Expectations of Society

Right now I am taking a psychology course in collage and according to one of the many eminent men talked about in the book, the full cognitive faculties of an adolescent are developed by about the age of 12, or in other words, whatever mind they have when they are 12 is the mind they will have when they have become an adult. When this was brought up in class the general reaction of the group was to scoff, there being many parents going to collage who wouldn't dream of giving any of the adult responsibilities to a 12 or 13 year old. But according to this psychologist (I can't remember his name right now), the only difference in the mental faculties of a 13 year old and a 25 year old is experience.

In my mind, this is probably true. I think that the reason that most of our adolescence seem so irresponsibe is not so much that that is how the body functions at that age but rather that it is how society tells them they should act. Watch any popular show on Disney or another channel and generally the children are portrayed as the intelligent knowledgeable person while the parents are just retards. Its almost as though, if you like and admire your parents you are weird and unnatural.

I find it interesting that in older jewish cultures it is perfectly normal for a girl of 15 to be a mother and starting a family, and while I don't nessesarily think this is a good idea, in my mind it just shows that because it is expected of them, these girls become mature enough to be mothers.