it.
 3. Emotion- Focused Strategies deemed stressors. Life stressors can be ranked by the median
degree of stress they produce.
This strategy addresses the feelings associated with the
stressor. People modify the emotions that accompany stress  This finding led to the belief that stress was somehow outside of
perception by releasing, distracting, or managing their mental state. or beyond the control of the person experiencing stress.
A typical person will employ mixture of all of these  Further study into this belief yielded a slightly different result.
strategies when attempting to cope with stress. Skill or prowess While external stressors can produce valid and measurable
at employing these strategies changes overtime. stress in the body, this reaction is entirely dependent on the
appraisal formed by the stressed person.
Variations in Coping Abilities
 Not only does an event need to be perceived as stressful, but the
Do you know that coping ability and strategy selection vary
individual must also believe that the pressure of the event
depending on personality, gender, and culture? Coping ability
outweighs his/her ability to cope.
and strategy selection vary depending on personality, gender,
and culture.  This theory of imbalance between demands and resources is
now called the transactional model of stress.
 A person with a positive demeanor and outlook on life
will perceive less stress and be better equipped to handle Modern stress-management techniques were modelled from this idea
stress when it does arise. Those people who employ a static view of that stress is not a predetermined, direct response to a stressor but
the world will perceive more stress and be less adept at addressing rather a changeable perception of deficiency on behalf the individual.
the stressor in their lives. This precept allows stress to be controlled by the person and
provides the basis for most stress management techniques.
 Men and women also assess stress differently but tend to
cope with stress similarly. Evidence shows that men more often
develop career- or work-related stress, while women are more prone
to stress about interpersonal relationships.
 The small amount of variation in coping-strategy selection
shows that women will engage in more emotion-focused coping while
men tend to use problem-focused strategies.
Approaches to Stress Management
Are you aware that studies of stress have shown that it is caused by
distinct, measurable life events deemed stressors? Studies of stress
have shown that it is caused by distinct, measurable life events
1. CONVENTIONAL METHODS  The transactional model of stress is a framework that
emphasizes one’s ability to evaluate harm, threats, and
- Conventional methods of stress management are most popular in
challenges, and results in an enhanced ability to cope with
the Western world. These methods are called conventional because
stressful events. Individuals focus on the nature of thought and
most people are familiar with them and their effects on stress.
stress, and are encouraged to develop heightened security and
 Some conventional methods of reducing stress positive thinking when it comes to stressful situations.
include psychiatric therapy and anxiety-reducing medications. As
with traditional medicine, conventional methods of stress
management tend to focus on evidence-based approaches to
both the stressor and the experience of stress.
 While some conventional methods embrace the power and
effectiveness of counselling and therapy in stress management,
they often rely on medication to reduce stress. Sometimes, the
social support factor of therapy alone can be enough to lift a
person out of a debilitating state of stress.
Conventional methods tend to face the stressor head-on and
adapt a person’s life to either avoid or abate a particular type of
stress.

2. ALTERNATIVE METHODS
- Alternative methods of stress management have traditionally been
popular in regions of the world outside of the United States, but they
continue to gain influence in the Western world. As with alternative
medicine, alternative stress therapies are not rooted in the scientific
method, but rather have non-evidence-based healing effects.
 These methods tend to focus on the person experiencing
stress, providing methods for mental reframing or management.
Alternative methods such as yoga, meditation, and visualization
embrace the transactional model of stress by empowering the
stressed person to either view the situation differently or believe
in their capability to cope.
 Week 7: Power of the Mind - The Whole Mind Theory
Two Hemispheres of the Brain
What do you think is the main function of our brain? If it is
divided into two hemispheres, what hemisphere is dominant to
you? Let us discuss the two hemispheres of the brain for us to be
aware of our dominant part of the brain.
The brain, being an intricate organ, performs a lot of functions. The
two sides of the brain communicate with one another to perform all
vital bodily processes. Both the left and the right side of the brain look
very much alike but they too share some differences, especially in
processing information.
 Lack of integration between the different components of the brain 
could result in some forms of impairment.
 The human brain has the ability to recognize itself. It has the
ability to learn and adapt to change. Each side of the brain has a
distinct function, which affects the person’s ability to learn and
adapt.
Paul Broca (1861)
- Pierre Paul Broca was a French physician, anatomist and
anthropologist. He is best known for his theory that the speech
production center of the brain is located on the left side of the brain
and for pinpointing the location to the ventroposterior region of the
frontal lobes (now known as Broca's area).
 Conducted a study on the language and left-right brain
specialization.
 After several tests, Broca theorized that some language
functions reside on the left side of the brain (R.J. Morris 2006)
 Studies conducted on the brain started with an attempt to
understand a brain-related disease or malfunction. This study
was conducted on a patient who had problems with
language.
Dr. Roger Sperry's Split-Brain Theory
Do you believe that the brain consists of parts where they
perform distinct functions? Let us know about the split-brain theory
and learn the concept of “split brain”.
Dr. Roger Sperry
- Sperry received the 1981 Nobel Prize for Physiology of Medicine for
his Split-Brain Theory.
 Sperry explained that the brain has 2 hemispheres that perform
tasks differently from each other.
- In the 1950s, research on people with certain brain injuries made it
possible to suspect that the "language center" in the brain was
commonly located in the left hemisphere. One had observed that
people with lesions in two specific areas on the left hemisphere lost
their ability to talk, for example. Sperry and his colleague pioneered
research. In his early work on animal subjects, Sperry made many
noteworthy discoveries. The results of these studies over the next
thirty years later led to Roger Sperry being awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1981.
- Sperry received the prize for his discoveries concerning the
functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. With the help of
so-called "split brain" patients, he carried out experiments, and for
the first time in history, knowledge about the left and right
hemispheres was revealed.
 Split-brain patients constitute a small subpopulation of epileptic
patients who have received the surgical resection of the callosal
 fibers in an attempt to reduce the spread of epileptic foci
between the cerebral hemispheres.
 When split-brain patients are shown an image only in the left
half of each eye's visual field, they cannot vocally name what
they have seen. This is because the image seen in the left visual
field is sent only to the right side of the brain and most people's
speech-control center is on the left side of the
brain.
 Communication between the two sides is inhibited, so the
patient cannot say out loud the name of that which the right side
of the brain is seeing.
 A similar effect occurs if a split-brain patient touches an object
with only the left hand while receiving no visual cues in the right
visual field; the patient will be unable to name the object, as each
cerebral hemisphere of the primary cortex only contains a tactile
representation of the opposite side of the body. If the speech- Paul McLean's The Triune Brain Theory
control center is on the right side of the brain, the same effect What do you know about the Triune Brain Theory? How can one
can be achieved by presenting the image or object to only the determine that he is acting with rationality? Let us discuss the triune
right visual field or hand. brain theory to better understand the rationality of man.
- The same effect occurs for visual pairs and reasoning. For example, Paul MacLean
a patient with split brain is shown a picture of a chicken foot and a
snowy field in separate visual fields and asked to choose from a list - Paul Donald MacLean was an American physician and
of words the best association with the pictures. The patient would neuroscientist who made significant contributions in the fields of
choose a chicken to associate with the chicken foot and a shovel to physiology, psychiatry, and brain research through his work at Yale
associate with the snow; however, when asked to reason why the Medical School and the National Institute of Mental Health.
patient chose the shovel, the response would relate to the chicken  He theorized that the brain has 3 distinct parts: neocortex, limbic
(e.g. "the shovel is for cleaning out the chicken coop"). system, and reptilian complex.
 The neocortex (rational brain) is responsible for intellectual
tasks such as language, planning, abstraction, and perception.
 The limbic system (intermediate brain) is responsible for the
motivation and emotion involved in feeding, reproductive
behavior, and parental behavior.
 The reptilian complex (primitive brain) controls the self-
preservation and aggressive behavior of humans similar to the
survival instincts of animals.
The Brain Dominance Theory
Ned Herrmann
- William Edward Herrmann was an American creativity researcher
and author, known for his research in creative thinking and whole-
brain methods.
 Engineer at General Electric
 Tasked to determine why some individuals were more creative
than others.
 father of brain dominance technology
 After drawing from the studies of Sperry, he came up with his
own theory which he derived from observations and tests
that the human body, although symmetrical and paired in almost
all aspects, do not necessarily function equally.
- People normally have a dominant part of their body, like a more
dominant leg, eye, or arm, which a person often prefers to use. For
example, a left-handed person will have a weaker right hand
compared to the dominant left hand or vice versa. Meaning there is
such a thing as a stronger arm, leg, or hand, and where the weaker
pair supports the stronger pair.
FOUR DOMINANT QUADRANTS
 Upper Left (A) Cerebral Mode - keyword for this quadrant
is analytical
 Lower Left (B) Limbic Mode - keyword is organized
 Lower Right (C) Limbic Mode - keyword is interpersonal
 Upper Right (D) Cerebral System - keyword is imaginative
- Hermann extended this dominance theory to the brain, which he
concluded to having not just 2 parts but 4, the upper left and right
hemispheres, and the lower left and right limbic halves (they are all
connected to each other).
 Portions A and B are known as the left side brain thinking.
 Portions C and D are known as the right-side brain thinking.
Based on this model, Herrmann developed the Herrmann Brain
Dominance Instrument (HBDI), a 120-question survey instrument that
measured the preference strengths of the 4 quadrants which is very
useful in identifying occupational profiles. He was pointing out the
preferences of styles in thinking and advocated for whole brain
thinking or using the 4 styles, since most people utilize at least 2
primary quadrants. Following
directions,
This means using one’s strengths while allowing the weaker styles to repetitive Agendas, goals
grow stronger through regular use and practice. Herrmann was not Conservative, detailed and objectives,
trying to differentiate the functions of the quadrants and how the brain structured, homework simple graphs
works. Real life application of this is in solving problems and taking a B organized, problems, and presentation,
different approach to finding solutions through more creative problem Sequential detailed, time step-by-step
solving Thinking planned management procedures before
and concluding
schedules,
planning and
Preferred
Quadrant Key Word Responds well to organizing
Activities

Collecting
Listening to
data, listening Creative and free
Technical or and sharing
Logical, to Emotional, flowing activities,
financial ideas, looking
factual, informational spiritual, experiential
information, C for personal
critical, lectures, feeling, activities like
A theories, charts Interpersonal meaning,
technical, reading sensory, music and art,
Analytical and graphs, Thinking sensory input,
quantitative, textbooks, kinesthetic people-centered
Thinking formal approach, teamwork,
abstract, judging ideas activities and
data heavy win-win
impersonal based on discussions
content situation
facts, criteria
and logical
reasoning
 numbers, data, logical explanations, and results of research
Looking at the studies.
big picture,  However, they will find it difficult to express their inner thoughts
Visual, talking Fun activities, and emotions, and may struggle with unclear or undefined
holistic, initiative, humor, future- concepts or ideas.
D intuitive, simulations oriented activities,
Imaginative innovative, (what if experimentation,
questions), thought provoking Quadrant B learners easily grasp things in sequence, enjoy
Thinking conceptual
visual aids, and challenging organizing ideas and things, assess situations and information,
appreciate situations, visuals and apply what they have learned into practice.
beauty of a  Quadrant B learners will always demand for clear instructions or
problem directions, and would rather apply what they have learned in
practical situations rather than just theories.
 Being a sequential thinker, the B learner needs to be able to see
Whole Brain Theory in Learning the sequence of things, which are consistent and in proper order.
How does the Whole Brain Theory enhance the learning  They may find it difficult to understand concepts without any
process? It has been observed that brain dominance leads to examples to show how these are applied.
thinking preferences that influence and improve learning styles.  Their big challenges are in taking risks and doing things that are
Based on the table above, each of the quadrants has a set of not clearly defined to them.
preferences in terms of learning.  A and B learners are often characterized as practical, reality
based, and down-to-earth persons.
Quadrant A learners are very much into logical thinking.
 They enjoy analyzing information and understand better when Quadrant C learners are very sociable learners who enjoy
presented with numbers and quantities, and they are also good learning with a group with whom they share ideas and projects.
at theorizing or concluding based on facts and information that  They are very focused and involved when trying to learn
support their theories. something.
 Quadrant A learners expect exact information that are straight to  They also tend to reflect on what they have understood and
the point, and they would also want to be fed with lots of theories, acquired in terms of knowledge, and most of the time use their
bodies and movement while learning.
 They get bored with data and intellectual discussions without
activities and participation.
 The C learner is also emotional and would share their emotions
with a group. Personal feedback is therefore important to them.
Quadrant D learners are the curious ones who enjoy dis
covering, experimenting, and exploring activities.
 They are strong thinkers when it comes to conceptualizing and
putting all the seemingly unrelated parts and connecting these
parts together, witnessing, and in creating new ideas and
concepts.
 The D learner enjoys games and surprises, is a visual learner
and needs different varieties of approaches to learning.
 Being spontaneous in character, the D learner will have difficulty
meeting deadlines and rigid environments.
C and D learners are often characterized as fun, flexible, and
open-minded persos.
Learners should always remember that they do not necessarily
belong to just one or two quadrants, but can find their qualities
present in all the quadrants.
 Knowing the different styles of learning the adolescent high
school student can easily adapt their own learning styles with
that of their classmates and even those of their teachers.
 They will have an appreciation of the diversity found inside their
classroom, and even outside their school.
 In accepting the diverse types of learning, the adolescent learner
can become a better collaborator at work, a very important skill
that is currently in demand in the workplace.
 In their personal lives the adolescent high school student will
also have improved interpersonal relationships once the
understand and accept the differences in people's learning and
thinking styles.
Mind Mapping
What is a mind map and when is it useful? Organizing
information and concepts through the use of maps or diagrams has
been a practice among thinkers as early as the third century.
 Educators, planners, engineers, and other professionals had
been using these pictorial methods throughout the centuries that
followed.
 British psychology author and consultant, Tony Buzan, who also
developed the technique in creating such map, popularized the
use of the phrase "mind map."
 "A mind map is a diagram used to represent ideas or information
branching from a central key word or idea and used as an aid in
study, organization, problem solving, decision-making, and
writing."
- Mind maps are useful visual tools that help in linking together
concepts and information in such a way that the inter connection
and interrelation of these are clearly laid out and easily accessible to
help in problem solving and for reference and review (Mind
Tools.com).
- Mind maps are useful during brainstorming sessions, making
decisions, organizing information, simplifying complex ideas, note-
taking, and even for personal use.
According to the website www.mindmapping.com, there are five  Use Cross-Linkages - Information in one part of a mind map
essential characteristics of mind mapping: may relate to another part. Here, you can draw lines to show the
1. The center image represents the main idea, subject, or focus. cross-linkages. This helps you to see how one part of the subject
2. The main branches radiate from the central image. affects another.
3. The branches comprise a key image or word drawn or printed
on its line.
4. Twigs represent the lesser topics.
5. The branches form a connected nodal structure.
Using Mind Maps Effectively
How do we use mind maps effectively? Once you
understand how to take notes in mind map format, you can now
develop your own rules. The following suggestions can help you draw
impactful mind maps:

 Use Single Words or Simple Phrases - Many words in normal

writing are padding, as they ensure that facts are conveyed in
the correct context, and in a format that is pleasant to read. In
mind maps, single, strong words, and short meaningful phrases
can convey the same meaning more potently. Excess words just Brain dominance leads to thinking preferences that influence and
clutter the mind map determine the learning styles of a person. Understanding the brain-
dominant characteristic of an individual helps other to accept and
 Print Words - Joined up or indistinct writing is more difficult to
acknowledge the differences between the way people think and learn.
read.
In accepting the diverse types of learning, the adolescent learner can
 Use Color to Separate Different Ideas - This will help you to become a better collaborator at work, a very important skill that is
separate ideas where necessary. It also helps you to visualize currently in demand in the workplace. In their personal lives the
the mind map for recall. Color can help to show the organization adolescent high school student will also have improved interpersonal
of the subject. relationships once the understand and accept the differences in
 Use Symbols and Images - Pictures can help you to remember people's learning and thinking styles.
information more effectively than words, so if a symbol or picture
means something to you, use it.
 Week 8: Concept of Mental Health and Well-Being
Mental Health and Well-Being in Middle and Late Adolescent
People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions
and their behavior.
 They are able to manage life’s challenges, make strong
relationships, and recuperate from setbacks.
 However, just as it needs effort to build or maintain physical
health, so it is with mental and emotional health.
Improving emotional health can be a rewarding experience,
benefiting all aspects of life, such as boosting mood, building
resilience, and adding to the overall enjoyment of life.
In this chapter, we will look at the concept of mental health and well- 
being and the neurological basis of emotions.
What is mental health? Why is understanding mental health and well- 
being important, particularly to the adolescent, and to every person in
general?
 According to the US National Institutes of Health, "mental health
includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
 It affects how we think, feel, and act as we cope with life. It also
helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and
make choices.
 Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood
and adolescence through adulthood.
 The 1999 US Surgeon General's Report on Mental
Health defined mental health as "successful performance of
mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling
relationships with other people, and the ability to change and to
cope with adversity (Knopt, Park, and Muyle 2008).
During this period of your life being an adolescent, if you experience
mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be
affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems,
including:
1. Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry.
2. Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse.
3. Family history of mental health problems.
Good mental health is not just the nonexistence of mental health
problems. Being mentally and emotionally healthy is much above
being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues.
Mental and emotional health refers to the presence of positive
characteristics.
In the same way, not feeling bad is not the same as feeling
good. Even as some people may not have negative feelings, they still
need to do things that make them feel positive to attain mental and
emotional health.
People who are mentally and emotionally healthy have:
1. A sense of happiness.
2. An enthusiasm for living and the knack to laugh and have fun.
3. The ability to cope with stress and recover from hard times.
4. A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and
their relationships.
5. The flexibility to study new things and adjust to change.
6. A balance between work and play; rest and other activities.
7. The ability to build and maintain satisfying relationships.
8. Self-confidence and high self-esteem.
These positive characteristics of mental and emotional health let you
participate in life to the fullest through productive, significant activities
and strong relationships.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) World Health
Report released in 2001 stated that mental health is defined
differently by different experts from different cultures. Concepts of
mental health include the following:
What do you know about mental health and its concepts? Come and
join us knowing these important concepts.
1. Subjective Well-Being
 one’s personal thoughts and feelings about one’s overall state of
being.
 A person with a healthy self-concept or self-identity exudes
charm and confidence.
 Mental health denotes positive and healthy interpretation of your
self-concept and how you feel about yourself.
 Good mental health is tied/intertwined to the individual’s self-
concept and emotions about him.
2. Perceived Self-Efficacy
 one’s perception of one’s value and worth, effectiveness, and
ability in performing a task or activity.
 A person with a healthy self-concept will move toward self-
fulfillment.
 Mental health and well-being is also anchored on one’s self-
worth and value or self-esteem.
 A person with low self-esteem may show types of behavior that
are self-destructive; low self-esteem produces thoughts that say
one is not worthy of being loved or not adequate enough to be
somebody’s friend.
3. Autonomy
 Deals with one’s capacity to separate one’s identity from other
significant persons like parents, lovers, and special friends.
 Expectations are clarified and adjusted according to the role an
individual take.
 The capacity for self-direction and having a clearly defined role
identity.
 It is important to have autonomy since this will define how you
interact with other people and the environment.
4. Competence
 Related to self-esteem and self-identity.
 It is the perception of one’s capacity to effectively perform a
function or activity using specific skills and knowledge, and
achieving the desired results at a given time.
 Responsibility is a major underlying factor for competence; an
individual who is competent will always assume full responsibility
for the actions and results of his behavior.
 A competent person will adapt to the changes that can happen
while he is in the thick of things, understand why changes
happen, and will adjust his actions and attitude according to the
new demands that those changes bring.
5. Intergenerational Independence
 Refers to the relationships between individuals who belong to
different generations but may be living separately as
independent, autonomous persons during a specific period of
time.
 The relationship between parents and their grown-up children.
 When the children have all grown-up, are pursuing their own
dreams, and are forming their own nest, their parents, who may
already be retired by then, are usually left at home.
 This phenomenon is referred to as “empty nest”.
 With healthy relationships between family members, older
parents will often be visited by their children (and grandchildren) 
during weekends or during special occasions to celebrate and be
in touch.
6. Self-Actualization of One’s Intellectual and Emotional
Potential
 It is all about fulfilling one’s perceived potentials, becoming the
person that one has always aspired for.
Good Physical Health is Good for Mental Health
How do you show respect to your own physical self? Do you give
value to the things that make you physically healthy and fit?
Physical health is also an important factor to good mental health. An
individual who is deprived of sleep will be cranky, have a short
temper, sometimes become emotionally sensitive, and will also have
bad memory.
 Physically, the individual deprived of sleep may develop skin
rashes or acne, have dark circles around the eyes, and may
even develop bad posture because of feeling weak and having
low energy.
 When all of these elements are in balance, then, general well-
being is experienced.
Well-being is a state of wellness where every aspect of a
person is balance. A healthy self-concept plus a healthy mind and
body are guarantee to good mental health. Being well and feeling
well means that there is a general sense of contentment, happiness,
calmness, and peace within.
5 Popular Steps to Improve Mental Health and Well-Being
There are 5 well-known steps for us to improve our mental health
and well-being. Let us embrace these steps.
1. Connect with other people
 Good relationships are important for your mental wellbeing. They
can:
 help you to build a sense of belonging and self-worth
 give you an opportunity to share positive experiences
 provide emotional support and allow you to support others
2. Be physically active
 Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness.
Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing
by:
 raising your self-esteem and helping you to set goals or
challenges and achieve them
  causing chemical changes in your brain which can help to
positively change your mood
3. Learn new skills
 Research shows that learning new skills can also improve your
mental well-being by:
 boosting self-confidence and raising your self-esteem, helping
you to build a sense of purpose
 helping you to connect with others
Even if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not
need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring
learning into your life.
 volunteering in your community, such as helping at a school,
hospital or care home
5. Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)
 Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your
mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your
body and the world around you.
 Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness
can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It
can positively change the way you feel about life and how you
approach challenges.
 Read more about mindfulness, including steps you can take
to be more mindful in your everyday life.

4. Give to others
 Research suggests that acts of giving and kindness can help
improve your mental well-being by:
 creating positive feelings and a sense of reward
 giving you a feeling of purpose and self-worth
 helping you connect with other people

It could be small acts of kindness towards other people, or larger

ones like volunteering in your local community. Some examples of
the things you could try include:
 saying thank you to someone for something they have done
for you
 asking friends, family or colleagues how they are and really
listening to their answer
 spending time with friends or relatives who need support or
company
 offering to help someone you know with DIY or a work project
 Week 9: Neurological Basis of Emotions
memory are recalled whenever the experience is remembered;
you remember situations more when your emotions are triggered
NEUROLOGICAL BASIS OF EMOTIONS by them.
Daniel Goleman  If we see a snake in front of us, its image is quickly passed on to
 Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995) the thalamus, which in turn, sends out the pulses to the other
parts of the brain, first into the neocortex, then to the amygdala,
 Presented the physiological process on how emotions occur.
then to the frontal lobes which eventually send these signals to
 Goleman stated that “all emotions are, in essence, impulses to the other parts of the body for action.
act, the instant plan for handling life that evolution has instilled in
 LeDoux pointed out that small amounts of the impulses coming
us”.
from the thalamus escape to the amygdala.
 He traces the origins of emotions from human race’s survival
 This situation triggers what we know as our knee-jerk reaction to
instinct to sense, detect, and act on any threat to life and survival.
a situation, happening before before the information was
 emotions are present as reactions to events/ situations that processed by the rational part of the brain.
happen in our life which will guide us to survival.
 “Hijacking the Amygdala”
 It’s instinctual which is also known as “fight or flight” response of
animals and humans when they are in danger.
 It is only the human brain that was gifted with the capacity to
process in an intellectual level the emotions being experienced,
validating the reality of the danger, controlling the emotions
being experienced, and acting accordingly given several options
to choose from.
 Neuroscientists have agreed that there are parts of the human
brain primarily involved in the creation of emotions, specifically
the amygdala, the neocortex, and the frontal lobes.
Joseph LeDoux
 The amygdala has become the center of action, the emotional
sentinel that can take control of our actions even before the
neocortex could assess what to do.
 The amygdala also keeps a memory bank of previous
experiences related to emotions; emotions related with a specific

While the pre-frontal cortex controls emotions so we can deal better
and more effectively with the situation, the amygdala acts on its own
in pushing the other buttons for a body response (Goleman, 1995).
Emotional Intelligence
How can emotions be managed? Are actions in managing emotions
have something to do with the concept of emotional intelligence? To
further deepen our knowledge and understanding about emotions, let
us discuss emotional intelligence.
Goleman defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to motivate
oneself and persist in the face of frustrations, to control impulse and
delay gratification, to regulate one's moods and keep distress from
swamping the ability to think, to empathize, and to hope."
While Daniel Goleman popularized emotional intelligence, the
concept of emotional intelligence was first introduced by Peter
Salovey, a psychologist from Yale University who showed how
intelligence can be brought to our emotions (Goleman 1995).
 Later on, Salovey was joined by John Mayer, a psychologist from
the University of New Hampshire, in formulating emotional
intelligence.
Salovey identified five domains of emotional intelligence,
namely:
1. Knowing one's emotions or self-awareness
 Self-awareness brings with it the skill for self-reflection. It is
about a person who recognizes an emotion being felt, and is
able to verbalize it by saying "I am experiencing anger" or "I am
angry at the peak of one's rage.
 This is about knowing how we feel and the thought behind the
feeling.
 According to Mayer, when one recognizes this emotion, there is
also a desire to get rid of it or get out of that situation.
 When this happens, this is seen as a sign that the neocortex is
gaining some control over the amygdala.
2. Managing emotions
 Goleman points out that we often have very little or no control
when an emotion occurs and what this emotion will be, but we
can have control on how long an emotion will last.
 For example, when we grieve over the loss of a loved one, to
dwell on the grief for a very long time will oftentimes result in
deeper emotional problems, such as depression.
 It is important to recognize an emotion and experience it, but
dwelling on it, particularly if it is negative, is not healthy.
3. Motivating oneself
 Research studies have shown that hope is a major indicator of
emotional intelligence.
 Hope is the element present when one is fighting some
overwhelming anxiety, a defeatist attitude, or depression.
 Goleman points out that optimism is a great motivator, and like
hope, it provides a person with expectations that things will turn
out better or right, when faced with adversity.
4. Recognizing emotions in others
 The capacity to recognize the emotions in other people is
called empathy. According to Goleman, the root cause of our
capacity to empathize is self-awareness.
 If we recognize our own emotions and how these affect us, then
it will be easier to recognize other people's emotions as well.
 Empathy is important in maintaining relationships as this also
taps on the caring capacity of people.
 In a research study conducted by Daniel Stern, a psychiatrist at
the Cornell University School of Medicine, he found out that the
capacity of an individual to empathize is linked to the individual's
need for others to recognize and receive their emotions and
respond to them.
 Stern referred to this as attunement.
 This means that if a person does not receive empathy from
others, the tendency is not to have empathy for others as well.
5. Handling relationships
 Emotional intelligence is also evident in the way we manage our
relationships with others.
 Howard Gardner, the proponent of multiple intelligences, and his
colleague, Thomas Hatch, came up with four components of
social intelligence (or interpersonal intelligence). These are:
a. Organizing groups - a leadership skill essential in mustering
groups of people toward a common action. Examples of people
with this talent are orchestra conductors, military officers, and
stage directors.
b. Negotiating solutions - this talent to bring people in conflict
to talk and come up with a solution is usually found among
mediators of disputes.
c. Personal connection - this is the talent where empathy and
connecting with another person's emotions are manifested.
Teachers usually have this natural tendency to relate to others.
d. Social analysis - is the talent to step out of a situation and
objectively form insights about the way people feel and behave.
Therapists are gifted with this talent.
Benefits of Emotional Intelligence
It is often believed that Emotional Intelligence (EI) or also referred
to as EQ (Emotional Quotient), is more important in achieving
success in one's career or personal life than IQ.
While a high IQ is not a surefire element to one's success, EQ has
been identified as the foundation in developing important skills
necessary for one's success at work.
Emotional intelligence is important as it directly affects:
1. Physical and mental health - emotional intelligence equips
one with tools in managing stress; and stress, which usually
 brings discomfort and illnesses, can be avoided. For mental
health, emotional intelligence works well when dealing with
frustrations and challenges, providing the individual with plenty of
healthy coping mechanisms.
2. Work performance - either in school if you are still a student,
or at work, if you are already employed. El helps in
understanding people and situations more objectively and with
more understanding and com passion. Emotions that are
managed well relieve one from stressful situations and
misunderstandings with others
3. Relationships - interpersonal relationships are enhanced
because emotions are expressed in a more positive way, and
with empathy, genuine caring is expressed and shared. El also
builds trust so that conflicts are managed better.
Indeed, it is true that in developing one's emotional intelligence,
one must first be aware of the neurological genesis of emotions,
which emanates from the interplay between the different parts of the
brain particularly, the thalamus, amygdala, and frontal neocortex.
There is a wide variety of emotions a person can experience.
There are many ways to classify them. What is important is for you to
learn the wide array of words that define the different emotions that
people experience. At the immediate occurrence of a knee-jerk
reaction, we immediately know this is coming from the amygdala, so
the next thing to do is to assess the emotion and see its relevance to
the situation.
As Goleman defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to
motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustrations…”, be honest
and open to oneself, accepting one’s capacity for different types of
emotions, knowing how to handle emotions positively, and being
emphatic and sensitive to other people’s emotions.