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Understanding Developmental Range

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Developmental Range
No one operates at her or his developmental best all the time. We all have an "optimal" level of functioning that we can manage when we are least stressed and most supported—and lower levels of functioning for the rest of the time. For example, a student’s ability to solve a complex problem may be very different when he or she is working one-on-one with a mentor than it will be that same night when she or he is tired and alone. Some theorists believe that new, more complex capacities for functioning arrive in spurts or stages. However, because these new capacities are fragile at first, and used rarely, they appear to evolve more gradually. Over time, what was hard becomes easier, and what was impossible becomes merely hard.

Below is a list of some of the key factors that can affect one’s level of functioning.

"Hot" and "Cold" Cognition
As we all know too well, people don’t function at their cognitive best at times of high emotional arousal, what researchers sometimes call "hot" cognition. Thus, a young adult may genuinely say at the family dining table, with clarity and sincerity, that he or she would not consider drinking and driving, but this same level of cognitive functioning is unlikely to be present after a party, late at night, pressured by friends, or preoccupied by the prospect of hooking up. "I wasn’t thinking" is literally true.

Sleep Deprivation
Our cognitive functioning is also different when we are alert and rested, compared to when we are sleepy or sleep-deprived. This is of particular concern among teens and young adults, given the prevalence of sleep deprivation triggered, in part, by changes in sleep cycles and in larger part by modern 24/7 lifestyles.

Surroundings
Like all of us, young adults demonstrate higher levels of cognitive functioning when they are in familiar surroundings. Thus, college freshmen are likely to be particularly vulnerable to mistakes and difficulties with judgment, as they navigate entirely new environments, rules, and lifestyles.
 
Practice
We can use optimal levels of functioning more effectively in content areas that are familiar, where we have had the most practice. Students who are more at home with academic subjects than social scenes, for example, will show more optimal functioning in these areas—and vice versa.

Support
Support encourages more optimal functioning, whether it takes the form of modeling the optimal behavior, taking an interest, mentoring, or even doing the same activity along with the learner.

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