Teenagers' psychology has the following characteristics:
Excessive energy, listlessness
Teenagers may have hours, days, weeks or months of excess energy. They are keen to break all kinds of records, and their sleep is obviously reduced. They pursue a new fashion, create a fashion and enjoy it. However, they are very easy to do the opposite, showing weakness, sluggishness, indifference, fatigue, indifference, lethargy, lack of motivation and so on. Hall said: "When teenagers' diligence is at its peak, they are extremely energetic and relaxed, but they are easily tired from overtraining, so they are exhausted and listless. "What is related to the frequent changes of excessive efficiency and insufficient tension is that teenagers are prone to illness. In general, teenagers are energetic first, and then listless. However, it is also possible to be listless first, and then see the motivation and can't stop. For this reason, Hall took many great men as a convenience and pointed out that they wasted time and years in the process of growing up, which seemed completely unproductive. But then they woke up, determined to regain time and surpassed their companions. Hall believes that these changes may be influenced by climate, seasons and emotions. There is no doubt that this has a physiological basis. " Sometimes it seems that anemia and congestion appear alternately, and after extreme laziness, the motor center almost appears spasmodic activity. "This activity is cyclical, sometimes in months, and sometimes even in seasons. Hall pointed out that this phenomenon implies the atavism of primitive life, which is more controlled by the moon, tides and cold and hot seasons. " The alternation of hyperactivity and laziness is like the neural echo of the alternation of hunting banquets, fasting and famine, migration and settlement in ancient times. At least here, nature promotes her development through replacement: on the one hand, it is committed to developing functions, and at the same time, it is committed to increasing the volume of organs; This economic method is allowed to achieve a higher level of development than excessively maintaining unity, balance and stability. "It seems that in order to overcome every obstacle, it is necessary to use the total energy of developing ability to overcome this difficulty for a while and that obstacle for a while; If its energy is used in all aspects at the same time, the effect will not be so remarkable.
Happiness and pain
Hall regards happiness and pain as the two poles of life and is the supreme ruler of life. He thinks that teenagers tend to swing between happiness and pain. Children's moods fluctuate easily. They laughed and cried, and their emotional reactions to various impressions were very direct. From adolescence, the fluctuation gradually slows down, but tends to be extreme for a period of time. Hall pointed out that from a philosophical point of view, teenagers are free. "Happiness is regarded as an inalienable right; Teenagers live for happiness, whether it is hedonism or aestheticism. " Some teenagers will also have an uncontrollable frivolity, that is, a kind of "euphoria", which overflows in every absurd act that is too lively and difficult to restrain.
However, all this will turn into pain and unhappiness, and teenagers will sigh, but the reason is not obvious. Depression and overflow of consciousness are almost the common characteristics of teenagers. "The expectation of death, which was originally far away, did not come true, but appeared in an omen way, vaguely feeling that life is not always happy, and individuals must be subject to death and eventually die." Especially when you are tired, the depressed mood of world-weariness will make life dull for a while, and with all kinds of associations, it is like changing your personal tendency. Sometimes, sadness is caused by unexplained reasons, often from fictional motives. Doubt that you are not loved by your friends, doubt that your appearance and personality have insurmountable shortcomings, fantasize that you are not your parents' biological children, and fantasize that you have unconsciously caused others' misfortune-all of these can make your emotions more or less extreme according to reasons such as environment, heredity and temperament. And it can also indicate depression, depression and melancholy, and even kill time aimlessly.
Self-esteem and modesty coexist.
Self-affirmation takes many forms. The main manifestations of teenagers may be vanity, beauty and temptation. They feel very attractive to the opposite sex, or they can put on airs and put themselves in a conspicuous position. Speak loudly, be melodramatic, and dress up to attract attention; You can be complacent, even arrogant, and think you are better than others. "Cheeky, intentional offense, rude abuse, and sometimes even personal attacks are all different forms of expression." Hall believes that self-awareness is nourished by all kinds of praise and flattery. With the enhancement of self-awareness, parents' and teachers' suggestions are hard to listen to, and if they are rude, they may encounter open resistance. Self-awareness brings a new consciousness, that is, I hope to be an adult, and I hope to be recognized as an adult by others. The purpose is to be respected, consulted and trusted. The sense of self will reach a subtle level, so that countless things in the environment that have never touched the heartstrings in the past can now sting him or excite him. Among them, the most obvious performance is the sense of honor. Teenagers have very detailed guidelines on how to gain, maintain, damage and restore honor and self-esteem, especially when honor involves courage, honesty, parents, lovers and so on. And will defend it with fists, anger and even duels. Teenagers have high ideals, but their goals seem to be very close, so energetic teenagers have a strong desire to ask the society to trust them. They not only become unruly and unruly, but also have a proud sense of superiority to the customs and characters around them. Sometimes they seem to suddenly lose respect for others, let alone admire them.
However, teenagers will feel lack of self-confidence and inner weakness, which needs to be covered up by bluffing. They sometimes doubt their own strength and worry about their future; Once a person's self-esteem is hurt, he will feel humiliated. Although I am dissatisfied, I feel powerless to resist. This sense of humility and humiliation will make teenagers have a certain attitude towards what has happened. "Sometimes, the humiliation of pure imagination is so deep, as if for a while, the soul was thrown into the deepest and saddest melancholy; At this time, shyness replaced the usual self-confidence. This shyness cannot be overcome or measured by the persuasion and encouragement of friends. It is only revealed in some secret diaries or prayers. "
Rotation between selfishness and altruism
Before puberty, children's education in food, clothing, housing and transportation was taken care of by others. Now, there are some opposite trends, and these trends will get stronger and stronger until they gain an advantage. In addition to the need for others to serve before, but now we must serve others, the requirement of self-discipline has emerged. Life is no longer self-centered, but should be altruistic For teenagers, it is difficult to be respectful and polite at first, but these behaviors will eventually become a kind of schoolwork that gradually transitions from secondary virtue to primary virtue. What urges teenagers to restrain themselves is sympathy, especially affection, and its development result is to turn restraint into a kind of enthusiasm. Teenagers can even swear to restrain themselves all their lives and engage in hard work in order to devote themselves to a great cause, even if it means suppressing or even rejecting some of the deepest human instincts. "He or she can be ordered to do things; Serve the sick, fools, degenerates and the disabled; Support great charities, often practice asceticism in the dark for ordinary and harmless joy and comfort in life, and exercise excessive restraint in eating, drinking and sleeping, even to the extent that it is harmful to health. " Sometimes, self-sacrifice will go too far, and you swear to give it to others; Generosity and selflessness can be kept secret; Do something unpleasant to others, make friends with golfers in order to make them better, and be ready to give up any personal interests at any time. "The survey report shows that the most obvious selfishness and greed, generosity and generosity broke out at the same time ... Sometimes people's ownership, food and clothing can be rudely trampled under their feet; At the same time, I have done the most meticulous care and care for others or the same person, including prior consideration and pain. " Hall also pointed out that parents and teachers sometimes feel disappointed with teenagers before they gradually form rigid personalities and behaviors. In addition, before the process of forgetting oneself is completed in time, it is often hindered. "Therefore, we see signs of meanness in the life and behavior of adults, which is exactly what we left over from childhood."
Rotation between good behavior and bad behavior
Hall believes that the kindness of teenagers is moving and pure, and the virtue of teenagers is flawless. Good deeds inspired by such deep goodwill ... are often regarded as the source of all true morality. Conscience comes from childhood, but it plays a major role in adolescence. It arouses the eager pursuit of justice and inspires the highest ambition and determination. Their love for humans and animals is heartfelt, and they express their heartfelt wishes for the happiness of others. They can try their best to guess and satisfy other people's wishes, "so that in some short periods, young men and women seem to be too good for the world."
However, teenagers also have bad behaviors: their physical desires are completely indulgent; The tendency to lie is difficult to control; Anger is vented everywhere, which makes people suffer; Social customs have been abandoned and ignored, and the abuse is endless; Some despicable or unimaginable behavior surprised the onlookers. In order to win the hearts of teenagers, the forces of good and evil waged a fierce struggle. "The law of psychological development seems to be that you must do more bad things to release higher restraint and use it continuously until you overcome the despicable instinct." What Hall means is that while bad behavior appears, it also promotes the rise of a new force for good and reform; When the development of teenagers is hindered and influenced by evil forces, their growth can still be good. For most teenagers, as they mature, they can tame their humble instincts and serve good deeds.
Loneliness and sense of belonging
Teenagers have obvious social behavior. Some teenagers are shy, shy and lonely in interpersonal relationships; Like to keep company with stars, oceans, forests and animals; Unwilling to show your face in front of people, especially the opposite sex; Immersed in subjective life, I became only concerned about my inner state and ignored the objective world. Some teenagers actively participate in a new kind of peer friendship, establish close friendship, and "pursuers" and "pursued" appear; The number of parties has increased dramatically, and there are many organizations. Some teenagers don't want to be alone, as if they can't get rid of themselves for a while, and they can rely on their peers to get their own happiness; When they are lonely, they will feel bored and bored. Only when I am with others do I feel alive, lively and interesting. They only confide their inner secrets to the core figures in the group, and like to confide their secrets frankly in intimate moments or letters. Hall believes that in social groups, some teenagers always play the role of pleasing others, and some teenagers always play the role of leading others. The former gradually lost the ability of independent action, thinking or impulse, and formed a fixed habit of dependent followers and followers; The latter gradually established the desire for domination and formed the fixed habit of the dominant decider and commander. However, "this kind of excessive and imperfect bipolar social rotation is not common in the same person, and even if it happens, the interval between the two is longer."
Hall pointed out that in the process of forming social character, jealousy and contempt will be strangely intertwined. Sometimes appreciation almost becomes servile worship, or blind belief in new ideas, excessive investment in literary works and so on. However, everything will be completely transformed into ridicule, satire and funny imitation.
Interest and indifference
Teenagers are usually eager for knowledge. What they are eager for is not one aspect but many aspects of knowledge. Teenagers are keen to arouse corresponding activities to pursue knowledge and the knowledge with the highest value. When a new field of activity appears, new motives will be aroused. "Adolescence is the age to explore, investigate and inspect ideas, human beings and the world. The expectation during this period is the most urgent, and the impulse to prepare for any new situation is the strongest. "
However, in the youth group, there will also be inactive emotions and types. Some teenagers are indifferent, regard enthusiastic spiritual interest as impolite and are unwilling to appreciate the task. "Sometimes, this situation is completely posturing, caused by fashion or environment, and it is an unconscious imitation." Of course, sometimes it may be the result of excessive activities or efforts.
Swing between knowledge and lines
Due to the influence of school and society, teenagers find their study life fascinating. Therefore, set up an erudite ambition. They are obsessed with books, absorbed in reading, and love poetry and meditation. This attitude of acceptance is necessary, because in a civilized society, teenagers always live in an advanced culture far beyond what they can create. However, teenagers are unwilling to be lonely. They think they can travel around the world without much study. Therefore, they are keen to arrange plans, design the future, and even go straight to work; They would rather see the effect as soon as possible than simply study. They hope to shake the real world, make contributions to fame, get ahead, and do something positive and even creative.
Alternation between conservatism and radicalism
Teenagers feel that the world is chaotic and want to transform their school, society and family life; They regard the established custom as hypocrisy and are angry at the tyranny of power. "Out of their most basic rationality, they really want to doubt, abandon and personally transform things that seem to be incompatible with truth, goodness and beauty." However, teenagers will go to the other extreme, that is, from radical to orderly, from radical to conservative. Life will gradually make them feel the power of tradition and the value of the established system. Especially in the field of religious belief, the balance between atheism and superstition is almost always broken; Excessive doubt or belief, yes or no, young people are particularly at a loss between piety and heresy. Hall also pointed out that personal temperament and personal environment restrict the rotation between conservatism and radicalism. Extreme views are always simple and clear, while conservative views are always complex and profound, so it is easy for teenagers to "shuttle" between conservatism and radicalism once or more.
Wisdom and stupidity are juxtaposed.
Teenagers have a high degree of intuition, and can even predict the situation after maturity and the outcome in old age. This is a kind of "mental attitude", which urges teenagers to foresee their life experiences, as if they had found a home in the real goal of wisdom. However, in this precocious philosophy, we can still find childishness mixed with failure, which is manifested as easygoing, greedy, unreasonable whimsy, indulgence of low-level impulses or complete stupidity. Teenagers who are precocious in some aspects are often restrained in others.
To sum up the above points, Hall thinks that psychological development is similar to physical development: the development of the body is asymmetric, and some parts, functions and organs have developed to a certain extent, which leads to the temporary loss of the exact normal proportion and can only be restored to a new level of development in the future; The same is true of the development of psychology, and all kinds of mental qualities are developing one after another. The increasing energy sometimes goes in this direction and sometimes in that direction. In Hall's view, this is a kind of biological rescue and a kind of repetition, because in the psychological field, nature also follows the mechanical principle that we often use, that is, it is best to develop strength extensively first, and then play a good role in it. "People's growth and development are rotating in a gradually expanding range. We should try our best to prevent finding support prematurely. We should try our best to extend the period of change. We should also prevent natural selection from temporarily appearing in the competition for survival. According to Hall's point of view, education at this time should make all kinds of abilities develop in many aspects as much as possible, indulge a little waywardness and fantasy as much as possible, postpone the consistency of personality for a while, and let all kinds of innate advantages compete with each other.