Adolescent Psych Exam 1

For Prof Fabian's Fall 2023 class

What did Plato & Aristotle believe?

Reasoning begins in adolescence

What was the "Age of Adolescence"?

When the scientific exploration of adolescence began

Who was G. Stanley Hall & why was he important?

The father of the scientific study of adolescence; Published the first book; Believed development is controlled primarily by biological factors; "Storm & stress"

Who was Margaret Mead & why was she important?

Anthropologist; Believed the basic nature of adolescence is not biological but rather sociocultural

What is the inventionist view?

Adolescence has a biological base and a sociocultural base

What are cohort effects?

Effects of growing up in different generations and time periods

What is Positive Youth Development?

Youth need access to positive social contexts & competent adults for healthy developmental trajectories

What are contexts? What are some examples of contexts?

the settings in which development occurs; Examples include family, peers, school, religion, neighborhood, community, region, & nation

What are the social policies regarding adolescents' development most focused on today?

The eradication of risk; The promotion of wellbeing; Creating healthy conditions and promoting the competencies needed to succeed in education, employment, & life

What is human development determined by?

biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes

What is the developmental issue of nature & nurture?

The question of whether development is primarily influenced by nature (biological inheritance) or nurture (environmental experiences)

What is the developmental issue of continuity & discontinuity?

The question of whether development involves gradual, cumulative change or distinct changes (stages)

What is the developmental issue of early & later experience?

The degree to which early or later experiences are the key determinants of development

What is Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory?

The mind/personality/development are mostly unconscious; Problems are the result of experiences in early life; Primary motivation for human behavior is sexual in nature; Five stages of psychosexual development; Repression is the most pervasive defense mechanism

What is Erikson's Psychosocial Theory?

The primary motivation for human behavior is social in nature; Development occurs throughout life; Each stage has a unique developmental task

What is Vygotsky's Sociocultural Cognitive Theory?

Culture & social interaction guide cognitive development; Kids learn by talking to other people, especially those that know more than them

What is the information-processing theory?

Individuals develop a gradually increasing capacity for processing information (continuous); Thinking in information processing

What is behaviorism and an example of this?

Rewards & punishment shape development; Skinner's operant conditioning

What is Bandura's social cognitive theory?

Behavior, environment, & person/cognition are the key factors in development, and they all influence each other

What is Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory?

Development reflects the influence of 5 environmental systems

What is descriptive research?

Research that aims to observe and record behavior

What is the observation research method?

Lab or naturalistic observation

What is the physiological effects research method?

Analyzing hormone levels, brain imaging, & genes

What is the experience sampling research method?

Research method that involves providing participants with electronic pagers and then beeping them at random times, at which point they are asked to report on various aspects of their lives

What is a positive correlation?

When both variables increase

What is a negative correlation?

as one variable increases, the other decreases

What is experimental research?

The only research method that can determine causality

What is a cross-sectional study?

Studying people all at one time; Time & cost efficient; No information about how individuals change

What is a longitudinal study?

Studying the same individuals over a period of time; Change & stability in development; Expensive & time-consuming; drop-out effects

What are hormones?

Chemicals secreted by the endocrine glands and carried throughout the body by the bloodstream

What are androgens?

The main class of male sex hormones

What are estrogens?

The main class of female sex hormones

What hormones changes are responsible for the most observable bodily changes of puberty?

Increases in estradiol & testosterone

Where do the hormonal changes of puberty begin?

The hypothalamus

Describe the process the endocrine system begins that is associated with the beginning of puberty

hypothalamus increases its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which causes the pituitary gland to release gonadotropins

What are gonadotropins?

Hormones that influence gametes and sex hormones; FSH & LH

What is follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)?

stimulates follicle development (females) & sperm production (males)

What is lutenizing hormone (LH)?

regulates estrogen secretion & ovum development (females) & testosterone production (males)

What is adrenarche?

hormonal changes in the adrenal glands as adrenal glands secrete androgens; "pre-puberty"

What is gonadarche?

visible puberty; maturation of primary and secondary sex characteristics

What is menarche and when does it occur?

The first menstrual period; occurs in middle to late gonadarche

What is spermarche & when does it occur?

The first ejaculation of semen; occurs in early to late gonadarche

What is the relationship between weight & body fat and the onset of puberty?

Must reach a critical body mass or a certain percentage of body fat in relation to total body weight to begin puberty

Adolescents in developed countries and large urban areas reach puberty ________ than their counterparts in less-developed countries and rural areas

earlier

What sociocultural and environmental factors are linked to earlier pubertal onset?

low SES, child maltreatment, family conflict

What is the earlier arrival of puberty likely due to?

Improved health & nutrition, as well as modern medicine

Parent-adolescent relationships and negative life events are _______ (more or less) influential of adolescent behavior than hormones.

more

What is evolutionary psychology?

using evolutionary principles to explain the human mind, traits, and behaviors

What is gene expression affected by?

Environmental factors, such as stress, exercise, nutrition, radiation, temperature, sleep, & loneliness

What are behaviors genetics?

study of the influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits and behavior

What is passive heredity-environment correlation?

Children inherit genetic tendencies from their parents, and parents also provide an environment that matches their own genetic tendencies

What is evocative heredity-environment correlation?

The child's genetic tendencies elicit stimulation from the environment that supports a particular trait. Thus genes evoke environmental support

A happy, outgoing child elicits smiles and friendly responses from others. What heredity-environment correlation is this an example of?

Evocative

Musically inclined parents usually have musically inclined children and they are likely to provide an environment rich in music for their children. What heredity-environment correlation is this an example of?

Passive

A child has an intellectual interest in books, and tends to seek out libraries. What heredity-environment correlation is this an example of?

Active

What is active heredity-environment correlation?

Children actively seek out "niches" in their environment that reflect their own interests and talents and are this in accord with their genotype

What is the epigenetic view?

Development is the result of an ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and the environment

What is the neuroconstructivist view?

The brain depends on experiences to determine how connections are made

What does myelination do?

increases the speed and efficiency of information processing (continues during adolescence & emerging adulthood)

What is white matter and does it increase or decrease during adolescence?

Myelinated axons; Increase

What is gray matter and does it increase or decrease during adolescence?

Cell bodies & dendrites; Decrease

What is synaptogenesis?

increase in connections between neurons

With the onset of puberty, there is an increase in what neurotransmitter that increases risk taking and preference for immediate rewards?

dopamine

What happens to the corpus callosum during adolescence?

Thickens, improving information processing

What is Jean Piaget's cognitive developmental theory?

Adolescents are active, constructive thinkers; Adolescents use schemas to organize and make sense of their experiences; Cognition is qualitatively different at each stage (discontinuous)

What is assimilation?

Incorporating new knowledge into existing knowledge

What is accommodation?

Changing the schema in response to new info

What is equilibration?

When new information doesn't fit with current way of thinking, must move to new thinking strategy

What stage of Piaget's theory are adolescents in?

Formal operational

What is the formal operational stage?

Includes abstract thought, metacognition, idealism, and hypothetical-deductive reasoning

What is metacognition?

thinking about thinking

What is the zone of proximal development?

Vygotsky's concept that refers to the range of tasks that are too difficult for an individual to master alone, but that can be mastered with the guidance or assistance of adults or more skilled peers

What are cognitive resources?

The capacity and speed of processing; Thinking about multiple dimensions of a topic simultaneously

What is selective attention?

Focusing on a specific aspect of an experience that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant

What is divided attention?

Concentrating on more than one activity at the same time; Multitasking, which reduces attention to key task

What is sustained attention?

The ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time

What is executive attention?

Type of attention that involves planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances; Good predictor of effortful control & self-regulation

What is working memory?

an active mental workbench where information processing is carried out

What is executive function?

Higher-order complex cognitive processes that include exercising cognitive control, making decisions, reasoning, thinking critically, thinking creatively, and metacognition

What is this an example of: Can I stay focused on my textbook even though it is boring?

Cognitive control

What is critical thinking?

thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating evidence

What are 5 ways to increase adolescents' creative thinking?

1.) Have adolescents engage in brainstorming 2.) Don't overcontrol 3.) Build adolescents' confidence 4.) Encourage internal motivation & taking intellectual risks 5.) Guide adolescents to be persistent & to delay gratification

What is theory of mind?

An awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others; thinking about what other people are thinking about; perspective taking and feeling

What does Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence include?

Analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence

What is adolescent egocentrism?

the tendency to only see the world from own perspective

What is an example of imaginary audience?

"My life is a stage and everyone is watching me."

What is personal fable?

A sense of personal uniqueness and invulnerability

What is self-understanding?

the cognitive representation of the self - the content of self-conceptions

How does self-understanding in adolescence compare to children? (7 ways)

1.) More abstract and idealistic terms 2.) Different selves that fluctuate across relationship contexts, situations, and time 3.) Notice contradictions between different selves 4.) Recognize a discrepancy between the real self and the possible selves 5.) Can distinguish between their true and false selves 6.) Social comparison 7.) More likely to be preoccupied with their self-understanding

How to increase adolescents' self-esteem? (4 ways)

1.) Identify the causes of low self-esteem and the important domains of competence 2.) Provide emotional support and social approval 3.) Foster achievement 4.) Help cope with challenges

What is effortful control?

Inhibiting impulses and not engaging in destructive behavior, focusing and maintaining attention despite distractions, and initiating and completing tasks that have long-term value

What is psychosocial moratorium?

a period of identity exploration

When are many of the key identity changes likely to take place?

Emerging adulthood, not adolescence

What are influences on identity development during adolescence?

Parents, friends and romantic partners, and the digital environment and online self portraits