peers. This experience has drawn him closer to his father but has isolated him from most other youngsters his own age. However, he has been able to participate in sports activities (tae kwon do, baseball, bowling, and basketball) that have allowed him to retain some vital peer interaction.
He has already entered the adult world in his work. Instead of the more common adolescent experience of working for others to earn money and become part of the business world, however, he started his own business, a video production service that has required him to take on greater responsibilities than most adolescents assume at this age. Running his own business has taught him to meet deadlines, deal with the public, and gain a sense of personal accomplishment he would have been unlikely to experience in a more traditional student job.
Piaget argues that adolescence is characterized by the mastery of formal operational thought, a process which begins between 15 and 20 (Schelhas-Miller, 1999 February 11, Week 3). This means the ability to think abstractly, to intellectualize, to become self-conscious, and to consider possibilities, none of which is possible until more fundamental cognitive skills have developed as a foundation on which to build these more advanced abilities to think.
The case study bears this out. Although the subject is advanced, he was not able to begin these kinds of thought processes
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