Adolescent Dev.

Question 1

describe puberty in adolescence

Answer 1

• puberty:
  
  • increase in adrenal and gonadal hormones
  • second “critical period” in sexual differentiation
  • secondary sex characteristics: breasts, pubic hair, facial hair, larynx enlargement/voice changes
• pubertal growth spurt:
  
  • adolescents attain final 25% of adult height and 50% of adult weight

Question 2

describe sleep rhythms during adolescent physical development

Answer 2

• sleep rhythms
  
  • phase delay (go to bed later)
  • reduced slow wave (restorative) sleep
  • negative impact of cell phones/computers on sleep hygiene

Question 3

describe brain maturation in adolescence

Answer 3

• ongoing myelination and dendritic pruning
• most dramatic changes occur in prefrontal cortex and increased prefrontal-subcortical connectivity

Question 4

describe cognitive development in adolescence

Answer 4

• ability to use abstract thought, consider theories, devise hypotheses, examine cause & effect (Formal Operational Stage)
  
  • regression to concrete stage of thinking is common under stress or heightened emotions in adolescence
• problem solving, planning, multi-tasking
• inhibiting inappropirate behaviors in favor of goal-oriented behaviors
  
  • impulse control
  • delayed gratification

Question 5

describe changes in gray and white matter in adolescents

Answer 5

Question 6

describe social/emotional development of adolescents

Answer 6

• adolescents are reward seeking and highly motivated by emotional incentives
  
  • peer approval
  • positive sensation-seeking
  • novelty seeking
• emotional system matures earlier than prefrontal control system
  
  • high emotional reactivity
  • difficulty down-regulating emotional state
  • increased risk for affective disorders in adolescence

Question 7

describe the maturation of prefrontal pathways in adolescents

Answer 7

• control over emotions improves with maturation of prefrontal pathways (uncinate fasciculus) to amygdala (emotion center) and basal forebrain nucleus accumbens (reward processing)

Question 8

describe risk-taking and brain maturation in adolescence

Answer 8

• risk-taking is higher in adolescence than in childhood and adulthood (non-linear trend)
  
  • cold reasoning (logical, cause-effect relationships, prefrontal region) develops linearly from childhood to adulthood
  • hot reasoning (emotional, limbic region) peaks in adolescence

Question 9

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between birth and 1 year

Answer 9

• trust vs. mistrust
  
  • if needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

Question 10

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 1-3 years

Answer 10

• autonomy vs shame and doubt
  
  • toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves or they doubt their abilities

Question 11

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 3-6 years

Answer 11

• initiative vs guilt
  
  • preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent

Question 12

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 6-12 years

Answer 12

• competence vs inferiority
  
  • children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks or they feel inferior

Question 13

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 12-20s

Answer 13

• identity vs role confusion
  
  • teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

Question 14

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 20s-40s

Answer 14

• intimacy vs isolation
  
  • young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated

Question 15

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development between 40s-60s

Answer 15

• generativity vs stagnation
  
  • the middle-aged discover a sense of contributing to the world, such as through family and work, or they feel a lack of purpose

Question 16

describe Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development after 65+

Answer 16

• integrity vs despair
  
  • when reflecting on his or her life, the older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure