Exam 15: Cognitive Development in Adolescence

When the primary orientation is on part-time jobs, adolescents tend to __________.

Data on school achievement indicates that, on average, __________ and __________ tend to score lower on standardized tests of achievement.

Define metacognition and note its role in the advancement of cognitive abilities during the adolescent period.

In households in which both partners work, __________ percent of women earn more than their husbands do.

Tonja is a sexually active teenager who thinks that there is no need to use a condom during sex because in her __________ she constructs pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections such as AIDS as only happening to someone else, not herself.

A child who is at the __________ level of Kohlberg's theory believes that people follow rigid rules based on punishments and rewards.

Identify and describe Ginzberg's three periods of choosing a career.

Ninth grader Maricella became interested in genetics for the first time while reading about dinosaurs in the book Jurassic Park. She then asked her teacher whether she could write about what it would be like if someone genetically reproduced some kind of super-dinosaur by accident. This subject would have been too abstract for her just two years before. According to Piaget, this shows that Maricella had reached the __________ stage.

Even though Marvin had changed his major several times during his college years, he spent the summer doing an internship in an investment firm and felt more confident about his career choice. Marvin is most likely in the __________ period of Ginzberg's stages of choosing a career.

Describe two types of reasoning that take place during the formal operational stage, according to Piaget.

Piaget decided that adolescents in the formal operational stage use __________, in which they start with a general theory about what produces a particular outcome and then deduce explanations for specific situations in which they see that particular outcome.

According to Piaget, your child has now entered the formal operational period of cognitive development. Have you noticed examples of your child thinking abstractly in various areas of life? Describe these examples. How does your child go about solving a problem? Does he/she use hypothetico-deductive reasoning? Explain. In addition, have you observed your child engaged in propositional thought, when concrete examples are not available? Explain.

Significantly more __________ than __________ started college after graduating from high school.

During the formal operational stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory, the adolescent will start with a general theory about what produces a particular outcome and then deduce explanations for specific situations in which he or she sees that particular outcome. This process is known as __________ reasoning.

Seventeen-year-old Elu is an active member of her school's debate team. She also is head of the school yearbook committee and is president of the student council. Elu is excited about leading the way for organizing this year's prom and is not afraid of taking risks. Researcher John Holland would say that Elu has a(n) __________ personality type.

Catherine could not believe that her mother insisted that she go into the grocery store with her. "My hair is dirty!" Catherine protested. The fact that Catherine is concerned that everyone in the store will be looking at her and noticing her dirty hair is an example of __________.

Fictitious observers who pay as much attention to adolescents' behavior as adolescents do are called __________.

African American and Hispanic students tend to perform at lower levels and receive lower grades. Because more African American and Hispanic families live in poverty, it may be that their __________ is reflected in their school performance.