PSYC 282: Adolescent Psychology

Adolescence

Period of the life course between the time puberty begins and the time adult status, roles, and responsibilities within a culture are undertaken (roughly ages 10 to 18)

Culture

Total pattern of a group’s customs, beliefs, art, and technology. Also can be explained as a group’s common way of life, passed on from one generation to the next

Developed

A term to describe most affluent countries in the world. Makes up roughly 20% of the population

Developing

A term to describe countries with much less wealth in comparison to their counterpart, but are experiencing rapid economic growth

Individualistic

Cultural values such as independence and self-expression

Collectivistic

Cultural values such as obedience and group harmony

Traditional

Type of culture that most commonly refers to rural areas of developing countries. Adheres more closely to historic traditions of their culture than urban areas. Tend to be more collectivistic

Globalization

Increasing worldwide technological and economic integration, which is making different parts of the world increasingly connected and increasingly similar culturally

Bicultural

An identity that includes aspects of two different cultures

Majority

Within a country, the cultural group that sets most of the norms and standards and holds most of the positions of political, economic, intellectual, and media power. Important distinction: does not necessarily mean it’s the highest % of population (ex. South Africa)

Contexts

Settings that contribute to variations in pathways of adolescent development, including family, peer groups, school, work, media, civic instructions, and religious institutions

Socioeconomic Status

A person’s social class, including educational level, income level, and occupational status

Gender

Cultural beliefs about what it means to be a boy or a girl, an a man or a woman

Sex

Biological status of being female or male

Ethincity

Group identity that may include components such as cultural origin, cultural traditions, religion, and language

Menarche

A girl’s first menstrual period

Emerging Adulthood

Period from roughly ages 18 to 25 in developed countries during which young people become more independent from parents and explore various life possibilities before making enduring commitments

Identity Exploration

Characteristic of Emerging Adulthood: People explore various possibilities in love and work as they move toward making enduring choices

Instability

Characteristic of Emerging Adulthood:

Self-Focus

Characteristic of Emerging Adulthood: Adolescent gains independence from caregivers. This period is often categorized with frequent moving

Feeling In-Between

Characteristic of Emerging Adulthood: Not feeling like an adolescent but not fully like an adult either

Possibilities/Optimism

Characteristic of Emerging Adulthood: Many different futures remain possible, when little about a person’s direction in life has been decided for certain

Early Adolescence

Period of human development lasting from about ages 10 to 14

Late Adolescence

Period of human development lasting from about ages 15 to 18

Scientific Method

Process of scientific investigation, involving a series of steps from identifying a research question through forming a hypothesis, selecting research measurements and designs, collecting and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.

Hypothesis

A researcher’s idea about one possible answer to the question proposed for investigation

Research Measurment

The approach to collecting data such as interviews, questionnaires, and observations

Research Design

The plan for when, where, and with whom to collect the data for the study

Sample

The people included in a given study who are intended to represent the population of interest

Population

The entire group of people of interest in a study

Representative

The degree to which a sample accurately represents the population of interest

Generalizable

The degree to which findings based on a sample can be used to make accurate statements about the population of interest

Procedure

The step-by-step order in which a study is conducted and data are collected

Peer Reviewed

When an article or book is evaluated by a researcher’s peers (i.e., other researchers) for scientific credibility and importance

Theory

A framework that presents a set of interconnected ideas in an original way and inspires further research

Informed Consent

Standard procedure in social scientific studies that entails informing potential participants of what participation would involve, including any possible risks

Consent Form

Written statement provided by a researcher to potential participants in a study, informing them of who is conducting the study, the purposes of the study, and what their participation would involve, including potential risks

Questionnaire

Written questions where participants typically select among answers chosen by the researcher

Open-Ended

Format that involves writing in response to each question

Closed

Format that involves choosing from specific responses provided for each question

Quantitative

Type of data collected in numerical form

Interview

Spoken questions where participants typically provide answers in their own words

Qualitative Data

Data collected in nonnumerical form, usually in interviews or observations

Observations

Data collected by observing people and recording their behavior either on video or through written records

Biological Measurments

Includes measures of genetic, hormonal, and brain activity. More expensive than other methods of collecting data

Reliability

The extent to which a measurement generates consistent results

Validity

The truthfulness of a measure, that is, the extent to which is measures what it claims to measure

Experimental

Type of research design that compares a group that received treatment to a control group that did not receive treatment

Control

Group in an experimental design that does not receive the treatment

Independent

Variable that the researcher changes

Dependent

Variable that is changed by the other

Intervention

Program intended to change the attitudes and/or behavior of the participants

Natural Experiment

A situation that occurs naturally but that provides interesting scientific information to the perceptive observer

Monozygotic

Twins with exactly the same genotype. Also known as identical

Dizygotic

Twins with about half their genotype in common, the same as for other siblings. Also known as fraternal

Ethnographic

Type of research design that involves spending extensive time among the people being studied

Ethnography

A book that presents an anthropologist’s observations of what life is like in a particular culture

Case Study

The detailed examination of a particular person, group, or situation over time

Correlational

Type of experimental research design where data is collected on naturally occurring variables (one is associated with the other)

Correlation

A statistical relationship between two variables, such that knowing one of the variables makes it possible to predict the other

Cross-Sectional

Type of developmental research design where data with people of different groups is collected at a single point in time. Described as a snapshot

Longitudinal

Type of developmental research design in which data is collected from the participants on more than one occasion. Described as a film

Patriarchal

Cultural belief in the absolute authority of the father over his wife and children

Filial Piety

Confucian belief, common in many Asian societies, that children are obligated to respect, obey, and revere their parents, especially the father

Life-Cycle Service

A period in their late teens and 20s in which young people from the 16th to the 19th century engaged in domestic service, farm service, or apprenticeships in various trades and crafts

Behavioral

Type of research question that refers to outward, observable behavior

Cognitive

Type of research question that refers how we internally process information

Contextual

Type of research question that refers to a broader system the subject does not interact with (ex. school board anti-bullying policy, socialization in COVID-19). Overrides the other two types of research questions

Recapitulation

Now-discredited theory that held that the development of each individual reiterates the evolutionary development of the human species as a whole

Storm and Stress

Theory promoted by G. Stanley Hall asserting that adolescence is inevitably a time of mood disruptions, conflict with parents, and antisocial behavior

Lamarckian

Now-discredited ideas, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that evolution takes place as a result of accumulated experience such that organisms pass on their characteristics from one generation to the next in the form of memories and acquired characteristics

Cross-Sectional

Pros & Cons of a ____ Design

• Resource efficient

• Great for new areas of research

• Selection bias

• Groups may have same characteristics unrelated to age (ex. shared history, experiences, etc.)

• Does not reveal changes over time

Longitudinal

Pros & Cons of a ____ Design

• Reveals changes over time

• Limits selection bias

• Can’t test for cohort effect

• Subjects may not come back (attrition)

• Effects of repeated measurement

• Measurement/science change

Time-Lag

Type of developmental research design where data is collected from different people of the same age at different points in time (ex. 9th graders in 2000, 2010, and 2020). Measures different cohorts. Doesn’t account for changes over time

Sequential

Type of developmental research design where data is collected from different cohorts at different time points. Combination of other designs. Very resource intensive

Descriptive

Type of experimental research design that measures a single, dependent variable. Does not have an independent variable.

Adrenarche

Activation of hormone secretion from adrenal glands that kicks off puberty. Begins prior to adolescence (ages 6-8)

Gonadarche

Maturation of gonads (testes, ovaries) > reproductive maturity

Spermarche

Beginning of the development of sperm

Secondary

____ sex characteristics. Not directly related to reproduction

Primary

____ sex characteristics. Directly related to reproduction

Genetics

Biological factor that could influence pubertal timing. G___ . Determined by parents’ timing

Fat

Biological factor that could influence pubertal timing. F___ . Too much = early maturation. Too little = late maturation

Stress

Biological factor that could influence pubertal timing. S___ . High levels linked to early maturation, especially among females

Socioeconomic Status

Biological factor that could influence pubertal timing. S___ ___ . Low level linked with earlier maturation

Endocrine

____ system. A network of glands in the body. Through hormones, the glands coordinate their functioning and affect the development and functioning of the body

Hormones

Chemicals, released by the glands of the endocrine system, that affect the development and functioning of the body, including development during puberty

Puberty

The changes in physiology, anatomy, and physical functioning that develop a person into a mature adult biologically and prepare the body for sexual reproduction

Hypothalamus

Located in the lower part of the brain beneath the cortex, this gland affects a wide range of physiological and psychological functioning. It also stimulates and regulates the production of hormones by other glands, including the ones involved in the initiation of pubertyG

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone

Hormone released by the hypothalamus that causes gonadotrophins to be released by the piuitary

Semenarche

First ejaculation

Theory of

____ Genotype→ Environment Effects. Idea that both genetics and environment make essential contributions to human development but are difficult to unravel because our genes actually influence the kind of environment we experience

Passive

____ Genotype→ Environment Effects. Situation in biological families that parents provide both genes and environment for their children, making genes and environment difficult to separate in their effects on children’s development

Evocative

____ Genotype→ Environment Effects. Occur when a person’s inherited characteristics evoke responses from others in the environment

Active

____ Genotype→ Environment Effects. Occur when people seek out environments that correspond to their genotypic characteristics

Leptin

A protein, produced by fat cells, that signals the hypothalamus to initiate the hormonal changes of puberty

Pituitary

____ gland. About half an inch long located at the base of the brain that releases gonadotropins as part of the body’s preparation for reproduction.

Gonadotrophins

Hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH] and luteinizing hormone [LH]) that stimulate the development of gametes

Follicle-stimulating

____ hormone (FSH). Along with luteinizing hormone (LH), stimulates the development of gametes and sex hormones in the ovaries and testicles.

Luteinizing

____ hormone (LH). Along with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), stimulates the development of gametes and sex hormones in the ovaries and testicles.