Middle Childhood and Adolescence Exam 1

define identity

a lifelong process all the characteristics of a person including roles, appearance, interests, and personality

what is the HPG axis

a neurophysiological pathway that creates a feedback loop involving the hypothalamus, pituitary, and the gonads

what is the hypothalamus

a part of the brain that controls the functioning of the pituitary gland

what is social control theory

a theory of deliquency that links deviance with the absence of bonds to society's main institutions such as family, school, or the workplace possible explanation as to why behavior issues are much more prevalent among poor, inner-city, minority children

what is decentration

can attend to multiple attributes of an object at once (coin example from ppt)

function of an axon

carries information away

what are the components of a neuron

cell body axon dendrite

trends of aggression in MC/ADO

changes throughout the lifecourse declines in middle childhood and adolescence

describe the Erikson theory

focused on development as a psychosocial scenario and had an 8 stage model of development, each of which is characterized by a certain crisis

what is the personal fable

the idea stemming from an adolescent's egocentrism where you believe your experiences are completely unique and no one else could possibly understand what you are going through

what factors account for individual differences in the timing of puberty

heredity- internal clock body composition- kisspeptin/ leptin environment- melatonin

define sense of identity

how secure in who we are and who we are becoming

what occurs according to Erikson during adolescence

identity vs. role confusion

give an example of the anthropological perspective

if your culture as a whole believes that adolescence is supposed to be stressful, it would be more likely to experience it as such

define modeling

imitation of behavior

what is synaptic pruning

when unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated improving efficiency of information processing

what is hierarchial classification

you are able to identify things into classes and subclasses (flower example from ppt)

what is a nonequivalent quasi

take out random assignment

what are gonads

the glands that secrete sex hormones

list 3 aspects of physical development in middle childhood

- bones broaden and lengthen - lower body grows faster than upper body - female children begin to grow much faster at age 8

how does memory change during middle childhood

-working memory improves (able to retain and manipulate information over short periods of time) -rehersal, organization, and elaboration improve -long term memory improves -knowledge base grows larger because we build on what we already know

what are the 3 fundamental questions of human development?

1.) do we change? 2.) how do we change? 3.) why do we change?

what are the steps for designing a prevention

1.) identify a problem 2.) identify the population 3.) identify risk and protective factors 4.) make a plan to intervene 5.) make a plan to assess efficacy

what are the ages for adolescence

10-18

what is the average height and weight growth during middle childhood

5 pounds/year 2-3 inches/ year

what are the ages for middle childhood

6-10

who initiated the thought that adolescence was storm and stress

Hall

Erikson's role experimentation is based on

Marcia's model

what are the 2 theories of cognitive development

Piagetian theory information processing

what was G. Stanley Hall theory of development

Theory of Recapitulation - biological theory that states that evolution parallels individual development and is influenced by biology/ genetics NOT the environment

what is seriation

ability to order based on quantitative dimension (can order things from shortest to longest)

what is hypothetico deductive reasoning

able to make and test hypotheses in order to answer questions, approach problems in a systematic way

what is the difference between adolescence-limited offenders and life course persistent offenders

ado-limited- crime peaks in adolescence and declines in adulthood life course persistent- keep committing crimes

give an example of the theory of recapitulation

adolescence parallels introduction to civilization infancy parallels primacy

describe the formal operational stage

ages 12- adulthood development of abstract though and hypothetical reasoning (propositional logic, hypothetico-deductive reasoning)

describe the concrete operational stage

ages 7-11 mastery of logic (rational thought), results in many new skills

describe the social cognitive theory (AKA social learning theory)

behavior is learned through experiences with others, it involves modeling and consequences combines both biological and environmental thoughts on development

describe Piagetian theory of cognitive development

believes that cognitive development occurs in qualitative stages and though becomes more advanced with each stage

describe the individual level of the ecological theory

biology, thoughts, etc.

androgens vs. estrogens

both are sex hormones found in both males and females BUT, - males have higher levels of androgens - females have higher levels of estrogen

what are the gender differences in motor skills

boys typically have better gross motor skills such as throwing and kicking while girls typically have better fine motor skills such as balance and agility

3 ways we can build healthy self-esteem

building competencies close relationships self-compassion

what are some behavioral consequences of changes in cognition in adolescence

cognitive development leads to metacognition and further introspection which can cause the imaginary audience the personal fable

define self-conception

cognitive representation of the self, how you describe yourself

which 2 stages of piagetian theory occur during middle childhood and adolescence

concrete operational formal operational

what is gray matter in the brain

contains most of the brain's cell bodies, produces many more connections than the brain will use infant brain has twice the number of synapses as an adult brain

describe the macrosystem of ecological theory

cultural attitudes and ideologies

what are the 5 skills that develop in the concrete operational stage

decentration reversibility conservation hierarchial classification seriation

how does self-esteem change over the life course

decrease during adolescence and rise again during adulthood because we begin to become super socially aware during adolescence and fear this, but once we get to adulthood we are used to it

how might beginning puberty early/ late affect adolescent BOYS

depression and anxiety substance use delinquent behavior

what is the ecological theory (what are the systems involved)

developed by Bronfenbrenner who said that development was influenced by different systems and the way those systems interact (individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem)

describe the Freudian Theory

development is best understoof in terms of the psychosexual conflicts that arise at different points in development agreed with Hall in that adolescence= storm and stress

developmental plasticity vs. adult plasticity

developmental - extensive remodeling of the brain in response to experiences during childhood adult- relatively minor changes in the brain circuit as a result of experiences after the brain is maturing analogy: learning to read vs. reading a new book

how does self-conception change

differentiation- understanding different selves organization of self-concept perspective taking, social comparison

describe the microsystem of the ecological theory

direct interactions you have with others such as family, friends, or neughborhoods

trends of depression in MC/ADO

emerge in adolescence 15% of children/adolescence

trends of self-harm and suicide in MC/ADO

emerges in adolescence 25% self-harm 3% suicide

trends of anxiety disorders in MC/ADO

emergy in childhood 15-20% of children and ados have these disorders

describe behaviorism (theory of development)

emphases the processes of reinforcement and punishment as the main influences of adolescent behavior (BF Skinner is a huge proponent of this theory), includes operant conditioning

describe the exosystem of the ecological theory

environments that you do not have direct interactions with, but still effect you such as legal systems, politics, and social services

semanarche=

first ejaculation

T/F - semenarche and menarche indicate the start of puberty

false

menarche=

first menstruation

why are people life course offenders

genetic predisposition self-regulation issues (ADHD) family context cascade of negative events in life

what was Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict's theory of development

had an environmental view of development with their anthropological perspective which states that development is culturally defined by experience

what is one group pre-post quasi

have one experimental group with no random assignment and no control

what is the imaginary audience

heightened sense of self-consciousness that leads to the idea that everyone is always looking at you and always judging you

describe the secular trend

individuals are becoming larger in stature and thus, starting puberty earlier. this is due to improvements in health and nutrition

define motor skills

intentional and voluntary movements carried out by the body

why is pruning umportant

it improves efficiency by pruning unused paths -- improving efficiency matters because it improves attention, speed, and memory

how does leptin/ kisspeptin play a role in puberty

kisspeptin is a chemical that triggers the onset of puberty, leptin is a protein produced by fat cells and triggers the production of kisspeptin, so children with more fat cells are likely to go through puberty earlier

define consequences

learning appropriate behavior from feedback (punishments and rewards)

what are the male/female gonads

male- testes female- ovaries

what is an experimental study

manipulates an IV to see if the IV affects the DV random assignment control and experiment groups pre test and post test

what is a correlational study

measures associations between variables as they naturally occur does not manipulate variables does not rule out third variable explanations

how does melatonin play a role in puberty

melatonin inhibits the release of kisspeptin, so if you are exposed to the sun you have lower levels of melatonin and will go through puberty earlier

How does attention change during middle childhood?

more selective more flexible more planful

what are the 3 types of quasi experiments

nonequivalent one group pre-post interrupted time series

what is reversibility

objects can be changed and returned to their original condition

what is the pituitary gland

one of the chief glands that controls hormone levels of FSH and LH

how do fine motor skills improve over the life course

over the course of middle childhood, children are able to print the alphabet/names/numbers (typically by age 6) and legibility improves

how to gross motor skills improve over the life course

over the course of middle childhood, children are able to run faster and have more complex movements such as muscle coordination

what does the evolutionary perspective say about risk taking

part of risk taking is sensation seeking process which is normal for adolescence, this being said, not all risk taking is bad

trends of crime in MC/ADO

peak during middle childhood and adolescence- usually not consistent over the life course

why are adolescence so likely to take risks?

peer pressure sensation seeking

prevalence of obesity

persistent throughout the life course 18% of 6-11 year olds are obese 21% of 12-19 year olds are obese

how are the piagetian theory and information processing different

piagetian is in stages while IP is continuous and piagetian focuses on specific tasks while IP focuses on overall functioning

how might beginning puberty early/ late affect adolescent GIRLS

poorer self-image mental health problems substance use unintended pregnancy aggression breast and reproductive cancer unhealthy weight gain

what is maturational deviance theory

possible explanation for adverse results of beginning puberty early/late causes more emotional stress for girls because they stand out more because of their increase in maturity

describe the developmental readiness theory

possible explanation for adverse results of beginning puberty early/late if puberty is a challenge that requires psychological adaptation by adolescents, perhaps younger adolescents are less ready to cope with this, may be taxing on psychological resources

primary vs. secondary sex characteristics

primary: sex organs secondary: traits of the external sex organs such as size/ hair

what are new skills that develop during the formal operational stage

propositional logic hypothetico-deductive reasoning

what is white matter

provides support and protection for neurons and compose a fatty substance called myelin that surrounds the axons myelin insulates brain circuits and keeps impulses flowing along their intended pathways

what is conservation

realization that if the dimension changes the quantity still stays the same (volume with different sized glasses)

what is propositional logic

reasoning based on theoretical principles

function of a dendrite

receives information

describe the mesosystem of the ecological theory

relationship between microsystems such as interactions between your parents and teachers or the interactions between your peers and neighborhood

why are people adolescence limited offenders

reward seeking antisocial peers

describe the piagetian theory

saw development as changes in nature of thinking, adolescence is seen as the transition from concrete to abstract though

define social cognitive construction

self-image influenced by others

what is the tanner scale

shows the indirect indication of how far along in puberty you are

why does the HPG axis "reawaken" at the onset of puberty

signals tell the brain that it is time to start preparing for childbearing

what are theories as to why girls internalize more and boys externalize more

socialization of boys to withhold feelings socialization of girls to be passive body image pressures girls attention to interpersonal relationships

how does speed change during middle childhood

speed of processing information increases

how does the HPG axis work

the axis is set to maintain a certain level of androgens and estrogens and it controlled by the hypothalamus. When hormonal levels get too high, the hypothalamus inhibits the pituitary to slow the release of hormones, but if levels are to low, then the hypothalamus stops inhibiting the pituitary gland to promote the production of sex hormones

define self-esteem

the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about themselves

what is a synapse

the gap in space between neurons across which neurotransmitters carry electrical impulses

describe identity diffusion

the individual does not have firm commitments and is not currently trying to make them

describe identity achievement

the individual has established a coherent sense of identity and has made commitments after a period of exploration

describe identity foreclosure

the individual has made commitments without exploration

describe identity moratorium

the individual is in the midst of a period of exploration

what is information processing (what 4 things change)

the result of growth in specific components of the thinking process attention memory speed metacognition

textbook definition of adolescence

the stage of development that begins with puberty and ends when individuals make the transition into adult roles

physiologically why do adolescence take more risks

their prefrontal cortex and limbic systems are maturing at different rates prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision making and impulse control limbic system is responsible for emotion, motivation, reward, etc.

what happens to gray and white matter during adolescence

there is an increase in gray matter around puberty followed by selective pruning

how does metacognition improve during middle childhood

thinking about thinking becomes important for perspective taking

what is the dual systems model of the brain

this theory stresses the simaltaneous development of 2 parts of the brain: cognitive control and socioemotional control. Cognitive control matures in early adolescence while the socioemotional system is still developing which creates maturational imbalance

define cognition

thought, the process of acquiring new knowledge and information

what is interrupted time series quasi

turn one group on and off

what is 1 way we can use our understanding of cognitive development in our practice

understanding how children think helps us to teach them

what is an example of hypothetico-deductive reasoning (from the ppt)

understanding what affects the movement of a pendelum (weight, length, height, etc.)

what are gross motor skills

use larger body muscles and include actions such as dancing, jumping, or kicking

what are fine motor skills (with examples)

use smaller body muscles and include actions such as writing and drawing