chapter 14; socioemotional development in middle adulthood Flashcards
whose two prominent theories define stages of adult development
Erik Erikson’s life span view and Daniel Levinson’s seasons of a man’s life
what is the name of the seventh stage in Erik Erikson’s lifespan theory where he proposed middle aged adults face a significant issue
generativity versus stagnation
what is generativity according to Erik Erikson’s seventh stage
adult’s desire to leave legacies to the next generation
what is stagnation
+
what is it sometimes called
develop when individuals sense that they have done little or nothing for the next generation
+
“self absorption”
what do generative adults commit themselves to
the continuation and improvement of society as a whole through their connection to the next generation
when generative adults develop a positive legacy of the self, what do they do
offer it as a gift to the next generation
what are the ways middle aged adults can achieve generativity
- biological generativity
(having offspring) - parental generativity
(nurture and guide children) - work generativity
(develop skills that are passed down to others) - cultural generativity
(create, renovate, or conserve some aspect of culture that ultimately survives)
through generativity, adults promote and guide the next generation by parenting, […], […], and […] things that benefit the community
teaching
leading
doing
in Erikson’s theory is generativity an important dimension of middle age
yes
in a longitudinal study of Smith College women, did the desire for generativity increase or decrease as the participants aged from their thirties to their fifties
increased
in one study, what did Carol Ruff (1984) find when examining the view of women and men at different ages regarding generativity
that middle aged adults especially were concerned about generativity
was generativity strongly linked to middle aged adult’s positive or negative social engagement in contexts such as family life and community activities
positive
in achievement of generativity in middle age is it related to better health in late adulthood for male or females
males
participating in an intergenerational civic engagement program enhanced older adult’s …
perceptions of generativity
what was a higher level of generatively in midlife link to
greater wisdom in late adulthood
what did clinical psychologist Daniel Levinson (1978) focus on in The Seasons of a Man’s Life
midlife change in men
what did Daniel Levinson in The Seasons of a Man’s Life describe
a number of stages and transitions during the period from 17 to 65 years of age
what did Daniel Levinson emphasize about developmental tasks
must be mastered at each stage
what are Daniel Levinson’s three main stages, that are surrounded by transition periods
early adult transition 17 to 22
culminating life structure for midlife: 33 to 40.
age 30 transition: 28 to 33.
entry life structure for early adulthood 22 to 28
middle adult transition 40 to 45
culminating life structure for midlife: 55 to 60.
age 50 transition: 50 to 55.
entry life structure for midlife: 45 to 50
late adult transition 60 to 65
era of late adulthood: 60 to ?
how is the transition from dependence to independence at the end of one’s teens marked by in Daniel Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life
formation of a dream-an image of the kind of the kind of life the youth wants to have, especially in terms of a career and marriage
what does Daniel Levinson see the twenties as
novice phase of adult development
time of reasonably free experimentation and of testing the dream in the real world
what are the two major tasks to be mastered in early adulthood according to Daniel Levinson
exploring the possibilities for adult living and developing a stable life structure
What ages must the man face the more serious questions of determining his goals in their transition periods
From 28 to 23
during the thirties what does a man usually focus on in the transition period according to Daniel Levinson
usually focus on family and career development
laters years - enter phase of BOOM (Becoming One’s Own Man)
by age 40, what do men reach in Daniel Levinson’s transition period
stable point in his career, has outgrown his earlier, more tenuous attempts at learning to become an adult, and now must look forward to the kind of life he will lead as a middle aged adult
what are the conflicts of transition to middle adulthood
- Being young versus being old
- Being destructive versus being constructive
- Being masculine versus being feminine
- Being attached to others versus being separated from them
what did seventy to 80 percent of men that Levinson interviewed find about the midlife transition
tumultuous and psychologically painful, as many aspects of their lives came in to question
according to Levinson, what does the success of the midlife transition rest on
how effectively the individual reduces the polarities and accepts each of them as an integral part of his being
Daniel Levinson (1978) view midlife as a crisis, believing that the middle aged adult is suspended between the […] and the […], trying to cope with this gap that threatens life […]
past
future
continuity
what is George Vaillant (1977) different view than Daniel Levinson’s pervasive midlife crisis
“Grant Study”
involved men who were in their early thirties and in their late forties who initially had been interviewed as undergraduates at Harvard University
what did George Valiant conclude in his “Grant Study” about the forties when just as adolescence being a time for detecting parental flaws and discovering the truth about childhood,
a decade of reassessing and recording the truth about adolescence and adult years
does George vaillant also believe as Daniel Levinson about seeing midlife as a crisis
no, only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis
does happiness and positive affect have an upward trajectory from early adulthood to late adulthood
yes
in the early version of the life events approach, life events were viewed as taxing circumstances for individuals, …
forcing them to change their personality
e.g
death of a spouse
divorce
marriage
involve varying degrees of stress
what were stressful life events associated with in midlife women
cardiovascular disease in middle aged women
what is there an association in between stressful life events and types of diseases
autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and psoriasis
what do contemporary life events approach emphasize
how life events influence the individual’s development depends not only on the life event itself but also on medicating factors (e.g. physical health, family supports),
the individuals adaption to the life event (e.g. appraisal of the threat, coping strategies) the life stage context, and the sociohistorical context
(medicating factors, adaption to the life event, life stage context, sociohistorical context)
whatever the context or mediating variables are, do all individuals perceive a life events as highly stressful
no, another individual may perceive the same event as a challenge
what is one significant drawback about the life events approach
places too much emphasis on change
what is another drawback on the life events approach
failure to recognize that our daily experiences may be the primary sources of stress in our lives
what are some of the individual variations in life events in 1/3 of cases where individuals report experiencing a midlife crisis`
- Triggered by life events such as job loss, financial problems, or illness
middle aged adults interpret shape, alter, and give meaning to
their lives
what were stressful daily hassles linked to an increase and decrease of
increased anxiety and decreased physical well being
what did Margie Lachlan and her colleagues (2015) describe about personal control
changes when individuals move into middle age
Margie Lachlan and her colleagues view middle age as a time of when a person’s sense of control is frequently […] by many […] and […], as well as physical and cognitive aging
challenged
demands
responsibilities
according to Margie Lachlan and her colleagues, young people are more likely to have a sense of […], an unrealistic view of their personal control, and a […] of awareness regarding the aging process
invulnerability
lack
in middle age, is more or less attention given to self pursuits and more or less for others, including family members who are younger and older than they are
less
more
according to Margie Lachlan and her colleagues, how middle adulthood plays out is largely due to
one’s own hands, which can be stressful as individuals are faced with taking on and juggling responsibilities in different areas of their lives
did young and middle aged adults or older adults have more stressful days
young and middle aged adults
Middle-aged adults experience more overload stressors that involve
juggling too many activities at once
Some aspects of personal control […] with age while others […]
increase
(e.g. finances, work, marriage)
decrease
(e.g. sex life, children)
the older the women is, the more or fewer stressors and more or less frequent negative emotions was reported
fewer
less
what was a greater emotional reactivity to daily stressors linked to increase 10 years later
chronic physical health condition and anxiety/mood disorders
researchers have found that on average a sense of personal control […] in midlife and then […]
peaks
declines
what does having a sense of control in middle age as one of the most important modifiable factors in delaying
the onset of disease in middle adulthood and reducing the frequency of disease in late adulthood
to what do women experience higher levels of stress when things go wrong in their
romantic and marital relationships
are men or women more likely to become depressed when they encounter stressful life events such as divorce or the death of a friend
women
when coping with stress were men or women more likely to seek psychotherapy, talk to friends about the stress, read a self help book, take prescription medication, and engage in comfort eating
women
when coping with stress were men or women more likely o to attend a support group meeting, have sex or use pornography, try to fix problems themselves, and not admit to having problems
men
what is the fight or flight
type of behavior men engage in when they experience stress
such as;
become aggressive
socially withdraw
or drink alcohol
what is tend and befriend
type of behavior women engage in when they experience stress
such as;
seek social alliances with others. esp. friends
what does Shelley Taylor argue of when a women experiences stress,
their bodies produce elevated levels of the hormone oxytocin, which is liked to nurturing in animals
what are the three longitudinal studies that will help us understand the extent to which there is stability or change in adult personality development
- Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study
- The Berkeley Longitudinal Studies
- the Vaillant’s studies
what are Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s “big five” factors of personality (OCEAN)
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism (emotional stability)
what is ‘Openness’ in Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s Big Five factors of personality
- imaginative or practical
- interested in variety or routine
- independent or conforming
what is ‘Conscientiousness’ in Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s Big Five factors or personality
- organized or disorganized
- careful or careless
- disciplined or impulsive
what is ‘Extraversion’ in Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s Big Five factors of personality
- sociable or retiring
- fun loving or somber
- affectionate or reserved
what is ‘agreeableness’ in Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s Big Five factors or personality
- soft hearted or ruthless
- trusting or suspicious
- helpful or uncooperative
what is ‘Neuroticism (emotional stability)’ in Paul Costa and Robert McCrae’s Big Five factors or personality
- calm or anxious
- secure or insecure
- self satisfied or self pitying
Costa and McCrae concluded that considerable […] exists across the adult years for the five personality factors
stability
when do most research studies find the greatest changes in personality occur in
early adulthood
which of the big five factors or personality were lower in early adulthood, peaked between 40 and 60 years of age, and decreased in late adulthood
Neuroticism (emotional stability)
extraversion
openness
and agreeableness
which from the big five factors of personality showed a continuous increase from early adulthood to late adulthood
conscientiousness
how are the big five factors of personality related to maker aspects of a person’s life such as health, intelligence, achievement, and relationships
- openness to experience
- conscientiousness
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
how does ‘openness to experience’ relate to health, intelligence, achievement, and relationships’
- superior cognitive function, achievement, and IQ across the life span
- show creative achievement in the arts
- experience less negative affect to stressor
- have better health and well being
- more likely to eat fruits and vegetables
how doe ‘conscientiousness’ relate to health, intelligence, achievement, and relationships
- likely to live longer
- better health and less stress
- less likely to have an alcohol addiction
- experience less cognitive decline in aging
- more successful at accomplishing goals
- more likely to perform well academically in medical school
- less likely to be addicted to Instagram
how does ‘extraversion’ relate to health, intelligence, achievement, and relationships
- more likely than others to be satisfied in relationships
- show less negative affect to stressors
- have more positive sense of well being in the future
how does ‘agreeableness’ relate to health, intelligence, achievement, and relationships
- tend to live longer
- more likely to be generous and altruistic
- more satisfying romantic relationships
- more positive affect to stressors
- lower risk of dementia
how does ‘neuroticism’ relate to heath, intelligence, achievement, and relationships
- more likely to die at a younger age than average
- worse health and report having more health complaints
- more likely to be drug dependent
- higher risk of coronary heart disease
- lower sense of well being 40 years later
is optimism linked to better or worse adjustment, decreased or improved health, and increased or reduced longevity
better
improved
increased