Developmental Psychology Chapter 11 – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
What is emerging adulthood?
answer
period of life between the ages of 18 and 25; widely thought of as a separate developmental stage
question
Years from 18-25 are biologically a prime time for what?
answer
physical work and successful reproduction
question
How has the workplace today shifted?
answer
desk work and factory jobs have replaced hard labor
question
Describe human body systems at the beginning of adulthood.
answer
every human body system (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, sexual-reproductive) functions optimally at the beginning of adulthood
question
How do childhood health problems affect early adulthood?
answer
low birthweight, infant undernutrition, rapid weight gain in childhood = shorter height, reduced body functioning,higher risk of disease in early adulthood
question
During early adulthood, the _______________ is strong.
answer
immune system
question
Rates of cancer/heart disease in early adulthood?
answer
cancer kills /165 adults over 85 -- 1/25,000 emerging adults; death from heart disease equally rare
question
Rates of death among emerging adults?
answer
death from disease rare; death from accidents, suicide, and homicide increase
question
During emerging adulthood, ___________ are frequent and ________ is powerful.
answer
orgasms; sex drive
question
What is the average age for a first birth in the U.S.?
answer
25
question
What are success rates for contraception types?
answer
no contraception -- always successful; long-acting (implant, IUD, Depo-Provera) -- almost never fails (1/400); shorter-acting (pill, patch, ring) --fail 1/20 times
question
Most US women under age 30 who had babies in 2011 were married/not married?
answer
not married
question
What accelerates every contagious disease, including STIs?
answer
globalization; international travel spreads disease to people thousands of miles away
question
Describe the spread of HIV in the past 20 years.
answer
has become a worldwide epidemic, more female than male victims, more heterosexual than homosexual victims
question
Describe North American boys and risk taking.
answer
young North American boys who are genetically impulsive are often brave and foolhardy
question
How prevalent are accidents and injuries among emerging adults?
answer
more accidents that send them to the emergency room than any other age (except elderly falls); high rate of severe injuries and violent death (males twice as vulnerable as females)
question
What types of death are frequent in emerging adulthood?
answer
more people murdered than at any other period; accidental deaths more frequent: drug OD, car crashes, drowning
question
What are the common destructive risks in emerging adulthood?
answer
unprotected sex with a new partner, driving fast without a seat belt, carrying a loaded gun, abusing drugs, addictive gambling
question
How does warning emerging adults about HIV/AIDS affect their risk?
answer
may lead to a backlash -- some increase their risk taking to defy death and aging
question
What are extreme sports?
answer
forms of recreation that include apparent risk of injury or death and are attractive and thrilling as a result
question
What is drug abuse?
answer
ingestion of a drug to the extent that it impairs the user's biological or psychological well-being
question
What is the connection between drug addiction and abuse?
answer
abusers are often addicts -- need drug to feel okay and become chronic users; drug addiction and abuse are more common during emerging adulthood than at any other age
question
Illegal drug use peaks at age ____ and declines sharply after that.
answer
20
question
Drug abuse within/outside of colleges?
answer
more common among college students than among their contemporaries not in college
question
Piaget's/scholars' view of formal operational thought?
answer
Piaget -- formal operational thought is lifelong; scholars -- adult thought differs from adolescent thinking
question
Validity of Piaget's fourth stage?
answer
developmentalists believe formal operational thought is inadequate to describe adult cognition
question
What is postformal thought?
answer
proposed adult stage of cognitive development, following Piaget's four stages; goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more practical, more flexible, and more dialectical (capable of combining contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole)
question
What type of thought do adolescents prefer?
answer
quick, impulsive, intuitive thought
question
Describe postformal thinkers.
answer
less impulsive than adolescents, use forethought, don't procrastinate, note difficulties, don't deny or avoid
question
Why has Piaget's fourth stage been challenged?
answer
data finds that adults do not usually reach formal operations
question
What enables adults to think in ways adolescents do not?
answer
fully mature prefrontal cortex by age 20, neurological maturation of new dendrites and new neurons
question
Which college students are more likely to think in postformal ways?
answer
those who have friends from other backgrounds
question
How does postformal thought affect students' concepts of God?
answer
concepts became more complex theologically when students are more capable of postformal thinking
question
What is one way emerging adults are countering stereotypes within marriage?
answer
today's emerging adults marry and become parents later than previous generations shows that thinking processes are not determined by their own childhood or traditional norms
question
Younger adults show less or more prejudice than older adults?
answer
less
question
Many adults have both unconscious _________ and conscious __________ -- a combination of emotion and reason that illustrates dual-processing.
answer
prejudice; tolerance
question
What is stereotype threat?
answer
possibility that one's appearance or behavior will be misread to confirm another person's oversimplified, prejudiced attitudes
question
How might stereotype threat affect emerging adults?
answer
might not attend residential college -- fear of exposure to prejudice; might be more aware of possible prejudice than minority students
question
What did the study at predominantly Black and White colleges find about unconscious prejudice?
answer
majority thought everyone should promote assimilation; minority endorsed pluralist ideas
question
Who first described stereotype threat?
answer
African American Claude Steele
question
How does stereotype threat affect performance?
answer
every member of a stigmatized minority in every nation performs less well if they think others are judging them unfairly
question
How might stereotype threat affect some athletes?
answer
unexpected underperformance (choking)
question
How was stereotype undercut in college students?
answer
students were convinced that intellectual ability could be improved by hard work (incremental, not entity); African American students earned higher grades BUT European American students not affected
question
What did replication of the college student internalizing incremental theory find?
answer
stereotype threat is pervasive and debilitating but it can be alleviated
question
When is stereotype threat activated/dissolved?
answer
activated -- when someone reminds a person of the stereotype; dissolved -- if a person internalizes the notion that stereotype is irrelevant
question
Tertiary education improves ________ and _________.
answer
health; wealth
question
What is massification?
answer
idea that establishing higher learning institutions and encouraging college enrollment could benefit everyone (the masses), leading to marked increases in the number of emerging adults in college
question
Current massification in US/Africa/Asia?
answer
US -- stalled; Africa/Asia -- college enrollment tripled
question
In general, how does higher education affect a person's thinking?
answer
the more years of higher education a person pursues, the deeper and more postformal that person's reasoning becomes
question
What did a 21st-century study find about US college students and growth?
answer
growth in critical thinking, analysis, and communication over the four years of college was only half as much as it was among college students two decades ago
question
What are the two opposing opinions about college education?
answer
goal is personal and intellectual growth; goal is to acquire specific skills and knowledge
question
Which courses are more likely to advance critical thinking?
answer
courses that demand more reading and writing -- humanities
question
How do many students today choose their college?
answer
for career reasons; select colleges, majors, and specific classes in hopes of earning more money
question
Correlation between GPA and postformal thinking?
answer
no
question
1980's students/ 2011 students' reasons for attending college?
answer
1980's: new ideas and philosophy of life; 2011: jobs, careers, money
question
How does diversity affect postformal thought?
answer
those with the most friends from other backgrounds are most likely to be postformal thinkers
question
The most obvious increased diversity is _________.
answer
gender (almost every college student hears academic insights and opinions from the other sex)
question
Increased diversity of the student body may enhance _________.
answer
learning
question
__________ seems to aid cognitive development.
answer
college
question
How is each stage set in Erikson's stages?
answer
the outcome of earlier crises provides the foundation for each new stage
question
What is the most basic challenge of ethnic identity?
answer
how to identify oneself amidst a multi-ethnic society
question
When are people likely to be proud/accepting of their ethnicity?
answer
during late adolescence and early adulthood
question
What do emerging adults have more than any other age group?
answer
friends and acquaintances of many backgrounds
question
Effects of emerging adults avoiding assimilation and alienation?
answer
those who resisted both fared best; most likely to maintain their ethnic identity, deflect stereotype threat, and become good students
question
How do extracurricular groups solidify identity?
answer
students encounter others of similar backgrounds who confront the same issues, as well as youth of other backgrounds as they join teams, political committees, special interest groups, etc.
question
US workers holding jobs?
answer
average US emerging adult worker holds 8 jobs; college-educated workers changed jobs more often
question
Commitment to a particular career may _______ rather than ________ vocational success.
answer
limit; increase
question
_____________ seems especially needed for the current generation.
answer
flexibility
question
Prevalence of self-doubt and depression if they are present in childhood and adolescence?
answer
often still evident years later
question
How does success in high school and college relate to personality?
answer
thriving in either is affected by personality but also affects personality; college success can improve personality
question
How do college living situations affect students?
answer
those who lived away from home showed largest gains in well-being; single parents or those who still lived with their parents showed the least
question
Why are emerging adults becoming happier?
answer
young adults are more likely to make their own life decisions and enjoy their new maturity and independence
question
How did shy and aggressive children fare later in life?
answer
aggressive emerging adults were more likely to have quit school but had as many friends as their peers, developing well; shy emerging adults neither more anxious nor more depressed -- shyness = asset
question
The rate of emotional disorders _______ toward the end of adolescence and in the first years of adulthood.
answer
rises
question
The most troubling increase in emotional disorders is ____________.
answer
schizophrenia
question
What happens to schizoid symptoms during emerging adulthood?
answer
symptoms become overpowering; those with symptoms are at higher risk of later psychology disorders
question
Which anxiety is particularly likely to be diagnosed at age 20?
answer
social phobia, fear of other people
question
Rates of ______ and ______ rise in early adulthood.
answer
suicide; drug addiction
question
How is personality plastic?
answer
not fixed by age
question
How does confidence increase in emerging adults?
answer
feeling of self-efficacy builds with each successful accomplishment, giving people the confidence and courage to modify whatever destructive traits they may have
question
What shift occurs to set the stage for intimacy versus isolation stage?
answer
emerging adults become less self-centered and more caring of others
question
What is intimacy versus isolation?
answer
sixth of Erikson's eight stages of development; adults seek someone with whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment; without such commitment they risk profound loneliness and isolation
question
Effect of having close friends in early adulthood?
answer
correlates with close relationships earlier in life and helps in other life aspects -- including doing well in college
question
What is the progression of intimacy?
answer
attraction -- close connection --ongoing commitment
question
Describe a relationship in intimacy versus isolation.
answer
relationship demands some personal sacrifice, including vulnerability that brings deeper self-understanding and shatters the isolation caused by too much self-protection
question
What is self-expansion?
answer
important aspect of close human connections; idea that each of us enlarges our understanding, our experiences, and our resources through our intimate friends and lovers
question
What might be the loneliest group of emerging adults?
answer
college freshmen in residential college
question
Effect of technology?
answer
most emerging adults connect often with many friends; result = emotional health and well-being
question
Change in marriage?
answer
most people in their 20s aren't married
question
Portrayal of college men/actual surveys?
answer
none beneficiaries of casual sex
question
Two opposing perspectives on gay marriage?
answer
gays -- political benefits unfairly reserved for married couples; opposing -- churches, temples, schools will be harmed if homosexuals marry
question
What are the three distinct patterns of love/marriage?
answer
1) 1/3 of families are arranged marriages -- love doesn't lead to marriage; 2) 1/3 of families mingle with a select group from which the man asks the woman's father for her hand; 3) young people socialize with hundreds of people and hook up or develop serious relationships but often don't marry
question
Which love pattern is most prevalent today?
answer
third -- young people socialize with hundreds of people and hook up or develop serious relationships but often don't marry
question
How is love/marriage viewed in Western emerging adults?
answer
love is prerequisite for marriage
question
Most important aspects of a marriage?
answer
faithfulness, love, fidelity
question
College students/acceptance of interracial romance?
answer
likely to accept interracial romance
question
How do college students usually choose partners?
answer
from within their own group
question
Emerging adults usually choose mates like ___________.
answer
themselves
question
What is choice overload?
answer
having so many options that a thoughtful choice becomes difficult, and regret after making a choice is more likely
question
What do successful romantic matches require?
answer
face-to-face interactions over time to discern compatibility
question
When are people more likely to regret their decision later?
answer
if they feel rushed
question
What is cohabitation?
answer
arrangement in which a couple live together in a committed romantic relationship but are not formally married
question
Different views of cohabitation?
answer
living together is prelude to marriage; test of compatibility, way to have intimate relationship while saving money
question
Effects of cohabitation?
answer
higher divorce rates and children who develop less well than children of married couples
question
Warning about cohabitation?
answer
neither its popularity or immediate happiness of those who move in together is proof that cohabitation is beneficial over time
question
What are linked lives?
answer
lives in which the success, health, and well-being of each family member are connected to those of other members, including members of another generation, as in the relationship between parents and children
question
Securely attached/avoidant infants in the future?
answer
securely attached -- likely to become happily married adults; avoidant -- hesitant to marry
question
In the US, emerging adults living with their parents -- feelings?
answer
all linked family members are less happy
question
Involvement of family in romantic relationships in China/North America?
answer
China -- young adults expect parents to comment on romantic partners; North America -- adults know they must not do so
question
Why are immigrant young adults so motivated?
answer
highly motivated to learn and work, and they reciprocate their parents' support; values help them to become more successful than many native-born young adults
question
2 things all emerging adults have in common?
answer
close family connections, new freedom from parental limits
question
How does leaving home affect family relationships?
answer
may improve family relationships when young adults leave home
