Lifespan Psychology Module 11: Middle Childhood – Social and Personality Development

 Adolescence: the transitional period between childhood and adulthood

 Prefrontal cortex (PFC) : the part of the frontal lobe that is just behind the forehead and

is responsible for executive processing

 Puberty: collective term for the physical changes which culminate in sexual maturity

 Pituitary gland: gland that triggers other glands to release hormones

 Primary sex characteristics: the sex organs: ovaries, uterus, and vagina in the female;

testes and penis in the male

 Secondary sex characteristics: body parts such as breasts in females and pubic hair in

both sexes

 Menarche: the beginning of menstrual cycles

 Secular trend: a change that occurs in developing nations when nutrition and health

improve—for example, the decline in average age of menarche and the increase in

average height for both children and adults that happened between the mid-18th and mid-

19th centuries in Western countries

 Transgendered: a person whose psychological gender is the opposite of his or her

biological sex

 Anorexia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation

 Bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging

 Formal operational stage: the fourth of Piaget’s stages, during which adolescents learn

to reason logically about abstract concepts

 Systematic problem solving: the process of finding a solution to a problem by testing

single factors

 Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: the ability to derive conclusions from hypothetical

premises

 Personal fable: the belief that the events of one’s life are controlled by a mentally

constructed autobiography

 Imaginary audience: an internalized set of behavioral standards usually derived from a

teenager’s peer group

 Task goals: goals based on a desire for self-improvement

 Ability goals: goals based on a desire to be superior to others.

I) Physical Changes

a) Brain Development and Physical Growth

 Adolescence: the transitional period between childhood and adulthood.

 There are two major brain growth spurts in the teenaged years. The first occurs

between ages 13 and 15. During the first, the cerebral cortex becomes thicker and the

neuronal pathways become more efficient. More energy is produced and consumed

by the brain during this spurt than in the years that precede and follow it. For the most

part, these growth and energy spurts take place in the parts of the brain that control

spatial perception and motor functions

 Prefrontal cortex (PFC) : the part of the frontal lobe that is just behind the forehead

and is responsible for executive processing. The 13 to 15 spurt is associated with

good changes in this.

 The second major brain growth spurt begins around age 17 and lasts into early

adulthood. The frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex are the focus of development. This

area of the brain controls logic and planning.

 Girls attain most of their height by age 16, while boys continue to grow until they arer

18-20 years old.

b) Milestones of Puberty

 Puberty: collective term for the physical changes which culminate in sexual

maturity.

 Pituitary gland: gland that triggers other glands to release hormones.

  Primary sex characteristics: the sex organs: ovaries, uterus, and vagina in the

female; testes and penis in the male.

 Secondary sex characteristics: body parts such as breasts in females and pubic hair

in both sexes.

 Menarche: the beginning of menstrual cycles.

 Secular trend: a change that occurs in developing nations when nutrition and health

improve—for example, the decline in average age of menarche and the increase in

average height for both children and adults that happened between the mid-18th and

mid-19th centuries in Western countries.

II) Adolescent Health

a) Eating Disorders

 Anorexia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation.

 Bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging.

III) Changes in Thinking and Memory

a) Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage

 Formal operational stage: the fourth of Piaget’s stages, during which adolescents

learn to reason logically about abstract concepts.

 Systematic problem solving: the process of finding a solution to a problem by

testing single factors.

 Hypothetico-deductive reasoning: the ability to derive conclusions from

hypothetical premises.
 Personal fable: the belief that the events of one’s life are controlled by a mentally

constructed autobiography.

 Imaginary audience: an internalized set of behavioral standards usually derived

from a teenager’s peer group.

 Task goals: goals based on a desire for self-improvement.

 Ability goals: goals based on a desire to be superior to others.