Fade to Gray: A study of the Adolescent Experience

Abstract

The years preceding puberty can be seen as a time when life is basically black and white. Certain things are right and certain things are wrong, and the difference between the two is determined by outside forces which are almost totally omnipotent. Around the time of puberty, however, this system begins to change; the world that was so beautifully black and white now starts to fade to gray. The newly reborn adolescent begins to have thoughts and experiences which can contradict the old rules. Seemingly stable norms may now be seen in a new light. These thoughts and experiences lead to new thoughts and feelings which can in turn lead to conflicts as the adolescents search for ways to integrate their new way of seeing things into everyday life. The aim of this research is to observe these cognitive changes which are taking place and the effect they have on the ways in which adolescents deal with their conflicts.