PSYC 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10.3: Pubic Hair, Menarche, Spermarche
Module 10.3: Adolescence
Focus Questions:
1. Does Internet use impair or enhance social relationships during adolescence?
2. Which other psychological characteristics are major points of change during
adolescence?
Physical Changes in Adolescence
• Puberty starts at around age 11 for girls and age 13 for boys
o Physical growth is stimulated by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus
releases testosterone and estrogen to begin forming primary and secondary sex
traits
• Primary Sex Traits: Changes in the body that are part if reproduction
o Enlargement of the genitals, ability to ejaculate, onset of menstruation
• Secondary Sex Traits: Changes in the body that are not apart of reproduction
o Growth of pubic hair, increased breast size in females, increased muscle mass in
males
• Menarche: Onset of menstruation
o Typically occurs around age 12
o Influenced by physiological and environmental factors such as nutrition, genetics,
physical activity levels, and illness
o Absence of a father, presence of a step-father can be associated with early onset
menarche
• Spermarche: First ejaculation of sperm
o Typically occurs around age 14
Emotional Challenges in Adolescence
• Delay Gratification: Putting off immediate temptations in order to focus on longer-term
goals
o “Should I party, or study for my exam next week?”
o Failing to appropriately delay gratification limits people’s abilities to live up to
their potential
• Experiment preformed in the 1960s testing how long children could go before eating a
marshmallow placed in front of them
o It was discovered that kids who waited longer for the marshmallow had higher
SAT scores
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning
Stage of Moral Development
Description
Application to Trolley
Dilemma
Pre-conventional Morality
Characterized by self-interest
in seeking reward or avoiding
punishment. Pre-conventional
“I would probably not flip the
trolley track switch because I
would get in trouble”
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Document Summary
Characterized by self-interest in seeking reward or avoiding punishment. I would probably not flip the trolley track switch because i would get in trouble . Post-conventional morality morality is considered a very basic and egocentric form of moral reasoning. Regards social conventions and rules as guides for appropriate moral behaviour. Directives from parents, teachers, and the law are used as guidelines for moral behaviour. Right and wrong are determined by more abstract principles of justice and rights. It is illegal to kill, and if i willfully intervened i would have probably violated the law . The value of five lives exceeds that of one, so saving them is the right thing to do even if it means i am killing one person who would otherwise not have died . Identity: clear sense of what kind of person you are, what types of people you belong with, and what roles you should play in society.