Lifespan psychology extended answers

• What is adolescence defined as?

  The period following the onset of puberty when a person develops from a child to an adult
• What are the main developmental changes during adolescence?

  • Physical: drastic changes, final height, body hair growth, sexual maturation, male vocal change, increased fine motor skills, muscle development, increased gross motor skills.
  • Cognitive: increased language comprehension, ability to understand abstract concepts, expanded vocabulary, improved rationalization.
  • Social: shift from family to friends, introduction of romantic relationships, organizing social engagements, socializing without guardians, increased self-concept.
  • Emotional: unpredictable moods, erratic mood swings, heightened emotional responses.
• What is brain plasticity?

  Brain plasticity is the growth and reorganization ability of neural connections
• How does brain plasticity affect adolescent development?

  It allows for maximum grey matter volume and ongoing synaptic pruning, increasing brain efficiency
• What happens to neural connections during adolescence?

  Connections undergo myelination later, which can lead to slower and sometimes misfiring connections
• What abilities are not consistent until brain plasticity is complete in adolescence?

  Full abilities to plan, control impulses, and give attention
• What are the effects of changes in the cerebellum on behaviour and emotion?


  • Behaviour: muscle coordination, speech muscle coordination, balance.
  • Emotion: struggle to process emotions, ability to use facial expressions.
• What are the effects of changes in the amygdala on behaviour and emotion?


  • Behaviour: decision making, hypervigilance.
  • Emotion: mood swings, difficulty regulating fear emotions.
• What are the effects of changes in the corpus callosum on behaviour and emotion?


  • Behaviour: muscle coordination, facial muscle movement.
  • Emotion: mood swings, recognition of emotion in others.
• What are the effects of changes in the frontal lobe on behaviour and emotion?


  • Behaviour: problem solving, impulse control, personality, reasoning, logical decision making.
  • Emotion: apathy, personality, recognition of emotion in others.
• Who is the theorist behind cognitive development theory?

  Piaget
• What is a schema?

  A schema refers to the way in which people categorize information to help interpret the world
• How does Mia's understanding of school reflect her schema?

  Mia has a basic schema, believing school is only about wearing a uniform
• How has Lulu's understanding of school changed?

  Lulu has assimilated her understanding to include playing games and being creative
• How has Max's schema for school changed since starting high school?

  Max has demonstrated accommodation by realizing school is about more than just playing
• What are the four stages of cognitive development theory?

  1. Sensorimotor
  2. Pre-operational
  3. Concrete operational
  4. Formal operational
• In which stage is Mia likely to be?

  Mia is in the pre-operational stage
• In which stage is Lulu likely to be?

  Lulu is in the concrete operational stage
• In which stage is Max likely to be?

  Max is in the formal operational stage
• What characteristic is likely demonstrated by Mia in her current stage?

  Mia is likely to demonstrate egocentrism
• What characteristic is likely demonstrated by Lulu in her current stage?

  Lulu is likely to demonstrate conservation
• What characteristic is likely demonstrated by Max in his current stage?

  Max is likely to demonstrate abstract thinking
• What task could test Mia's developmental changes?

  • Three mountains task:
  • Mia sits on one side of a 3D mountain model.
  • She is asked what she sees and then what the toy on the opposite side sees.
  • Mia is likely to suggest the toy sees the same as her, demonstrating egocentrism.
• What task could test Lulu's developmental changes?

  • Conservation task:
  • Piaget's volume task with two similar-sized containers.
  • One container is poured into a taller, thinner container.
  • Lulu is likely to say both containers have the same amount of liquid, demonstrating conservation.
• What task could test Max's developmental changes?

  • Pendulum problem:
  • Involves a string and weights to assess which variable affects the swing rate.
  • Max is likely to demonstrate abstract thinking by systematically testing each variable.
• What is one strength of Piaget's cognitive development theory?

  Cross-cultural research suggests development occurs in the same order
• What is one limitation of Piaget's cognitive development theory?

  The age at which stages occur depends on social and cultural influences