Chapter 11

Question 1

Emerging adulthood

Answer 1

The period of life between the ages of 18 and 25. Emerging adulthood is now widely thought of as a distinct developmental stage.

Question 2

Organ reserve

Answer 2

The capacity of organs to allow the body to cope with stress, via extra, unused functioning ability.

Question 3

Homeostasis

Answer 3

The adjustment of all of the body’s systems to keep physiological functions in a state of equilibrium. As the body ages, it takes longer for these homeostatic adjustments to occur, so it becomes harder for older bodies to adapt to stress.

Question 4

Allostasis

Answer 4

A dynamic body adjustment, related to homeostasis, that affects overall physiology over time. The main difference is that homeostasis requires an immediate response whereas allostasis requires longer-term adjustment.

Question 5

Post formal thought

Answer 5

A proposed adult stage of cognitive development, following Piaget’s four stages, that goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more practical, more flexible, and more dialectical (i.e., more capable of combining contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole).

Question 6

Objective thought

Answer 6

Thinking that is not influenced by the thinker’s personal qualities but instead involves facts and numbers that are universally considered true and valid.

Question 7

Subjective thought

Answer 7

Thinking that is strongly influenced by personal qualities of the individual thinker, such as past experiences, cultural assumptions, and goals for the future.

Question 8

Massification

Answer 8

The idea that establishing institutions of higher learning and encouraging college enrollment can benefit everyone (the masses).

Question 9

Matthew effect

Answer 9

the rich get richer but the poor stay poor.

Question 10

Moratorium

Answer 10

An adolescent’s choice of a socially acceptable way to postpone making identity-achievement decisions. Going to college is a common example.

Question 11

Intimacy vs isolation

Answer 11

The sixth of Erikson’s eight stages of development. Adults seek someone with whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment. Without such commitment, they risk profound aloneness and isolation.

Question 12

Choice overload

Answer 12

When having too many choices is confusing and dizzying. The neurons of the human brain are on/off, approach/avoidance, fire/rest. Too many choices can overwhelm the system, leading to no choice at all.

Question 13

Cohabitation

Answer 13

An arrangement in which a couple lives together in a committed romantic relationship but are not formally married.

Question 14

Situational couple violence

Answer 14

Fighting between romantic partners that is brought on more by the situation than by the deep personality problems of the individuals. Both partners are typically victims and abusers.

Question 15

Intimate terrorism

Answer 15

A violent and demeaning form of abuse in a romantic relationship, in which the victim (usually female) is frightened to fight back, seek help, or withdraw. In this case, the victim is in danger of physical as well as psychological harm.

Question 16

Linked lives

Answer 16

Lives in which the success, health, and well-being of each family member are connected to those of other members.

Question 17

helicopter parent

Answer 17

when parents hover over the emerging-adult child, ready to swoop down if any problem arises

Question 18

snowplow parent

Answer 18

try to clear every obstacle in the adult child’s path.

Question 19

How and why has emerging adulthood become a distinct stage?

Answer 19

Many developmental researchers for the past decades have noted that 18- to 25-year-olds are not adolescents, but not quite adults. A professor in Missouri (Arnett) decided to call this group emerging adults, a label that seems accurate.

Question 20

How does organ reserve protect against heart attacks?

Answer 20

When exercise or other factors strain the heart, reserve strength is called forth to protect the heart.

Question 21

Describe how homeostasis and allostasis are apparent in a basic health habit.

Answer 21

Any health habit could be described, as long as the distinction between immediate and long-term effects is clear. For example, depriving a person of adequate sleep makes them tired on the next day (homeostasis), but sleep deprivation for years can allow daily adjustment but impairs health later on (allostasis).

Question 22

What three habits protect health?

Answer 22

Adequate exercise, sufficient but not too much food, and enough sleep.

Question 23

What are the social benefits of risk-taking?

Answer 23

Society benefits if some people take risks, such as moving to a new place, leaving original family to start a new one, finding a new job.

Question 24

How common are disease deaths in early adulthood?

Answer 24

Disease deaths are rare in developed nations, as public health and medical advances, plus the strong bodies of most emerging adults, are protective.

Question 25

Why did scholars choose the term postformal to describe the fifth stage of cognition?

Answer 25

Postformal is after (post-) Piaget’s fourth stage (formal operational).

Question 26

How does postformal thinking differ from typical adolescent thought?

Answer 26

Postformal thought combines emotions and logic, also known as dual processing (intuitive and analytic thought), which are often separate in adolescence.

Question 27

How is combining subjective and objective thought an example of postformal thought?

Answer 27

Subjective thought can be considered intuitive; objective can be thought of as analytic.

Question 28

What are the benefits of college education?

Answer 28

It depends on the college, but generally communication and analytic skills improve, and students meet others from backgrounds other than their own.

Question 29

Why is the United States no longer the world leader in massification?

Answer 29

Currently, many nations provide more support for college education, than the United States does, so the “masses” are more likely to graduate from college in other nations.

Question 30

Why might enrolling in college result in less, not more, income later on?

Answer 30

College debt might increase, and enrollment does not usually result in a degree, because many students drop out.

Question 31

What are the benefits and problems in a diverse student body?

Answer 31

Diversity increases students’ understanding of people unlike them, but it may increase prejudice unless the college makes sure minority students are protected.

Question 32

How does a moratorium differ from identity achievement?

Answer 32

A moratorium is a temporary, socially structured, time for emerging adults to pause in their quest for identity; achievement is when they have settled on a particular identity.

Question 33

How does vocational identity for emerging adults differ compared to for older adults?

Answer 33

Emerging adults are more likely to change vocations and career than older adults are.

Question 34

How have romance and marriage changed for emerging adults?

Answer 34

Romances can include several people, and marriage is postponed.

Question 35

What is the difference between common couple abuse and domestic terrorism?

Answer 35

Common couple abuse is the mutually destructive interactions that many people (of any gender) experience with their partners; domestic terrorism is a power imbalance, when one partner engenders ongoing fear of violence from the other.

Question 36

How does the idea of linked lives apply to emerging adults?

Answer 36

Linked lives focuses on family relationships across the generations. Emerging adults may not have partners and children, but they are more connected to the older generations and to their own siblings and cousins than was true for earlier generations.

Question 37

What kinds of support do parents provide their grown children?

Answer 37

Many parents provide significant emotional and financial support, with money, encouragement, and child care.

Question 38

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a
“helicopter parent”?

Answer 38

The advantage is ongoing support; the disadvantage is that independence may be curtailed, and thus young adults may not learn how to cope with stress on their own.

Question 39

What special difficulties occur for emerging adults who were foster children?

Answer 39

The foster system considers young people no longer needing care after age 18, and thus the ongoing support and advice that most emerging adults get from their parents is absent.

Question 40

How are friendships different for young adults and older adults?

Answer 40

Young adults tend to have more friendships; older adults tend to have fewer friendships, but their relationships are more long-lasting.

Question 41

How does sexual orientation affect friendship?

Answer 41

If people have friendships with others who are potential romantic partners, that may complicate the interaction.