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Name: Psychology 415Date: Exam 1Short Answer Questions (20 points)Please write legibly. If I cannot read your answer, I cannot grade your answer.1. Social scientists and practitioners argue it makes sense to view the adolescent period ascomposed of a series of phases rather than one single stage. Several individuals are listed below.Indicate the phase or period of adolescence for each individual based on the age given (4 points).John, 21 yearsLateMara, 13 years EarlyGeorge, 18 years LateKristen, 12 years Early2. In class, we discussed a number of the changes that occur during puberty. One area of change isin the development of secondary sexual characteristics. Provide two examples of secondarysexual characteristics in males and two examples of secondary sexual characteristics in females(4 points).(see handout “The Fundamental Changes of Adolescence - Biological Transitions”, TABLE10-3)Males:Females:1. 1.2. 2.3. In discussing the influence of hormonal changes during puberty, one can talk about directinfluences of hormones and indirect influences of hormones on behavior. In the space providednext to the description, write in whether the description is an example of direct or indirectinfluences on adolescent behavior (3 points).Direct The reason my son is behaving so aggressively is because he just startedpuberty and is suffering from raging hormones.Indirect My adolescent son’s body is changing dramatically. His feet seem to betoo large for his body and he looks sort of funny. He has noticed this and is feeling badly abouthimself. I think this is why he is so aggressive with us these days.Indirect My son’s physical appearance has really changed. Some people respondto him as though he is older than he really is. I think this is why he has been challenging hiscurfew lately.Page 1

4. Fill in the complete term for each definition/description provided below (9 points):1. This term was used to describe a pattern of sleep characterized by later sleep and waketimes, which emerge during puberty.Delayed Phase Preference2. This term describes a change in adolescent thinking such that they have the ability todeal with things that cannot be experienced directly through our senses.Abstract Concepts3. This term was used to describe one’s thinking about one’s own emotions.Introspection4. This term was used by Piaget to describe what stage of cognitive development anadolescent over the age of 11 years was in.Formal Operations5. This term is used by neurobiologists to describe the process through which unnecessaryconnections between neurons are eliminated, improving the efficiency of informationprocessing.Synaptic Pruning6. This part of the brain is involved in planning, goal setting, decision making, andevaluating risk and reward.Prefrontal Cortex7. This term is used to describe a social change recognizing that the individual’s status haschanged (i.e., from child to adult).Social Redefinition8. This term is used to describe having such a heightened sense of self-consciousness thatthe teenager imagines that his or her behavior is the focus of everyone else’s concern orattention.Imaginary Audience9. This term is used to describe the egocentric belief that one’s experiences are unique.Personal FablePage 2