Chapter 8: Rites of Passage

Question 1

What are the general physical changes in adolescence?

Answer 1

Growth spurt
- Girls: start at 11, peak at 12, and finish at 15, gaining 14-15lb
- Boys: start at 13, peak at 14, and finish around 17
Regions:
- First: head, hands, feet
- Second; Arms and legs
- Finally: trunk and shoulder
Process:
- Bones: longer & denser
- Muscle fibers: thicker and denser
Sex differences:
- Boys: muscle growth, heart & lung capacity
- Girls: fat

Question 2

What are the physical changes of the brain in adolescents?

Answer 2

Already 95% of size
- myelination & synapse pruning occurs
- regions: some near maturity (reward) some yet to mature (self-control)

Question 3

Puberty:

Answer 3

The term that denotes two general types of physical change: bodily changes and sexual maturation marking the transition from childhood to young adulthood

Question 4

Primary sex characteristics:

Answer 4

Organs directly involved in reproduction

Question 5

Secondary sex characteristics:

Answer 5

Physical signs of maturity not directly linked to reproductive organs

Question 6

Menarche:

Answer 6

Onset of menstruation typically occurs ~ 13–typically irregular & without ovulation

Question 7

Spermarche:

Answer 7

~ 13, first spontaneous ejaculation of sperm-laden fluid (initially few sperm)

Question 8

What are the factors that cause the physical changes of puberty?

Answer 8

Pituitary gland: releases growth hormones and hormones to signal glands to make pubertal changes
- adrenal glands: androgens (body hair)
- ovaries: estrogens (breasts, female genitals, fat)
- testes: testosterone (male genitals, muscle mass)

Environment: menarche earlier with proper nutrition, stress, absent fathers

Question 9

How do physical changes affect psychological development?

Answer 9

• General: Girls more concerned with body image and peer opinions than boys
• Onset: Mothers inform girls and they handle it well, often confide in mothers and friends. Boys informed by reading and do not tell fathers/friends
• Moodiness: not hormones but constantly changing social environment

Question 10

How do early or late onset of maturity affect girls and boys?

Answer 10

Girls:
- early: worse socially, self-esteem, depression leading to risky behaviors, relationships with older boys, teen pregnancies (avoided in supportive home)
- late: few risks
Boys:
- early: risk for psychological disorders due to issues with other boys leading to older boys and potentially risky behaviors
- late: depression

Question 11

What are Kohlberg’s three levels for moral issues? How does it hold up?

Answer 11

1) preconventional level: moral reasoning based on external forces (rewards/punishments)
2) conventional level: moral reasoning based on societal norms
3) postconventional level: moral reasoning based on personal moral code

• lines up with most research though may reason at different stages depending on situation

Question 12

What are the substages of Kohlberg’s preconventional level?

Answer 12

1) preconventional level: moral reasoning based on external forces (rewards/punishments)
1. Obedience orientation - authority figure knows right/wrong (obey to avoid punishment)
2. Instrumental orientation - look out for own needs (future favor)

Question 13

What are the substages of Kohlberg’s conventional level?

Answer 13

2) conventional level: moral reasoning based on societal norms
3. Interpersonal norms: to win others approval (good boy/girl)
4. Societal system morality - societal roles, expectation, & laws exist for order and good

Question 14

What are the substages of Kohlberg’s postconventional level?

Answer 14

3) postconventional level: moral reasoning based on personal moral code
5. Social contract - members of social group adhere to common expectations/laws to benefit all
6. universal ethical principle - justice, compassion, equity forms personal moral code that may conflict with society’s expectations & laws