| abstinence-only sex education | Programs that encourage adolescents to avoid sexual activity but that do not provide information about safe sex.
|
 |
|
|
| academic achievement | Achievement that is measured by standardized tests of scholastic ability or knowledge.
|
|
|
|
| achievement | The psychosocial domain concerning behaviors and feelings in evaluative situations.
|
|
|
|
| achievement attributions | The beliefs an individual holds about the causes of her or his successes and failures.
|
|
|
|
| activational role (of hormones) | The process through which changes in hormone levels, especially at puberty, stimulate changes in the adolescent's behavior, appearance, or growth.
|
|
|
|
| adolescence | The second decade of life.
|
|
|
|
| adolescence-limited offenders | Antisocial adolescents whose delinquent or violent behavior begins and ends during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| adolescent growth spurt | The dramatic increase in height and weight that occurs during puberty.
|
|
|
|
| adolescent health care | A field of study and health care devoted to understanding the health care needs of individuals during the second decade of life.
|
|
|
|
| adrenarche | The maturation of the adrenal glands that takes place during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| Adult Attachment Interview | A structured interview used to assess an individual's past attachment history and "internal working model" of relationships.
|
|
|
|
| age grading | The process of grouping individuals within social institutions on the basis of age.
|
|
|
|
| age of majority | The designated age at which an individual is recognized as an adult.
|
|
|
|
| age–crime curve | The relationship between chronological age and offending, showing that the prevalence of offending peaks in late adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| agency | The sense that one has an impact on one's world.
|
|
|
|
| aggression | Acts done to be intentionally harmful.
|
|
|
|
| AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) | A disease, caused by a virus transmitted by means of bodily fluids, that devastates the immune system.
|
|
|
|
| androgens | A class of sex hormones secreted by the gonads, found in both sexes, but in higher levels among males than females following puberty.
|
|
|
|
| anhedonic | Having difficulty experiencing positive emotions, a risk factor for depression.
|
|
|
|
| anorexia nervosa | An eating disorder found chiefly among young women, characterized by dramatic and severe self-induced weight loss.
|
|
|
|
| antisocial personality disorder | A disorder of adulthood characterized by antisocial behavior and persistent disregard for the rules of society and the rights of others.
|
|
|
|
| anxious-avoidant attachment | An insecure attachment between infant and caregiver, characterized by indifference on the part of the infant toward the caregiver.
|
|
|
|
| anxious-resistant attachment | An insecure attachment between infant and caregiver, characterized by distress at separation and anger at reunion.
|
|
|
|
| attachment | The strong affectional bond that develops between an infant and a caregiver.
|
|
|
|
| attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | A biologically based psychological disorder characterized by impulsivity, inattentiveness, and restlessness, often in school situations.
|
|
|
|
| authoritarian parents | Parents who use punitive, absolute, and forceful discipline, and who place a premium on obedience and conformity.
|
|
|
|
| authoritative parents | Parents who use warmth, firm control, and rational, issue-oriented discipline, in which emphasis is placed on the development of self-direction.
|
|
|
|
| authority conflicts | A type of antisocial behavior characterized by stubbornness and rebelliousness.
|
|
|
|
| autobiographical memory | The recall of personally meaningful past events.
|
|
|
|
| autoerotic behavior | Sexual behavior that is experienced alone, such as masturbation or sexual fantasizing.
|
|
|
|
| autonomy | The psychosocial domain concerning the development and expression of independence.
|
|
|
|
| baby boom | The period following World War II, during which the number of infants born was extremely large.
|
|
|
|
| Bar (Bas) Mitzvah | In Judaism, the religious ceremony marking the young person's transition to adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| basal metabolism rate | The minimal amount of energy used by the body during a resting state.
|
|
|
|
| behavioral autonomy | The capacity to make independent decisions and to follow through with them.
|
|
|
|
| behavioral decision theory | An approach to understanding adolescent risk taking, in which behaviors are seen as the outcome of systematic decision-making processes.
|
|
|
|
| behavioral genetics | The scientific study of genetic influences on behavior.
|
|
|
|
| big fish–little pond effect | The reason that individuals who attend high school with high-achieving peers feel worse about themselves than comparably successful individuals with lower-achieving peers.
|
|
|
|
| binge drinking | Consuming five or more drinks in a row on one occasion, an indicator of alcohol abuse.
|
|
|
|
| binge eating disorder | An eating disorder characterized by a pattern of binge eating that is not accompanied by drastic attempts to lose weight.
|
|
|
|
| body mass index (BMI) | A measure of an individual's body fat, the ratio of weight to height; used to gauge overweight and obesity.
|
|
|
|
| brain function | Patterns of brain activity.
|
|
|
|
| brain structure | The physical form or shape of the brain.
|
|
|
|
| bulimia | An eating disorder found primarily among young women, characterized by a pattern of binge eating and extreme weight loss measures, including self-induced vomiting.
|
|
|
|
| callous-unemotional traits (CU) | A cluster of traits characteristic of psychopathic individuals, which includes a lack of empathy and indifference toward the feelings of others.
|
|
|
|
| causation | The correlation between two things attributable to the effect one thing has on the other.
|
|
|
|
| charter schools | Public schools that have been given the autonomy to establish their own curricula and teaching practices.
|
|
|
|
| child protectionists | Individuals who argued, early in the 20th century, that adolescents needed to be kept out of the labor force in order to protect them from the hazards of the workplace.
|
|
|
|
| chlamydia | A sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacterium.
|
|
|
|
| circumcision | A procedure in which some part of the genitals is cut and permanently altered.
|
|
|
|
| civic engagement | Involvement in political and community affairs, as reflected in knowledge about politics and current affairs, participation in conventional and alternative political activities, and engaging in community service.
|
|
|
|
| cliques | Small, tightly knit groups of between 2 and 12 friends, generally of the same sex and age.
|
|
|
|
| co-rumination | Excessive talking with another about problems.
|
|
|
|
| cognitive autonomy | The establishment of an independent set of values, opinions, and beliefs.
|
|
|
|
| cognitive-developmental view | A perspective on development, based on the work of Piaget, that takes a qualitative, stage-theory approach.
|
|
|
|
| cohort | A group of individuals born during the same general historical era.
|
|
|
|
| collective efficacy | A community's social capital, derived from its members' common values and goals.
|
|
|
|
| comorbid | Co-occurring, as when an individual has more than one problem at the same time.
|
|
|
|
| comprehensive high school | An educational institution that evolved during the first half of the 20th century, offering a varied curriculum and designed to meet the needs of a diverse population of adolescents.
|
|
|
|
| comprehensive sex education | Programs that not only provide information about contraception, STDs, and pregnancy but also teach adolescents how to refuse unwanted sex and avoid unintended sex, increase their motivation to engage in safe sex, and change perceptions about peer norms and attitudes.
|
|
|
|
| concrete operations | The third stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between age 6 and early adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| conduct disorder | A repetitive and persistent pattern of antisocial behavior that results in problems at school or work, or in relationships with others.
|
|
|
|
| continuous transitions | Passages into adulthood in which adult roles and statuses are entered into gradually.
|
|
|
|
| conventional moral reasoning | According to Kohlberg, the second level of moral development, which occurs during late childhood and early adolescence and is characterized by reasoning that is based on the rules and conventions of society.
|
|
|
|
| correlation | The extent to which two things vary systematically with each other.
|
|
|
|
| cortisol | A hormone produced when a person is exposed to stress.
|
|
|
|
| covert antisocial behavior | A type of antisocial behavior characterized by misdeeds that are not always detected by others, such as lying or stealing.
|
|
|
|
| criminal behavior | Crimes that are dealt with in the criminal justice system, regardless of the age of the offender.
|
|
|
|
| criminal justice system | The system of courts and related institutions developed to handle adult crime.
|
|
|
|
| critical thinking | Thinking that involves analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting information, rather than simply memorizing it.
|
|
|
|
| cross-sectional study | A study that compares two or more groups of individuals at one point in time.
|
|
|
|
| crowds | Large, loosely organized groups of young people, composed of several cliques and typically organized around a common shared activity.
|
|
|
|
| cultivation theory | A perspective on media use that emphasizes the impact media exposure has on individuals.
|
|
|
|
| cultural capital | The resources provided within a family through the exposure of the adolescent to art, music, literature, and other elements of "high culture."
|
|
|
|
| curvilinear pattern | In statistical analyses, a pattern of relations between two variables that resembles a U-shaped or an inverted U-shaped curve.
|
|
|
|
| cyberbullying | Bullying that occurs over the Internet or via cell phones.
|
|
|
|
| date rape | Being forced by a date to have sex against one's will.
|
|
|
|
| deductive reasoning | A type of logical reasoning in which one draws logically necessary conclusions from a general set of premises, or givens.
|
|
|
|
| delayed phase preference | A pattern of sleep characterized by later sleep and wake times, which usually emerges during puberty.
|
|
|
|
| delinquency | Juvenile offending that is processed within the juvenile justice system.
|
|
|
|
| depression | A psychological disturbance characterized by low self-esteem, decreased motivation, sadness, and difficulty in finding pleasure in formerly pleasurable activities.
|
|
|
|
| detachment | In psychoanalytic theory, the process through which adolescents sever emotional attachments to their parents or other authority figures.
|
|
|
|
| developmental trajectories | Patterns of change over time.
|
|
|
|
| diathesis–stress model | A perspective on disorder that posits that problems are the result of an interaction between a preexisting condition (the diathesis) and exposure to a stressful event or condition.
|
|
|
|
| diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) | A technique used to produce images of the brain that shows connections among different regions.
|
|
|
|
| digital divide | The fact that adolescents from different economic and cultural groups have differential access to digital technology.
|
|
|
|
| discontinuous transitions | Passages into adulthood in which adult roles and statuses are entered into abruptly.
|
|
|
|
| disordered eating | Mild, moderate, or severe disturbance in eating habits and attitudes.
|
|
|
|
| divided attention | The process of paying attention to two or more stimuli at the same time.
|
|
|
|
| dopamine | A neurotransmitter especially important in the brain circuits that regulate the experience of reward.
|
|
|
|
| dorsolateral prefrontal cortex | The outer and upper areas of the front of the brain, important for skills such as planning ahead and controlling impulses.
|
|
|
|
| dyscalculia | Impaired ability in arithmetic.
|
|
|
|
| dysgraphia | Impaired ability in handwriting.
|
|
|
|
| dyslexia | Impaired ability in reading or spelling.
|
|
|
|
| early adolescence | The period spanning roughly ages 10–13, corresponding roughly to the junior high or middle school years.
|
|
|
|
| ecological perspective on human development | A perspective on development that emphasizes the broad context in which development occurs.
|
|
|
|
| educational attainment | The number of years of schooling completed by an individual.
|
|
|
|
| electroencephalography (EEG) | A technique for measuring electrical activity at different locations on the scalp.
|
|
|
|
| emerging adulthood | The period spanning roughly ages 18–25, during which individuals make the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| emotional autonomy | The establishment of more adultlike and less childish close relationships with family members and peers.
|
|
|
|
| endocrine system | The system of the body that produces, circulates, and regulates hormones.
|
|
|
|
| epiphysis | The closing of the ends of the bones, which terminates growth after the adolescent growth spurt has been completed.
|
|
|
|
| estrogens | A class of sex hormones secreted by the gonads, found in both sexes, but in higher levels among females than males following puberty.
|
|
|
|
| ethnic identity | The aspect of individuals' sense of identity concerning ancestry or racial group membership.
|
|
|
|
| ethnic socialization | The process through which individuals develop an understanding of their ethnic or racial background, also referred to as racial socialization.
|
|
|
|
| ethnography | A type of research in which individuals are observed in their natural settings.
|
|
|
|
| event-related potentials (ERP) | Changes in electrical activity in areas of the brain in response to specific stimuli or events.
|
|
|
|
| evidence-based practices | Programs and practices that have a proven scientific basis.
|
|
|
|
| exo-system | In the ecological perspective on human development, the layer of the environment that does not directly contain the developing person but that affects the setting in which the person lives.
|
|
|
|
| experience sampling method (ESM) | A method of collecting data about adolescents' emotional states, in which individuals are paged and asked to report on their mood and activity.
|
|
|
|
| externalizing disorders | Psychosocial problems that are manifested in a turning of the symptoms outward, as in aggression or delinquency.
|
|
|
|
| false-self behavior | Behavior that intentionally presents a false impression to others.
|
|
|
|
| familism | An orientation toward life in which the needs of one's family take precedence over the needs of the individual.
|
|
|
|
| family systems theory | A perspective on family functioning that emphasizes interconnections among different family relationships (such as marital, parent–child, sibling).
|
|
|
|
| feedback loop | A 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.
|
|
|
|
| female genital mutilation | The cutting or removal of the clitoris, performed in some cultures as part of the initiation of female adolescents.
|
|
|
|
| five-factor model | The theory that there are five basic dimensions to personality: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.
|
|
|
|
| flow experience | The experience of high levels of both concentration and interest at the same time.
|
|
|
|
| formal operations | The fourth stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period from early adolescence through adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| foster care | A placement in a temporary living arrangement when a child's parents are not able to provide care, nurturance, or safety.
|
|
|
|
| functional connectivity | The extent to which multiple brain regions function at the same time, which improves during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
|
| future orientation | The extent to which an individual is able and inclined to think about the potential consequences of decisions and choices.
|
|
|
|
| gangs | Organized peer groups of antisocial individuals.
|
|
|
|
| gateway drugs | Drugs that, when used over time, lead to the use of other, more dangerous substances.
|
|
|
|
| gender identity | The gender an individual identifies with.
|
|
|
|
| gender intensification hypothesis | The idea that pressures to behave in sex-appropriate ways intensify during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| generational dissonance | Divergence of views between adolescents and parents that is common in families of immigrant parents and American-born adolescents.
|
|
|
|
| gifted students | Students who are unusually talented in some aspect of intellectual performance.
|
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
|
| gonads | The glands that secrete sex hormones: in males, the testes; in females, the ovaries.
|
|
|
|
| gonorrhea | A sexually transmitted infection caused by a bacterium.
|
|
|
|
| graduated driver licensing | A licensing system in which full adult driving privileges are not granted all at once to teen drivers, but phased in over time.
|
|
|
|
| herpes | A sexually transmitted infection caused by a virus.
|
|
|
|
| HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) | The virus associated with AIDS.
|
|
|
|
| hormones | Highly specialized substances secreted by one or more endocrine glands.
|
|
|
|
| hostile attributional bias | The tendency to interpret ambiguous interactions with others as deliberately hostile.
|
|
|
|
| HPG (hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal) axis | The neurophysiological pathway that involves the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the gonads.
|
|
|
|
| human papillomavirus (HPV) | One of several viruses that causes a sexually transmitted disease.
|
|
|
|
| hypothalamus | A part of the brain that controls the functioning of the pituitary gland.
|
|
|
|
| iatrogenic effects | Unintended adverse consequences of a treatment or intervention.
|
|
|
|
| identity | The domain of psychosocial development involving self-conceptions, self-esteem, and the sense of who one is.
|
|
|
|
| identity diffusion | The incoherent, disjointed, incomplete sense of self characteristic of not having resolved the crisis of identity.
|
|
|
|
| identity foreclosure | The premature establishment of a sense of identity, before sufficient role experimentation has occurred.
|
|
|
|
| identity versus identity diffusion | According to Erikson, the normative crisis characteristic of the fifth stage of psychosocial development, predominant during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| imaginary audience | The belief, often brought on by the heightened self-consciousness of early adolescence, that everyone is watching and evaluating one's behavior.
|
|
|
|
| immigrant paradox | The fact that on many measures of psychological functioning and mental health, adolescents who have immigrated more recently to the United States score higher on measures of adjustment than adolescents from the same ethnic group whose family has lived in the United States for several generations.
|
|
|
|
| indifferent parents | Parents who are characterized by low levels of both responsiveness and demandingness.
|
|
|
|
| individuation | The progressive sharpening of an individual's sense of being an autonomous, independent person.
|
|
|
|
| indulgent parents | Parents who are characterized by responsiveness but low demandingness, and who are mainly concerned with the child's happiness.
|
|
|
|
| information-processing perspective | A perspective on cognition that derives from the study of artificial intelligence and attempts to explain cognitive development in terms of the growth of specific components of the thinking process (such as memory).
|
|
|
|
| initiation ceremony | The formal induction of a young person into adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| instrumental aggression | Aggressive behavior that is deliberate and planned.
|
|
|
|
| internal working model | The implicit model of interpersonal relationships that an individual employs throughout life, believed to be shaped by early attachment experiences.
|
|
|
|
| internalizing disorders | Psychosocial problems that are manifested in a turning of the symptoms inward, as in depression or anxiety.
|
|
|
|
| Internet addiction | A disorder in which an individual's use of the Internet is pathological, defined by six symptoms: salience, mood change, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse and reinstatement.
|
|
|
|
| intimacy | The psychosocial domain concerning the formation, maintenance, and termination of close relationships.
|
|
|
|
| inventionists | Theorists who argue that the period of adolescence is mainly a social invention.
|
|
|
|
| junior high school | An educational institution designed during the early era of public secondary education, in which young adolescents are schooled separately from older adolescents.
|
|
|
|
| juvenile justice system | A separate system of courts and related institutions developed to handle juvenile crime and delinquency.
|
|
|
|
| juvenile offending | An externalizing problem that includes delinquency and criminal behavior.
|
|
|
|
| late adolescence | The period spanning roughly ages 18–21, corresponding approximately to the college years.
|
|
|
|
| learned helplessness | The acquired belief that an individual is not able to influence events through his or her own efforts or actions.
|
|
|
|
| learning disability | A difficulty with academic tasks that cannot be traced to an emotional problem or sensory dysfunction.
|
|
|
|
| leptin | A protein produced by the fat cells that may play a role in the onset of puberty.
|
|
|
|
| LGBT youth | Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, some-times referred to as sexual-minority youth.
|
|
|
|
| life-course-persistent offenders | Individuals who begin demonstrating antisocial or aggressive behavior during childhood and continue their antisocial behavior throughout adolescence and into adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| limbic system | An area of the brain that plays an important role in the processing of emotional experience, social information, and reward and punishment.
|
|
|
|
| long-term memory | The ability to recall something from a long time ago.
|
|
|
|
| longitudinal study | A study that follows the same group of individuals over time.
|
|
|
|
| macro-system | In the ecological perspective on human development, the outermost layer of the environment, containing forces such as history and culture.
|
|
|
|
| mainstreaming | The integration of adolescents who have educational handicaps into regular classrooms.
|
|
|
|
| mastery motivation | Motivation to succeed based on the pleasure one will experience from mastering a task.
|
|
|
|
| media practice model | A perspective on media use that emphasizes the fact that adolescents not only choose what media they are exposed to but also interpret the media in ways that shape their impact.
|
|
|
|
| melatonin | A hormone secreted by the brain that contributes to sleepiness.
|
|
|
|
| menarche | The time of first menstruation, one of the most important changes to occur among females during puberty.
|
|
|
|
| mentalizing | The ability to understand someone else's mental state.
|
|
|
|
| meso-system | In the ecological perspective on human development, the layer of the environment formed by two or more immediate settings, as in the home–school linkage.
|
|
|
|
| metacognition | The process of thinking about thinking itself.
|
|
|
|
| micro-systems | In the ecological perspective on human development, the immediate settings in which adolescents develop, such as the family or the peer group.
|
|
|
|
| middle adolescence | The period spanning roughly ages 14–17, corresponding to the high school years.
|
|
|
|
| middle school | An educational institution housing 7th- and 8th- grade students along with adolescents who are 1 or 2 years younger.
|
|
|
|
| midlife crisis | A psychological crisis over identity believed to occur between the ages of 35 and 45, the age range of most adolescents' parents.
|
|
|
|
| Monitoring the Future | An annual survey of a nationwide sample of American 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders, mainly known for its data on adolescent substance use.
|
|
|
|
| moral disengagement | Rationalizing immoral behavior as legitimate, as a way of justifying one's own bad acts.
|
|
|
|
| multidimensional model of racial identity (MMRI) | Sellers's perspective on ethnic identity, which emphasizes three different phenomena: racial centrality (how important race is in defining individuals' identity), private regard (how individuals feel about being a member of their race), and public regard (how individuals think others feel about their race).
|
|
|
|
| multiethnic | Having two parents of different ethnic or racial backgrounds.
|
|
|
|
| myelination | The process through which brain circuits are insulated with myelin, which improves the efficiency of information processing.
|
|
|
|
| National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) | A periodic testing of American 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-graders by the federal government, used to track achievement.
|
|
|
|
| negative emotionality | The presumed underlying cause of internalizing disorders, characterized by high levels of subjective distress.
|
|
|
|
| negative identity | The selection of an identity that is obviously undesirable in the eyes of significant others and the broader community.
|
|
|
|
| neuroendocrine | Hormonal activity in the brain and nervous system.
|
|
|
|
| neurons | Nerve cells.
|
|
|
|
| neurotransmitters | Specialized chemicals that carry electrical impulses between neurons.
|
|
|
|
| new media | Digital media typically accessed via computers, smartphones, or other Internet-based devices.
|
|
|
|
| nonshared environmental influences | The nongenetic influences in individuals' lives that make them different from people they live with.
|
|
|
|
| non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) | Deliberate attempts to hurt oneself in nonlethal ways, including cutting or burning one's skin.
|
|
|
|
| occupational attainment | A measure of achievement based on the status or prestige of the job an individual holds.
|
|
|
|
| oppositional-defiant disorder | A disorder of childhood and adolescence characterized by excessive anger, spite, and stubbornness.
|
|
|
|
| orbitofrontal cortex | The region of the brain located directly behind the eyes, important for the evaluation of risk and reward.
|
|
|
|
| organizational role (of hormones) | The process through which early exposure to hormones, especially prenatally, organizes the brain or other organs in anticipation of later changes in behavior or patterns of growth.
|
|
|
|
| ovaries | The female gonads.
|
|
|
|
| overt antisocial behavior | A type of antisocial behavior characterized by aggression toward others.
|
|
|
|
| oxytocin | A hormone known to influence emotional bonding to others.
|
|
|
|
| parental demandingness | One of two important dimensions of parenting; demandingness refers to the degree to which the parent expects and insists on mature, responsible behavior from the child.
|
|
|
|
| parental responsiveness | One of the two important dimensions of parenting; responsiveness refers to the degree to which the parent responds to the child's needs in an accepting, supportive manner.
|
|
|
|
| parietal cortex | A region of the brain that is especially important for working memory.
|
|
|
|
| participant observation | A research technique in which the researcher "infiltrates" a group of individuals in order to study their behavior and relationships.
|
|
|
|
| peak height velocity | The point at which the adolescent is growing most rapidly.
|
|
|
|
| peer groups | Groups of individuals of approximately the same age.
|
|
|
|
| perceived popularity | How much status or prestige an individual has.
|
|
|
|
| performance motivation | Motivation to succeed based on the rewards one will receive for successful performance.
|
|
|
|
| personal fable | An adolescent's belief that he or she is unique and therefore not subject to the rules that govern other people's behavior.
|
|
|
|
| pheromones | A class of chemicals secreted by animals that stimulate certain behaviors in other members of the species.
|
|
|
|
| pituitary gland | One of the chief glands responsible for regulating levels of hormones in the body.
|
|
|
|
| platonic relationships | Nonsexual relationships with individuals who might otherwise be romantic partners.
|
|
|
|
| positive youth development | The goal of programs designed to facilitate healthy psychosocial development and not simply to deter problematic development.
|
|
|
|
| possible selves | The various identities an adolescent might imagine for him- or herself.
|
|
|
|
| postconventional moral reasoning | In Kohlberg's theory, the stage of moral development during which society's rules and conventions are seen as relative and subjective rather than as authoritative; also called principled moral reasoning.
|
|
|
|
| preconventional moral reasoning | According to Kohlberg, the first level of moral reasoning, which is typical of children and is characterized by reasoning that is based on rewards and punishments associated with different courses of action.
|
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
|
| premature affluence | Having more income than one can manage maturely, especially during adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| preoperational period | The second stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning roughly ages 2–5.
|
|
|
|
| primary control strategies | Coping strategies in which an individual attempts to change the stressor.
|
|
|
|
| problem behavior syndrome | The covariation among various types of externalizing disorders believed to result from an underlying trait of unconventionality.
|
|
|
|
| prosocial behavior | Behaviors intended to help others.
|
|
|
|
| protective factors | Factors that limit individual vulnerability to harm.
|
|
|
|
| psychological control | Parenting that attempts to control the adolescent's emotions and opinions.
|
|
|
|
| psychopaths | Individuals who are not only antisocial but also manipulative, superficially charming, impulsive, and indifferent to the feelings of others.
|
|
|
|
| psychosocial | Referring to aspects of development that are both psychological and social in nature, such as developing a sense of identity or sexuality.
|
|
|
|
| psychosocial moratorium | A period during which individuals are free from excessive obligations and responsibilities and can therefore experiment with different roles and personalities.
|
|
|
|
| puberty | The biological changes of adolescence.
|
|
|
|
| quinceañera | An elaborate sort of "coming-out" celebration for adolescent girls that is practiced in many Latino communities.
|
|
|
|
| reactive aggression | Aggressive behavior that is unplanned and impulsive.
|
|
|
|
| reference groups | A group against which an individual compares him- or herself.
|
|
|
|
| rejection sensitivity | Heightened vulnerability to being rejected by others.
|
|
|
|
| relational aggression | Acts intended to harm another through the manipulation of his or her relationships with others, as in malicious gossip.
|
|
|
|
| religiosity | The degree to which one engages in religious practices, like attending services.
|
|
|
|
| resilience | The ability of an individual to continue to function competently in the face of adversity or stress.
|
|
|
|
| response inhibition | The suppression of a behavior that is inappropriate or no longer required.
|
|
|
|
| reverse causation | Relationship in which the correlation between two things is due not to the first thing causing the second, but to the second causing the first.
|
|
|
|
| risk factors | Factors that increase the likelihood of some behavior or condition.
|
|
|
|
| rite of passage | A ceremony or ritual marking an individual's transition from one social status to another, especially marking the young person's transition to adulthood.
|
|
|
|
| routine activity theory | A perspective on adolescence that views unstructured, unsupervised time with peers as a main cause of misbehavior.
|
|
|
|
| scaffolding | Structuring a learning situation so that it is just within the reach of the student.
|
|
|
|
| scarification | The intentional creation of scars on some part or parts of the body, often done as part of an initiation ceremony.
|
|
|
|
| school performance | A measure of achievement based on an individual's grades in school.
|
|
|
|
| school vouchers | Government-subsidized vouchers that can be used for private school tuition.
|
|
|
|
| schools within schools | Subdivisions of the student body within large schools created to foster feelings of belongingness.
|
|
|
|
| secondary control strategies | Coping strategies that involve attempts by the individual to adapt to the stressor.
|
|
|
|
| secondary education | The system of middle schools, junior high schools, and high schools.
|
|
|
|
| secondary sex characteristics | The manifestations of sexual maturity at puberty, including the development of breasts, the growth of facial and body hair, and changes in the voice.
|
|
|
|
| secular trend | The tendency, over the past two centuries, for individuals to be larger in stature and to reach puberty earlier, primarily because of improvements in health and nutrition.
|
|
|
|
| secure attachment | A healthy attachment between infant and caregiver, characterized by trust.
|
|
|
|
| selective attention | The process by which we focus on one stimulus while tuning out another.
|
|
|
|
| selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) | A class of antidepressant medications that has proven to be effective with adolescents suffering from internalizing problems, such as depression.
|
|
|
|
| self-conceptions | The collection of traits and attributes that individuals use to describe or characterize themselves.
|
|
|
|
| self-consciousness | The degree to which an individual is preoccupied with his or her self-image.
|
|
|
|
| self-efficacy | The sense that an individual has some control over his or her life.
|
|
|
|
| self-esteem | The degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about themselves.
|
|
|
|
| self-fulfilling prophecy | The idea that individuals' behavior is influenced by others' expectations for them.
|
|
|
|
| self-handicapping | Deliberately behaving in ways that will likely interfere with doing well, in order to have an excuse for failing.
|
|
|
|
| self-image stability | The degree to which an individual feels that his or her self-image changes from day to day.
|
|
|
|
| sensation seeking | The pursuit of experiences that are novel or exciting.
|
|
|
|
| sense of identity | The extent to which individuals feel secure about who they are and who they are becoming.
|
|
|
|
| sensorimotor period | The first stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, spanning the period roughly between birth and age 2.
|
|
|
|
| serotonin | A neurotransmitter that is especially important for the experience of different moods.
|
|
|
|
| service learning | The process of learning through involvement in community service.
|
|
|
|
| set point | A physiological level or setting (e.g., of a specific hormone) that the body attempts to maintain through a self-regulating system.
|
|
|
|
| sex-role behavior | Behavior that is consistent with prevailing expectations for how individuals of a given sex are to behave.
|
|
|
|
| sexual orientation | Whether one is sexually attracted to individuals of the same sex, other sex, or both.
|
|
|
|
| sexual socialization | The process through which adolescents are exposed to and educated about sexuality.
|
|
|
|
| sexual-minority youth | Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth.
|
|
|
|
| sexuality | The psychosocial domain concerning the development and expression of sexual feelings.
|
|
|
|
| sexually transmitted disease (STD) | Any of a group of infections—including HPV, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, herpes, chlamydia, and AIDS—passed on through sexual contact.
|
|
|
|
| shared environmental influences | Nongenetic influences that make individuals living in the same family similar to each other.
|
|
|
|
| sibling de-identification | The process through which siblings deliberately try to be different from each other.
|
|
|
|
| sibling rivalry | Competition between siblings, often for parental attention.
|
|
|
|
| social capital | The interpersonal resources available to an adolescent or family.
|
|
|
|
| social cognition | The aspect of cognition that concerns thinking about other people, about interpersonal relations, and about social institutions.
|
|
|
|
| social control theory | A theory of delinquency that links deviance with the absence of bonds to society's main institutions.
|
|
|
|
| social conventions | The norms that govern everyday behavior in social situations.
|
|
|
|
| social promotion | The practice of promoting students from one grade to the next automatically, regardless of their school performance.
|
|
|
|
| social redefinition | The process through which an individual's position or status is redefined by society.
|
|
|
|
| social support | The extent to which an individual receives emotional or instrumental assistance from his or her social network.
|
|
|
|
| sociometric popularity | How well-liked an individual is.
|
|
|
|
| spirituality | The degree to which one places importance on the quest for answers to questions about God and the meaning of life.
|
|
|
|
| spurious causation | Relationship in which the correlation between two things is due to the fact that each of them is correlated with some third factor.
|
|
|
|
| standards-based reform | Policies designed to improve achievement by holding schools and students to a predetermined set of standards measured by achievement tests.
|
|
|
|
| status offense | A violation of the law that pertains to minors but not adults.
|
|
|
|
| statutory rape | Sex between two individuals, even when it is consensual, when at least one of the persons is below the legal age of consent; in the United States, the specific age of consent varies from state to state.
|
|
|
|
| stereotype threat | The harmful effect that exposure to stereotypes about ethnic or sex differences in ability has on student performance.
|
|
|
|
| student engagement | The extent to which students are psychologically committed to learning and mastering the material rather than simply completing the assigned work.
|
|
|
|
| substance abuse | The misuse of alcohol or other drugs to a degree that causes problems in the individual's life.
|
|
|
|
| suicidal ideation | Thinking about ending one's life.
|
|
|
|
| synapse | The gap in space between neurons, across which neurotransmitters carry electrical impulses.
|
|
|
|
| synaptic pruning | The process through which unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated, improving the efficiency of information processing.
|
|
|
|
| Tanner stages | A widely used system that describes the five stages of pubertal development.
|
|
|
|
| teenager | A term popularized about 50 years ago to refer to young people; it connoted a more frivolous and lighthearted image than did "adolescent."
|
|
|
|
| temporal cortex | A region of the brain that is especially important for social cognition.
|
|
|
|
| testes | The male gonads.
|
|
|
|
| testosterone | One of the sex hormones secreted by the gonads, found in both sexes but in higher levels among males than females.
|
|
|
|
| theory of mind | The ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions, and knowledge that may be different from one's own.
|
|
|
|
| tracking | The practice of separating students into ability groups, so that they take classes with peers at the same skill level.
|
|
|
|
| transgender | Describing individuals whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.
|
|
|
|
| trichomoniasis | A sexually transmitted infection caused caused by a parasite.
|
|
|
|
| underachievers | Individuals whose actual school performance is lower than what would be expected on the basis of objective measures of their aptitude or intelligence.
|
|
|
|
| uses and gratification approach | A perspective on media use that emphasizes the active role users play in selecting the media to which they are exposed.
|
|
|
|
| ventromedial prefrontal cortex | The lower and central area at the front of the brain, important for gut-level decision making.
|
|
|
|
| viral marketing | A way of promoting products or services by encouraging individuals to pass information on to others.
|
|
|
|
| work values | The particular sorts of rewards an individual looks for in a job (extrinsic, intrinsic, social, altruistic, security, influence, leisure).
|
|
|
|
| working memory | That aspect of memory in which information is held for a short time while a problem is being solved.
|
|
|
|
| youth | Today, a term used to refer to individuals ages 18–22; it once referred to individuals ages 12–24.
|
|
|
|
| zero tolerance | A get-tough approach to adolescent misbehavior that responds seriously or excessively to the first infraction.
|
|
|
|
| zone of proximal development | In Vygotsky's theory, the level of challenge that is still within the individual's reach but that forces an individual to develop more advanced skills.
|