Psychology Unit 2 Exam

What is adolescence?

The period of life between childhood and adulthood.

When does adolescence begin?

At puberty, when sexual maturation begins.

When does adolescence end?

When a person reaches social independence, such as being able to support themselves.

Why is adolescence getting longer in Western cultures?

Puberty is starting earlier, while social and financial independence are happening later.

What is puberty?

A set of biological changes that lead to sexual maturation.

What triggers the growth spurt during puberty?

A surge in hormones.

What are primary sex characteristics?

Reproductive organs and external genitalia.

What are secondary sex characteristics?

Nonreproductive physical traits that develop during puberty, such as breasts, wider hips, facial hair, a deeper voice, and body hair.

What is myelination?

The development of a fatty covering around nerve fibers that helps neural signals travel more efficiently.

What happens to the frontal cortex during adolescence?

It continues developing and undergoes increased myelination.

What does the limbic system help regulate?

Emotion and reward.

What does the frontal cortex help regulate?

Planning, decision-making, and self-control.

Why might teenagers sometimes make risky decisions?

The emotion and reward systems mature earlier than the frontal cortex, which is still developing.

Around what age do the frontal lobes continue maturing until?

About age 25.

When does risk-taking tend to peak?

During the teenage years, when the gap between limbic system and frontal-lobe development is greatest.

What is early maturation associated with in adolescents?

A higher risk of mental health problems.

According to Piaget, what new reasoning ability develops during adolescence?

The ability to think about abstract problems and ideas.

What are examples of abstract thinking during adolescence?

Thinking about justice, truth, morality, good and evil, and religious or philosophical ideas.

Who developed the theory of stages of moral development?

Lawrence Kohlberg.

How did Kohlberg study moral development?

He presented people with moral dilemmas and examined their reasoning.

What is the Heinz dilemma?

A moral dilemma asking whether Heinz should steal an expensive medicine to save his dying wife.

What mattered most to Kohlberg when evaluating a moral decision?

The reasoning behind the decision, rather than whether the person answered yes or no.

What are Kohlberg's three stages of moral reasoning?

Preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.

What is preconventional morality?

Moral reasoning based on self-interest, rewards, and avoiding punishment.

What is an example of preconventional reasoning in the Heinz dilemma?

"He should not steal the medicine because he could get caught and go to jail."

At approximately what age is preconventional reasoning most characteristic according to the slides?

Before about age 9.

What is conventional morality?

Moral reasoning based on following rules, gaining approval, and maintaining social order.

What is an example of conventional reasoning in the Heinz dilemma?

"He should not steal the medicine because stealing is against the law and people would see him as a criminal."

When does conventional reasoning typically develop according to the slides?

By early adolescence.

What is postconventional morality?

Moral reasoning based on personal ethical principles, basic rights, and universal principles such as justice and equality.

What is an example of postconventional reasoning in the Heinz dilemma?

"Saving a person's life matters more than protecting a store's profits."

When does postconventional reasoning typically emerge?

During adolescence and beyond, although not everyone reaches this level.

What are two major criticisms of Kohlberg's theory?

It may be culturally limited and overly focused on male patterns of moral reasoning.

Why has Kohlberg's theory been criticized as culturally limited?

Postconventional reasoning may reflect individualist cultures more than cultures that emphasize social roles and duties.

How might morality be viewed in more collectivist cultures?

Morality may be understood more in terms of duties to others and social roles rather than individual choice alone.

Who criticized Kohlberg's theory for underestimating an ethic of care?

Carol Gilligan.

What is an ethic of care?

A moral approach that emphasizes caring for others and responding to their needs.

What did Jonathan Haidt propose about moral judgments?

Moral judgments often begin with quick intuitions, with reasoning occurring afterward to explain or justify them.

What is moral intuition?

A fast, automatic, emotional reaction about what is right or wrong.

What is moral reasoning in Haidt's model?

Slower, deliberate thinking that can explain or justify a moral judgment.

How does Haidt's theory relate to dual processing?

It suggests that fast, automatic intuition and slower, deliberate reasoning both contribute to moral judgments.

What is the trolley problem?

A moral dilemma asking whether someone should redirect a runaway trolley to save five people at the cost of one life.

Why might people answer the two versions of the trolley problem differently?

The scenarios may trigger different emotional reactions, even when the basic trade-off is similar.

What is emerging adulthood?

A period from about age 18 to the mid-20s when a person is no longer an adolescent but may not yet be fully independent.

Why has emerging adulthood become more common?

Major adult milestones, such as finishing school, leaving home, marrying, and becoming financially independent, often happen later.

How have average ages at first marriage in the United States changed since 1960 according to the slides?

They have increased by more than five years.

What is adulthood?

A period of life that follows adolescence, although its stages are harder to define precisely.

Why is adulthood harder to divide into clear stages than childhood?

Adult development varies considerably in timing and life experiences.

How has worldwide life expectancy changed according to the slides?

It increased from about 50 years in 1950 to about 73 years in 2015.

What factors helped increase life expectancy?

Improved sanitation, modern medicine, antibiotics, and fewer infant deaths.

What are telomeres?

Protective structures at the ends of chromosomes that can shorten or fray as cells age.

What factors can accelerate telomere shortening according to the slides?

Smoking, obesity, and stress.

What sex differences in life expectancy are highlighted in the slides?

Women tend to outlive men by about 4.4 years on average.

What happens to the proportion of men and women at very advanced ages?

Women greatly outnumber men among people who reach age 100.

Around what age does physical performance typically peak?

Around age 20.

What physical abilities begin to decline after the mid-20s?

Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac output.

What happens to vision as people age?

The senses gradually become less sensitive, and the retina receives less light.

How much light does a 65-year-old's retina receive compared with a 20-year-old's, according to the slides?

About one-third as much light.

Why might older adults need more light to read or drive?

Their eyes receive less light, making adequate illumination more important.

How does fatal crash risk change with age according to the slides?

Fatal accidents per mile rise sharply after age 75 and exceed the level for 16-year-olds by age 85.

What visual difficulty may affect older drivers?

They may monitor the road ahead well but have more difficulty noticing vehicles approaching from the side.

What happens to recall as people age?

Recall tends to decline.

What happens to recognition as people age?

Recognition tends to hold up better than recall.

What is recall?

Retrieving information from memory without being shown the answer.

What is recognition?

Identifying information when the correct answer or relevant options are presented.

How is a multiple-choice test an example of recognition?

The possible answers are provided, and you identify the correct one.

How is an essay test an example of recall?

You must retrieve information and generate an answer yourself.

What is a major message about aging and life regrets in the slides?

People often regret things they did not do, including not taking their education seriously.

What is sensation?

The process of detecting physical energy from the environment and converting it into neural signals.

What is perception?

The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information.

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

Sensation detects stimuli; perception gives those sensations meaning.

What is bottom-up processing?

Processing that begins with sensory receptors and builds toward the brain's interpretation.

What is top-down processing?

Processing guided by higher-level mental processes, experiences, expectations, and knowledge.

What is an example of top-down processing?

Interpreting the same ambiguous shape as different letters depending on the surrounding context.

How do bottom-up and top-down processing work together?

Sensory information and prior knowledge interact to help us interpret complex scenes.

What physical stimulus makes vision possible?

Light waves.

What does the wavelength of light determine in vision?

Hue, or perceived color.

What does the amplitude of light determine in vision?

Intensity, or perceived brightness.

What wavelength is associated with violet light in the slides?

About 400 nanometers.

What wavelength is associated with red light in the slides?

About 700 nanometers.

What is the pupil?

The adjustable opening in the eye through which light enters.

What is the iris?

The colored muscle surrounding the pupil that controls its opening.

What does the iris respond to?

Light intensity and certain internal states.

What is the lens?

The structure that focuses light onto the retina.

What is accommodation?

The process in which muscles change the shape of the lens to focus light.

What is the retina?

The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that converts light into signals for the nervous system.

What is transduction in vision?

The conversion of light energy into chemical changes that lead to neural impulses.

What two types of photoreceptors are found in the retina?

Rods and cones.

What is the fovea?

The central area of the retina where cones are densely concentrated.

Which photoreceptors are distributed throughout much of the retina?

Rods.

What do rods detect?

Light and dark, including shades of gray.

What are rods especially important for?

Peripheral vision and seeing in dim light.

Approximately how many rods does the retina contain, according to the slides?

About 120 million.

Which photoreceptors are concentrated in the fovea?

Cones.

What are cones responsible for?

Color vision and detailed vision, especially in bright light.

Approximately how many cones does the retina contain, according to the slides?

About 6 million.

What is the main difference between rods and cones?

Rods are especially useful in dim light and peripheral vision; cones support color and fine detail in brighter light.

What is the order of signal processing through the retina?

Light activates rods and cones, which activate bipolar cells, which activate ganglion cells.

What are bipolar cells?

Retinal cells that relay signals from photoreceptors toward ganglion cells.

What are ganglion cells?

Retinal cells that collect and transmit visual information toward the brain.