Week 8 Exam 2

Question 1

o Puberty

Answer 1

 the bodily changes associated with sexual maturity
 Genes—parents’ ages at puberty predict their child’s
 Gender
 Girls’ growth spurt precedes menarche
 Boys’ growth spurt follows spermarche
 Body fat
 Speeds girls’ age of puberty but may slow boys’
 Malnutrition slows puberty
 Stress speeds puberty

Question 2

o Growth spurt

Answer 2

 Adult-size feet an early alert
 ↑ appetite & weight gain
 Girls have 2x as much body fat as boys
 Height spurt & muscle growth come after weight spurt

Question 3

o Pre-frontal cortex

Answer 3

 Pre-frontal cortex (center of cognition) matures gradually.

Question 4

o Limbic system

Answer 4

 Limbic system (center of emotion) matures fast, flooded by hormones.

Question 5

o Adolescent egocentrism*

Answer 5

 ALONGSIDE RELATIVISTIC THINKING (COGNITIVE ABILITY TO PUT SELF IN ANOTHER’S SHOES)

Question 6

o Imaginary audience*

Answer 6

 Self-consciousness

Question 7

o Personal fable*

Answer 7

 Destined to win an Oscar or a Nobel prize, or to die young and tragically

Question 8

o Invincibility fable*

Answer 8

 Invincibility fable (immortality)

Question 9

o Piaget’s formal operational stage of cognitive development

Answer 9

 Hypothetical deductive (abstract) reasoning

Question 10

o Ritual

Answer 10

 Prescribed and customary devotional practices, often performed in community.
 Have real costs & no obvious benefits
 Central to all of our social institutions

Question 11

o Rite of passage

Answer 11

o Rite of passage

Question 12

 Know the age range(s) of adolescence in the 21st century. Why do developmentalists disagree about the age at which adolescence ends?

Answer 12

o Begins about age 10-11
o Ends about age 17 (followed by stage of “emerging adulthood”)
o OR
o Ends as late as age 25
o A change from the past:
o In the 18th century, puberty began age 14; by age 17,
o many boys found jobs & many girls were married.

Question 13

 Be able to describe heart and lung growth in adolescence.

Answer 13

o Heart size doubles; lung size triples; RBCs ↑

Question 14

 What physical change in adolescence decreases susceptibility to respiratory infections?

Answer 14

o Tonsils and adenoids shrink → colds & asthma ↓ . Larynx grows

Question 15

 Be able to describe the pattern of brain growth that “hard-wires” adolescents to act before thinking. What types of safety issues may (and often do) result?

Answer 15

o Limbic system (center of emotion) matures fast, flooded by hormones.
o The result: Adolescents emote, act, & react before they think.
o Executive function a challenge—risk of self-destructive or dangerous behavior
o Sexual behavior influenced by hormones, brain development, peer influence, cultural norms
o STIs common
o (Adolescents = most frequent victims of childhood sexual abuse)

Question 16

 What high school start time is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics? For what reason?

Answer 16

o American Academy of Pediatrics recommends high school start time after 8:30 a.m.