ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses conceptions of adolescence as the culmination of intellectual development. The adolescent is in possession of mature intellectual structures but has yet to apply them in an adult way. J. Rousseau's Emile is brimming over with intellectual curiosity in this period and is hence led, through the experience of real—life problem solving, to the personal discovery of numerous natural laws. The chapter also discusses various formulations of the "turmoil" or disequilibrium often held to characterise adolescence. J. Piaget acknowledged the longstanding tradition by which adolescence is seen as a period of emotional turmoil, of "storm and stress." The chapter concerned with theories of the influence of culture on development. Adolescence has been considered a period in which the individual is especially aware of his or her own place in a society and a culture. The general relationships between individual development and culture have been of long—standing interest to developmental psychologists.
