PSYC 373 Final
What physical marker was used to study possible changes in pubertal growth in males across the decades/centuries, and what was discovered?
"Voice breaking" (deepening),Which typically occurs around 3 years prior to maturation being complete (post-puberty)
This is why exposure to substances that stimulate the nucleus accumbens - nicotine, alcohol, cocaine - are especially powerful during adolescence and why use during this time can so easily lead to ____.
"addiction"
During the first half of adolescence, then, the prefrontal cortex improves by ___, which works fine as long as challenges aren't impeded by stress or anxiety.
"becoming more focused;"
LS argues we need to begin to look at techniques for improving higher-order cognitive skills, what psychologists call ___ which includes self-regulation.
"executive functions"
This is why nothing will ever ___ as it did when you were a teenager.
"feel as good"
Determination is referred to as a "noncognitive skill." Man experts now believe it is these noncognitive factors that distinguish children who succeed from those who don't. LS doesn't agree they should be called cognitive or noncognitive, but intellectual and ____.
"motivational"
Today, it turns out, these sex hormones, which are designed to promote reproduction, are also responsive to many other _____, such as risk-taking, thrills, recreational drugs.
"reward-seeking behaviors";
As self-control (compared to novelty seeking) is less influenced by sex hormones, we should expect to see teens in cultures that demand a lot of self-control, such as in Asia, ______
"should develop this capacity faster."
There are two systems that change as the brain matures, the one that makes us ____ and the one that strengthen our ability to ____. But these two systems do not become active or mature at the same time. The longer period of time between the maturation of the two, the longer period of imbalance.
(1/2) MAKES US__more easily excited, emotionally aroused & more prone to getting angry or upset(2/2) ABILITY TO__control our thoughts, emotions, and actions
What does research show are the antecedents of chronic criminal behavior?
-birth complications -exposure to stress and trauma -poverty -harsh parenting -early alcohol and drug use
Practice authoritative parenting by ______. Parents need to clearly express and explain their ____, enforce rules in a _____ manner, and impose consequences for ____. Parents should not use ______.
-enhance their children's school achievement and lower the chances that their adolescents will engage in risky and reckless behavior -expectations for their children's behavior -consistent but flexible -misbehavior -physical punishment or be verbally hostile
Adolescents growing up in more affluent families are more likely to accumulate various kinds of "capital," such as...
-human capital -cultural capital -social capital -psychological capital -and neurobiological capital.
What are the benefits of developing the capacity for self-regulation?
-protects us against a wide range of psychological disorders -contributes to more satisfying and fulfilling relationships -facilitates accomplishments in the worlds of school and work
Parents from lower-class backgrounds are more likely to use ___ parenting for a lot of understandable reasons. They are also reacting to their own children, who are already showing signs of weaker self-regulation and the kind of impulsivity that solicits harsh parenting. A ____ is set in motion, in which harsh and inconsistent parenting produces problematic child behavior, which pulls more harsh parenting.
-ways that are less likely to lead to strong self-regulation...-"coercive cycle"
Why is delaying the transition a double-edged sword?
1) it extends the period of unstructured life, elevating the risk that the sorts of problem behavior we associate with adolescence will persist until a later age 2) too much structure in the early twenties threatens to close the window of plasticity
What traits do infants/children need in order to make the transition from total external control to self-control?
1. Children must be emotionally secure enough to make the movement from external control to self-management 2. They must be behaviorally skilled enough to know how to ace when they're on their own 3. Children must be self-assured enough to seek and take responsibility for their own behavior.
Why does the timing of puberty matter? What are the consequences?
1. Early maturers are treated differently by others, which affects the way they act and feel about themselves.Maturing early is psychologically tougher on girls + risk of sexual abuse 2. Early-maturing adolescents experience a greater gap between when they mature physically and when they mature in other ways
We need to understand the underlying causes of adolescent risk-taking. Studies by LS and colleagues have consistently documented two important differences between adolescents and other age groups. What are they?
1. People's sensitivity to the potential rewards of a risky choice - s/a possibility of winning a low-probability bet - peaks around age 16 or so. 2. Children make more impulsive decisions than teenagers, and teenagers make more impulsive decisions than adults. *reward sensitivity + impulsivity = a very dangerous and vulnerable time in middle adolescence
What are the four reasons scientists believe the brain is more plastic during adolescence?
1. Psychological change during adolescence is far more dramatic than middle childhood - suggesting that brain is undergoing more rapid or extensive modification 2. Findings from "reminiscence bump" studies and psychological disorder suggest that adolescence is a more sensitive period than middle childhood 3. Studies show that the adolescent brain is more responsive to stress and arousal than the preadolescent brain 4. Many patterns of change in brain activity don't follow a straight line between childhood and adulthood but rather a trajectory similar to an inverted 'U'.
When in life is the brain MOST malleable?
1. The "zero to three" years 2. Adolescence
What brain regions are most importantly reorganized during adolescence? What are these regions responsible for?
1. The Prefrontal Cortex - responsible for self-regulation & making us rational. 2. The Limbic System - plays an especially important role in generating emotions.
What are the three Rs of adolescent brain development?
1. The reward system 2. The relationship system, and 3. The regulatory systemare the chief places where the brain changes during adolescence.*
So what are the arguments for why there is a delay in entrance to adulthood today? Why this "arrested development"?
1. Young people have chosen not to take on adult roles because they're lazy, self-absorbed, and spoiled 2. The changes reflect rational choices. (Jobs that pay well demand more education, gender roles have changed, etc. *the world is different) 3. "Arrested development" view starts from the premise that healthy development is facilitated by the demands of adulthood - responsibilities of marriage and parenthood, expectations of a job, challenges of self-sufficiency...
The most promising efforts to improve self-regulation fall into five categories:
1. exercises designed to improve executive functioning 2. increasing mindfulness 3. aerobic exercise 4. physical regimens that require intense concentration, and 5. strategies designed to boost self-control or delay of gratification.
Social science teaches us there are four basic rules to follow if you want to have a decent life. What are they?
1. stay in school (at least through high-school graduation, longer if possible) 2. don't have children until you're married 3. don't break the law 4. if you're not in school - do whatever you can to avoid being idle (s/a getting a job if you're unemployed)
LS argues there are three reasons to rethink adolescence. What are they?
1. we now know (from research) that the brain continues to mature well into one's twenties 2. children are entering adolescence earlier and adults are taking longer to become adults (*adolescence itself is changing) 3. adolescence is a tremendous period of neuroplasticity
What do we know about caucasian and African-American girls and the onset of puberty today?
1/10 of white girls and 1/4 of black girls had begun breast development around 1st or 2nd grade (avg. age 7)
Are changes occurring earlier in males today as well? What changes?
10% white boys and 1/5 black boys were showing signs of development as early as 1st grade
But under conditions where the teen is not overly aroused or pressured, ____ year olds can reason just as well as adults.
15 and 16
Rethink the age boundaries between adolescents and adults for things they can make appropriate decisions by the time they are _____.
16
It's not until age ____ that teens can reliably control their impulses when faced with peer pressure, and resist temptation to take risks because of the attraction of a tempting reward.
18 or older;
In most of the developed world, the minimum driving age is ___. In the U.S. it was dropped to 16 in order to allow teens in urban areas to ____.
18; allow 16-17 year olds to fill jobs that will require someone who's able to drive
Poor children start off life at a disadvantage. They score lower on tests of intelligence and executive functioning, as young as ___. 2 years old
2 years old
The drinking age was set at ___ after prohibition, but was lowered to ___ when politicians argued during the Vietnam War that it was wrong to send ___ year olds to war but prohibit them from drinking. After it was shown that lowering the drinking age led to more ____, some states raised the drinking age to 21, and the federal government pressured all states to do so by tying the change to federal funds. Today, the U.S. is only one of ____ that doesn't permit people to drink at age 18, the others being Iceland and Japan.
21 years old; 18, 19, or 20 years old; 18 years old; highway fatalities; 1 of 3
Joseph is one of ___ inmates serving a life sentence in an American prison for crimes they committed when they were younger than 18.
4
Are adolescent risks about lower intelligence, lack of ability to predict outcomes, or something else?
A combination of these things has led to efforts to help adolescents make decisions more rationally.
What is the paradox between adolescent health and morbidity/mortality?
Adolescence is one of the healthiest periods in human development, yet morbidity & mortality both increase between 200 and 300 percent between childhood and adolescence.
In their lab studies, just knowing a peer is watching from the next room has what effect on performance? And how is this different from adults?
Adolescents' reward centers are activated, whereas adults' are not. ("peer effect")
How is adult plasticity different than that experienced during adolescence?
Adult plasticity mainly involves fairly minor modifications to existing circuits.
What do we know about the age at which most crimes are committed and risky behavior occurs?
Arrests increase dramatically from the age of 10 to 18 (*peak) and then decline from 18-25+
In the animal kingdom, the rapid increase in dopamine ensures animals will do whatever is necessary to ____
Attain a mating partner
The adolescent brain is chemically primed to encode memories more deeply. Why?
Because ordinary events trigger strong emotions in adolescence.
Why? What does this say about the way memory works during adolescence
Brain regions responsible for strong emotions are especially sensitive during adolescence. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine are released in these experiences - related to strong positive or negative feelings - and they also make the event more easily remembered.
LS believes we should use this distinction in making legal decisions. ____ is used to make decisions involving voting, granting consent for medical procedures like abortion, giving consent to participate in scientific research, or competence to stand trial in court. _____ is used for decisions about driving, drinking, and criminal responsibility; this is when they succumb to the temptation of immediate reward, often in highly-arousing situations involving other teens.
Cold cognition; hot cognition
There are two types of plasticity. What does developmental plasticity refer to?
Developmental plasticity refers to the malleability of the brain during periods in which the brain is being built, when its anatomy is still changing in profound ways.
How are brain systems that develop in infancy (experience expectant systems) different than the systems that develop in adolescence (experience dependent systems)?
Experience EXPECTANT systems (s/a vision and speech) can be expected that the experiences needed to stimulate these processes can be found in the typical environments that humans encounter. Experience DEPENDENT systems' ultimate shape depends heavily on the particular environment in which the underlying brain systems mature. Due to variations in experience & complex abilities which tend to be relatively more malleable.
What are the ramifications of exposure to drugs, including nicotine and alcohol, during adolescence?
Exposure to these substances during adolescence is more closely associated with addiction than is exposure in adulthood.
What is High School in the US for? How do we score the highest?
For socializing. We score highest by
Connections between neurons in the prefrontal cortex proliferate until around age __, and are then pruned until about age __.
From birth until around age 10; and then are pruned until about age 25
What determines whether delayed adulthood is an opportunity or risk depends is
How these extra adolescent years are spent
People who have a stronger preference for ____ have a lot more problems later in life. They have higher rates of compulsive gambling, obesity, substance abuse, alcoholism, low school achievement, criminal behavior, and poor hygiene.
Immediate rewards (on tests s/a "now and later")
In what ways should parents be supportive?
In all 3 components - warm, fair, and supportive
Why would novelty seeking be more important in adolescence than adulthood?
It acts as a way of making sure than individuals venture out into a world at a time when the brain is primed to learn from new experiences.
What happens to the nucleus accumbens as we age from childhood to adolescence to adulthood?
It gets bigger as we grow from childhood to adolescence BUT then it gets smaller from adolescence to adulthood
An example of the variation in the malleability of brain systems across different ages is shown by the effects of sexual abuse. How are they different?
It was found that the region (of the brain) adversely affected by the abuse differed depending on the age at which it occurred. Sexual abuse...>In childhood affected the hippocampus (deals w/ memory)>In adolescence affected the prefrontal cortex (governs self-control, very plastic area at this age).
Why have we been able to improve achievement in elementary school and not middle school or high school?
It's easier to improve elementary schools without paying attention to noncognitive skills.
How well do KIPP vs those who applied to KIPP but didn't get in perform on achievement tests?
KIPP students did better
___ the chance that your child will go through puberty early. A century ago, decline in the age of puberty was due to improvements in ____. Today it is due to ___.
Lessen, health and nutrition, obesity, the proliferation of endocrine-distributing chemicals, and increased exposure to artificial light
How is low birth weight and insulin related to pubertal growth?
Low birthweight leads to overproduction of insulin, and abnormally high levels of insulin in the blood lead to excess weight gain (& frequently - obesity).
What do we use as a typical marker of the end of adolescence?
Marriage
What does metaplasticity refer to?
Metaplasticity essentially means that plasticity begets more plasticity, and not only in the circuits that were directly altered by the experience.
Is risk-taking higher in adolescence because they're not as intelligent as adults?
No - it has more to do with the development status of certain parts of their brain.
Is repetition effective in stimulating brain change? What must happen to fully stimulate brain change?
No.In order to take full advantage of the brain's capacity for plasticity - the demands we place on our brain must exceed the brain's capacity to meet them.
Recent studies show structural differences in children's prefrontal cortex that are associated with their parents' level of education.
One aspect of brain development that is most disrupted by early stress involves the circuits that connect the prefrontal cortex with the limbic system
What is the most important goal for authoritative parents?
Orchestrating a smooth transition from external control to internal control.
How are participation and belonging related to levels of achievement in high school?
Participation can be seen as a measure of academic engagement, and belonging can be seen as a measure of social engagement.
What happens in the three phases of reorganization? (Limbic system, prefrontal cortex, interconnectivity)
Phase 1: Limbic system becomes more easily aroused; sensation-seeking; feeling "higher highs and lower lows;" Phase 2: Prefrontal cortex slowly becomes more organized through synaptic pruning and myelination; Phase 3: Connections between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system strengthen; becomes overall more interconnected;
What does plasticity allow us to do?
Plasticity allows us to learn from experience and enables us to adapt to the environment.
The fact that the brain is MOST malleable during this period is potentially what, good news, bad news, or both, and why?
Plasticity cuts both ways - brain's malleability in adolescents -->-if we expose them to positive, supporting environments they will flourish,-but if the environments are toxic, they'll suffer in powerful and enduring ways.
What does plasticity mean?
Plasticity is the process through which the outside world (experiences) get inside us (shape our thoughts) and change us (we learn).
The ____ is the brain's CEO, responsible for higher-level cognitive skills, like thinking ahead, weighing costs and benefits, and coordinating emotions and thoughts.
Prefrontal cortex
What part of the brain controls whether or not we act on a stimulus?
Prefrontal cortex
What is pruning and what effect does it have on the brain and human functioning?
Pruning is the process of eliminating unnecessary/no longer relevant neuronal connections.Pruning has the effect of making the brain function more effectively. Neuronal connections may be created, strengthened, weakened or eliminated.
How is family stress related to pubertal growth?
Puberty begins earlier among adolescents who grew up in families in which there is relatively more conflict between parents and children.
What changes occur in the dopamine system during puberty?
Puberty triggers a dramatic increase in the concentration of dopamine receptors - especially having to do with rewards & feelings of pleasure.
What regions of the brain are pruned last, and what functions do they control?
Regions that control higher-level cognitive functions, like making complicated decisions. This means that adolescents ability to perform these functions are affected since they are still in the pruning process.
Until about age 16, one part of the brain exerts greater control, and after that another part "catches up." What are the general parts and general functions?
Reward seeking declines & self-control strengthens
What effect do sex hormones have on the brain during adolescence?
Sex hormones promote myelination, stimulate the development of new neurons, and facilitate synaptic pruning.
When does risk-taking tend to peak?
Someplace during the late teens.
What is the "accident hump" and what is the trend across decades?
Spike in mortality rate of boys for a few years once they've entered adolescence;It has dropped by about 3 months per decade over the past several centuries
How is the limbic system the brain's "sentry"?
Structures of the limbic system have roles in detecting certain elements of the immediate environment they need to pay attention to & work together in detecting rewards and threats therein
What is TMS and how does it inform us about adolescent brain plasticity?
TMS is "transcranial magnetic stimulation" has shown, in studies, to lead people to be more impulsive when used to interfere with brain circuits that govern self-regulation. Adolescents' brains showed a larger change/activity than adults', and overall more response from the TMS.
What are the facts, and the relationship, between risk-taking and the presence of other teens?
Teens are more likely to take more risks around their friends than by themselves.
LS was hired to serve as an expert witness in the trial of Danny, the 17 year old who killed a woman while driving. Danny's driving was compromised by two factors. What were they?
Texting and calling, and just enough alcohol to slow his reflexes
In fact, the recklessness-enhancing effect of being around peers is strongest when adolescents know ______
That there is a high probability of something bad happening.
What happens to activity in the brains of teens when engaged in or thinking about social relationships?
The "social brain" is activated when teenagers are shown pictures of others' emotional expressions.
Given the efforts that have been used to improve elementary, middle school, and high school achievement levels, how are they performing compared to youth around the world?
The U.S. score well below other countries, especially in terms of math and science
What is the average age of onset for serious mental health problems?
The average onset is at age 14.
When in life is the brain most malleable, and is this malleability the same at different times?
The brain is especially malleable during the first few years and does lose some malleability after infancy -But new evidence shows that brain plasticity increases during adolescence and remains at this relatively higher level until adulthood The question of the brain being more plastic in early life than adolescence is irrelevant because the brain is plastic in different places during these time periods.
What is the effect of prolonging the end of adolescence on brain development, including the structure of "white matter"?
The brain remaining malleable leaves open the chance for potentially risky experiences to harm the brain from unfavorable experiences. The chance of this risk tends to outweigh the potential positive opportunities. Prolonging of adolescence may be advantageous as long as the environment i/w it's prolonged affords opportunities for continued stimulation and increasing challenge as well as avoiding potential harm. Higher education contributes to the development of advanced cognitive abilities by improving the structure of the brain's white matter.
How does this relate, for example, to the ability to learn a foreign language?
The brain systems responsible for language acquisition have matured after adolescence - so it is easier to learn a foreign language before adolescence.
Referring to those up to approximately age 25 as adolescents or emerging adults, while controversial, is supported by the fact that the brain doesn't mature until ___
The early twenties
In what ways are diet and nutrition part of the explanation for earlier puberty today?
The healthier and better-fed you are, the more likely you are to mature earlier
Why does puberty start earlier among children who are obese and who grow up close to the equator?
The more fat cells you have and the more light you have been exposed to, the more likely you will go through puberty earlier
What is the "reminiscence bump?"
The term which describes the special clarity of adolescent memories.
Are adolescents different regarding awareness of the consequences of risky behaviors, or delusions of invulnerability?
They are NOT more likely than adults to suffer from these delusions.
Parents and teachers need to keep this in mind. Adolescents are more likely to change their behavior if ______
They are motivated with a reward rather than threatened with a punishment
What characteristics do parents show who promote this?
They are warm, firm, and supportive of their child's growing sense of self-reliance.
LS and colleagues studied adolescents and risk-taking in China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, and Thailand. What did the research team find, compared to U.S. teens?
They discovered the same age patterns in reward sensitivity and self-control that they'd seen in their earlier study of Americans (their results were also evident in these very different countries)
How are endocrine disruptors involved in changes in pubertal growth?
They influence the timing of puberty by altering the production and effects of naturally produced sex hormones and, as well, by mimicking the hormones themselves.
LS states on page 32 that "Many of the most widely prescribed antidepressants work, for instance, by altering the amount of serotonin in brain circuits that control mood." p. 32.
This isn't proven, and it's disappointing that he reiterates that argument here. The "serotonin deficit hypothesis" has been proven false time and again. Please be familiar with the facts and arguments in the linked source. (http://brucelevine.net/psychiatry%E2%80%99s-manufacture-of-consent-the-chemical-imbalance-theory-and-the-antidepressant-explosion/)
What are the ways that adolescents are more likely to engage in risky behavior compared to children and adults?
Violence peaks at this age, so do self-inflicted injuries, unintentional drownings, experimentation with drugs, accidental pregnancies, property crime, and fatal automobile crashes
Are we more likely to remember mundane events, or unusual/momentous events from adolescence?
We are more likely to remember the ordinary things that happen to us during adolescence than the ordinary things that occur at other ages.
How do we compare on participation and belongingness to students in other countries?
We are the top in these ratings, next only to Germany.
What does it mean to say that experience affects the brain in three ways, "use it, lose it, and improve it"?
Working in the "zone of proximal development" and use of "scaffolding" to gradually increase skills. You won't gain the full potential in areas of the brain by just using them more, you have to challenge your performance in the area to strengthen it.
The brain's amplified sensitivity to the environment leads us to ___
__encode experiences more deeply, in more detail, and unshakably.
KIPP has a long record of impressive accomplishments, including ____
a best-selling book, higher rates of high-school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion
During the second half of adolescence, self-control gradually becomes governed by ___
a well-coordinated network of brain regions.
Parents shouldn't worry about whether their 20-something child is taking too long to grow up. If they are immersed in ______, this promotes the development of self-regulation.
a world characterized by new and stimulating experiences
LS argues we need to rethink what high school education means and what it would focus on developing in students. Most experts agree that schools should focus on fostering more general competencies that have value in many different work settings, like ____.
ability to work effectively with others, ability to develop & carry out long-term strategic plans, knowing how to acquire & use new information, ability to think flexibly & creatively, and self-regulation
Intercourse during ovulation in the late teens will result in a conception ____ times in the late teen years, while only ____ times by the late twenties.
about 1 out of every 3 times; about 1 in 4 times.
A longer adolescence also increases the advantage that the ___ enjoy over the ___.
affluent, underprivileged
Many studies show that adolescents who ____ engage in fewer problem behaviors. Authoritative parenting is the buffer teens need.
are closer to their parents and more consistently monitored by them
The gap between the haves and the have-nots, or income inequality, has grown in virtually every country in the world since ____.
around the 1980's
When given a self-control task, 16 year olds perform ___ adults when there are no distractions or strong emotions. But being tired, excited, or upset results in ___, compared to adults.
as well as (or better than if they're motivated by a reward); interference with prefrontal functioning.
The psychological outcomes of ___ are also those that are required for success in college.
authoritative child-rearing
A longer adolescence has made self-control more important than ever before, because people must ____ that comes with the independence of adulthood that much longer. Adolescence is an incredibly lengthy time between the first taste of adulthood and the opportunity to satisfy the urges it stimulates. There's a much longer time between when the ___ are started and the brakes have ___.
be able to delay the gratification, "engines", matured
Middle-class and professional parents, however, tend to use the authoritative style, because ____.
because it promotes qualities s/a flexibility, self-direction & initiative
The challenge we face as parents, educators, and concerned adults is to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunity to promote the development of ___ in adolescents by providing experiences and responsibilities that stimulate brain development, and limiting their exposure to situations and substances that threaten their health while their ___ is still immature.
brain plasticity, self control
So what's wrong with the advertising campaigns used to prevent things like unprotected sex, drug use, and reckless driving among teens? Educational programs change what they ____, but not how they _____
change what they know; but not how they act.
The question of at what age someone should be treated as an adult in court us now decided based on ___ in modern cultures. Most cultures use ____. This removes ambiguity and prejudice. Some Supreme Court justices argued that the determination of maturity should be left up to the judge, to use his discretion But in court, many variables influence whether or not the adolescent is believed to be mature, such as _____.
chronological age; this age for all legal purposes; their behavior
A ____ is set in motion, in which harsh and inconsistent parenting produces problematic child behavior, which pulls more harsh parenting.
coercive cycle
Most were gradually able to regulate their impulses, and stopped ___.
committing crimes
Grit, or determination to finish a task, involves ______
conscientiousness, stamina, and sustained commitment.
This gap isn't just financial, it is psychological and neurobiological. People who can delay the transition to adulthood reap the benefits of a longer period of plasticity during which higher-order brain systems ___.
continue to mature
A decision to commit a ___ is usually rash and made in the presence of peer pressure, but not so for the decision to have ____, which is often made in an unhurried fashion in consultation with adults. Most states require that ___ decisions can only be made after receiving counseling about the decision regarding the consequences and procedures, and involve a waiting period.
crime; an abortion; abortion
In Roper, the US Supreme Court ruled that the juvenile death penalty is unfairly harsh in light of adolescents' immaturity, and therefore violated the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting ___.
cruel and unusual punishment
All of these rules involve ___. They also all concern choices made during adolescence.
delaying gratification
We should make high school more _____. Spend less time and money on classroom-based _____.
demanding, health education
Introducing recreational drugs into the mix increases the brain's craving for ___, stimulating an even more intense search for _____.
dopamine; sensation and novelty.
In the past, poorer children went through puberty ___ than well-off children. In developing countries, this is still true.
earlier
Adolescence has gotten longer for everyone, but WHERE the period has been lengthened differs between poor and non-poor. Adolescence starts ___ for the poor, but ___ for the non-poor, given educational opportunities.
earlier for the poor; but takes place later
Adolescents are worse, however, at regulating impulses and making sound judgments when they are ____.
emotionally aroused and with friends
LS and others have made the case that adolescents are inherently less mature than adults in ways that make them less responsible for their crimes - the combination of an easily aroused ___ but a still developing ___ makes minors more impulsive.
engine, braking system
In Asian and European cultures, there are higher ___ at home and ___ for achievement in the peer group.
expectations; more support
The early twenties is a time of continued brain plasticity, and it is likely that this potential asset begins to fade as we stop putting ourselves in ___. So delaying the entry into adulthood may be a good thing, at least for people who use this flexibility wisely.
experience that improve the brain & the affluent also have the resources they need to buy access to stimulating environments during this time
Recall that the recent decline in onset of puberty is due to (what factors?)
exposure to artificial light, exposure to endocrine-disruptors, increase in obesity, etc.
How are poor kids more likely to be exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals?
exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) - which hastens puberty - and additionally, using hair-care products that contain hormone-disrupting chemicals (s/a with young black girls)
The best protection against lapses in self-control is ___.
external control (of the sort that parents usually provide)
Adolescents have a greater tendency to give ____ when being interrogated by officials for a crime.
false confessions
Mindfulness involves ___.
focusing one's attention on the present moment in a nonjudgmental fashion - really attending to what your senses are picking up, without trying to interpret or think about the experience.
Adolescence is characterized by heightened ___ and still-maturing __, as well as greater willingness to __.
heightened sensation seeking; still-maturing impulse control; greater willingness to take risks.
What are authoritative parents like?
high in warmth, firmness, and support.
The teen years are crucial for the development of self-regulation and tenacity. Even though children show different levels of self-control, as the marshmallow test shows, the brain systems that govern this remain ____.
highly plastic throughout adolescence
The fact that Asian American children do so well in US schools is explained by ____
how they are raised and what their parents expect of them
What does the KIPP program focus on?
increasing college enrollment (in kids and teenagers from low-income families) by combining an emphasis on factors proven to bolster academic success (high expectations, parental involvement, time spent on instruction) with a novel focus on developing 7 character strengths: 1. zest 2. grit 3. self-control 4. optimism 5. curiosity 6. gratitude 7. social intelligence
The American Psychological Association wrote an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court in the case regarding the death penalty, in which they argued that juveniles were ____. In another case, however, on abortion, the APA argued that adolescents had decision-making skills ____ and should be allowed to make a decision on abortion on their own, without parental consent.
inherently less blameworthy than adults (because of their developmental immaturity);on par with adults
In 2005 the Court abolished the ___ death penalty.
juvenile
How are kisspeptin, leptin, and melatonin involved in puberty?
kisspeptin - this brain chemical increases in the brain and signals ovaries/testicles to produce estrogen/testosterone leptin - suppresses desire to eat when we're full, regulates our hunger and appetite melatonin - regulates sleep levels/pattern
A human female reaches her maximum fertility in her ______.
late teens
LS describes a long-term study of teen delinquency. Most delinquency does not ___. The researchers wanted to discover why some teens continue to commit crimes into adulthood.
lead to them becoming adult criminals
When interrogators "minimize" the actions allegedly committed by saying things like "After all, you were only doing what your buddies told you to do" adolescents are ____ they committed an act, because they are focused on ____, getting out as soon as possible. They're not thinking about ____.
led to believe they aren't (as) responsible for it; immediate rewards (s/a getting out of the court room); long-term consequences
Recall that the declining age of puberty means these children are facing challenges when they are ___ to regulate their emotions and behavior. Puberty hastens the arousal of the ___ but puberty doesn't speed the development of the ____ - experience does. Because their self-control is weaker from an earlier age, poorer children are even more likely to be harmed by the increase in ___ arousal, the attraction to stimulation.
less able; limbic system; prefrontal cortex
In 2010 the Supreme Court banned ___ for juveniles who had been convicted of crimes other than homicide. In 2005 the Court abolished the ___ death penalty.
life sentences
Puberty hastens the arousal of the ___ but puberty doesn't speed the development of the ____ - experience does. Because their self-control is weaker from an earlier age, poorer children are even more likely to be harmed by the increase in ___ arousal, the attraction to stimulation.
limbic system, prefrontal cortex, endocrine distributing chemicals
Adolescence is, therefore, not only ___ today than it was in the past, it is also more _____.
longer; perilous.
All of the above are related to the evolutionary "purpose" of adolescence, which is to _____
mate
But, where do KIPP students not demonstrate positive effects of the program?
measures of character strengths (s/a being effortful or persistent)
Some researchers argue that working-memory tasks not only improve __ skills but things like ___
memory; impulse control
More than 80% of foreign students who have attended American high schools report that their home schools are ____. American students spend ____ time on schoolwork than their counterparts in the rest of the world.
more challenging; far less time.
Adolescence is a time when the brain systems that process social information become ____, which is an especially strong liability in a school environment that places undue emphasis on peer relations, as we do in the U.S.
more easily aroused
The U.S. spends more money on postsecondary education than ___. We have one of the ____ rates of college entry, but the ___ in college completion.
nearly any other country; highest; lowest/tied for last
This difference is crucial, because the impact of EARLY puberty on the development of self-control is ___, while the impact of prolonged late adolescence on self-control is ___.
negative; positive
Because of these childhood events, growing up in poverty makes some teens less prepared to respond to the ___ changes of puberty.
neurobiological
Over the past 40 years, despite all the debates about curricula, testing, teacher training, teachers' salaries, performance standards, and billions of dollars investedin school reform, there has been __ improvement in ____ in American high school students.
no; academic proficiency
Educators should reimagine what secondary schools can accomplish. They need to include activities that build _____ skills.
noncognitive
LS and colleagues tested ____ at different ages, from 10 to 30. At 10, Chinese children were ____ than American children. By 18, Chinese adolescents were ____. In their 20s, Chinese were ___.
people's impulse control; 10% higher; 45% higher; 50% higher self-control than Americans
Parents should prevent children's exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Where are they found?
pesticides and plastics that contain chemicals known to interfere with normal hormonal development
Schools should promote authoritative parenting. Prepare adolescents for the ____ demands of college, not just the academic demands.
physical
After adolescence, the brain will never again be as ___ as it is during this period of life.
plastic
Aerobic exercise, especially team sports that combine aerobic activity with strategy, appear to promote ___
positive effects on executive functioning
Traditionally, we have put all our efforts into helping adolescents deal with the ____ of this age period, instead of ____. We spend our time telling teens what they shouldn't do, rather than what they should do.
problems, preventing them
The problem with poor achievement in high school isn't the teachers or the schools. If parents don't ____, it doesn't matter who the teachers are or where the kids go to school.
raise their children in ways that enable them to maintain interest in what their teachers are teaching
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to ___.
reduce stress and help alleviate many psychological disorders, especially those that involve anxiety, trauma, and addiction.
From age 6 on, scores on intelligence tests are ____, suggesting strong genetic influence. But patterns of development in regions of the brain responsible for self-control are ____
remarkably stable; less genetically determined.
Parents should use ___ to create learning situations in which a child is challenged but has a good chance of success.
scaffolding
What issues was LS asked to give his advice on in the case of Omar Khadr?
scientific evidence including the fact that they are less mature than adults (in ways that make them less responsible for the crimes), and their brain being immature + more susceptible to being aroused makes them more susceptible to peer influence.
In other countries, especially those in Asia, parents demand much more ___ from their children at much younger ages. By the time these children reach adulthood, they have much stronger ___ than Americans do.
self-control; self-control
All are related to failure to develop adequate ____. Each of them has been shown to interfere with normal prefrontal development.
self-regulation
Parents should encourage activities that contribute to_____.
self-regulation
Recently, intervention programs have shifted from focusing on academic achievement to ___.
self-regulation
More than anything else, determination requires ____. The ability to control our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors is what enables us to stay focused, especially when ____. People who can control their feelings are more likely to ___ and less likely to ____.
self-regulation; things get difficult, unpleasant, or tedious; less likely to fight/argue, easier to get along with...
Early stress in particular affects the connection between the prefrontal cortex with the limbic system. Early disruption of these circuits impairs a person's later ability to inhibit ___ and control their emotions, resulting in higher levels of ___.
sensation seeking; impulse control s/a substance abuse, crime, and aggression
Just by being around their friends, adolescents' heightened sensitivity to social rewards makes them ____ to all kinds of rewards, including the potential rewards of a risky activity.
sensitive
We should incorporate _____ learning into the middle school curriculum.
social and emotional
Sensation seeking also rises and falls during adolescence, peaking around age 16. This isn't true only for physical rewards, it's also true for ______
social rewards
One variable that contributes to lower ability is, unfortunately, genetics. Levels of intelligence are strongly influenced by genes, and people tend to marry and have children with partners who are similar to them in many ways, including ____.
socioeconomic background and intelligence
Dr. Laurence Steinberg (hereafter referred to as LS) argues that the results from neuroscience studies of brain development demonstrate that there are substantial and systematic changes in the brain's anatomy and functioning during puberty. He says these findings do not demonstrate that adolescence is a disease, deficiency, or disability, it means their brains are ___.
still developing
Parents should reduce their child's exposure to ____. Make the home a peaceful and calm place.
stress
Parents should be aware of the emotional and social circumstances that undermine your child's judgment, such as when they are ____. Unsupervised, unstructured time with peers is often a recipe for risky and reckless behavior.
stressed, fatigued, or in groups with other teenagers
Adolescents who have trouble managing themselves benefit from having parents who can do it for them. The main tools parents should use are ____.
strictness, warmth, and supervision
It is no coincidence that adolescent risk-taking occurs around the same age that its potential payoff - ___ - is greatest.
successful reproduction
That is, we help them ____ rather than ____. Thriving in adolescence means _____.
survive, thrive, developing strong self-control
For all except the best high school students, in AP classes, school in the U.S. is ____. The majority of students are just going through the motions. ____ say they have little interest in school, and this doesn't count the ___% who have dropped out.
tedious and unchallenging; 1/3; 20%.
Adolescents under the age of 15 don't even understand what ____ mean. One adolescent said they mean "you don't have to say anything until the police officer asks you a question."
the Miranda warning
How is a decline in brain plasticity as we leave adolescence and enter adulthood related to novelty seeking?
the brain's chemistry shifts from encouraging changes in our neural architecture to favoring stability and this reduction in plasticity is probably also due in part to experience
Children from wealthier families enter adolescence at an advantage, and have more opportunities to build ___.
the capacity for self-control are more plentiful for them
LS tells the story of trying to pick the right graduate students, to know who will succeed. He concludes the best graduate students aren't the smartest, but they are the ones with _____.
the capacity to stay focused on a task and see it through to completion
Activities that combine a challenging physical activity with mindfulness, such as yoga or certain martial arts, also appear to strengthen ___
the development of self-regulation
Working class parents tend to use the autocratic parenting style, teaching children how to be obedient, because ____.
they have found it useful/it leads to success in life (from their experience)
Elementary school students are also less likely to be distracted by ____.
things s/a gossip, social status, attention from peers, and sex
Compared to a child's brain, an adult's brain has many more thick white 'cables' connecting widely dispersed regions. The myelinated white matter connections between distant brain regions become stronger during adolescence, up through age __ or so.
twenty
Research does not point to an obvious chronological age at which sharp legal distinctions should be drawn between adolescents and adults for all purposes. Research shows that people reach various kinds of maturity between 15 and 22. Unhurried decisions involving _____ can be made typically by age 16, but decisions that are made fast and under pressure, involving _____ aren't made in a mature fashion until between 18 and 21.
unhurried decision making & consultation with others/"cold cognition" "hot cognition"
But in court, many variables influence whether or not the adolescent is believed to be mature, such as _____.
when people can make independent medical decisions, drive, hold various types of employment, drop out of school, marry without parents permission, vote
Efforts to improve executive functioning have focused on improving working memory, such the "n-back task" in which you have to ___.
you're presented with a sequence of items (like letters) one at a time, and then you have to indicate whether the letter you are shown next is the same as the last letter that appeared "n" letters ago
