Unit 5: Adolescence Development

Question 1

Characteristics of teenage brain

Answer 1

volume of white matter increases; significant growth of the myelin sheath; leads to enhanced conductivity and connectivity in the brain
volume of grey matter decreases; synaptic pruning; elimination of less-active synapses
myelination and pruning are most pronounced in the frontal lobe/prefrontal cortex

Question 2

Sexual development (growth spurt, pubescence, puberty)

Answer 2

growth spurt: girls (age 10) and boys (age 12); puberty generally occurs (on average) two years after the initial growth spurt
pubescence: the two-year span preceding puberty during which the changes leading to physical and sexual maturity take place; secondary sex characteristics begin to develop during this period
puberty: the onset of sexual maturation; marks the beginning of adolescence; lasts approximately 5 years; primary sex characteristics reach full maturity during this period; menarche and spermarche

Question 3

Adolescent sexual activity

Answer 3

approximately 75% of males and 50% of females between 15 and 19 have engaged in sex; average is 16 and 17 for males and females

Question 4

Teenage pregnancy

Answer 4

rate of teen pregnancy has fallen in the last 50 years; highest in US of all industrialized nations

Question 5

Piaget’s Stage Theory: Formal Operational Stage

Answer 5

due to the continuing maturation of the frontal lobes, abstract and hypothetical thinking becomes possible

Question 6

Characteristics of adolescent thought

Answer 6

introspection; hypocrisy; personal fable; imaginary audience

Question 7

Personal fable

Answer 7

the belief that they and their experiences are unique and therefore they are protected from harm/invulnerable

Question 8

Imaginary audience

Answer 8

the belief that other people are just as concerned about their thoughts and characteristics as they themselves are

Question 9

Lawrence Kohlberg

Answer 9

moral development: preconventional, conventional, postconventional

Question 10

Preconventional morality

Answer 10

typical of very young children; focused on self-interest; consequences determine morality; obey rules to either avoid punishment or gain concrete awards

Question 11

Conventional morality

Answer 11

typical of older children, adolescents and most adults; conformity is right; nonconformity is wrong; one upholds the law simply because its the law

Question 12

Postconventional morality

Answer 12

about 20% of all adult population; moral principles determined by individual; may disagree with social norms; actions are judged “right” because they come from self-defined, basic ethical principles

Question 13

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s stage theory

Answer 13

Carole Gilligan; male-oriented because he used only males in his study; proposed that men and women have different perspectives on morality
men: actions that lead to fair or just end
women: actions that are nonviolent and hurt the fewest people

Question 14

Identity vs role confusion (stage 5)

Answer 14

Erikson; struggle to form a clear sense of identity; stable concept of oneself as a unique individual; adoption of values that provide a sense of direction; recognised that this struggle often extends beyond adolescense

Question 15

Identity achievement

Answer 15

James Marcia; successful achievement of a sense of identity; present commitment and present crisis

Question 16

Identity foreclosure

Answer 16

James Marcia; unquestioning adoption of the parental or societal norm; present commitment and absent crisis

Question 17

Identity moratorium

Answer 17

James Marcia; actively struggling for a sense of identity; absent commitment and present crisis

Question 18

Identity diffusion

Answer 18

absence of struggle for identity, with no obvious concern about it; absent commitment and absent crisis

Question 19

James Arnett

Answer 19

emerging childhood; 18-23 years old; attributed to a variety of demographic trends: length of education; delay of education delay of parenthood; increasing barriers to financial independence

Question 20

Characteristics of emerging adulthood

Answer 20

Exploration of instability; a feeling of “in-betweenness”; “age of possibilities”; (identity formation well into young-adulthood)