Chapter 2

Question 1

metacognition

Answer 1

the process of thinking about thinking itself

Question 2

adolescent egocentrism

Answer 2

extreme self-absorption, often a consequence of too much “thinking about thinking”

Question 3

imaginary audience

Answer 3

the belief, often brought on by the heightened self-consciousness of early adolescence, that everyone is watching and evaluating one’s behavior

Question 4

personal fable

Answer 4

an adolescent’s belief that he or she is unique and therefore not subject to the rules that govern other people’s behavior

Question 5

cognitive-developmental view

Answer 5

a perspective on development, based on the work of Piaget, that takes a qualitative, stage-theory approach

Question 6

sensorimotor period

Answer 6

the first stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between birth and age 2

Question 7

preoperational period

Answer 7

the second stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning roughly ages 2 to 5

Question 8

concrete operations

Answer 8

the third stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between age 6 and early adolescence

Question 9

formal operations

Answer 9

the fourth stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period from early adolescence through adulthood

Question 10

information-processing perspective

Answer 10

a perspective on cognition that derives from the study of artificial intelligence and attempts to explain cognitive development in terms of the growth of specific components of the thinking process (such as memory)

Question 11

selective attention

Answer 11

the process by which we focus on one stimulus while tuning out another

Question 12

divided attention

Answer 12

the process of paying attention to two or more stimuli at the same time

Question 13

working memory

Answer 13

that aspect of memory in which information is held for a short time while a problem is being solved

Question 14

long-term memory

Answer 14

the ability to recall something from a long time ago

Question 15

autobiographical memory

Answer 15

the recall of personally meaningful past events

Question 16

reminiscence bump

Answer 16

the fact that experiences from adolescence are generally recalled more than experiences from other stages of life

Question 17

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 17

a technique used to produce images of the brain, often while the subject is performing some sort of mental task

Question 18

diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

Answer 18

a technique used to produce images of the brain that shows connections among different regions

Question 19

brain structure

Answer 19

the physical form and organization of the brain

Question 20

brain function

Answer 20

patterns of brain activity

Question 21

neurons

Answer 21

nerve cells

Question 22

synapse

Answer 22

the gap in space between neurons, across which neurotransmitters carry electrical impulses

Question 23

neurotransmitters

Answer 23

specialized chemicals that carry electrical impulses between neurons

Question 24

synaptic pruning

Answer 24

the process through which unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated, improving the efficiency of information processing

Question 25

myelination

Answer 25

the process through which brain circuits are insulated with myelin, which improves the efficiency of information processing

Question 26

plasticity

Answer 26

the capacity of the brain to change in response to experience

Question 27

developmental plasticity

Answer 27

extensive remodeling of the brain’s circuitry in response to experiences during childhood and adolescence, while the brain is still maturing

Question 28

adult plasticity

Answer 28

relatively minor changes in brain circuits as a result of experiences during adulthood, after the brain has matured

Question 29

prefrontal cortex

Answer 29

the region of the brain most important for sophisticated thinking abilities, such as planning, thinking ahead, weighing risks and rewards, and controlling impulses

Question 30

limbic system

Answer 30

an area of the brain that plays an important role in the processing of emotional experience, social information, and reward and punishment

Question 31

response inhibition

Answer 31

the suppression of a behavior that is inappropriate or no longer required

Question 32

executive function

Answer 32

more advanced thinking abilities, enabled chiefly by the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, especially in early adolescence

Question 33

functional connectivity

Answer 33

the extent to which multiple brain regions function at the same time, which improves during adolescence

Question 34

dopamine

Answer 34

a neurotransmitter especially important in the brain circuits that regulate the experience of reward

Question 35

serotonin

Answer 35

a neurotransmitter that is especially important for the experience of different moods

Question 36

positive risk taking

Answer 36

risk taking that promotes healthy psychological development

Question 37

zone of proximal development

Answer 37

in Vygotsky’s theory, the level of challenge that is still within the individual’s reach but that forces an individual to develop more advanced skills

Question 38

scaffolding

Answer 38

structuring a learning situation so that it is just within the reach of the student

Question 39

social cognition

Answer 39

the aspect of cognition that concerns thinking about other people, about interpersonal relations, and about social institutions

Question 40

mentalizing

Answer 40

the ability to understand someone else’s mental state

Question 41

theory of mind

Answer 41

the ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions, and knowledge that may be different from one’s own

Question 42

social conventions

Answer 42

the norms that govern everyday behavior in social situations

Question 43

behavioral decision theory

Answer 43

an approach to understanding adolescent risk taking, in which behaviors are seen as the outcome of systematic decision-making processes

Question 44

sensation seeking

Answer 44

the pursuit of experiences that are novel or exciting