Chapter 11: Physical/cog development in early adulthood Flashcards
What is ‘emerging adulthood’
The transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Lasts approx from 18 to 25 years of age
What characterizes emerging adulthood
Experimentation and exploration
What are the 5 Key Features of Emerging adulthood concluded by Jeffrey Arnett (2006)
- Identity exploration, especially in love and work.
- Instability. (residential changes, love, work, education)
- Self-focused. They have little in the way of social obligations, duties, commitments to others. SO they have a lot of autonomy running their own lives.
- Feeling in-between. (don’t consider themselves adolescents or full-fledged adults)
- the age of possibilities, a time when individuals have an opportunity to transform their lives.
1. many emerg. adults are optimistic about
their future
2. for E.A who have experienced difficult
times growing up, its an opportunity to
reorient their lives positively
What are some critics of the concept of emerging childhood
That it applies mainly to privileged adolescents and is not always a self-determined choice for many young people, especially those in limiting SES
What are some markers of becoming an adult
- Holding a more or less permanent, full-time job
- Economic independence
- Taking responsibility for oneself and developing emotional control
- Marriage (in developing countries)
- entering college (in developed countries) -imp. aspect of transitioning to adulthood.
What’s one parallel between the transition from elementary school to middle school and high school to college.
Going from senior in highschool to freshman in college replays the top-dog phenomenon.
What is the top-dog phenomenon
Transferring from the oldest and most powerful group of students to the youngest and least powerful
What are some positive features of transitioning from high school to college
College students are more likely to feel grown up, have more subjects from which to select, more time with peers, more opportunities to explore different lifestyles and values, enjoy greater independence and are challenged intellectually
What are emerging and young adults increasingly interested in when it comes to healthy lifestyles
Interested in monitoring their physical performance, health, nutrition, exercise and substance use to contribute to a longer life span.
When is peak physical performance reached.
Before the age of 30, between 19 and 26
When do we start to decline in physical performance
Muscle tone and strength decline usually begins around the age of 30.
- Including sagging chins and protruding abdomens.
- Sensory systems: little change
- lens of eye: loses some of it’s elasticity and less able to change shape and focus on near objects
How does hearing change from adolescence to early and late adulthood
Hearing peaks in adolescence, remains constant in 1st part of early adulthood and decline in the last part of early adulthood
What happens to the body’s fat tissue in middle to late twenties
It increases
What’s the mortality rate of an emerging adult compared to adolescents
Emerging adults have twice the mortality rate (male are primarily responsible for this rate)
Although emerging adults have a higher death rate than adolescents …
they have few chronic health problems, fewer colds and respiratory problems than they did when they were children
How much sleep should emerging adults have
7 to 9 hours
What can sleep deprivation contribute to
cardiovascular disease
shortened life span
impairment of cognitive and motor skills -> incr. risk of motor vehivle crashes and work-related accidents.
What can pulling an all-nighter do to performance
- distort memory
- less clear thinking
- impair concentration
What can being overweight or obese lead to
increased risks of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, depression, increased anxiety
What strategies are used often by successful dieters
30 minutes of exercise daily, planning meals, and weighing themselves daily
What are one of the main reasons experts want people to exercise
To prevent disorders such as heart disease and diabetes.
What is Aerobic exercise
= sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity
e.g - jogging, swimming, or cycling
What does the World Health Organization recognize as a key factor in dying earlier
Physical inactivity
When does binge drinking peak
at 21-22 and remains high through mid-twenties
begins to decline in late twenties
What does the term extreme binge drinking (high-intensity drinking)
It describes individuals who had 10 or more drinks in a row.
What happens to sexuality in emerging adulthood
Emerging adulthood is a time during which most individuals are both sexually active and unmarried
When is casual sex more common
More common in emerging adulthood than it is in late twenties
What other type of hookup increased among emerging adults (other than hooking up)
Friends with benefits
Did researchers find anything for the possible basis of same-sex relations.
The results of hormone studies have been inconsistent.
What is the critical-period hypothesis for?
A hypothesis that this period might influence sexual orientation
