Adolescent Development in Today’s World – Chapter 1 Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, historical developments, and research methods from Chapter 1 of “Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach.”

Developed Countries

Affluent, highly industrialized nations characterized by individualistic cultural values and broad access to education and resources.

Developing Countries

Nations with less overall wealth but rapid economic growth; tend to emphasize collectivistic cultural values.

Traditional Cultures

Rural segments of developing countries where people closely follow long-standing historical customs and beliefs.

Globalization

The growing worldwide interconnectedness in trade, travel, technology, and leisure that is making adolescents’ environments more similar and identities more bicultural.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

An individual’s or family’s position based on education level, income, and occupational status; influences nearly every aspect of adolescent development.

Majority Culture

The cultural group that sets a society’s norms and standards and usually holds the largest population share.

Minority Culture

A group defined by ethnicity, religion, language, or other traits that differs from the majority culture within a country.

Contexts

The settings and circumstances—such as family, peers, school, media, and religious institutions—that shape developmental pathways.

Collectivism

A cultural value emphasizing interdependence, group obligations, and the well-being of the larger community.

Individualism

A cultural value emphasizing independence, self-expression, and personal achievement.

Sub-Saharan Africa – Adolescent Challenges

Region faces threats to adolescents’ physical health, high birth rates, and responsibilities like sibling care, yet retains strong traditions.

Patriarchal Authority

System in which males hold primary power and dominate roles of leadership and moral authority, common in North Africa and the Middle East.

Confucianism

Asian philosophical system stressing duty, hierarchy, and harmony, influential on adolescents in East Asia.

Filial Piety

Confucian belief that children owe obedience, respect, and care to parents and elders.

Child Labor (India)

Widespread employment of children and adolescents in often low-pay manufacturing or agricultural work.

Latin America – Key Adolescent Issues

Youth experience improving political stability and economic growth but still face social inequality and educational challenges.

“The West”

Collective term for Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; characterized by affluent democracies with high education access.

Life-Cycle Service

Historical practice (1500-1800) where adolescents left home to serve apprenticeships or domestic labor until their late teens or early twenties.

Age of Adolescence (1890–1920)

Era marked by child-labor restrictions, mandatory schooling, and recognition of adolescence as a distinct life stage.

G. Stanley Hall

Psychologist who authored the first book on adolescence; proposed recapitulation theory and the “storm and stress” view.

Recapitulation

Hall’s discredited idea that individual development reenacts evolutionary history of the human species.

Storm and Stress

Hall’s concept that adolescence universally involves conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and risky behavior.

Menarche

A girl’s first menstrual period; average age has declined to about 12.5 years in developed countries.

Emerging Adulthood

Life stage (≈18–25) found mainly in developed countries, characterized by exploration and gradual assumption of adult roles.

Identity Explorations

Process in emerging adulthood of trying out possibilities in love, work, and ideology to form a coherent sense of self.

Instability (Emerging Adulthood)

Frequent residential, educational, and romantic changes typical of ages 18–25.

Self-Focus

Tendency in emerging adulthood to concentrate on personal development and independence rather than obligations to others.

Feeling In-Between

Subjective sense of being partly but not fully adult during emerging adulthood.

Possibilities/Optimism

Belief among emerging adults that many potential life paths remain open and the future holds great promise.

Markers of Adulthood (Cross-Cultural)

Accepting personal responsibility, making independent decisions, and becoming financially independent are the three most common indicators worldwide.

Interdependence

Traditional cultural emphasis on mutual reliance and obligations within the family and community, often signaled by marriage as an adulthood marker.

Scientific Method – Step 1

Identify a clear, answerable research question.

Scientific Method – Step 2

Formulate a testable hypothesis or prediction.

Scientific Method – Step 3

Choose appropriate research methods and an overall research design.

Scientific Method – Step 4

Collect data systematically to test the hypothesis.

Scientific Method – Step 5

Analyze data and draw conclusions about the original question.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee that ensures research meets ethical standards, including protection from harm and informed consent.

Informed Consent

Participants’ voluntary agreement to partake in research after being told the study’s nature, risks, and benefits.

Confidentiality

Researchers’ obligation to keep participants’ data private and undisclosed.

Questionnaire

Research measurement using closed or open-ended items to gather large amounts of data quickly.

Interview

Face-to-face or virtual questioning that yields rich qualitative and quantitative data but requires extensive coding.

Observation

Direct recording of participants’ behavior in natural or laboratory settings; can be influenced by observer presence.

Biological Measurement

Assessment of hormonal levels, brain activity, genetics, or other physiological indicators.

Reliability

Consistency of a measurement instrument across time and observers.

Validity

Extent to which a tool measures what it claims to measure.

Experimental Design

Method involving random assignment to experimental and control groups and manipulation of independent variables to establish cause-and-effect.

Natural Experiment

Study of events that occur without researcher manipulation, such as twin or adoption studies.

Ethnographic Research

In-depth cultural study where the researcher lives among participants, using observation and interviews.

Case Study

Detailed, longitudinal analysis of a single individual, group, or situation.

Correlation

Statistical relationship between two variables; does not establish causation.

Cross-Sectional Design

Research that collects data from participants of different ages at one point in time.

Longitudinal Design

Study that follows the same individuals over an extended period, vulnerable to participant attrition.

Attrition

Loss of participants in a longitudinal study over time, potentially biasing results.