Ch. 9 - Body and Mind Flashcards
Puberty
The period of rapid growth and sexual development that begins adolescence.
Menarche
A girl’s first menstrual period, signaling that she has begun ovulation. Pregnancy is biologically possible, but ovulation and menstruation are often irregular for years after menarche.
Spermarche
A boy’s first ejaculation of sperm. Erections can occur as early as infancy, but ejaculation signals sperm production. Spermarche may occur during sleep (in a “wet dream”) or via direct stimulation.
Leptin
A hormone that affects appetite and is believed to affect the onset of puberty. Leptin levels increase during childhood and peak at around age 12.
Growth Spurt
The relatively sudden and rapid physical growth that occurs during puberty. Each body part increases in size on a schedule: Weight usually precedes height, and growth of the limbs precedes growth of the torso.
Body Image
A person’s idea of how his or her body looks.
Anorexia Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by self-starvation. Affected individuals voluntarily undereat and often overexercise, depriving their vital organs of nutrition. Anorexia can be fatal.
Bulimia Nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by binge eating and subsequent purging, usually by induced vomiting and/or use of laxatives.
Binge Eating Disorder
Eating much more in a short time period than is typical, to the point of feeling overfull and in pain. In this disorder, bingeing happens more than once a week for several months, and sufferers feel out of control—they can’t stop. This disorder begins as bulimia does, but does not involve purging.
Primary sex characteristics
The parts of the body that are directly involved in reproduction, including the vagina, uterus, ovaries, testicles, and penis.
Secondary sex characteristics
Physical traits that are not directly involved in reproduction but that indicate sexual maturity, such as a man’s beard and a woman’s breasts.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
Diseases that are spread by sexual contact, including syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, chlamydia, and HIV/ AIDS.
Child Sexual Abuse
Any erotic activity that arouses an adult and excites, shames, or confuses a child, whether or not the victim protests and whether or not genital contact is involved.
Adolescence Egocentrism
A characteristic of adolescent thinking that leads young people (ages 10 to 13) to focus on themselves to the exclusion of others.
Imaginary Audience
The other people who, in an adolescent’s egocentric belief, are watching and taking note of his or her appearance, ideas, and behavior. This belief makes many teenagers very self-conscious.
Personal Fable
An aspect of adolescent egocentrism characterized by an adolescent’s belief that their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are unique, more wonderful, or more awful than anyone else’s.
Invincibility Fable
An adolescent’s egocentric conviction that he or she cannot be overcome or even harmed by anything that might defeat a normal mortal, such as unprotected sex, drug abuse, or high-speed driving.
Formal Operational thought
In Piaget’s theory, the fourth and final stage of cognitive development, characterized by more systematic logical thinking and by the ability to understand and systematically manipulate abstract concepts.
Hypothetical thought
Reasoning that includes propositions and possibilities that may not reflect reality.
Deductive reasoning
Reasoning from a general statement, premise, or principle, through logical steps, to figure out (deduce) specifics. (Also called top-down reasoning .)
Inductive reasoning
Reasoning from one or more specific experiences or facts to reach (induce) a general conclusion. (Also called bottom-up reasoning .)
Dual Processing
The notion that two networks exist within the human brain, one for emotional processing of stimuli and one for analytical reasoning.
Intuitive thought
Thought that arises from an emotion or a hunch beyond rational explanation, and is influenced by past experiences and cultural assumptions.
Analytic thought
Thought that results from analysis, such as a systematic ranking of pros and cons, risks and consequences, possibilities and facts. Analytic thought depends on logic and rationality.
Secondary education
Literally, the period after primary education (elementary or grade school) and before tertiary education (college). It usually occurs from about ages 12 to 18, although there is some variation by school and by nation.
Middle school
A school for children in the grades between elementary school and high school. Middle school usually begins with grade 6 and ends with grade 8.
Cyberbullying
Bullying that occurs when one person spreads insults or rumors about another by means of social media posts, e-mails, text messages, or cell phone videos.
Sexting
Sending sexual content, particularly photos or videos, via cell phones or social media.
High-stakes test
An evaluation that is critical in determining success or failure. If a single test determines whether a student will graduate or be promoted, it is a high-stakes test.
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
An international test taken by 15-year-olds in 50 nations that is designed to measure problem solving and cognition in daily life.
