1 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. steadily B. predicts C. biology D. temporary E. dramatic F. recovers
G. permanent H. grounded I. expansion J. formed K. kindly |
Teens Are Still Developing Empathy Skills
The teen years are often full of door-slamming, eye-rolling and seeming insensitivity, even by kids who behaved 1 before. Some parents worry that they are doing something wrong or that their children will never think of anyone but themselves. A six-year study published in Developmental Psychology shows that 2 is partly to blame.
In adolescence, critical social skills that are needed for one to feel concern for other people and to understand how they think are undergoing major changes. Adolescence has long been known as prime time for developing cognitive skills for self-regulation and executive function.
“Cognitive empathy,” or the mental ability to take others’ perspective, begins to rise 3 in girls at the age of 13, according to the study co-authored by Jolien van der Graaff at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. By comparison, boys do not begin until the age of 15 to show increases in perspective-taking, which helps in problem-solving and avoiding conflict.
Adolescent boys actually show a 4 decline, between the ages of 13 and 16, in a related skill—“affective empathy,” or the ability to recognize and respond to others’ feelings. This may be the result, at least in part, of a 5 rise in the primary male sex hormone, during adolescence, which sparks a desire for dominance and power. Fortunately, the boys’ sensitivity 6 in their late teens. Girls’ affective empathy remains relatively high and stable throughout adolescence.
This doesn’t mean, however, that we can do nothing but just wait for teenagers to develop a feeling of empathy. In fact, parents can help instill(灌输) affective empathy into their children. Affective empathy is 7 in marginal region of the brain, which regulates emotions. This capacity begins to develop in infancy. Children learn to practice empathy by watching their parents and by experiencing it themselves—being well treated by adults who sensitively respond to their emotions. While cognitive empathy arises from a different part of the brain, the two abilities are linked. Children’s affective empathy 8 their level of cognitive empathy as teens.
The findings reflect a major 9 in researchers’ understanding of cognitive growth during adolescence. They used to believe that both forms of empathy were fully 10 in childhood. Now, it is clear that “the brain regions that support social cognition, which helps us successfully understand and interact with others, continue to change dramatically” in our teens, says Jennifer Pfeifer at the University of Oregon. Research in her lab also suggests that cognitive empathy rises in teens. The discoveries serve as a new lens for exploring such teen behavior as bullying and drug abuse.
