Chapter 17

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

WEIRD

Answer 2

an acronym that refers to people from western, educated, industrialized, rich democracies, in other words, to north american college students, not the rest of humanity

Question 3

organ reserve

Answer 3

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

Question 4

homeostasis

Answer 4

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 5

allostasis

Answer 5

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 adjustment in the longer term

Question 6

allostatic load

Answer 6

the stresses of basic body systems that burden overall functioning (hypertension)

Question 7

set point

Answer 7

a particular body weight that an individual’s homeostatic processes strive to maintain

Question 8

body mass index (BMI)

Answer 8

the ratio of a persons weight in kj divided by height in meters squared

Question 9

drug abuse

Answer 9

a condition of harmful drug dependence in which the absence of the given drug in the individual’s system produces a drive - physiological, psychological, or both - to ingest more of the drug