Instructions: Please answer 5 questions thoughtfully and concisely. Integrate textbook and other resource

information and theories with your own thinking,knowledge andunderstanding. Each question is worth

20 points.Please number or repeat the question that you are answering before providing your answer.

Please type your papers. Exams are due at the next class session. Each response should between

about one-two typewritten pages. Please make them single spaced with double spaces between paragraphs. Make sure you include a cover page with your exam and the honor code and pledge statement. Please submit your paper stapled or in a soft binder. Points will be deducted for unstapled papers and no cover page (up to 10 points).

1. How did the timing of your puberty affect your body image and who you are today? What words of advice

concerning body image would you offer to your future or actual child at puberty?

2. What are your views on whether or not we need the developmental period of adolescence? What are the arguments

and views against keeping the period of adolescence as voiced by Dr. Robert Epstein, Dr. Howard Bernstein and

3. Discuss adolescent depression and suicide, and for suicide note its incidence and prevalence, gender, ethnic,

4. Discuss the impact of adolescent egocentrism on teenagers’ relationships with parents and peers. Suggest

what advice parents might give teens about coping with adolescent egocentrism.

5. What conflicts do adolescents typically experience in their search for identity and the development of

their sense of self? What factors support or hinder successful identity development? How can parents

and teachers help build a positive sense of self in adolescents? (Outline a list of strategies.)

6. Develop a list and description of suggested strategies that could be used in school and at home by parents

7. Summarize the role and importance of peers in adolescence. Describe the positive and negative

influences that peers can have as described in the research literature. Outline steps that parents, relatives

and the community can take to maximize the positive influence of peers and minimize negative influences.

8. Phyllis likes her 14 year old daughter Farrah’s friends, but she wonders what Farrah gets out of hanging out at

Jake’s Pizza Parlor with them on Friday and Saturday evenings. Explain to Phyllis what Farrah is learning.

9. Why is it so difficult for parents and teenagers to talk freely and in an informed manner about sex? What are the

possible sources of these difficulties? What are the consequences when parents and teens fail to communicate

about sexual behavior and values? Develop a list of suggestions for parents and teenagers for improving

10. Select a recent article, book, news clipping, television program or movie in which adolescent sexuality is a primary

topic. Write your summary analysis of the treatment of adolescent sexuality and evaluate the accuracy of this

treatment from the standpoint of the information presented in the text.

11. Discuss the many special personality strengths possessed by adolescents.

12. In a workshop for parents of adolescents, one father asks what he might do to encourage his teenage

children to do well in school. Provide a list of suggestions along with reasons each is effective.

13. There are two sides of the argument on whether teens should be allowed to work. On the pro side,

it is indicated that even menial non-challenging jobs provide opportunities for teens to learn how to

manage time, etc. On the con side, it is argued that these jobs for teens are menial, dead-end

with little potential for learning useful skills such as managing time, money or developing interpersonal

relations. It is also argued that employment in adolescence is harmful to teenagers and to society.

Also that these teens have more problems with school work and spend less time with their families.

Provide your stance and viewpoint on this question. Which position would

Position A: Adolescents should be encouraged to have a part-time job.

14. Discuss an issue or area you found significant in the lecture, discussions, textbook and other reading on

adolescent development. Explain why it was significant and the implications.

Please answer all questions thoughtfully and concisely. Integrate textbook and other resource information

and theories with your own knowledge and understanding. Each question is worth 20 points. Please type

your papers. State the question first, then your response. Exams are due at the next class session.

1. What does it mean in American culture to be an adult? What behaviors are expected of adults? How can

you determine if a person has reached adulthood? How is adulthood defined in other cultures?

2. Why is it said that young adults are at the peak of many physical and psychological characteristics?

What changes relative to physical and psychological characteristics occur in middle adulthood?

3. What personality characteristics remain especially stable in adulthood? Why do these remain stable while

4. Discuss Erikson’s stages of psycho-social development during young and middle adulthood. Describe the

conditions that lead to intimacy or isolation and generativity or stagnation.

5. Compare and contrast cognitive development in young and middle adulthood. What are the characteristics

of adult thought, and how does thinking change in adulthood? What accounts for the variability among adults

6. What are the adjustments adults make in their transition to parenthood? Can this transition also occur in middle

adulthood? Can middle adults make good parents? What are the pros and cons of beginning your family

7. Describe changes in self-concept and personality traits in middle adulthood. Describe changes in

8. Describe the middle adulthood phase of the life cycle and especially the concept that has become known

as the “mid-life” crisis. What does the research say about the mid-life crisis? Does everyone go through one?

9. After dating for a year, Wanda and Scott decided to live together. Wanda’s mother heard that couples who

cohabit before marriage are more likely to get divorced. She worried that cohabitation would reduce Wanda

and Scott’s chances for a successful life together. Is her fear justified? Why or Why not?

10. Why do most high -level government and corporate positions go to middle-aged and older adults

rather than to young adults. What cognitive capacities enable mature adults to perform well in these jobs?

11. Discuss climacteric changes in middle adulthood. What is menopause? Do males and females experience it?

Recent evidence indicates that negative menopausal experiences are rare. Why do you think there is a

prevalence of negative interpretations about menopause? For centuries, menopause has been viewed as the

“final crash” of the female body, after a lifetime of “suffering” from the hormonal miseries of menstruation and

childbearing. Why would such attitudes be popular? Who stands to gain from the idea that women ought to

12. Why is middle adulthood considered the best developmental period in the life cycle?