Final

Question 1

Early Adolescence

Answer 1

• 11-14 years (beginning of puberty-about 13)
• the individual is making the transition from childhood to adolescence
• most of the major physical changes of adolescence and accompanying changes in relationships with parents and peers

Question 2

Middle Adolescence

Answer 2

• 14-16 years

- Increasing independence, preparation for adult occupations or further education

Question 3

Late Adolescence

Answer 3

• 17-early adulthood (19)

- Continued preparation for adulthood, often in college or other educational settings

Question 4

Puberty

Answer 4

• The period during which a child changes from a sexually immature person to one who is capable of reproduction
• Not a single event, extended period when sexual organs and other characteristics develop rapidly
• Onset influenced by: heredity, nutrition, stress, family conflict, exercise, disease

Question 5

Pituitary Gland

Answer 5

“Master gland”

A small gland at the base of the brain that plays a major role in regulating other glands hormonal output

Question 6

Hypothalamus

Answer 6

Part of the brain that regulates many body functions, including production of pituitary hormones

Question 7

Gonads and Gonadotropins

Answer 7

The sex glands: testes in men and ovaries in women; pituitary hormones that affect hormone output by the gonads
ex: FSH-follicle stimulating hormone

Question 8

Plasticity

Answer 8

-ability of brain regions to take on new functions
-between childhood and adulthood, the brain shows two major changes:
decline in plasticity
increase in efficiency
-changes that may contribute to loss of plasticity
hemispheric specialization
decrease in number of synapses

Question 9

Hemispheric Specialization

Answer 9

-process by which certain brain functions become localized in either right or left side of the brain
-changes that may contribute to loss of plasticity
hemispheric specialization
decrease in number of synapses

Question 10

Early Maturing Girls

Answer 10

• show more truancy, academic trouble, drug and alcohol use, running away, shoplifting
• have poorer body image
• tend to think of selves too heavy because of increase in redistribution of fat (body image problems)
• more attractive to older boys
• risk behavior problems
• date earlier

Question 11

Late Maturing Girls

Answer 11

• enter puberty at the same time as early-maturing boys

- best prepared

Question 12

Early Maturing Boys

Answer 12

-have more positive body image
-perceive selves as more attractive
-have athletic advantage
make friends with older peers
-treated older
-increased behavior problems
-increased popularity

Question 13

Late Maturing Boys

Answer 13

• treated younger
• insecurity
• adjustment problems

Question 14

Formal Operations

Answer 14

• In Piaget’s theory, a set of principles of formal logic on which the cognitive advances of adolescence are based.
• Propositional logic (formal operations) involves combining individual statements (propositions) to reach logical conclusions.
• Formal operations allow them to think more abstractly and systematically.
• They are able to think about logical implications in a problem, whether grounded in reality or not.

Question 15

Kohlberg (Moral Dev)

Answer 15

-greatly influenced by Piaget
six stages of moral development
3 broad levels of moral development with two stages each
-interviews with children, adolescents, and adults
-presented moral dilemmas in which respondent was required to choose between obeying a rule or law vs. taking action that conflicted with the rule or law but served a need
-not interested in response but the reason to justify the response

Question 16

Pre-Conventional Morality

Answer 16

• morality is based on external forces
• children conform to rules to avoid punishment or to obtain a personal reward
• reasoning reflects a belief that goodness or badness is determined by consequences

Question 17

Punishment and Obedience Orientation

Answer 17

Pre-conventional

• definitions of right and wrong are based on consequences
• rules should not be broken
• obedience is important for its own sake
• physical damage to persons or property should be avoided
• fails to consider other’s point of view (cannot consider two points of view)
• ex: Louise should tell her mom about her sister’s lie because if she doesn’t Louise is a liar too
• usually children under 10

Question 18

Instrumental Purpose Orientation

Answer 18

Pre-conventional
-rules should be followed only when it is in one’s immediate interest
-pragmatic reciprocity is the underlying principle: “you scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours.”
-to serve one’s own need or interests
is aware other’s have interests and these conflict with their own
believes being right is relative to one’s needs
-ex: Louise should keep her sister’s secret so maybe in the future her sister will keep a secret for Louise
-typically appears at age 13

Question 19

Conventional Morality

Answer 19

individuals strive to win praise and recognition for good conduct and for maintaining social order

Question 20

Interpersonal Orientation Stage

Answer 20

Conventional

• doing right is what pleases others
• being good means having good motives and showing concern about others
• being loyal, trustworthy, and respectful to others is important
• to be seen as nice, to maintain rules and authority, Golden Rule
• aware of shared feelings and expectations, which are more important than individual interests
• ex: Louise should not tell her sister’s secret because her sister will not trust her anymore
• early adolescence (13-14)

Question 21

Social Order Maintenance Stage

Answer 21

Conventional

• one should conform to social rules in order to avoid disapproval by authorities
• doing good is fulfilling what one has agreed to do
• belief that rules and law maintain the social order and are worth following
• to avoid breakdown in the system if rules are not followed
• takes the point of view of the larger social system
• considers individual relations in terms of their place in the larger social system
• ex: Louise should not tell her sister’s secret because her mom made her sister a promise and promises should be sacred

Question 22

Post-conventional Stage of Moral Reasoning

Answer 22

• the individual is personally committed to a set of principles that are shared with others but go beyond particular authority figures.
• moral standards are internalized and become part of the individual

Question 23

Social contract orientation

Answer 23

Post-conventional

• moral actions are usually those that reflect the will of the majority
• rules must be determined by democratic procedures and must be impartial
• some values must be upheld in any society, regardless of the majority opinion
• a sense of obligation to laws
• to uphold the social contract that protects all people’s rights
• to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people
• is aware of values and rights prior to social contracts
• recognizes that moral and legal points of view may conflict
• ex: Before you say Louise should tell her mother, you have to consider the whole situation. Louise should respect her mother’s point of view, but parents’ expectations and rules should not violate what one believes to be right

Question 24

Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

Answer 24

Post-conventional
-right and wrong are based on self-chosen ethical principles
-laws and social agreements are valid because they rest on such principles
-when laws violate these principles, one should act in accordance with the principle rather than the law
-principles are universal principles of justice the equality of human rights and respect for others as individuals
-belief in the validity of universal moral principles and a sense of personal commitment to them
-gives equal consideration to the rights of all human beings
-has respect for the value and dignity of all people
-ex: One must always do what he or she thinks is right. If that means disobeying your parents, then so be it. Louise ought to do what she thinks a just person would do in this case, not do it just because of emotion or obligation.
-none of Kohlberg’s participants ever reached this stage
described it as a potential stage that moral leaders like Jesus, Gandhi, MLK Jr. exemplify
later he proposed it is no different from stage 5 and they should be combined

Question 25

Hierarchy of principles orientation (Universal Ethical…)

Answer 25

Post-conventional
Make decisions based on highest relevant moral principles. Rules of society are fused with conscience
Avoid self-condemnation for moral wrongs

Question 26

Exploration

Answer 26

-James Marcia (1993) expanded on Erikson’s theory (identity crisis in adolescence)
Crisis/Exploration
-Process of considering options, values, and goals
making choices about life directions is an active process of searching among alternatives
-Identity Diffusion (confusion)
-Foreclosure
-Moratorium
-Identity Achieved

Question 27

Identity Diffusion (confusion)

Answer 27

Have not explored choices. May appear aimless ad preoccupied. lack confidence

Question 28

Foreclosure

Answer 28

Have not explored alternatives but have a definite commitment (prematurely). Try to become what others want them to be rather than themselves

Question 29

Moratorium

Answer 29

Actively exploring but not commitment. May be an uncomfortable status but allows flexibility in considering options

Question 30

Identity Achieved

Answer 30

Experienced exploration and crisis, and have made a commitment to choice. Greater self-acceptance and better sense of strengths and weaknesses.

Question 31

Commitment

Answer 31

-Making voluntary choices about life directions from many options. Become invested in identity decisions.
-Friendship changes from middle childhood to adolescence, with increasing emphasis on:
mutual understanding
self-disclosure
intimacy
commitment

Question 32

Quality of Romantic Relationships

Answer 32

-Degree to which relationship provides beneficent experiences.
High quality: Intimacy, affection, nurturance (Social provisions)
Low quality: Irritation, antagonism, high conflict/high controlling

Question 33

Myths of Teen RomRel

Answer 33

Rom Rels are 1) voluntary 2) ongoing 3) Mutually acknowledged 4) Intensity (affection)
-Myth #1) RomRel can’t be studied in lab
Interviews
Couple Assessments
Observations in lab and in field (school dances)
Peer Reports
Self Reports
Diary Reports
-Myth 2) Adolescent Rom Rel are Trivial and Transitory
they are stable over time
-Myth 3) Rom Rel are only good because they forecast maladaptive trajectories

Question 34

Internal and External Locus of Control

Answer 34

-Peer culture at school rewards popularity and athletic performance far more than scholastic achievement.
-Grades decline during adolescence.
-Adolescents differ in beliefs about what factors contribute to academic achievement.
-Internal locus of control: the belief that success depends on one’s own efforts.
internal: I didn’t study
more likely with a warm, sensitive parent
-External locus of control: The belief that success depends on factors outside one’s control.
external: someone distracted me so I couldn’t study
-movement toward internal over external control during adolescence

Question 35

Internal locus of control

Answer 35

the belief that success depends on one’s own efforts.
internal: I didn’t study
more likely with a warm, sensitive parent
-movement toward internal over external control during adolescence

Question 36

External locus of control

Answer 36

The belief that success depends on factors outside one’s control.

external: someone distracted me so I couldn’t study
- movement toward internal over external control during adolescence

Question 37

Resilience

Answer 37

the capacity to bounce back or recover from stressful situations

Question 38

Emotion-focused coping strategies

Answer 38

efforts to manage or reduce the emotional distress that is aroused in a stressful situation
ex: thinking of something pleasant to cope with emotional distress

Question 39

Problem-focused coping strategies

Answer 39

efforts to manage or modify the source of a stressful situation

Question 40

Homotypic Continuity

Answer 40

looks the same over development (physically aggressive in preschool, middle school, high school, bars)

Sad/depressed affect with poor appetite in early childhood->Sad/depressed affect with somatic complaints in middle childhood->Major depressive episode in adolescence

Question 41

Heterotypic Continuity

Answer 41

looks different behaviorally but it stems from same place, same reason/cause (I am dysregulated so I bite in preschool and in middle I can’t pay attention, in high school I skip a lot because I can’t focus so I don’t want to be there, as an adult have trouble controlling self)
manifest differently because of developmental period or given moment (not always physically aggressive may do something else)

• doesn’t look the same over time but has same underlying reason
• ex: insecure attachment leads to being aggressive in childhood to having unstable relationships in middle childhood, in adolescence I fall into a bad peer group
• stems from being rejected for behavior, problems with relationships

Question 42

Equifinality

Answer 42

• multiple causes may result in a single outcome
• multiple origins that end in the same place
• ex: maybe my mom smoked cigarettes when she was pregnant, born with negative temperament, bad parenting, all might end up looking like ADHD
• tree picture 5/5

Question 43

Multifinality

Answer 43

• single cause may result in many outcomes
• ex: insecure attachment can lead to depression, anxiety, relationship issues
• tree picture 5/5

Question 44

Life Course Persistent Conduct Disorder

Answer 44

a conduct disorder that begins early
is stable across the childhood years
predicts problems in adulthood
most concerned about these children (Moffit, 1993)

Question 45

Adolescent Limited Conduct Disorder

Answer 45

a conduct disorder that first appears in adolescence and does not predict problems in adulthood

Question 46

ADHD subtypes

Answer 46

inattentive
hyperactive
combined

Question 47

Co-Rumination

Answer 47

-“Co-rumination refers to “excessively discussing personal problems within a dyadic relationship and is characterized by frequently discussing problems, discussing the same problem repeatedly, mutual encouragement of discussing problems speculating about problems, and focusing on negative feelings.” (Rose, 2002)
+May involve two early adolescents talking about the relationship status of others or if a perceived relationship slight was intended or not.
-Co-rumination is social (rumination is not) and maladaptive (unlike self-disclosure) because may be associated with depression/anxiety.
-Girls are hypothesized to co-ruminate more during early adolescents and predicts both friendship quality/closeness but also depression and anxiety
-Rose, 2002
608 (3rd, 5th,) & (7th, & 9th) graders
27 item co-rumination questionnaire
Frequency of discussing problem
Discussing problem instead of engaging in other activities
Encouragement by the focal child of the friend’s discussing of the problem (and reverse)
Discussing the same problem repeatedly
Speculation about the causes of the problems
Speculation about the consequences of the problems
Focusing on negative feelings
E.g. “When we talk about a problem that one of us has, we usually talk about that problem every day even if nothing new has happened” or
“When we talk about a problem that one of us has, we try to figure out everything about the problem, even if there are parts that we may never understand”
-Some findings:
Girls reported more co-rumination than boys
Girls higher for both younger and older groups
Girls more rumination and more disclosure
Girls higher friendship quality and closeness
Friends rated girls as higher for quality and closeness
Girls had higher internalizing problems
maybe co-rumination plays a role in quality and closeness (.09->.02) but it definitely causes more internalizing problems (depression and anxiety .33->.19*)
Link between co-rumination and friendship were reduced when controlling for self-disclosure
When co-rumination and self-disclosure were entered together, only co-rumination predictive internalizing problems.

Question 48

Borderline Personality Disorder

Answer 48

-BPD is pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships with destructive thoughts and actions and impulsive behavior.
-History of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse/neglect
Even after controlling for temperament, education, income, parent psychiatric disorder, gender, age, co-occurring symptoms
-Relational Aggression & BPD features in middle childhood (Crick et al.)
BPD features were stable across middle childhood
Emotional & Cognitive sensitivity to relationship provocation situations (HAB-hostile attribution bias)
Effects were for girls only
Effects held even when control for Depression
Relational Aggression and BPD in Emerging Adults (Werner & Crick, 1999)
-features of BPD are associated with relational aggression
-HAB: difference between making a benign attribution (maybe they haven’t seen you yet) as opposed to going to negative (they didn’t invite me because they don’t like me)
may create a self-fulfilling prophecy: thought you weren’t invited so you go up to girl and ask what’s your problem, then you aren’t invited
also rejection sensitivity

Question 49

Comorbidity

Answer 49

-Anorexia generally overlaps with depression.
-Depression overlaps with other disorders.
-Anxiety disorders are comorbid with a host of other child problems.
-Difficulty concentrating is one criterion for ADHD, depression, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.
ADHD/ODD/CD/Aggression

Question 50

Violent Media Effects

Answer 50

TV watching drops because they spend more time using other media (music, computers, etc.)

• average time tv is on: 7 hours a day
• more common in low-income families
• estimate 20-25 violent acts per hour on tv (Murray, 2007)
• by adolescence children have viewed 100,000 televised violent acts, including 20,000 murders (APA, 1993)
• glamorize and reward violence in children’s tv
• Federman, 1998
  - an attractive role model who perpetrates (superhero)
  - violence seems justified
  - violence goes unpunished
  - minimal consequences to victims
  - violence seems realistic but is not
• some don’t view as violent unless there is bloodshed
• Wilson & Smith, 1998
  - interpret and define violence differently so different responses
• correlation between tv violence and aggression worldwide
• more likely to be aggressive when:
  - violence is realistic
  - portrayed by humans rather than cartoons
  - not subject to critical commentary
  - aggressive behavior is seen as justified
• makes children more impulsive if they are aroused, implied vs. actual violence is same
• predisposed children (abused, emotionally disturbed, etc.) are more likely to be influenced by violent tv
• can have long-term effects (children still affected 10 years later)
  - more likely to be arrested, aggressive, convicted, abusive
• rates of prosocial behavior are comparable to rates of aggressive and violent behaviors

Question 51

Key Features of Emerging Adulthood

Answer 51

-Usually 18-25 but can be 18-29
-Distinct period of identity exploration
-Exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent exploration during late adolescence and twenties
Highly industrialized or postindustrial only
-Risky time in development (rate of binge drinking is highest)
-Emerging adulthood is:
1. the age of identity explorations
2. the age of instability
3. the self-focused age (not egocentric thought but thinking about self and who you want to be/what you want to do)
4. the age of feeling in-between
5. the age of possibilities (there are a lot of options)

Question 52

Social Control

Answer 52

Low social control: restraints on behavior imposed by social obligations and relationships

Question 53

Risk behavior during EA (Many types of risk behavior reach peak prevalence)

Answer 53

-Low social control: restraints on behavior imposed by social obligations and relationships
-Common risk behaviors include driving, substance use, sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
-Most serious threat to lives and health comes from driving
During ages 16-24, highest rates of automobile accidents, injuries, fatalities
-Why?
Driving style
Driving while intoxicated
Peer influences
Personality characteristics
-Dramatic increases in substance use
Pattern of binge drinking and marijuana greater among young adults than any other age group
-Similar across countries
-Consequences?
Unintended pregnancy, criminal activity, physical fights
-What accounts for higher rates of substance use?
Propensity: motivation to behave defiantly
Opportunity: increased opportunity to engage in substance use and other defiant behaviors
Unstructured socializing: during late teens and emerging adulthood, young adults spend a lot of time in unstructured or “spur of the moment” activities
-Emerging adulthood is also a peak time for STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HPV, herpes virus, and HIV/AIDS
-Why?
Multiple romantic partners
Inconsistent contraceptive use
-Symptoms and consequences of STIs vary widely

Question 54

Post-formal Thinking

Answer 54

-Piaget believed that formal operations marked the end of cognitive maturation
Refuted by research
-During emerging adulthood, advancements in post-formal thinking occur:
Pragmatism and Reflective Judgement
Pragmatism: ability to adapt logical thinking to practical constraints of real-life situations.
Reflective Judgement: capacity to evaluate the accuracy and logical coherence of evidence and arguments.
Stage 1: multiple thinking
People learn that there are two or more legitimate views in an issue and that it is difficult to justify any one position
Stage 2: relativism
People start to critically evaluate evidence for each side of the issue and reach commitment
Gains in reflective judgement are related to education.

Question 55

Pragmatism

Answer 55

ability to adapt logical thinking to practical constraints of real-life situations.

Question 56

Reflective Judgment

Answer 56

-capacity to evaluate the accuracy and logical coherence of evidence and arguments.
-Stage 1: multiple thinking
People learn that there are two or more legitimate views in an issue and that it is difficult to justify any one position
-Stage 2: relativism
People start to critically evaluate evidence for each side of the issue and reach commitment
Gains in reflective judgement are related to education.

Question 57

Recentering

Answer 57

Change from family to romantic partner as the center of their emotional lives

Question 58

Personality Development During Emerging Adulthood

Answer 58

-Personality continues to develop during emerging adulthood
-Interestingly, first signs of “formal” personality pathology as we transition into EA
Borderline personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
-Werner & Crick (1999) documented that peer-reported relational aggression was significantly associated with self-reported borderline personality disorder features
BPD: intense anger, affective instability, impulsivity, and unstable interpersonal relationships
This effect has been replicated (Ostrov & Houston, 2008)
APD was also associated with relational aggression. In particular, stimulus-seeking and egocentricity factors.
This effect has been replicated (Ostrov & Houston, 2008)
-Relational victimization and BPD are significantly associated in emerging females (N=54)
-Moreover, relational aggression, but not physical aggression, was uniquely related to BPD symptoms
-Relational aggression in women during emerging adulthood: a social process model

Question 59

Senescence

Answer 59

-gradual physical decline over time
Physical Appearance: Berger (2010)
Collagen decreases by about 1% per year
Hair begins turning gray and thinning 
“Middle-age spread” appears
Muscles weaken
-Senses:
Sight: peripheral vision narrows faster than frontal vision 
Color vision becomes more faded
Increased nearsightedness and by middle age farsightedness 
Hearing: 
Presbycusis: loss of hearing due to senescence that usually occurs after 60

Question 60

Menopause

Answer 60

when a woman’s menstrual period ceases completely and production of sex hormones drops considerably (~age 50)

Question 61

“Andropause”

Answer 61

term coined to signify a drop in testosterone levels in older men

Question 62

Physical and Cognitive Health During Adulthood and Later Adulthood

Answer 62

-Sleep is increasingly essential
-Although we see improvement in some cognitive abilities, brain power shows a “shallow decline”
-What makes brain loss more common?
drug abuse
excessive stress
poor circulation
viruses
-Cognitive assessment-memory
Remembering word lists, recreating figures from memory
Episodic memory:
“ tell me the details about your morning before you came here.”
Retrieval: Spontaneous vs. Recognition
“Was highway on the list that I read before?”
taxes short-term memory (often the first thing to go)
-Challenges and Deviations from Norm
Elders are susceptible to depression (estimated 3-5%) and anxiety (estimated 10%)
Issues of independence
collectivist vs. individualist societies have different rates of elder depression/anxiety
Cognitive impairments - greater cognitive decline than normal (1 in 3 adults dies with dementia)
Progressive disorders
Alzheimer’s disease
Dementia (Lewy-Body, Frontotemporal, Vascular)
Delirium
Polypharmacy
estimated that older adults average about 8 medications

Question 63

Social Clock

Answer 63

-developmental timetable based on social norms
average age of 1st time mothers is over 30
37% of students enrolled in college are over 25
-Social clock is dependent on culture, cohort effects, SES
lower SES=faster clock ticks
-expected to settle down and have kids
-depending on others around you or around your age will have an influence on expectations for you
-no globally set idea of social clock but you may feel pressure from your context, culture, family, peers expect or are doing

Question 64

Marriage

Answer 64

-Partners
people worldwide take longer than previous generations to commit to each other
adults worldwide seek a committed sexual partner
-Marriage:
currently 15% marry before age 25; 85% married by age 40 (US)
adults thrive if another person is committed to their well-being
marital satisfaction is as high as it used to be
-Research finds more similarities between heterosexual and homosexual couples than not!

Question 65

Divorce

Answer 65

-Individuals who divorce tend to be less happy than never-married peers
women seem to suffer more than men
aging older men suffer due to separation from children
-US: almost one of every two marriages ends in divorce
can be beneficial-depends on social context
-Teenage marriages are more likely to become depressed and aggressive
reduced changes of higher education, professional employment and satisfying relationships
-Remarriage often provides relief from divorce but are more likely to end in divorce than first marriages

Question 66

Primary Aging

Answer 66

inevitable biological aging that takes place for all living organisms

Question 67

Secondary aging

Answer 67

decline in physical functioning that takes place due to lifestyle behaviors such as unhealthy diet, insufficient exercise, and substance use as well as environmental factors like pollution

Question 68

Changing social aspects of aging

Answer 68

-Role changes
-Retirement, children are now adults
-Recall that when the psychological self is a diversified entity it may serve as a protective factor
loss in one domain (career); other domains become more central (family; community work)
-Older adults report having a great sense of community and connectedness to society
-Death is a more frequent experience
spouse, friends, siblings
-Older people become more at peace with death (frequent exposure)
Loneliness is a common normative reaction to bereavement experienced by older people
-Signs to watch for pathological bereavement
increased physical pain
trouble sleeping
increase in drinking/smoking
loss of interest in life, social activities
reduced desire to tend to personal care
-Start considering one’s own mortality
-Integrity vs. despair is the key task according to Erikson (review their life and make peace with their life decisions)
-Older adults seek out and maintain relationships that are low in conflict and high in mutual enjoyment.
Prior relationships that were more “knowledge-based” (i.e., co-workers, shared work projects) are dropped
Smaller social networks than adults in earlier life stages, their relationships are higher in happiness and lower in conflict
-Slessor et al. (2010) tested hypotheses about age-related changes in detecting happiness
young adults (17-36 years old)
older adults (65-81 years old)
-“No age-differences were found in the ability to discriminate spontaneous enjoyment smiles from deliberate non-enjoyment smiles, older adults had a greater bias toward thinking that any smiling individual was feeling happy.”