Question 1

Today, more than half of men and women ages 18 to 49 engage in oral sex.

Accepted Answer

According to a survey conducted by the National Survey of Family Growth, more than half of men and women ages 18 to 49 reported engaging in oral sex in the past year. Therefore, the statement is true.

Question 2

Gould considered growth in adulthood to be the process of casting off false assumptions.

Accepted Answer

According to Gould's theory of adult development, growth in adulthood involves challenging and restructuring limiting beliefs and assumptions, including those acquired during childhood and adolescence. This process is often called "unlearning" or "deprogramming" and involves casting off false assumptions and replacing them with more accurate and adaptive ones.

Question 3

According to Schaie's view of adult development, young adults first enter a period of social responsibility, in which they learn to behave like adults, and then they enter a period called acquisition, in which they develop a set of career and life goals.

Accepted Answer

According to Schaie, young adults first enter the stage of acquisition, in which they use their intellectual abilities to pursue a career and choose a lifestyle. Later, individuals who successful establish themselves enter a period called social responsibility, in which they solve problems for others in the family and the community.
Frameworks for Understanding Adult Development

Question 4

A study by the University of Illinois suggested that sexual satisfaction is very closely tied to having an orgasm.

Accepted Answer

This study in fact showed that sexual satisfaction was NOT closely tied to having an orgasm.

Question 5

There are three general patterns of sexual relations: About 80% of couples have sex two or more times a week, about 10% have sex several times a month, and about 10% have sex only a few times a year or not at all.

Accepted Answer

According to statistics cited from a study conducted at the University of Chicago, about a third of the adults in this study engaged in each of the three patterns described in this question.

Question 6

Critics of Goleman's concept of emotional intelligence note that it may simply be a different word to describe personality and cognitive traits that others have studied previously.

Accepted Answer

Some scholars argue that emotional intelligence is not a distinct construct and is simply a rebranding of existing personality and cognitive traits that have been studied before.

Question 7

According to Levinson, women follow much the same developmental trajectory as men do.

Accepted Answer

Levinson's theory of adult development suggests that women and men follow similar developmental trajectories, with predictable stages and transitions throughout adulthood.

Question 8

Compared to the theories proposed by Levinson and Erikson, the theory advanced by Gould is much more social in focus.

Accepted Answer

Gould's theory is primarily cognitive in focus, whereas Levinson focused more on social roles including career choice and Erikson focused on psychosocial changes.

Question 9

Erik Erikson saw the central developmental conflict of early adulthood to be one of identity versus confusion.

Accepted Answer

For Erikson, the developmental crisis of early adulthood centers on intimacy versus isolation. The identity conflict is associated with adolescence.

Question 10

Gay men and lesbian women are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to live is urban areas and to graduate from college.

Accepted Answer

This statement is supported by research studies, which have found that gay men and lesbian women are more likely to live in urban areas and have higher levels of education compared to heterosexual individuals. Some of the factors contributing to this trend include a greater intolerance of LGBT individuals in rural areas, the presence of LGBT-friendly neighborhoods and communities in urban areas, and the barriers to accessing education and career opportunities that many LGBT individuals face.

Question 11

Gould conceptualized the period of adulthood as one in which individuals need to challenge and resolve a series of "false assumptions," such as "I'll always belong to my parents and believe in their world."

Accepted Answer

This statement accurately describes Gould's theory of adult development, as he believed that individuals must confront and overcome various false assumptions in order to achieve mature adulthood.

Question 12

Context models focus attention on the specific experiences that shape each individual's life, whereas stage models focus on how adults move through life in similar patterns.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Context models are used to understand how an individual's unique experiences shape their development, while stage models describe common patterns of development that many or most individuals go through.

Question 13

One criticism of stage theories is that they tend to overvalue the role of multiple contexts.

Accepted Answer

Stage theories are often criticized because they undervalue the role of multiple contexts.

Question 14

Dialectical thought occurs when people who have mastered formal operational thought regress back to using thought more characteristic of the period of concrete operations.

Accepted Answer

Dialectical thought is more complex than formal operational thought and it involves the ability to integrate opposing or conflicting ideas and observations. This is not consistent with concrete operational thinking.

Question 15

Homophobia is not a true phobia.

Accepted Answer

Phobias are defined as intense, irrational fears or aversions to specific objects, situations, or activities. Homophobia, on the other hand, refers to prejudice, discrimination, or hatred directed toward individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. While the term includes the word "phobia," it does not accurately describe a clinical phobia.

Question 16

Most researchers studying sexual preference today agree that sexual orientation is, for the most part, a choice made by men and women who would otherwise be heterosexual.

Accepted Answer

Although there is some disagreement in the research community about the degree to which biological versus social forces are involved in homosexuality, nearly all agree that homosexuality is much more complex than simply making a choice as to be homosexual versus heterosexual.

Question 17

Jean Piaget proposed that the last stage of cognitive development, formal operational thought, was followed by at least three more stages of more advanced thinking, although he did not describe these stages in detail.

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, cognitive development was complete when the stage of formal operational thought was reached, at around age 12 for most people.

Question 18

When a person is capable of weighing both the cognitive and emotional aspects of a situation, this style of thought is called postformal thought.

Accepted Answer

Postformal thought involves the ability to integrate both cognitive and emotional aspects in decision making and problem solving.

Question 19

Research suggests that there may be a genetic link on the X chromosome for women who have a lesbian orientation, but no such genetic factor has been identified for men.

Accepted Answer

Research has identified a particular gene sequence on the X chromosome that may be implicated for male homosexuality, although no such link appears for female homosexuality.

Question 20

The primary developmental tasks of early adulthood according to Havighurst are to establish a family and find a career.

Accepted Answer

According to Havighurst's theory of human development, the primary developmental tasks of early adulthood are to establish an occupational career and form intimate relationships, including marriage and family.

Quiz 12: Young Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development