Cognitive Transitions

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 from early adolescence to 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

The 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

Synaptic pruning

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Myelination

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Developmental plasticity

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Adult plasticity

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Limbic system

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Response inhibition

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Executive function

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Functional connectivity

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Dopamine

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Serotonin

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Positive risk taking

Answer 32

Risk taking that promotes healthy psychological development

Question 33

Zone of proximal development

Answer 33

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 34

Scaffolding

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Social cognition

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Mentalizing

Answer 36

The ability to understand someone else's mental state

Question 37

Theory of Mind

Answer 37

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

Question 38

Social conventions

Answer 38

The norms that govern everyday behavior in social situations

Question 39

Behavioral decision theory

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Sensation seeking

Answer 40

The pursuit of experiences that are novel or exciting