PSYCH CHP4-5

habituation

Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

At 19, Celia is beginning to plan for her future. She no longer lives for the moment. She wants to become a doctor, so she knows she has to buckle down in school. What is probably happening to Celia?

Her frontal lobes are growing.

Research conducted by Belyaev and Trut has shown that __________ can be domesticated over the course of many generations, by selecting and mating animals with certain traits (e.g., responses to feeding, handling, etc.).

foxes

In part, the trademark impulsivity of adolescence reflects that brain development proceeds more slowly in the brain's _____ than in its _____.

frontal lobe; limbic system

Heritability refers to the extent to which trait variations among individuals can be attributed to their differing:

genes.

Epigenetics studies the molecular mechanisms by which environments can trigger or block:

genetic expression.

Evolutionary psychologists attribute the human tendency to fear snakes and heights to:

genetic predispositions.

The percentage of variation within a given population that is due to heredity is called:

heritability.

Research has shown that among American couples that live together before marriage, there are:

higher rates of divorce

All of these are difficult for older adults EXCEPT:

determining if the information is meaningful.

Raul is 20 years old and still very much dependent on his parents. They are paying for his college tuition as well as his living expenses. He spends his school holidays at home with them. According to some researchers, he is in the phase of life known as _____ adulthood.

emerging adulthood

Environmental factors such as diet, drugs, or stress can alter gene expression by affecting:

epigenetic molecules.

The period of adolescence is lengthening in industrialized cultures such as in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Adolescents are taking more time to finish their education and establish careers. The average age for a first marriage in the United States is now 29 for men and _______ for women.

27

Among your _____ chromosomes, ____ are unisex.

46;45

Studies of _____ has most clearly increased scientific appreciation for the importance of genetic influences in _____.

identical twins who have been reared apart; personality development

External influences on development including prenatal nutrition are said to constitute:

our environment

To most people the sexual abuse of a very young child is so emotionally repulsive that they immediately recognize it as immoral. This BEST illustrates that moral judgments may possibly reflect:

unconscious decision making.

There are many computerized game programs that are designed to improve cognitive functioning and reduce cognitive decline by exercising both memory and attention. Research has shown that those who engage in such games:

show improvement in the practiced skills.

concrete operational thought

In concrete operational thought, a child develops an ability to think logically and to make rational judgments about concrete or observable phenomena, which in the past he or she needed to manipulate physically to understand.

insecure attachments

Insecure attachment is a form of attachment between infant and caregiver that develops as a result of the caregiver's lack of sensitive responding to the infant's needs.

Bernice is 62. She is in a life stage known as _____ adulthood.

Middle

Understanding that individual development results from genetics, environment, as well as beliefs, feelings, and expectations would be provided by:

a biopsychosocial approach.

The first menstrual period in girls in the United States occurs usually within a year of age 12, and it is known as _____.

menarche

Environmental factors such as diet, drugs, or stress can alter gene expression by affecting:

natural selection

What marks the beginning of adolescence?

physical signs of sexual maturation

Faruq believes that choosing to violate government laws is morally justifiable if it is done to protect the lives of innocent people. Lawrence Kohlberg would suggest that this illustrates ______ morality.

postconventional morality

Reflecting a use-it-or-lose-it approach, unused synaptic connections are eliminated during infancy and childhood in a process called _____.

pruning

Mutual constitution is

the idea that societies and individuals influence one another