Deck 10: Becoming an Adult: Physical, Cognitive, and Personality Development

Question 1

Morris is 43 years of age, and is going back to college part-time to earn a degree so that he can enhance his advancement prospects at his job. Morris would be considered a ________.

A) returning adult student
B) transitional student
C) nontraditional student
D) mid-life student

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Of the following individuals, how many are in the period called emerging adulthood? Matthias, who is a 18-year-old college student; Toby, who is a 35-year-old businessman and single father of one daughter; Gunther, who is a 25-year-old law student; Liesl, who is a 13-year-old girl from a Jewish family and has recently celebrated her bat mitzvah.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Answer 2

B

Question 3

One researcher, Males (2009, 2010), has suggested that the brain development hypothesis that is often used to explain behavioral changes in young adults is wrong. Instead, Males argues that ________ is a stronger predictor of risky behavior than neurological changes.

A) poverty
B) sex
C) sexual activity or inactivity
D) endocrine functioning

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The average age at which a person gets married in the United States has ________ since 1970.

A) increased by almost seven years
B) decreased by two years
C) decreased by four years
D) increased by five years

Question 5

During ________, there tends to be a significant drop in one's participation in risky behaviors such as driving recklessly, having sex without contraception, and engaging in extreme sports.

A) young adulthood
B) late adolescence
C) middle adolescence
D) early adolescence

Question 6

In most cultures, ________ is the most important rite of passage, as it is seen as a prelude to childbearing. This, in turn, provides clear evidence of reaching adulthood.

A) reaching puberty
B) marriage
C) graduating from school
D) losing one's virginity

Question 7

According to Erikson, the major task for young adults is to deal with the psychosocial conflict of ________.

A) identity versus role confusion
B) generativity versus stagnation
C) intimacy versus isolation
D) independence versus dependence

Question 8

Colleges usually refer to students over the age of ____ as returning adult students, which implies that these individuals have already reached adulthood.

A) 25
B) 28
C) 32
D) 35

Question 9

Between 2005 and 2008, the greatest increase in percentage of high school graduates enrolling in college was seen in

A) Asian Americans.
B) African Americans.
C) Latinos.
D) Whites.

Question 10

Raymond is about to graduate from high school. He is one of 100 seniors in his class who will be receiving their diploma this weekend. If Raymond's high school is typical of most in the United States, about ________ of these soon-to-be graduates will go right on to college.

A) 40
B) 50
C) 60
D) 70

Question 11

Which of the following statements about returning students is false?

A) Returning students tend to be poor problem-solvers.
B) Returning students tend to be self-directed.
C) Returning students tend to experience conflicts between school, work, and family.
D) Returning students often have life experience relevant to coursework.

Question 12

In Western cultures, voting, completing an education, beginning full-time employment, leaving home and establishing financial independence, getting married, and having children are all examples of

A) role transitions.
B) rites of passage.
C) genotypical markers.
D) emergent shifts.

Question 13

A rite of ________ involves a ritual or ceremonial event that marks initiation into adulthood.

A) demarcation
B) arrival
C) passage
D) maturation

Question 14

How would neuroscientists explain the early adulthood shifts in behavior that are often seen in the early twenties?

A) There is a thickening of the corpus callosum, so information can travel more readily across the cerebral hemispheres.
B) There is increased myelination in the structures of the hindbrain-the pons, medulla, and cerebellum-which leads to greater control of impulsive behaviors.
C) There is a decrease in cortical activity in the diencephalon-the hypothalamus and thalamus-which in turn leads to a stabilizing of endocrine activities.
D) There is further development in the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in higher level thinking processes.

Question 15

Some developmentalists have categorized the __________ as a period called emerging adulthood.

A) late teens to the early thirties
B) late teens to the mid- to late twenties
C) early twenties to early thirties
D) ages of 18 to 21 years

Question 16

Yacef suddenly finds himself newly married and out of school with a new job. Yacef is experiencing

A) role transitions.
B) reflective judgment.
C) possible selves.
D) fluid intelligence.

Question 17

Christina is a real character. Although she is in her early twenties, she has not "slowed down" in her need for more and more intense experiences. In the last year she has gone skydiving, bungee jumping from a bridge, has gone drag racing with her boyfriend, and has experimented with some new drugs. Christina's behaviors are an example of ________.

A) maturational fixation
B) identity confusion
C) edgework
D) plasticity

Question 18

Nicola is 18 years old and engages in many risky behaviors. For example, she drives very fast and recklessly, and does not use any protection when having sex. If Nicola is a typical adolescent, these behaviors will ____ when she gets older.

A) significantly increase in frequency
B) slightly increase in frequency
C) remain at the same frequency level
D) decrease in frequency

Question 19

The desire to live a more "aggressive" life through physically and emotionally threatening situations on the boundary between life and death is termed ________.

A) sensation-seeking
B) edgework
C) paradoxical role-confusion
D) enhancement

Question 20

Before a person can successfully create an intimate relationship with another person, Erikson felt that they had to first

A) establish an identity of their own.
B) begin their career.
C) move out of their parents' house and establish their own, independent residence.
D) complete their education

Question 21

The number one cause of death among Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 is

A) heart disease.
B) accidents.
C) cancer.
D) diabetes.

Question 22

Young adult men between the ages of 25 and 34 are ____ times as likely to die as women of the same age.

A) 1.5
B) 2.0
C) 2.5
D) 4.0

Question 23

Which statement by 30-year-old Flossie, who is typical for a person of her age, is most likely false?

A) "I am about as strong as I will ever be."
B) "I am a lot less coordinated than I used to be."
C) "My hearing is not quite as good as it used to be."
D) "My visual acuity is about as good as it has ever been."

Question 24

Which of the following groups of individuals has the lowest death rate during the early adulthood years?

A) European Americans
B) Asian and Pacific Islanders
C) African Americans
D) Latinos

Question 25

Some research has been critical of Erikson's assertions regarding the relationship between identity and the formation of intimate relationships. For which of the following individuals is identity unrelated to closeness, according to Johnson and colleagues (2007)?

A) Charles, who is working on his friendship with Anette.
B) Diane, who is working on her friendship with Mathilda.
C) Timothy, who is working on his friendship with Jamison.
D) Charlene, who is working on her friendship with Sheldon.

Question 26

For many people, the key to establishing their identity as an adult is achieving ________ independence.

A) educational
B) physical
C) political
D) financial

Question 27

Physical strength, coordination, and dexterity tends to peak in the late twenties and early thirties, and then decline throughout the rest of the life for

A) men, but not women.
B) women, but not men.
C) neither men nor women.
D) both men and women.

Question 28

According to your textbook, the single biggest contributor to health problems in the United States is

A) doing illegal drugs.
B) alcohol consumption.
C) overeating.
D) smoking.

Question 29

Your authors note that cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of many different types of cancer. Which of the following body parts is NOT one they identified?

A) stomach
B) blood (leukemia)
C) rectal
D) cervical

Question 30

Betram is 30 years of age, and his sensory systems are developing normally for his age. Which of the following would he probably have the MOST difficulty hearing clearly?

A) The deep, booming voice of his boss, who is leading a meeting at work.
B) The announcers on a football game on television, which has the volume increased to adequate levels.
C) The high-pitched voice of his 3-year old daughter.
D) The "bang bang bang" of the tennis shoes that are tumbling in his clothes dryer.

Question 31

To maximize your odds of being healthy, do all but which of the following?

A) avoid smoking
B) monitor your alcohol consumption
C) eat a well-balanced, nutritional diet
D) avoid exercising too much

Question 32

Your best friend William tells you that he is thinking of moving back in with his parents now that he has graduated from college. "If I do that for a year or two, I will be able to save my money and get independent much faster than if I try living on my own right away." Since you have read this chapter and know the research into this sort of thing, what would be your best response?

A) That probably isn't a good idea, because it will actually take you longer to become financially independent if you move back with them than if you live on your own.
B) That is a good idea, because men who move back in with their parents become financially independent faster, while women who do so take longer to establish such independence.
C) That is a bad idea, because women who move back in with their parents become financially independent faster, while men who do so take longer to establish such independence.
D) The research really supports that idea, because both men and women who live with their parents for one to three years while establishing their own career can become financially independent much faster than those who live on their own.

Question 33

Based on statistics, which of these 30-year-old adults is MOST LIKELY to die within a year?

A) Nik, a Native American male
B) Tamarick, an African American male
C) John, an Asian American male
D) Buster, a European American male

Question 34

Which of the following is the most common change in vision that people experience during their middle-adulthood years?

A) They become nearsighted and need glasses to see things at distance.
B) They lose their ability to see things in the dark.
C) They lose some of their color vision.
D) They become farsighted and need reading glasses.

Question 35

When all of the research regarding Erikson's proposed relationship between identity and intimacy is examined, it appears that his theory is most applicable to

A) men and career-oriented women.
B) men only
C) men and women equally.
D) women only

Question 36

Tom was a 40-year-old African American father of two girls, was married to his high school sweetheart, and had a thriving career as an attorney in private practice. Tragically, Tom died just two weeks after his birthday party. Statistically, the MOST LIKELY cause of his death was a(n)

A) act of violence.
B) accident.
C) heart attack.
D) pulmonary embolism.

Question 37

Physical functioning generally peaks during

A) early adolescence.
B) middle adolescence.
C) young adulthood
D) middle adulthood.

Question 38

Who would Erikson say is MOST capable of true intimacy?

A) Cindy, who is overdependent on her boyfriend.
B) Burt, who will go out with different people but finds it scary to go out with someone more than a couple of times.
C) Aileen, who has a clear sense of identity.
D) Harrison, who is 16 years old.

Question 39

Which of the following individuals is likely to establish their financial independence from their parents the earliest?

A) Katie, who is in her third year of medical school.
B) Melinda, who has just started in a Master's program after graduating from college.
C) Julie, who is in her second year of college.
D) Kelly, who graduated from high school and went right to work instead of enrolling in college.

Question 40

Roughly ________ people die each year from smoking-related illnesses, and medical treatment of smoking-related ailments costs more than _______ annually.

A) 40,000; $19 million
B) 220,000; $190 million
C) 350,000; $1.9 billion
D) 400,000; $193 billion

Question 41

The American Cancer Society estimates that between 66% and 75% of those cigarette smokers who try to quit smoking end up starting up again within ____ month(s).

A) 1
B) 3
C) 6
D) 12

Question 42

Of all of the following neurotransmitters, how many are disrupted by the ingestion of alcoho?
(a) norepinephrine
B) glutamate
(c) serotonin
D) GABA
(e) dopamine
(f) acetylcholine

A) 6
B) 5
C) 4
D) 3

Question 43

Which statement concerning secondhand smoke is true?

A) There is no evidence that secondhand smoke leads to any health problems.
B) Hundreds of thousands of children suffer from lung problems annually from secondhand smoke each year.
C) Less than one-fifth of Americans have been exposed to secondhand smoke.
D) Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die from lung cancer than from cardiovascular disease.

Question 44

"I really think about quitting smoking," Michael often says to his friends, "but after doing it for so long I think it is too late to be of any benefit to me." What should his friends tell him?

A) "That's probably correct, so just keep smoking. What is most important now is that you avoid putting second-hand smoke into others' lungs."
B) "Well there's really no way to know if it would help, but you'd sure smell a lot better if you gave up the cigarettes!"
C) "Actually, within one year of quitting cigarettes your lungs regain their normal ability to move out mucus!"
D) "You will reduce your risk of stroke and coronary heart disease to normal within 5 years of quitting smoking, so give up the cigarettes!"

Question 45

How is the consumption of alcohol related to the promotion of health?

A) Abstainers have the greatest benefits
B) Moderate drinkers have the greatest benefits
C) Heavy drinkers have the greatest benefits
D) Alcohol consumption has not been related to any health benefits

Question 46

Your textbook identifies several factors that are related to an increased likelihood of one's willingness to engage in binge drinking behavior. They include all but which of the following?

A) if they have a history of alcoholism in their family
B) if alcohol is readily available
C) if they are a member of a fraternity or sorority
D) if they feel really positively about binge drinking

Question 47

Stanley has just visited his cardiologist, and he is told that it would be a very good idea if he were to lower his level of low density lipoproteins and increase his level of high density lipoproteins. Which of the following would Stanley be well advised to do to make this happen?

A) Start taking calcium supplements each night before bed.
B) Add more fiber to his diet.
C) Add a stool softener to his medication combination.
D) Start taking vitamin D with "rose hips."

Question 48

More than 90% of those who successfully stop smoking cigarettes do so

A) by taking prescription medications designed to assist with smoking cessation.
B) on their own.
C) by using nicotine replacement patches.
D) by chewing nicotine gum.

Question 49

Ruth has been smoking cigarettes for many years, and her habit has become so severe that she smokes at least two packs every day. For which of the following medical issues is she at increased risk?

A) deafness
B) glaucoma
C) a fractured hip
D) Turner's syndrome

Question 50

The term ________ refers to the amount of energy one's body needs.

A) set point
B) metabolism
C) digestive efficiency
D) body mass index

Question 51

While some believe that binge drinking is just a fun thing to do at parties, the results of such behavior really contradict such a notion. Which of the following is an accurate consequence of binge drinking?

A) The rates of assault on college campuses actually go down when drinking goes up, as people become too incapacitated by drinking to go out and get into trouble.
B) Somewhere around 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year in the United States from drinking too much.
C) Around 700,000 college students a year are victims of alcohol-related date-rape.
D) The rate of binge drinking in the general public has increased in the same proportions that it has increased among college students.

Question 52

Binge drinking is defined for men as consuming ____ or more drinks in a row and for women as consuming ____ or more drinks in a row within the past 2 weeks.

A) 5; 4
B) 7; 5
C) 4; 3
D) 6; 5

Question 53

Good cholesterol is to _____ as bad cholesterol is to _____.

A) UDLs; MDLs
B) LDLs; HDLs
C) MDLs; UDLs
D) HDLs; LDLs

Question 54

Which best describes the relationship between LDLs and HDLs?

A) LDLs break down HDLs
B) HDLs break down LDLs
C) LDLs transform into HDLs
D) HDLs transform into LDLs

Question 55

Why is it that many people consider alcoholism to be a form of addiction?

A) Because there are always legal problems associated with such catastrophic misuse of alcohol.
B) Because there is evidence of a neurological impact of the use of alcohol in greater and greater amounts.
C) Because it involves physical dependence as well as the experience of withdrawal symptoms.
D) Because there is a loss of control over the consumption of alcohol that is involved.

Question 56

Of the following individuals, how many qualify as having experienced an episode of binge drinking?
(a) Martha, who had 6 drinks within a 30 minute period at her sister's wedding about 6 weeks ago;
(b) Janice, who had 3 shots of vodka in 5 minutes at the club last weekend;
(c) Erik, who won a contest with his friend by having 7 shots of tequila in 7 minutes last night;
(d) Aaron, who had 4 beers in an hour during the football game on Saturday.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 57

Rose has been suffering from alcoholism for several years now, and she has finally decided to address the problem. If she looks to the most widely known option for treating her addiction, she will

A) start taking medications designed to make her sick when she drinks.
B) go to Alcoholics Anonymous.
C) engage the services of an individual psychotherapist.
D) seek support from people at her church as she attempts to overcome her addiction on her own.

Question 58

For smokers who successfully give up cigarettes, the risks of coronary heart disease and stroke return to normal after a period of roughly ____ years.

A) 10
B) 12
C) 15
D) 18

Question 59

The ________ campaign was launched in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help people make better, healthier selections when it came to their meals.

A) Eating Smarter Not Larger
B) Choose My Plate
C) Food Wheel
D) Nutritional Pyramid

Question 60

In the United States, nearly ____ percent of adults between the ages of 25 and 44 years are considered heavy drinkers.

A) 5
B) 7
C) 10
D) 12

Question 61

Fluid intelligence is to crystallized intelligence as

A) declines throughout adulthood is to improves throughout adulthood.
B) stays the same in adulthood is to declines throughout adulthood.
C) improves throughout adulthood is to stays the same in adulthood.
D) improves throughout adulthood is to declines throughout adulthood.

Question 62

Primary mental abilities are to secondary mental abilities as

A) develop rapidly; develop slowly.
B) directly measurable; not directly measurable.
C) seen in childhood; seen in adulthood.
D) increase over time; decrease over time.

Question 63

________ thinking is characterized by the recognition that correct answers vary from one situation to another, that solutions should be realistic, that ambiguity and contradiction are typical, and that subjective factors play a role in cognition.

A) Psychomotor
B) Hypothetical-deductive
C) Postformal
D) Formal operational

Question 64

Dr. Ique has organized her lecture on intellectual ability around different skills that she has placed into meaningful groups. These include abilities in areas such as numbers, word fluency, understanding verbal meanings, inductive reasoning, and spatial orientation. What would be the best title for Dr. Ique's lecture?

A) Plasticity Forever
B) Rites of Passage Around the World
C) Your Primary Mental Abilities and You
D) Avoiding Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Question 65

The abilities that make you a flexible and adaptive thinker, allowing you to make inferences and enabling you to understand the relationships among concepts are called ________ intelligence.

A) fluid
B) componential
C) crystallized
D) analytical

Question 66

The two most important social influences on health are

A) ethnicity and religion.
B) socioeconomic status and national background.
C) socioeconomic status and education.
D) race and education.

Question 67

One of the most likely reasons for the typical developmental path for crystallized intelligence is that

A) practice tends to improve performance.
B) inherited skills tend to remain steady across the life span.
C) neuron pruning leads to a significant reduction in mental flexibility.
D) modern nutrition is better today than at any point in history.

Question 68

________ refers to the concept that intellectual abilities are not fixed but can be modified under the right conditions at just about any point in adulthood.

A) Plasticity
B) Reparability
C) Multidirectionality
D) Multidimensionality

Question 69

Dr. Dumais is examining the P-FIT model of human intelligence by enlisting young adults to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He is most likely to find support for the P-FIT model in all but which of the following types of intelligence?

A) fluid
B) analytic
C) crystallized
D) spatial

Question 70

Which of the following individuals demonstrates the concept of multidirectionality in their intellectual development?

A) As Paul's memory of his experiences increases with age, his processing speed is getting somewhat slower.
B) While Martha is very good at playing the piano and is getting better with age, her husband Henry has no real skill on the instrument and, despite taking lessons, has never learned to play it well.
C) Marcus has always had skill in his interactions with other people. In fact, he has always been considered the most popular of his peers.
D) Joy is losing some of her hair as she gets older, so she sometimes wears a partial wig to cover the thinning areas of her scalp.

Question 71

Most theories of intelligence are ________; that is, they identify several types of intellectual abilities.

A) dynamic
B) plastic
C) multidirectional
D) multidimensional

Question 72

If you were presented with the following array of letters-"S, M, T, W, T, F, ____"-your ability to find the next logical letter would be an example of ________ intelligence. By the way, the answer is S, as the letters represent the days of the week in English.

A) fluid
B) crystallized
C) creative
D) practical

Question 73

Sarah is advised by her doctor that she suffers from high levels of bad cholesterol. In addition to modifying her diet and adding exercise to help bring these levels down, which of the following medication categories is her physician most likely to prescribe?

A) SSRIs
B) mono-amine oxidase inhibitors
C) beta-blockers
D) statins

Question 74

Baltes and his colleagues (2006) have suggested that intellectual development in adults should be examined while considering several different factors. They include all but which of the following?

A) multidirectionality
B) interindividual variability
C) malleability
D) plasticity

Question 75

Primary mental ability is to secondary mental ability as

A) specific is to general.
B) child is to adult.
C) crystallized intelligence is to fluid intelligence.
D) conventional is to postconventional.

Question 76

According to the National Institute of Health and the American Heart Association, a healthy weight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) at or below ________.

A) 25
B) 22
C) 20
D) 16

Question 77

Joe is a grandfather of seven children. One afternoon he sits with his five-year-old grandson, Troy, on his lap and he tells him all about how it "used to be back when I was a kid." Joe's ability to remember the good old days reflects ________ intelligence.

A) fluid
B) analytical
C) crystallized
D) existential

Question 78

One theory that has emerged from the results of several research studies examining the brain has proposed that intelligence comes from a distributed and integrated network of neurons in the ________ lobes of the brain.

A) occipital and temporal
B) parietal and occipital
C) frontal and parietal
D) temporal and frontal

Question 79

The recognition that certain situations have ambiguous interpretations-that there is not always a singular "right and wrong" answer to every question-is a hallmark of ________ thinking.

A) psychoplastic
B) conventional
C) concrete operational
D) postformal

Question 80

Who is likely to be the LEAST healthy?

A) Thales, who lives in poverty
B) Jose, who is a college graduate
C) Luzia, who is African American
D) Fabio, who is very wealthy