As  we reported here, children’s brains appear to largely reach adult development much sooner than previously believed — 11 or 12 — not in their mid to late teens.

Does this mean children have the experience and judgment to put that cognitive development into proper context? No, but it does mean that teens tend to integrate more of the knowledge they gained from ages 6 through 10, rather than learning new basic skills. For instance, we know the basic social tools of talking to people we like and getting along with others in a group setting as a young child. But in teen years, we form cohesive peer groups that have strong ties to our own beliefs and experiences, and we socialize often toward specific short-term goals.

What they study didn’t find is just as interesting:

There were hints of much-cited differences in verbal and spatial ability between boys and girls, but these differences were not as sharp as those described in previous reports. In fact, there were no sex differences in verbal fluency. There were also no differences in calculation ability, suggesting that boys and girls have an equal aptitude for math.

Although these are still relatively early findings, it will be interesting to see if these hold up and continue as the study progresses.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 19 May 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.