PSY 134 Exam 2

The head of the local high school PTA (parent-teacher association) wants to know whether and why rejected/unpopular adolescents are at risk for behavioral and emotional problems. She also wants to know if anything can be done to help unpopular adolescents. What would you tell her?

-more risk to experience biological stress to rejection -consequences of rejection: depression, behavioral problems, and academic difficulties. -Aggressive adolescents: at risk for conduct problems, depression, anxiety, and emotional problems. both aggressive and withdrawn are most at risk -help rejected adolescents:social competence training programs that teach self-expression, leadership, and how to have a conversation effectively. (PATHS)

Pretend you are about to give a lecture to a group of parents about current research views on media exposure and adolescent development. You know that parents are concerned with understanding whether all media is bad for all adolescents, or what determines the effect that media messages and images will have on particular adolescents. Discuss the three major prevalent theories of media influence on adolescent development and give examples of each theory to illustrate its points.

1.Cultivation theory: media shapes adolescents' interests, motives, and beliefs about the world E.g., playing violent video games leads to aggression 2. Uses and gratifications approach: adolescents choose the media to which they are exposed E.g. Example: Drinking beer leads to watching beer ads 3. Media practice model: Links between adolescents' preferences and their media exposure are reciprocal (affect each other) E.g. Liking football leads to drinking beer and watching beer commercials.

A legislator has introduced a bill that would allow adolescents in her state to hold after-school jobs, but that would limit the number of hours that adolescents can work in such jobs to 10 hours per week or fewer. There is a group in the legislature who oppose the bill: they believe that adolescents should be allowed to hold after-school jobs with no restrictions placed on hours worked per week, and that adolescents should work at least 20 hours every week in order to build character. Based on what you know about employment and adolescent development, which of these positions would you support? Why do you support this position over the other? Which type of jobs help adolescents feel more mature, competent, and dependable?

I support a limitation on the amount of hours that the adolescent works because the more hours the adolescent works the more likely they are to do poorly in school or even drop out. Working long hours is also associated with increased sexual activity, minor delinquency, school misconduct, and aggression. Alcohol and drug use are also more prevalent in those who work long hours.

Imagine that you (an adolescent development expert!) have been asked to talk to city council members about the No Child Left Behind Act. The council wants to know the history of the act, including a discussion of why it was signed into law, and the intended, as well as unintended, effects. Be sure to discuss the problems with the original NCLB Act, and discuss what the current administration is doing to remedy the problems that had developed during the early years of the policy.

In 2002, President George W. Bush pushed into effect the NCLB Act that required annual testing of all students. -pushed into effect because of the growing concerns that inner-city were not producing enough graduates who would compete for high-skill jobs. -helped pushed alternatives to public education/raised standards for all students. -problems were that many states did not have enough resources to conduct mandated assessments/ that teachers were only teaching about what was going to be on the standards test, misreport, cheat Originally the NCLB allowed for different states to have different standards, but now they are developing better ways to evaluate teachers.

When it comes to school size, is bigger better? What about class size? Discuss what you know about research on school size and extracurricular activity participation among high school students.

Larger schools lead to more varied curriculum, more extracurricular, and more inequality Class size doesn't affect students' academic achievement during adolescence. There are more benefits seen with young children and no difference b/w 20 to 40 students

Researchers have found that siblings' scores on standard measures of personality traits are virtually uncorrelated. What are three factors that contribute to parental treatment as a nonshared environmental influence?

School friends neighborhood

Tammy's father has absolute standards and expects Tammy to conform to them without exception. If she disobeys, he generally punishes her, and he sees no reason why he should explain his rules to Tammy. Instead, his response is, "I'm the father and I love you. I know what's best for you." Kathy's father, on the other hand, sets rules for her, but she feels that when a rule seems unfair, she can discuss it with him. Even if he doesn't agree to change the rule, he listens to her opinions. What style of parenting does Tammy's father most resemble? Kathy's father? Based on what you know about the effects of parenting on adolescence, describe two outcomes you might expect for Tammy and two outcomes you might expect for Kathy.

Tammy: Authoritarian parents expect and demand mature, responsible behavior. Dad has very strict rules that they expect to be followed unconditionally. More likely to be delinquent because she will not have a say in the matter and she is more likely to be dependent on others from always having to listen to her father. Kathy:Authoritative parents responds to Kathy's needs in an accepting, supportive manner. He gives a good balance between restrictiveness and autonomy. She is more likely to be more responsible, creative, and confidence from knowing her father listens and supports her.

Tracking is an important and controversial issue in today's classrooms. Define this issue and describe two problems with tracking and two benefits of tracking.

Tracking is when Students with different academic abilities are separated into different levels of classes Problems: Students in remedial classes receive poorer-quality education Social polarization Typically, those in remedial classes receive fewer resources and have a less stimulating environment. Benefit: teachers can develop more finely tuned curricula Advanced students can "get on" more challenging topics

Describe the ways that adolescents are bullied by peers (be sure to include the prevalence for each type). What are the consequences of experiencing victimization by peers? Are the consequences different for online bullying versus in person bullying? How do adolescents typically respond to bullying? What is the best way to get a bully to stop?

Verbal bullying; name-calling and talking negative about an individual. Physical bullying is fighting or hitting someone. Cyberbullying is a typical form of bullying by peers; occurs over the internet, phone, and social media. One of the most common effects of victimization is that it undermines feelings of academic competence, academic performance, and school engagement. Cyber bullying is less common than in-person harassment, Best outcomes among those who do not blame the self and to respond proactively without aggression

Your next-door neighbor tells you she is getting divorced and is planning to remarry as soon as the divorce is final. She has two teenagers, a son and a daughter, and is worried about how they are going to deal with the divorce and her remarriage. She wants to make the transition as easy as possible for them and asks your advice on how to do that. Describe to her what you know about (a) the effect of divorce on adolescents, (b) the effect of remarriage on adolescents.

a. Divorce: Effects teenagers more but are more common and less stigmatized (more resources). Within 2 yrs after the divorce majority of children have adjusted and behave ass the rest of their peers. Divorce itself isn't so bad, but rather the exposure to conflict poor parenting and the increased stress is what impacts them. b. Remarriage: Majority of children who experience divorce will live with a step-family. Many children will experience multiple divorces.