Adolescence PSY290 1

Chapter (Theories and Perspectives):

Adolescence: stage of development (between childhood and adulthood) that begins with puberty and
ends when individuals make the transition into adult roles, approximately from age 10 to early 20’s
(period of transitions; biological, psychological, social, economic)

Perspective Adolescence Onset Adolescence Completion

Biological Onset of Puberty Becoming capable of sexual
reproduction
Emotional Beginning of detachment from Attaining a separate sense of
parents identity
Cognitive Emergence of more advanced Consolidation of advanced
reasoning abilities reasoning abilities
Interpersonal Beginning of shift in interest Development of the capacity for
from parental to peer relations mature intimacy with peers
Social Beginning of training for adult Full attainment of adult status
work, family, and citizen roles and privileges
Educational Entrance to junior high school Completion of formal schooling
(middle school)
Legal Attainment of juvenile status Attainment of majority status
Chronological Attainment of designated age of Attainment of designated age of
adolescence (10-13 y/o) adulthood (18-21y/o)
Cultural Entrance into period of training Completion of ceremonial rite
for ceremonial rite of passage of passage

- Early Adolescence: (approximately 10-13 y/o) corresponding to junior high school/middle school
period
- Middle Adolescence: (approximately 14-17 y/o) corresponding to high school period
- Late Adolescence: (approximately 18-21 y/o) corresponding to the college period
- Emerging Adulthood: (approximately 18-25 y/o) during which individuals make the transition
from adolescents to adulthood

Fundamental Changes of Adolescence, John Hill (1983): the fundamental changes of adolescence, the
contexts of adolescences, and the psychosocial developments of adolescence

Changes:

1. Biological Transitions:
- Puberty: biological changes of adolescence, changes in the young person's physical appearance
and the development of the ability to conceive children
2. Cognitive Transitions: emergence of more advanced thinking abilities (abstract thinking,
hypothetical thinking, democracy, morality)
3. Social Transitions: transition into new roles in society, changes in rights, privileges, and
responsibilities
- Rite of Passage: ceremony or ritual marking an individual’s transition from one social status to
another, especially marking the young person's transition to adulthood
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Contexts:

- Bioecological Perspective on Human Development, Bronfenbrenner (1979): perspective on

development that emphasizes the broader context in which development occurs (families, peer
groups, schools, work, leisure settings)
- Microsystem: the context in which children live and interact with the people and
institutions closest to them, such as parents, peers, and school
- Mesosystem: the interrelations among the
components of the microsystem
- Exosystem: the collection of settings that impinge on a
child’s development but in which the child does not
play a direct role (e.g., parental workplace)
- Macrosystem: the system that surrounds the
microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem,
representing the values, ideologies, and laws of the
society or culture

Psychosocial Development: development of identity, autonomy, intimacy, sexuality, achievement,

psychological and social problems (mental health, conflict)

Psychosocial: refers to aspects of development that are both psychological and social in nature

1. Identity: the psychosocial domain of development of involving self-conceptions, self-esteem,

and the sense of who one is (discovering and understanding who one is as an individual)
2. Autonomy: the psychosocial domain of development concerning the development and
expression of independence (establishing a healthy sense of independence)
3. Intimacy: the psychosocial domain of development concerning the formation, maintenance, and
termination of close relationships (forming close and caring relationships with others)
4. Sexuality: the psychosocial domain of development concerning the development and expression
of sexual feelings (expressing sexual feelings and enjoying physical contact with others)
5. Achievement: the psychosocial domain of development concerning behaviours and feelings in
evaluative situations (being successful and competent members of society)

Theoretical Perspectives on Adolescence:

Biosocial Theories: theories of adolescence that emphasize the biological changes of the period

- Theory of Recapitulation, G. Stanley Hall (1904): the development of the individual through
these stages was determined primarily by instinct (mimics development across evolution)—by
biological and genetic forces within the person (puberty)
- Dual System Theories: changes in the anatomy and activity of the brain, the simultaneous
development of two different brain systems—one that governs the ways in which the brain
processes rewards, punishments, and social and emotional information, and another that
regulates self-control and advanced thinking abilities, such as planning or logical reasoning

Organismic Theories: theories of adolescence that emphasize the interaction between the biological
changes of the period and the contexts in which they take place
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- Psychosexual Theory of Development, Sigmund Freud (1938): development occurs through

psychosexual stages, each focusing on different erogenous zones, puberty temporarily throws
the adolescent into a period of psychological crisis by reviving old conflicts over uncomfortable
sexual urges that had been buried in the unconscious
- Oral Stage (0-1 y/o)
- Anal Stage (2-3 y/o)
- Phallic Stage (3-6 y/o)
- Latency Period (6-12 y/o)
- Genital Stage (Puberty onwards)
- Psychosocial Theory of Development, Erik Erikson (1968): internal, biological developments
(psychosocial conflicts) moved the individual from one developmental stage to the next
- Basic Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1.5 y/o)
- Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1.5-3 y/o)
- Initiative vs. Guilt (4-6 y/o)
- Industry vs. Inferiority (6-11 y/o)
- Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 y/o)
- Intimacy vs. Isolation (19-40 y/o)
- Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65 y/o)
- Ego Integrity vs. Despair (65 y/o +)
- Piagetian Theory, Jean Piaget (1958): focuses on examining changes in thinking and human
cognition, adolescence marks the transition from concrete to abstract thought (hypothetical
thinking, logical reasoning
- Sensorimotor (0-2 y/o)
- Preoperational (2-6 y/o)
- Concrete Operational (6-11 y/o)
- Formal Operational (12 y/o +)

Learning Theories: theories of adolescence that emphasize the ways in which patterns of behaviour are
acquired through reinforcement and punishment or through observation and imitation

- Behaviourism, B. F. Skinner (1953): reinforcement is the process through which a behaviour is

made more likely to occur again, whereas punishment is the process through which a behavior is
made less likely to occur again, individuals are the product of the various reinforcements and
punishments they’ve been exposed to
- Conditioning, Watson (1920): studies visible behaviour
- Classical Conditioning: (Pavlov) a type of learning in which an initially neutral stimulus—
the conditioned stimulus (CS)—when paired with a stimulus that elicits a reflex response
—the unconditioned stimulus (US)—results in a learned, or conditioned, response (CR)
when the CS is presented
- Operant Conditioning: (Skinner) the process in which behavioral change (i.e., learning)
occurs as a function of the consequences of behavior
- Punishment: suppressing behaviours that result in unfavourable outcomes
- Positive Punishment: something is added to decrease the likelihood of a
behaviour
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- Negative Punishment: something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a

behaviour
- Reinforcement: encouraging behaviours that lead to favourable outcomes
- Positive Reinforcement: something is added to increases the likelihood of a
behaviour
- Negative Reinforcement: something is removed to increase the likelihood of a
behaviour
- Fixed/Continuous: reinforcement and/or punishment occurs every time
- Fixed/Ratio: reinforcement and/or punishment occurs at every few times (exact)
- Variable/Intermittent: reinforcement and/or punishment occurs every now and then
- Social Learning Theory, Albert Bandura (1959): individuals learn by watching and modeling those
around them, the behavior of others, especially parents, peers, and figures in the mass media
(emphasis on observation and imitation), reciprocal determinism

Sociological Theories:

- Adolescent Marginality, Kurt Lewin (1951) & Edgar Friedenberg (1959): differences in power
between adult and the adolescent generations, which may leave young people feeling
marginalized, or insignificant, adolescents are often prohibited from occupying meaningful roles
in society, young people often become frustrated and restless (adolescents feel a lack of power
in the world and undermined by the adults around them)
- Intergenerational Conflict, Karl Mannheim (1952) & James Coleman (1961): adolescents and
adults grow up under different social circumstances and therefore develop different sets of
attitudes, values, and beliefs, therefore, there is inevitable tension between the adolescent and
the adult generations (adults and adolescents have different experiences, leading to different
mindsets)
- Cohorts: group defined by members shared age, cohorts experience the same trajectory
of events and world changes

Anthropological Perspectives: Ruth Benedict (1934) & Margaret Mead (1928-1978)

- Multiculturalism: our cultural backgrounds can change the way we are raised and then view the
world around us
- Ethnicity: often refers to ancestral heritage, nationality, language, regionality, beliefs,
traditions
- Race: phenotypic characteristics such as skin colour, appearance, and behaviours,
believed to be genetically linked, recognized as a social construct

Chapter (Research Methods):

Scientific Theory: a set of logically related explanatory hypotheses that are consistent with a body of
empirical facts and that may suggest more empirical relationships (testable, replicable, valid) allows to
predict behaviours

Hypothesis: an empirically testable proposition about some fact, behavior, relationship, or the like,
usually based on theory, that states an expected outcome resulting from specific conditions or
assumptions
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Scientific Method: (1) Question, (2) Hypothesis, (3) Test the hypothesis, (4) Draw conclusions, (5) Report
results

Data:

- Quantitative: numerical data, can be quantified, questionnaire responses, reaction times, etc.
- Qualitative: textual data, interview data, open-ended questions

Research Methods:

- Observational: research in which the experimenter passively observes the behaviour of the
participants (naturalistic or lab-based)
- Experimental: examination of causes of behaviours (experimental group or control/comparison
group)
- Survey: study in which a group of participants is selected from a population and data about or
opinions from those participants are collected, measured, and analyzed
- Meta-Analysis: combines the result of multiple published and unpublished studies, allows to
identify trends among the result as well as areas of discrepancy

Research Designs:

- Longitudinal: tracks an age group/cohort across the span of time

- Cross-Sectional: examines a specific age group/cohort to another

Correlation: the degree of a relationship (usually linear) between two variables, which may be quantified
as a correlation coefficient

- Independent Variable (x): (causable, predictor, explanatory variable) the variable in an

experiment that is specifically manipulated or is observed to occur before the dependent, or
outcome, variable, in order to assess its effect or influence
- Dependent Variable (y): (effect, outcome, response) the outcome that is observed to occur or
change after the occurrence or variation of the independent variable in an experiment, or the
effect that one wants to predict or explain in correlational research

Chapter (Biological Transitions):

Puberty: the stage of development when the genital organs reach maturity and secondary sex
characteristics begin to appear, signaling the start of adolescence. It is marked by ejaculation of sperm in
the male, onset of menstruation and development of breasts in the female, and, in both males and
females, growth of pubic hair and increasing sexual interest

Physical Changes:

1. rapid acceleration in growth, resulting in dramatic increases in height and weight

2. development of primary sex characteristics, including the further development of the gonads
(sex glands), which results in a series of hormonal changes
3. development of secondary sex characteristics, including changes in the genitals and breasts, and
the growth of pubic, facial, and body hair
4. changes in the brain’s anatomy and activity as a result of hormonal influences
Adolescence PSY290 6

Sex: assigned sex at birth, distinction between males (XY), females (XX), and other genetic sex
compositions (XO, XXY, XYY)

Endocrine System: system of the body that produces, circulates,

and regulates hormones, receives instructions from the central
nervous system

Hormones: highly specialized substances secreted by one or

more endocrine glands

- Luteinizing Hormone (LH):

- Female: triggers ovulation
- Male: stimulates production of testosterone
- Follicle Stimulation Hormone (FSH):
- Female: stimulates growth of ovarian follicle
- Male: stimulates production of sperm

Glands: organs that stimulate particular parts of the body to respond in specific ways to particular
hormones

Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Neurons: specialized neurons that are activated by certain
pubertal hormones, regulates the endocrine system at a neural level

- Hypothalamus: controls the pituitary gland, concentration of GnRH neurons

- Pituitary Gland: controls hormone levels, (all hormones, not just sex hormones)

Feedback Loop:

- Set Point: physiological level or setting (e.g., of a specific hormone) that the body attempts to
maintain through a self-regulating system
- Feedback Loop: cycle through which two or more bodily functions respond to and regulate each
other, such as that formed by the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the gonads
- Pituitary Glad: one of the chief glands responsible for regulating levels of hormones in the body
- Hypothalamus: part of the brain that controls the functioning of the pituitary gland
- Gonads: glands that secrete sex hormones: in males, the testes (produces testosterone); in
females, the ovaries (produces estrogen)
- Testes: male gonads
- Ovaries: female gonads
- Androgens: class of sex hormones secreted by the gonads, found in
both sexes but in higher levels among males than females
following puberty
- Estrogen: class of sex hormones secreted by the gonads, found in
both sexes but in higher levels among females than males
following puberty
- Males: maturation of the sperm
- Females: breast development, growth of the uterine lining, regulation of menstrual
cycle
Adolescence PSY290 7

- Testosterone: hormone secretes by the gonads, found in both sexes but in higher levels among
males than females during puberty
- Males: puberty, sperm creation, muscle and bone strength, sex drive
- Females: hormonal level maintenance, muscle and bone strength, sex drive and fertility
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCoS): when the ovaries produce too much
testosterone, symptoms include missed, irregular periods, cysts within ovaries,
excess body hair, oily skin, infertility

HPG Axis: consists of the hypothalamus, pineal gland, and gonads, regulates hormones to optimal level,
when hormones fall too low the hypothalamus stops inhibiting pituitary gland, pituitary gland stimulates
the release of sex hormones by gonads, once optimal level is reached, the hypothalamus begins
inhibition again

Prior to Puberty: pituitary glands begin secreting hormones that affect thyroid and adrenal glands and
growth of hormones, thyroid and adrenal glands secrete hormones to trigger bodily changes

Adrenarche: maturation of the adrenal glands that takes place during adolescence, also affects response
to stress (excessive cortisol production)

Evolution and Puberty Onset:

- Light Exposure: individuals living closer to the equator and areas that are exposed to more
natural and artificial light (lowers melatonin, less suppression of kisspeptin), results in earlier
puberty onset
- Fat Cells: individuals with more fat cells (more leptin, more stimulation of kisspeptin), results in
earlier puberty onset

Puberty Triggers:

- Kisspeptin: brain chemical believed to trigger the onset of puberty

- Leptin: protein produced by the fat cells that may place a role in the onset of puberty through its
impact on kisspeptin
- Melatonin: hormone secreted by the brain that contributes to sleepiness and that triggers the
onset of puberty through its impact on kisspeptin

Adolescent Growth Spurt: dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during puberty

- Peak Height Velocity: point when adolescent is growing most rapidly (males: 10.3cm/year,
females: 9.0cm/year)
- Weight: increase in muscle and fat (males: quicker development of muscle, 3:1 muscle to fat
ratio at the end of puberty, females: greater development of body fat, 5:4 muscle to fat ratio art
the end of puberty)
- Acne: increased oil production, clogging hair follicles, varies in severity, does not always
disappear after adolescence

Epiphysis: closing of the ends of bones, which terminates growth after the adolescent growth spurt has
been completed

Sexual Maturation:
Adolescence PSY290 8

- Secondary Sex Characteristics: manifestation of sexual maturity at puberty, including the

development of breasts, the growth of facial and body hair, and changes in the voice
- Tanner Stages: widely used system that describes the five stages of pubertal development

- Male Puberty (Genitalia Development, Hair Growth): phallus, scrotum and testes volume, pubic
hair, deepening of voice, facial hair, skin roughness, increased development of sweat glands,
ejaculation)
- Female Puberty (Breast and Hair Growth): breasts, pubic hair
- Menarche: time of first menstruation, one of the most important changes to occur
among females during puberty
- Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): occurs in ¾ menstruating individuals, caused by
hormones and fluctuations in serotonin, symptoms: insomnia, changes in mood, poor
concentration, joint and muscle pain, headaches, fatigue, bloating
- Endometriosis: growth of uterine lining beyond uterus, symptoms: pain, infertility,
scarring of tissue & fusion of tissue

Trans Puberty: puberty blockers to offset unwanted pubertal maturation (used in individuals who begin
transition before onset of natural puberty) some individuals on go a second puberty with hormone
supplements

Pheromones: class of chemicals secreted by animals that stimulate certain behaviours in other members
of the same species

Secular Trend: tendency, over the last two centuries, for individuals to be larger in stature and to reach
puberty earlier, primarily because of improvements in health and nutrition

Puberty and Psycho-Emotional Effects:

- Self-Esteem: general dissatisfaction of changing body, lowering of self-esteem

- Mood: more hormones and life stresses
- Sleep Patterns: delayed phase preference, based on biological changes in melatonin

Puberty and Relationships:

Adolescence PSY290 9

- Familial Relationships: puberty marks the beginning of parent-child distancing

- Peer Relationships: tend to bond together based on pubertal status (early vs. late maturation,
can create distance between peers)

Maturation:

Early Pubertal Maturation

Males - Higher self-confidence
- Higher irritability, aggression, and delinquency
- Effects wear out when those with late pubertal
maturation catch up
Females - Greater emotional difficulties
- Poorer self-image
- Higher rates of mental illness
- Increased sexual harassment
Sex Education: fear of encouraging sexualization, lack of knowledge, misunderstanding of physical
changes, impact of self-image, increased transmission of infections, increased teen pregnancy

Sexual Violence: as youth mature there is an increased gender divide, social pressures and harassment
based on physical traits

Plasticity: the capacity of the brain to change in response to experience

Basal Metabolism Rate: minimal amount of energy used by the body during a resting state

Body Mass Index (BMI): a measure of an individual’s body fat, the ratio of weight to height, used to
gauge “healthy” weight (Inaccurate, Flawed) (considers results higher than the 90 th percentile
overweight/obese)

Obesity: the condition of having excess body fat resulting in overweight, variously defined in terms of
absolute weight, weight–height ratio

- Causes: (1) Genetics: greater reward center reaction at neural level, some evidence of
inheritance, (2) Environment: parental modelling, socioeconomic status, food availability
- Long-Term Implications: (1) Health Issues: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, (2)
Mental Health: depression, self-image dissatisfaction

Disordered Eating: mild, moderate, or severe disturbances in eating habits and attitudes (food intake,
punishment of food intake), operates on a continuum

- Anorexia Nervosa: eating disorder, characterized by dramatic and severe self-induced weight
- Bulimia Nervosa: eating disorder, characterized by a pattern of binge eating and extreme
weight-loss measures, including self-induced vomiting
- Binge Eating Disorder: eating disorder, characterized by a pattern of binge eating that is not
accompanied by drastic attempts to lose weight
- Other Specified Feeding or Eating-Disorders (OSFED): shows unregular eating behaviours, does
not meet specific diagnostic criteria of other categories
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- Orthorexia Nervosa: compulsive ingredient and nutrition label checking, increase in concern
about their health, cutting of food groups, inability to eat something outside of their narrow
group of acceptable foods

Diet Culture: rigid set of expectations about valuing thinness and attractiveness over physical health and
emotional well-being

Chapter (Cognitive Transitions): increased flexible and abstract thinking, increased meta cognition,
ability to consider multiple perspectives

Thinking: can consider multiple perspectives, can consider past and future events, understanding of
context and opinion, hypothetical thinking, increased problem-solving skills

Deductive Reasoning: the process of deriving predictions from general laws or theories

Metacognition: the process of thinking about thinking itself, being able to reflect

Early Adolescence:

- Adolescent Egocentrism: extreme self-absorption, often a consequence of too much “thinking

about thinking”
- Imaginary Audience: belief, often brought on by the heightened self-consciousness of early
adolescence, that everyone is watching and evaluating one’s behaviour
- Personal Fable: adolescent’s belief that they are unique and therefore not subject to the rules
that govern other people’s behaviour

Middle Adolescence:

- Role Confusion: individuals may experience a psychosocial moratorium, a period of time that
permits experimentation with social roles, the individual may “try on” different roles and
identify with different groups before forming a cohesive, positive identity that allows them to
contribute to society; alternatively, the individual may identify with outgroups to form a
negative identity or may remain confused about his or her sense of identity

Late Adolescence: reflect internalized personal values, beliefs, and standards, concerned about future
self, integration of contradictions

Cognitive-Developmental Perspective (Piaget): perspective on development that takes a qualitative,

stage-theory approach

1. Sensorimotor Period: first stage of cognitive development, spanning the period roughly between
birth and age 2 (relies on senses and motor skills, learning is active, without reflection)
2. Preoperational Period: second stage of cognitive development, spanning the period roughly
between ages 2 and 5 (thinking symbolically, growth in language, egocentrism)
3. Concrete Operational Period: third stage of cognitive development, spanning the period roughly
between age 6 and early adolescence (begin to use logic and scientific framework, dependent
on previous knowledge)
4. Formal Operational Period: fourth stage of cognitive development, spanning the period from
early adolescence through adulthood, 12 years+, (abstract, hypothetical, and analytical thinking,
balance of emotions)
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Cognitive Equilibrium: the growth of cognition

- Equilibrium: can understand new information based on previous information and knowledge
- Disequilibrium: cannot understand new information presented

Adaptation: seeking to integrate new information

- Assimilation: new information is shaped to fit previous knowledge

- Accommodation: previous knowledge is reshaped to include new information

Information Processing Theory: the flow of information through the human nervous system, involving
the operation of perceptual systems, memory stores, decision processes, and response mechanisms

Working Memory: the aspect of memory in which information is held for a short time while a problem is
being solved

Long-Term Memory: ability to recall something from a long time ago

Autobiographical Memory: recall of personally meaningful past events

Reminiscence Bump: fact that experiences from adolescence are generally recalled more than
experiences from other stages of life

Cognitive-Development Measurement Measures:

- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): a technique used to produce images of the
brain, often while the subject is performing some sort of mental task (tracking of blood flow)
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI): a technique used to produce images of the brain that shows
connections among different regions
- Computed Tomography (CT): produces many slice-by-slice pictures of the head
- Electroencephalography (EEG): amplifies and records the electrical activity of the brain through
electrodes placed at various points on the scalp, use of evoked potentials, watching brain
response to stimuli, measures through scalp skin conductance)
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET): requires radioactive material injection, traces the path of
materials, marked by radioactive materials (blood flow, oxygen, glucose metabolism, drug uses)
- Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS): using fNIRS, brain activity is measured by using
near-infrared light to estimate cortical hemodynamic activity which occur in response to neural
activity

Brain Structure: the physical form and organization of the brain

- Neurons: nerve cells

- Synapse: the gap in space between neurons, across which neurotransmitters carry electrical
impulses
- Neurotransmitters: specialized chemicals that carry electrical impulses between neurons
- Prefrontal Cortex: the region of the brain most important for sophisticated thinking abilities,
such as planning, thinking ahead, weighing risks and rewards, and controlling impulses
(increased growth of prefrontal cortex)
- Coordination Between Areas: communication between prefrontal cortex and limbic system
Adolescence PSY290 12

Synaptic Pruning: the process through which unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated
improving the efficiency of information processing (periods of growth and loss)

Myelination: the process through which brain circuits are insulated with myelin, which improves the
efficiency of information processing

Plasticity: the capacity of the brain to change in response to experience

- Developmental Plasticity: extensive remodeling of the brain’s circuitry in response to

experiences during childhood and adolescence, while the brain is still maturing
- Adult Plasticity: relatively minor changes in brain circuits as a result of experiences during
adulthood, after the brain has matured

Brain Function: patterns of brain activity

- Limbic System:
- Response Inhibition: the suppression of a behaviour that is inappropriate or no longer
required
- Executive Function: more advanced thinking abilities, enabled chiefly by the maturation
of the prefrontal cortex, especially in early adolescence
- Dopamine: a neurotransmitter especially important in the brain circuits that regulate
the experience of reward, pleasure/feel good neurotransmitter
- Serotonin: mood stabilizer
- Norepinephrine: fight or flight system, stress response
- Positive Risk-Taking: risk taking that promotes healthy psychological development

Functional Connectivity: the extent to which multiple brain regions function at the same time, which
improves during adolescence

Social Cognition: the aspect of self cognition that concern thinking about other people, about
interpersonal relations, and about social institutions

Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky): level of challenge that is still within the individual’s reach but
that forces and individual to develop more advances skills

- Scaffolding: structuring a learning situation so that it is just within the reach of the student

Mentalizing: the ability to understand someone else’s mental state

Theory of Mind (ToM): the ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions, and knowledge that
may be different from one’s own (empathy, lying, sense of connection)

Worldviews:

- Social Relationships: balance of understanding authority and morality

- Social Conventions: the norms that govern everyday behaviour in social situations
- Social Rules: understanding of laws vs. civil liberties and rights

Theory of Moral Development (Kohlberg): developed from Piaget’s methods of asking children and
youth questions on moral dilemmas and studied changes across development (Heinz Experiment)
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Behavioural Decision Theory: an approach to understanding adolescent risk taking, in which behaviours
are seen as the outcome of systematic decision-making processes (linked to growth, general cognition
and social cognition)

1. Identifying alternative choices

2. Identifying the consequences that might follow from each choice
3. Evaluating the costs and benefits of each possible consequence
4. Assessing the likelihood of each possible consequence
5. Combining all this information according to some decision rule

Adolescent Decision Making: adolescents tend to make rational decisions, more motivated by reward vs.
consequence

Sensation Seeking: the pursuit of experiences that are novel or exciting

Optimal Level of Arousal: level in which arousal is useful vs. stressful

- Emotional Arousal: peer pressure, societal pressure, expectations from others

Thinking Systems – Dual Process Model:

- Dual-Process Model (Kahneman): decision-making theory stating that judgment and reasoning
involve two separate processes: intuitive decision making and rational decision making
- Logical and Deliberative: slow, effortful, and logical mode in which our brains operate when
solving more complicated problems
- Intuitive: fast, automatic, unconscious, and emotional response to situations and stimuli

Chapter (Families):

Nuclear Family: family group consisting of parents and their children (mother, father, biological children)

Parental Responsiveness: one of two dimensions of parenting styles, refers to the degree to which the
parent responds to the child’s needs in an accepting, supportive manner

Parental Demandingness: one of two dimensions of parenting styles, refers to the degree to which the
parent expects and insists on mature, responsible behaviour from the child

Parenting Styles: parenting behaviours and attitudes that set the climate for parent-child relationships

- Authoritative: parents who use warmth, firm control, and rational, issues-oriented discipline, in
which emphasis is placed one the development of self-direction (high demandingness, high
responsiveness, clear standards and limits, allows autonomy, self-reliance, independence, better
attachment styles)
- Authoritarian: parents who use punitive, absolute, and forceful discipline, and who place a
premium on obedience and conformity (high demandingness, low responsiveness, obedience
and authority, less autonomy)
- Permissive/Indulgent: parents who are characterized by responsiveness but low demandingness
and who are mainly concerned with the child’s happiness (high low demandingness, high
responsiveness, responsive to needs, does not allow for children to regulate themselves)
Adolescence PSY290 14

- Uninvolved/Indifferent: parents who are characterized by low levels of both responsiveness and
demandingness (low demandingness/low responsiveness, neglectful, rejecting, does not set
limits)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: the idea that individual’s behaviour is influences by others’ expectation for them

Family Systems Theory: perspective on family functioning that emphasizes interconnections among
different family relationships (marital, parent-child, sibling)

Familism: an orientation toward life in which the need of one’s family takes precedence over the needs
of the individual (increase in prosocial behaviours)

Generational Dissonance: divergence of views between adolescents and parents that is common in
families of (first-generation) immigrants and their children (second-generation immigrants)

Bidirectional Relationship in Parenting: parent and children both affect each other in the ways they
interact

Behavioural Genetics: scientific study of genetic influences on behaviour

Molecular Genetics: scientific study of the structure and function of genes

Alleles: different versions of the same gene

Shared Environmental Influences: non-genetic influences that make individuals living in the same family
similar to each other

Non-Shared Environmental Influences: non-genetic influences in individuals’ lives that make them
different from people they live with

Diathesis-Stress Model: perspective on psychological disorder that posits that problems are the result of
an interaction between a pre-existing condition (the diathesis) and exposure to stress in the
environment
Adolescence PSY290 15

Differential Susceptibility Theory: idea that the same genetic tendencies that make an individual
especially susceptible to develop problems when exposed to adverse environmental influences also
make him or her especially likely to thrive when exposed to positive environmental influences

Parentification: child is obliged to act as a parent to their own parent or sibling (instrumental/emotional)

Sibling Rivalry: competition between siblings, often for parental attention

Foster Care: placement in a temporary living arrangement when a child’s parents are not able to provide
care, nurturance, or safety

Chapter (Peer Relationships):

Peer Groups: groups of individuals of approximately the same age

Age Grading: process of grouping individuals within social institutions on the basis of age

Socialization: the process by which individuals acquire social skills, beliefs, values, and behaviors
necessary to function effectively in society or in a particular group (learning social skills, making friends,
finding community)

Social Skills: skills that allow us to interact with other individuals and form social bonds (attention and
concentration, language, play skills, self-regulation, executive functioning, planning)

- Examples: eye contact, regulated tone and volume of voice, open body language, reflective
emotional displays, attention, sharing interests and items, effective listening, physical and verbal
attention, taking turns
- Developmental Stages:
- Infancy and Toddlerhood: social smiling, stranger anxiety, imitating others, affected by
other’ emotions
- Preschool-Age: independent exploration, express affectation, temper tantrums, self-
soothing, awareness of others’ emotions, cooperation with others, pre-emptive fear,
and anxiety before stressful events
- School-Age: benefit from friendships, want to be like their friends, recognition of power
balances and imbalances in relationships, recognizing of bullies, rejection of parent
opinion for those of friends

Post-Figurative Cultures: cultures in which the socialization of young people is done primarily by adults

Configurative Cultures: cultures in which young people are socialized by both adults and by each other

Pre-Figurative Cultures: cultures in which society is changing so quickly that adults are frequently
socialized by young people, rather than the reverse

Transition of Influence: (1) time spent with adults vs. peers, (2) lack of adult supervision

Romance: losing contact with friends due to new romantic relationships

Cliques: small, tightly knit groups of between approximately 2 and 12 friends, generally of the same
gender and age (social context, intimacy)
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Crowds: large, loosely organized groups of young people, composed of several cliques and typically
organized around a common shared activity (location within social structure, sense of identity within the
wider community)

Reference Groups: a group against which an individual compares themselves

Perceived Popularity: how much status or prestige an individual has

Sociometric Popularity: how well-liked an individual is

Friendships: dyadic, high levels of prosocial behaviours, shared interests, loyalty, intimacy, low levels of
conflict, rivalry, mistrust – results in better social adjustment, better self-esteem, feelings of
belongingness, academic success, resiliency

- Influence each others’ decisions and behaviours

- Can model appropriate social skills and provide feedback

Antisocial Behaviours: disruptive, hostile, or aggressive behaviours that violate social norms or rules and
that harm and/or takes advantage of others

- Before 12 months: pulling items away

- 18 months: physical aggression increases
- 2-3 years: physical aggression decreases, verbal aggression increases
- Early Childhood: instrumental aggression
- Middle Childhood: relational aggression
- Adolescence: property offenses & status crime

Delinquency: behavior violating social rules or conventions, at risk for psychological distress, impulsivity,
exposure to violence, victimization

Aggression: behaviour aimed at physically or emotionally harming or injuring others

Proactive Aggression: aggressive behaviour that is deliberate and planned

Reactive Aggression: aggressive behaviour that is unplanned and impulsive

Relational Aggression: acts intended to harm another through the manipulation of their relationships
with others, as in malicious gossip

Hostile Attributional Bias: tendency to interpret ambiguous

interactions with others as deliberately hostile

- Expectancy Confirmation: the effect of one person’s

expectation about the behavior of another person on
the actual behavior of that other person

Social Information Processing: using previous knowledge to

current situations

Bullying: systematic, repeated attacks intended to harm others (physical, verbal, relational, cyber)

Cyberbullying: bullying that occurs over the internet