Adolescence

Question 1

Overproduction

Answer 1

Sharp increase in synaptic connections occurs around the time puberty begins (10-12), called overproduction or exuberance
Overproduction also occurs prenatal and in first three years of life
Overproduction in adolescence is especially concentrated in frontal lobes for higher functions like problem solving and making moral judgements
Overproduction peaks at 11 or 12 but this is not when our cognitive abilities peak
In the years following, massive synaptic pruning after overproduction happens

Question 2

Synaptic pruning and myelination

Answer 2

Between 12-20 brain loses 7-10% of its volume from synaptic pruning
fMRI found synaptic pruning especially rapid in adolescents with high intelligence, allows brain to work more efficiently
As the brain specialises in this way, it also becomes less flexible and less amenable to change
Myelination also occurs to increase efficiency, however also makes brain functioning less flexible and changeable

Question 3

cerebellum

Answer 3

Cerebellum also grows- found to be important in higher functions like maths, decisions, music, humour and social skills
Cerebellum continues to grow through adolescence into emerging adulthood, suggesting that the potential for these functions continues to grow too
Last part of brain to stop growing or changing (mid twenties)

Question 4

girls puberty

Answer 4

on average 2 years before boys

Question 5

timing of puberty

Answer 5

Given a similar cultural environment, variation in order and timing of pubertal events among adolescents appears to be due to genetics
The more similar two people are genetically, the more similar their timing of pubertal events, most similar in identical twins

Question 6

secular trend puberty cultures

Answer 6

in every western country, age at menarche decreasing steadily
If this happens for girls, likely similar pattern in boys too
May be due to improvements in nutrition and medical care

Question 7

developed vs developing menarche

Answer 7

Average age of menarche lowest in developed countries and higher in developing
In countries with rapid economic development like China and South Korea, there has been a decline in average age of menarche too

Question 8

anorexia characterised by 4 symptoms

Answer 8

Inability to maintain body weight at least 85% of normal for height
Fear of weight gain
Lack of menstruation
Distorted body image

Question 9

eating disorders most common

Answer 9

in cultures that emphasise slimness with ideal female physique (western countries)
Eating disorders increasing in countries becoming more westernised like Fiji

Question 10

motivations behing substance use

Answer 10

classified as experimental, social, medical and addictive
People who take part in experimental substance use try a substance one then do not use it again
Social substance use involves the use of substances during social activities with friends
Medicinal substance use is to relieve an unpleasant emotional state (self medication)
People who do medicinal substance use do it more frequently than social and experimental
Addictive substance use is when a person has come to depend on regular use to feel good physically or mentally
Experience withdrawal symptoms like high anxiety and tremors when they stop
Addictive substance use is the more regular and frequent substance use of the four categories

Question 11

Paiget’s stage

Answer 11

formal operations
Begins at 11 and reaches completion somewhere between 15-20
People learn to think systematically about possibilities and hypotheses
Allows adolescents to reason about complex tasks and problems involving multiple variables
Also includes the development of abstract thinking

Question 12

hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Answer 12

Ability to think scientifically and apply the rigour of the scientific method to cognitive tasks

Question 13

pendulum problem- hypothetical deductive reasoning

Answer 13

Piaget used this to test if moved from concrete to formal operations; given a pendulum hanging on string and asked what determines its speed of seating
Children in concrete operations approach this with random attempts, often changing more than one variable at a time
In formal operations, use the kind of hypothetical thinking in a scientific method, try different variables one at a time and test their effect, and arrives at an answer that can be explained and defended

Question 14

information processing

Answer 14

Attention and memory key to condition in information processing approach, and there are advances to both in adolescence
Selective and divided attention more proficient, better at using memory strategies
Adolescents also more adept at doing tasks that require divided attention, with emerging adults even better
memory, especially LTM, improves too as more likely to use mnemonic devices
Memory also improves because adolescents have more experience and knowledge, which enhances LTM effectiveness

Question 15

metacodnition

Answer 15

capacity to think about thinking, not only your own thoughts but also others’
When their metacognition first develops, adolescents may have difficulty distinguishing their thinking about their own thoughts form their thinking about the thoughts of others, resulting in a distinctive kinds of adolescent egocentrism

Question 16

two kinds of adolescent egocentrism by Elking

Answer 16

imaginary audience

personal fable

Question 17

imaginary audience

Answer 17

Results from adolescents’ limited capacity to distinguish between their thinking about themselves from others
Because aware of their own thinking and how they might appear to others, they conclude that others must also be thinking about them a great deal
Thus imagine an audience for their appearance and behaviour
Makes them more self conscious than in middle childhood
Adults have this too, but the tendency is stronger in adolescence, when the capacity for distinguishing between our own perspective and that of others is less developed

Question 18

personal fable

Answer 18

Belief of imaginary audience leads to the belief that there must be something special about yourself
Personal fable is an adolescents’ belief in the uniqueness of their personal experiences and destiny
Can make them feel like ‘nobody understands’
Can also cause high hopes
May contribute to risky behaviours believing that they are protected from adverse consequences
According to Elkind, personal fable scores increase from early to mid adolescence and correlate with participation in risky behaviours
Diminishes with age but never disappears
With age, we realise out thoughts and feelings not as exceptional as once believed

Question 19

emotionality

Answer 19

adolescence is a time of emotional volatility (more likely to feel self conscious, embarrassed, lonely, nervous, ignored and moodier
From preadolescence to adolescence, feeling ‘very happy’ declines by 50%
Decline in average emotional states with age during the course of adolescence
Limited evidence to answer culture question, but found similar results in India

Question 20

self development

Answer 20

Self conceptions become more complex due to advances in cognitive development
Seef esteem becomes more complex but also declines in early adolescence before rising in late adolescence and emerging adulthood

Question 21

two kinds of possible selves

Answer 21

Ideal self: who the adolescent would like to be
Feared self: who the adolescent dreads becoming
Both require abstract thinking
This can be troubling- become aware of discrepancy between actual and ideal self which, If large enough, can cause feelings of failure, inadequacy and depression
Discrepancy is greater in mid adolescence than early or late which also explains similar trend of depressed mood
Aware when exhibiting a false self- a self they present to others while realising that it does not represent what they are actually thinking or feeling
Most likely with potential romantic partners

Question 22

self esteem

Answer 22

Declines in early adolescence, then rises through late adolescence and emerging adulthood
Imaginary audience may contribute
Western adolescents value opinion of peers on daily basis
Combination of greater self consciousness about evaluations by peers and peers’ potentially harsh evaluations contributes to declines in self esteem in early adolescence
Self esteem rises in late adolescence and emerging adulthood as peers’ evaluations become less important

Question 23

8 domains of adolescent self concept (Harter)

Answer 23

Scholastic competence 
Social acceptance 
Athletic competence 
Physical appearance 
Job competence 
Romantic appeal 
Behavioural conduct 
Close friendships

Question 24

Kohlbergs theory of moral development

Answer 24

Viewed moral development as based on cognitive development, and believed that moral thinking changes in predictable ways as cognitive abilities develop, regardless of culture
Presented people with hypothetical moral dilemmas, and asked what they believed was right or wrong and why

What was crucial to understanding their moral development was not what they thought was right or wrong, but their explanations or moral reasoning

Question 25

Kohlbergs levels

Answer 25

1. preconventional reasoning
2. conventional
3. post conventional

Question 26

preconventional

Answer 26

At this level, moral reasoning is based on perceptions of the likelihood of external rewards and punishments. What is right is what avoids punishment or results in rewards.

Question 27

conventional

Answer 27

At this level, moral reasoning is less egocentric and the person advocates the value of conforming to the moral expectations of others. What is right is whatever agrees with the rules established by tradition and by authorities.

Question 28

postconventional

Answer 28

Moral reasoning at this level is based on the person’s own independent judgments rather than on what others view as wrong or right. What is right is derived from the person’s perception of objective, universal principles rather than being based on the needs of the individual (as in Level 1) or the standards of the group (as in Level 2).

Question 29

the worldview theory of culture and moral development

Answer 29

Shweder argues, unlike Kohlberg, that it is impossible to understand moral development without culture
Proposed that the content of people’s moral reasoning, including their views of right and wrong, is at heart of moral development and cannot be ignored
According to jensen (who developed Shweder’s theory), ultimate basis of morality is a person’s worldview- set of cultural beliefs that explain what it means to be human, how human relations should be conducted and how human problems should be addressed
Worlviews provide the basis for moral reasoning
The outcome of moral reasoning (why) is moral evaluations (right or wrong), which in turn prescribe moral behaviours
Moral behaviours reinforce worldview

Question 30

cliques

Answer 30

Cliques: small groups of friends who know each other well, do things together and form a regular social group, no precise size (3-12 approx.) but close enough that all members know each other well
Can be defined by shared activities or shared friendships

Question 31

Crowds

Answer 31

larger, reputation based groups of adolescents who are not necessarily friends and may not spend much Time together
Mainly serve the function of helping adolescents locate themselves and others within schools social structure

Question 32

Susman’s five major types of crowds

Answer 32

Elites 
Athletes 
Academics 
Deviants 
Others (normals, nobodies)

Question 33

Moffit

Answer 33

two types of delinquency each with different motivations and sources, told apart by behaviour before adolescence
life course persistent delinquents (LCPDs)
adolescence limited deliquents (ALDs)

Question 34

LCPDs

Answer 34

show pattern of problems from birth onwards
Neuropsychological problems, growing up in high risk environments, parental problems
Neurological deficits made worse by environment
Tend to continue their criminal activity long after adolescence has ended, well into adulthood

Question 35

ALDs

Answer 35

no problem signs in infancy or childhood
Few engage in criminal activity after mid 20s
Period of occasional criminal activity during adolescence and early adulthood (12-25)

Question 36

More often those with high resilience show Masten’s ‘ordinary magic’

Answer 36

being able to function reasonably well despite being faces with unusually difficult circumstances

Question 37

RELIGIOSITY

Answer 37

adolescents who have strong religious faith less likely to have problems like substance abuse, even when grown up in a high risk environment