ANSWERS TO Tying It All Together QUIZZES

The Mysterious Teenage Mind

  1. c and d

  2. If your arguments centered on getting punished or rewarded (the coach needs to put Terry in because that’s his best shot at winning; or, the coach can’t put Terry in because, if someone finds out, he will be in trouble), you are reasoning at the preconventional level. Comments such as “going against the rules is wrong” might be classified as conventional. If you argued, “Putting Terry in goes against my values, no matter what the team or the rules say,” your response might qualify as postconventional.

  3. the imaginary audience; the personal fable; adolescent -egocentrism

  4. depression

  5. worried, because he is at risk for acting out behaviors such as aggression

  6. b and c

  7. Trying teens as adults. Pro arguments: Kohlberg’s theory clearly implies teens know right from wrong, so if teens knowingly do the crime, they should “do the time.” Actually, the critical dimension in deciding on adult punishment should be a person’s culpability—premeditation, seriousness of the infraction, and so on, not age. Con arguments: The research in this chapter shows that teens are indeed biologically and behaviorally different, so it is cruel to judge their behavior by adult standards. Moreover, if the U.S. bars young people from voting or serving in the military until age 18, and won’t let people buy alcohol until age 21, it’s unfair to put teens in adult prisons.

Teenage Relationships

  1. At age 12, the arguments would be most intense; by age 16, Chris’s parents would be giving her much more freedom

  2. b

  3. Mom #3 is correct.

  4. Checklist: (1) Is this child unusually aggressive? (2) Is he failing at school and being rejected by the mainstream kids? (3) Does this child have poor relationships with his parents? (4) Does he live in a dangerous community, or a risk-taking environment? (Or, because he is poor, is he being defined as “dangerous” by the community?) Your possible program: Provide positive extracurricular activities that nurture each child’s interests. Offer service-learning opportunities. Possibly, institute group sessions with parents to solve problems around certain issues. Definitely try to get these teens connected with caring mentors and a different set of (prosocial) friends.