Q&A Hero

Q: At Kohlberg's __________ level, morality is externally controlled. A) preconventional B) conventional C) postconventional D) universal ethical

Q: Which of the following statements about Lawrence Kohlberg's well-known "Heinz dilemma" is true? A) Kohlberg emphasized that it is the content of the response that determines moral maturity. B) Given a choice between obeying the law and preserving individual rights, the most advanced moral thinkers focus on avoidance of punishment as a reason for behaving morally. C) Kohlberg emphasized that it is the way an individual reasons about the dilemma, not the content of the response, that determines moral maturity. D) Kohlberg noted that females more than males tended to emphasize obeying the law over the value of human life.

Q: Which of the following statements about bicultural identity is true? A) Biculturally identified adolescents tend to show higher achievement in school, but have more emotional and behavior problems. B) Biculturally identified adolescents tend to have especially favorable relations with members of other ethnic groups. C) Biculturally identified adolescents tend to regard ethnicity as less central to their identities than monoracial adolescents. D) Adolescents form a bicultural identity by exploring and adopting values from various subcultures and rejecting the values of the dominant culture.

Q: Which of the following is a strategy for helping minority adolescents resolve identity conflicts constructively? A) encouraging ethnic pride and separation from other ethnic groups B) parenting that discourages exploration of majority beliefs and values C) respecting native languages and unique learning styles in school D) limiting or preventing contact between ethnic groups

Q: Roni is an adolescent immigrant from a collectivist culture. The longer his family has been in the United States, the lesser Roni feels committed to obeying his parents and fulfilling family obligations. As a result, Roni may experience A) acculturative stress. B) bicultural avoidance. C) ethnic-identity foreclosure. D) ethnic-identity moratorium.

Q: Teenagers with __________ are more involved in exploring relationship issues, such as what they value in close friends and in a life partner. A) large families B) permissive parents C) warm, trusting peer ties D) diffused identities

Q: Adolescents who __________ tend to be in a state of moratorium or identity achievement. A) feel attached to their parents but also free to voice their own opinions B) have close bonds with their parents but lack opportunities for healthy separation C) do not experience warm, open communication with their parents D) have permissive or uninvolved parents

Q: Adolescents who assume that absolute truth is always attainable tend to be A) identity-achieved. B) identity-diffused. C) in moratorium. D) identity-foreclosed.

Q: __________ individuals are the least mature in identity development. A) Long-term diffused B) Identity-achieved C) Foreclosed D) Long-term moratorium

Q: Jesse is an adolescent who is identity-foreclosed. As such, he will tend to A) seek out and carefully evaluate information and critically reflect on and revise his views. B) doubt that anything can ever be known with certainty. C) believe rational criteria can be used to make choices. D) fear rejection by people on whom he depends for affection and self-esteem.

Q: Adolescents in moratorium resemble identity-achieved individuals in using a(n) __________ cognitive style to make personal decisions and solve problems. A) dogmatic, inflexible B) active, information-gathering C) diffuse-avoidant D) reactive and defensive

Q: Both identity __________ and __________ are psychologically healthy routes to mature self-definition. A) moratorium; foreclosure B) achievement; diffusion C) moratorium; achievement D) foreclosure; diffusion

Q: Which of the following statements about identity development is true? A) Adolescents of both sexes typically make progress on identity concerns before experiencing genuine intimacy in relationships. B) The majority of young people change from moratorium to foreclosure or diffusion in young adulthood. C) College students tend to make less identity progress than high school students. D) Young people who go to work immediately after high school graduation usually settle on a self-definition later than those who go to college.

Q: Identity-diffused individuals A) have committed to values, beliefs, and goals following a period of exploration. B) are apathetic, lacking both exploration and commitment. C) have accepted a ready-made identity chosen for them by authority figures. D) have explored, but not yet committed, to values and goals.

Q: When asked about her political beliefs, Blair responds, "Oh, I don"t know. It doesn"t make much difference to me." Blaire is demonstrating identity A) moratorium. B) diffusion. C) foreclosure. D) achievement.

Q: Identity-foreclosed individuals A) lack clear direction. B) often reject their parents' values and goals. C) have not yet committed themselves to values and goals. D) have committed themselves to values and goals without exploring alternatives.

Q: Shelby accepts her family's religious beliefs without question. She is characterized by identity A) foreclosure. B) diffusion. C) moratorium. D) achievement.

Q: Jacob has begun to question his parents' political beliefs and has attended several rallies to find out about alternatives. He is characterized by identity A) diffusion. B) foreclosure. C) moratorium. D) achievement.

Q: Laurent plans to major in engineering in college. When asked if he might change his career path, he responds, "I might, but I doubt it. I"ve spent a lot of time studying my options. I"m pretty sure engineering is right for me." Laurent is demonstrating identity A) foreclosure. B) diffusion. C) moratorium. D) achievement.

Q: In adolescence, encouragement from teachers A) is unrelated to self-esteem. B) is less important than in childhood. C) predicts high self-esteem. D) is more important for self-esteem than peer approval.

Q: Which of the following factors is predictive of high self-esteem in adolescence? A) conditional support from parents and peers B) early dating C) authoritative parenting D) permissive parenting

Q: Teenagers who feel highly dissatisfied with __________ are often aggressive and antisocial. A) school B) their friends C) their achievements D) parental relationships

Q: In adolescence, self-esteem __________ for most young people. A) remains stable B) declines C) fluctuates a great deal D) rises

Q: Landon's parents wonder how his self-esteem will differentiate in adolescence. Landon will probably add which of the following dimensions of self-evaluation to those of middle childhood? A) close friendship, romantic appeal, and job competence B) athletic and academic ability C) physical attractiveness and relationships with family members D) friendship, integrity, and honesty

Q: Compared with school-age children, teenagers' self-evaluations place more emphasis on A) athletic ability. B) physical strength. C) social virtues. D) physical attractiveness.

Q: Which of the following statements exemplifies 15-year-old Noah's awareness that psychological qualities can vary from one situation to the next? A) "I am honest." B) "I have a fairly quick temper." C) "I am not smart." D) "I am a good athlete."

Q: From middle to late adolescence, cognitive changes enable teenagers to A) focus mostly on positive personality traits. B) avoid the use of qualifiers in self-descriptions. C) combine their traits into an organized system. D) place less emphasis on personal and moral values than school-age children.

Q: Thirteen-year-old Sarah describes herself as "shy" and "outgoing." She also says she is "a smart airhead." These disparities probably result from the expansion of Sarah's social world, which A) creates pressure to display different selves in different relationships. B) encourages her to exhibit her true self around her family. C) encourages her to exhibit her true self around her friends. D) allows her to place less emphasis on social virtues.

Q: Changes in __________ and __________ set the stage for developing a unified personal identity. A) the id; the superego B) self-concept; self-esteem C) moods; abilities D) cognitive styles; attachment security

Q: Michael is a young adult who is trying out life possibilities, gathering important information about himself and his environment, and moving toward making enduring decisions. In doing so, Michael is probably A) identity foreclosed. B) having an identity crisis. C) in moratorium. D) forging an organized self-structure.

Q: Current theorists agree that for most young people, identity development is not traumatic and disturbing but, rather, a process of __________ followed by __________. A) confusion; a crisis B) exploration; role confusion C) exploration; commitment D) questioning; role confusion

Q: According to Erikson, if the psychological conflict of adolescence is resolved negatively, a young person experiences A) mistrust. B) role confusion. C) inferiority. D) isolation.

Q: Once formed, identity A) continues to be refined in adulthood as people reevaluate earlier commitments and choices. B) remains stable throughout the lifespan. C) tends to be rigid, which can drastically limit adolescents' choices. D) prevents people from questioning their values and priorities.

Q: According to Erikson, teenagers in complex societies experience A) few identity conflicts. B) role confusion when they form mature identities. C) a rapid decline in self-esteem. D) an identity crisis.

Q: Sixteen-year-old Max has been introspective lately. He has been wondering who he really is, thinking about his values, and pondering the direction he will pursue in the future. Max is A) considering a moral dilemma. B) adopting his parents' values as his own. C) constructing his identity. D) building his self-esteem.

Q: According to Erikson, the major personality achievement of adolescence is development of A) identity. B) autonomy. C) intimacy. D) trust.

Q: Mr. and Mrs. Smith are concerned about their 15-year-old son, Wesley. He has withdrawn from his friends and seems depressed. Recently, Wesley stated, "You"d be better off if I were dead." Should the Smiths be concerned? Provide them with the warning signs of suicide.

Q: List four reasons why adolescent friendships that are high in trust and support contribute to psychological health and competence.

Q: Describe how sibling interactions adapt to development at adolescence.

Q: Discuss how religious involvement impacts moral development.

Q: Define acculturative stress. How can society help minority adolescents resolve identity conflicts constructively?

Q: Name and describe the four identity statuses that researchers use to evaluate progress in identity development.

Q: Which of the following statements about multisystemic therapy aimed at preventing delinquency is true? A) It works better with low-SES adolescents than high-SES adolescents. B) It leads to improvement in parent"adolescent relationships and school performance. C) It is exclusively a family-based intervention that focuses on parenting techniques. D) Research has concluded that it is not as effective as conventional services or individual therapy.

Q: Some studies on zero tolerance policies show that they A) drastically reduce antisocial behavior, both in and out of school. B) have only been implemented in about 20 percent of U.S. schools. C) primarily focus on severe acts of disruptive and threatening behavior. D) heighten school dropout and antisocial behaviors.

Q: Which of the following statements about factors related to juvenile delinquency is true? A) SES and ethnicity are strongly related to teenagers' self-reports of antisocial acts. B) Families of delinquent youths tend to be low in warmth, high in conflict, and characterized by harsh, inconsistent discipline and low monitoring. C) Girls who experience parental divorce and separation are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior than boys who experience parental divorce and separation. D) Teenagers tend to commit crimes in high-SES neighborhoods where parents are more likely to be absent after school and in the early evening.

Q: Serious violent crime is A) mostly the domain of boys. B) mostly the domain of girls. C) rarely committed by teens. D) linked to authoritative parenting.

Q: Which of the following is a characteristic of late-onset delinquency? A) conduct problems arising from the peer context of early adolescence B) emotionally negative and restless as early as age 2 C) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder D) long-term, inept parenting

Q: Which of the following statements about persistent adolescent delinquency is true? A) Adolescent-onset youths are far more likely than childhood-onset youths to engage in a life-course pattern of aggression and criminality. B) Late-onset youths are emotionally negative, restless, and willful as early as age 2. C) Early-onset youths seem to inherit traits that predispose them to aggressiveness. D) The most effective treatment for antisocial youths is long-term incarceration.

Q: As a child, David was negative, restless, willful, and physically aggressive. By age 8, he was already engaging in petty theft. Jason was a happy child who did well in school but began displaying antisocial behavior around age 13, and gradually moved to more severe delinquent acts. Which of the following statements about David and Jason is true? A) David is at higher risk for leading a life full of aggression and criminality. B) Jason is at higher risk for leading a life full of aggression and criminality. C) David will likely outgrow his delinquent behavior by middle adolescence. D) David and Jason are at equal risk for a life full of aggression and criminality.

Q: Both police arrests and self-reports show that delinquency A) is equally common among boys and girls. B) rises in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. C) rises over early and middle adolescence and then declines. D) is often exaggerated and overreported.

Q: When asked directly and confidentially about lawbreaking, __________ teenagers admit to having committed some sort of offense, usually a minor crime. A) about 10 percent of B) nearly 25 percent of C) around half of all D) almost all

Q: Which of the following statements about the prevention and treatment of suicide is true? A) It is nearly impossible to prevent adolescent suicide, as teenagers rarely exhibit warning signs around adults. B) Research shows that gun-control legislation that restricts the availability of handguns and other firearms to adolescents has little impact on suicide rates. C) Restraint by journalists in the media in publicizing teenage suicides aids prevention. D) Parents should not be concerned about teenagers' commenting, "I wish I were dead," because adolescents are overly dramatic.

Q: Which of the following contributes to the sharp rise in suicide from childhood to adolescence? A) belief in the personal fable B) impulsiveness C) identity foreclosure D) moral self-relevance

Q: Which of the following statements about adolescent suicide is true? A) Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths are at a high risk for suicide. B) Few suicidal adolescents have a family history of emotional problems. C) Boys make more unsuccessful suicide attempts than girls. D) The suicide rate for adolescents is much lower than the rate for adults.

Q: Which of the following teenagers is at the highest risk for suicide? A) Quinn, a Caucasian-American girl B) Mercy, an African-American girl C) Lou, a Native-American boy D) Emilio, a Hispanic-American boy

Q: The number of boys who kill themselves exceeds the number of girls by a ratio of A) 2 to 1. B) 3 or 4 to 1. C) 5 to 1. D) 7 or 8 to 1.

Q: The suicide rate is low in __________, intermediate in __________, and high in __________. A) Spain; the United States; Finland B) Canada; Italy; Singapore C) New Zealand; Australia; the United States D) Japan; Spain; the United States

Q: Having friends with depressive symptoms A) helps teens develop empathy. B) increases teenagers' capacity for interdependence and compromise. C) is linked to a rise in teenagers' own depressive symptoms. D) increases the likelihood of dating violence and risky sexual behavior.

Q: Which of the following statements about sex differences in adolescent depression is true? A) In developing countries, rates of depression are similar for males and females. B) Early-maturing boys are especially prone to depression. C) Adolescent gender intensification may strengthen boys' tendency to ruminate on their problems. D) Adolescents of both genders who identify strongly with "masculine" traits are more depressed.

Q: Which of the following statements about the factors related to depression is true? A) Heredity plays only a minor role in depression. B) Genes can induce depression by affecting the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. C) Biological changes associated with puberty explain why girls are more prone to depression than boys. D) Late-maturing girls are especially prone to depression.

Q: Which of the following statements about adolescent depression is true? A) Serious depression affects 15 to 20 percent of U.S. teens. B) Boys are more likely than girls to report a depressed mooda difference sustained throughout the lifespan. C) The stereotypical view of adolescence as a period of storm and stress leads many adults to minimize the seriousness of adolescent depression. D) Heredity plays little to no role in adolescent depression.

Q: Teenage girls are __________ as likely as boys to report persistent depressed mood. A) not B) just C) twice D) three times

Q: Among U.S. teens, __________ percent have had one or more major depressive episode. A) 2 to 8 B) 9 to 14 C) 15 to 20 D) 20 to 50

Q: The most common psychological problem of adolescence is A) anorexia. B) depression. C) bulimia. D) delinquency.

Q: Ken, age 14, has trouble concentrating, sleeps excessively, eats little, and has low energy. These might be symptoms of A) an identity crisis. B) depression. C) a vitamin C deficiency. D) the normal storm and stress of puberty.

Q: High school seniors Geoff and Joy have been dating steadily for eight months. This is the first romance for each of them. How many relationships like theirs survive high school graduation? A) about 10 percent B) 25 percent C) about 50 percent D) 75 percent

Q: Mr. Dunn is concerned about his 17-year-old daughter, who has been exchanging text messages with one particular boy. You should tell him that A) this romantic involvement will probably last through college. B) close romantic ties promote sensitivity, empathy, self-esteem, social support, and identity development. C) this relationship is probably interfering with her identity development. D) his daughter is too young for dating and is at risk for drug use and early sexual activity.

Q: Early dating A) is related to academic and social success. B) is related to drug use, delinquency, and poor academic achievement. C) promotes identity development and self-esteem. D) is more common among high-SES than low-SES teens.

Q: Which of the following statements about dating is true? A) Secure attachment to parents in infancy and childhood, together with recollections of that security in adolescence, predicts quality of teenagers' romantic ties. B) Early adolescent dating relationships are often deep and long-lasting and predict academic and social success. C) Most heterosexual youths face the same challenges as gay and lesbian youths in initiating and maintaining visible romances. D) Membership in mixed-sex cliques tends to interfere with the achievement of relationship intimacy.

Q: As interest in dating increases, A) membership in same-sex cliques increases. B) boys' and girls' cliques come together. C) crowds increase in importance. D) membership in deviant crowds increases.

Q: The positive impact of having academically and socially skilled peers is greatest for teenagers whose parents are A) authoritarian. B) permissive. C) authoritative. D) uninvolved.

Q: Once adolescents join a clique or crowd, A) it can modify their beliefs and behavior. B) they rarely switch to a different one. C) they become identity-foreclosed. D) they begin to view family and school life less positively.

Q: "Brains," "jocks," "populars," and "druggies" are typical examples of teenage A) cliques. B) crowds. C) clubs. D) nicknames.

Q: In high school, Jamie is a class leader. She is highly social and involved in several activities. Jamie socializes with a large, loosely organized group of popular classmates. This group is Jamie's A) crowd. B) social family. C) clique. D) circle.

Q: Twelve-year-old Isabel spends most of her time with a group of six girls, who are friends and have similar family backgrounds, attitudes, and values. This group is Isabel's A) crowd. B) social family. C) clique. D) circle.

Q: Which of the following statements about adolescent friendships is true? A) Close friendships in early adolescence often interfere with identity development. B) Close friendships provide a foundation for future intimate relationships. C) Compared with peer groups of middle childhood, adolescent peer groups are less tightly structured and exclusive. D) Among girls, clique membership may contribute to the rise in depression during early adolescence.

Q: Which of the following statements about online communication is true? A) Due to cyber laws protecting minors, few U.S. teens encounter sexually obscene or harassing remarks in chat rooms. B) Well-adjusted teenagers are more likely than troubled adolescents to report that they have formed close online friendships or romances. C) As the amount of instant messaging between preexisting friends increases, their perceptions of intimacy in the relationship decrease. D) In unmonitored chat rooms, teenagers are likely to encounter degrading racial and ethnic slurs and sexually obscene and harassing remarks.

Q: Summarize the environmental factors that enhance academic achievement during the teenage years.

Q: What can parents and teachers do to help adolescents adjust to middle- and high school transitions?

Q: Describe adolescent drug experimentation. What types of school and community programs are the most effective?