Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Physical, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Development (chapter 11-14)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes throughout adolescence and emerging/early adulthood from Chapters 11 through 14.

Puberty

A brain-neuroendocrine process occurring primarily in early adolescence that provides stimulation for rapid physical development.

Menarche

A girl's first menstruation, normally occurring between ages $9$ and $15$.

Corpus Callosum

Nerve fibers connecting the brain's left and right hemispheres that thicken in adolescence to process information more effectively.

Prefrontal Cortex

The highest level of the frontal lobes involved in reasoning, decision making, and self-control; does not finish maturing until at least emerging adulthood.

Amygdala

The limbic system structure especially involved in emotion.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by the relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation, involving restricted energy intake and an intense fear of gaining weight.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder in which the individual consistently follows a binge-and-purge pattern, typically falling within a normal weight range.

Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning

Piaget's formal operational concept describing the cognitive ability to develop hypotheses, or best guesses, about ways to solve problems.

Adolescent Egocentrism

The heightened self-consciousness of adolescents, consisting of beliefs such as the imaginary audience and the personal fable.

Imaginary Audience

Adolescents' belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are, accompanied by attention-getting behavior motivated by a desire to be noticed.

Personal Fable

The part of adolescent egocentrism that involves a sense of personal uniqueness and invincibility.

Fuzzy-Trace Theory Dual-Process Model

A model stating that decision making is influenced by two parallel cognitive systems: verbatim analytical (literal and precise) and gist-based intuition (simple, bottom-line meaning).

Top-Dog Phenomenon

Moving from being the oldest, biggest, and most powerful students in an earlier school to being the youngest, smallest, and least powerful students in the next school level.

Psychosocial Moratorium

Erikson's term for the gap between childhood security and adult autonomy that allows adolescents to experiment with different roles and personalities.

Marcia's Four Statuses of Identity

Four categories of identity development—diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement—classified by the presence or absence of crisis (exploration of alternatives) and commitment.

Identity Diffusion

Marcia's identity status of individuals who have not yet experienced a crisis (have not explored meaningful alternatives) or made any commitments.

Identity Foreclosure

Marcia's identity status of individuals who have made a commitment to an identity but have not experienced a crisis.

Identity Moratorium

Marcia's identity status of individuals who are in the midst of a crisis, but whose commitments are either absent or vaguely defined.

Identity Achievement

Marcia's identity status of individuals who have undergone a crisis and have successfully made a commitment.

Ethnic Identity

An enduring aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group, along with the attitudes and feelings related to that membership.

Clique

A small group of about $5$ to $6$ individuals that may form among adolescents who engage in similar activities or share a friendship.

Crowd

A larger, reputation-based group structure whose members may or may not spend much time together, defined by activities such as "jocks" or "druggies."

Rite of Passage

A ceremony or ritual that signals an adolescent's move to maturity and the achievement of adult status, often characterized by ritual death and rebirth.

Juvenile Delinquent

An adolescent who breaks the law or engages in behavior that is legally prohibited.

Emerging Adulthood

The transition from adolescence to adulthood occurring from approximately $18$ to $25$ years of age, characterized by experimentation, exploration, identity focus, and instability.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

An eating disorder characterized by frequent binge eating episodes without compensatory behaviors such as purging.

Aerobic Exercise

Sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity.

Postformal Thought

A proposed stage of cognitive development following formal operations, characterized by thinking that is reflective, relativistic, contextual, provisional, realistic, and open to emotional influence.

Self-Efficacy

The belief that one can master a situation to potentially produce favorable outcomes.

Growth Mindset

The cognitive view that individuals can improve their qualities and capabilities through effort.

Delay of Gratification

Engaging in self-control by waiting until later to obtain something more valuable rather than immediately seeking satisfaction with something less valuable.

Grit

Passion and persistence in achieving long-term goals.

Career Mystique

Phyllis Moen's concept of an ingrained cultural belief that working hard for long hours through adulthood will inevitably lead to status, security, and happiness.

Secure Attachment Style

An adult attachment classification characterized by positive views of relationships, comfort with closeness, and little distress over romantic partnerships.

Avoidant Attachment Style

An adult attachment classification characterized by hesitancy to get involved in romantic relationships and a tendency to create emotional distance from partners.

Anxious Attachment Style

An adult attachment classification characterized by demanding closeness, lower trust, and elevated levels of emotionality, jealousy, and possessiveness.

Romantic Love

Also called passionate love or eros; a love style that features strong components of sexuality, infatuation, and a complex mix of intense emotions.

Affectionate Love

Also called companionate love; occurs when an individual desires to have another person near and possesses a deep, caring affection for that person, with intimacy and commitment present but passion low.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Love

Robert J. Sternberg's model identifying three core dimensions of love—passion, intimacy, and commitment—whose various combinations yield infatuation, affectionate love, fatuous love, and consummate love.

Consummate Love

According to Sternberg, the fullest form of love, which incorporates all three dimensions: passion, intimacy, and commitment.

Cohabitation

Living together in a sexual relationship without being legally married.

Rapport Talk

The language of conversation; a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships preferred by women.

Report Talk

A talk style designed to transmit information, which includes activities such as public speaking; preferred by men.

Androgyny

The presence of positive masculine and feminine characteristics within the same person.