Midterm #3 - Ch. 7 Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Question 1

puberty

Answer 1

• brain-neuroendocrine process occurring primarily in early adolescence
• rapid physical changes, not a single event

Question 2

primary characteristic changes in puberty

Answer 2

• menstruation
• growth of penis

Question 3

secondary characteristic changes in puberty

Answer 3

• growth of pubic hair
• development of breasts
• changes in voice

Question 4

hormones

Answer 4

• powerful chemical substances secreted by the endocrine glands and carried through the body by the bloodstream

Question 5

hypothalamus

Answer 5

• brain structure that monitors eating and sex
• increased release of the hypothalamic hormone stimulates the pituitary gland

Question 6

pituitary gland

Answer 6

• endocrine gland
• controls growth and regulates other glands

Question 7

gonads

Answer 7

• testes in males and ovaries in females
• release testosterone and estrogen
• important to giving rise to pubertal changes in the body

Question 8

early maturing boys

Answer 8

• perceive themselves more positively and have more successful peer relations

Question 9

early maturing girls

Answer 9

• increases girls’ vulnerability to smoking, drinking, depression, and eating disorders

Question 10

corpus callosum

Answer 10

• where nerve fibres connect the brain’s left and right hemispheres
• thicken in adolescence, improves ability to process info

Question 11

what age does the prefrontal cortex finish developing?

Answer 11

• 18-25yrs

Question 12

limbic system

Answer 12

• matures earlier than the prefrontal cortex, almost completely developed by adolescence
• seat of emotions, where rewards are experienced

Question 13

amygdala

Answer 13

• limbic system structure
• especially involved in emotion

Question 14

benefits of exercise

Answer 14

• reduced triglyceride levels
• lower BP
• lower incidence of type 2 diabetes
• reduce depressive symptoms
• lower risk of obesity

Question 15

psychological and physical maltreatment leads to increased ________

Answer 15

• substance abuse

Question 16

anorexia nervosa

Answer 16

• relentless pursuit of thinness through starvation
• typically begins in the early to middle adolescent years
• family therapy is often the most effective treatment

Question 17

bulimia nervosa

Answer 17

• binge and purge pattern
• typically fall within normal weight range
• 90% of people with disorder are women
• typically begins in late adolescence/early adulthood

Question 18

formal operational stage

Answer 18

• Piaget
• around 11yrs
• abstract thought, make-believe situations, abstract propositions, and hypothetical events

Question 19

hypothetical deductive reasoning

Answer 19

• formal operational stage
• creating a hypothesis and deducing its implications
• providing ways to test the hypothesis

Question 20

evaluating Piaget’s theory

Answer 20

• development isn’t as stage-like
• culture and education exert a stronger influence on development than Piaget argued

Question 21

imaginary audience

Answer 21

• adolescent belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are

Question 22

personal fable

Answer 22

• sense of uniqueness and invincibility
• makes adolescents believe that no one can understand how they truly feel

Question 23

executive function

Answer 23

• higher level cognitive processes linked to the development of the prefrontal cortex

Question 24

cognitive control

Answer 24

• executive function
• controlling attention, reducing interfering thoughts and being cognitively flexible
• key aspect of learning and thinking in adolescence and emerging in adulthood

Question 25

decision-making

Answer 25

• executive functioning
• adolescence is an increased time of decision-making
• when adolescents have to make decisions in stressful or emotional contexts, they often make risky choices

Question 26

menarche

Answer 26

• girl’s first menstruation

Question 27

sexual orientation

Answer 27

• sexual attraction: feelings independent of behaviours
• sexual behaviour: person’s sexual partners, sex, or gender
• sexual identity: individuals’ social identity

Question 28

adolescent pregnancy

Answer 28

• associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, low Apgar scores, and increased mortality

Question 29

hot cognition

Answer 29

• inhibitory control reduced in a more arousing context

Question 30

top-dog phenomenon

Answer 30

• moving from oldest, biggest, most powerful students in elementary to youngest, smallest, least powerful

Question 31

service learning

Answer 31

• promotes social responsibility and service to community
• more successful when students choose activity and can reflect on positive benefits
• tutoring, helping older adults, assisting at a childcare center