chapter 16 notecards Flashcards
Erikson’s psychological conflict of midlife is _________________
generativity vs stagnation
involves reaching out to others in ways that give to and guide the next generation
generativity
the negative outcome of midlife
Which occurs when people attain certain life goals such as marriage, children, and career success, but remain unsatisfied and become self-centered and self-indulgent
stagnation
(including their own children), focus on what they can get from others rather than what they can give, and taking little interest in being productive at work, developing their talents, or bettering the world in other ways
lack of interest in young people
Having children seems to foster _____generative development more than _____
Perhaps parenting evokes men’s tender, caring attitudes toward the next generation that women have had opportunities to develop in other ways
men’s
women’s
Other Theories of Psychosocial Development in Midlife: Levinson
__________: they must seek new ways of being both young and old
This means giving up certain youthful qualities, retaining and transforming others, and finding positive meaning in being older
Compared with previous midlife cohorts, baby boomers are especially interested in controlling physical changes of ______________: they must counter destructive acts from the past with an urge to advance human welfare and leave a legacy for future generations
With greater awareness of mortality, they focus on ways they have acted destructively and how others have done the same, they then turn to activities that will foster human welfare
_______________: they must reconcile the masculine and feminine parts of the self
For men, this means greater acceptance of “feminine” traits of nurturance and caring
For women, it means being more open to “masculine” characteristics of autonomy and assertiveness
______________: they must create a balance between engagement with the external world and separateness from it
This may mean reducing concern with ambition and achievement and attending more fully to the self
But women who have been devoted to child rearing or an unfulfilling job often feel compelled to move in the other direction
young - old
destruction - creation
masculinity - femininity
engagement - separateness
self-doubt and stress especially great during the 40s that possibly prompt major restructuring of personality
midlife crisis
– future-oriented representations of what one hopes to become and what one fears becoming
Possible selves are the ________ (the self as persisting over time) of self-concept – what the individual is striving for and attempting to avoid
possible selves
temporal dimensions
how well we are doing in relation to what we had planned (i.e., did I achieve the possible self I wanted and avoid the possible self I feared)
temporal comparisons
with age, possible selves become _______ and more ______ and _____
fewer in number
modest
concrete
middle aged adults tend to offer more ____, ____ descriptions of themselves than do younger and older individuals
complex, integrated
more than young adults, middle-aged people acknowledged and accepted both their good and bad qualities and felt positively about themselves and life
self acceptance
middle-aged adults saw themselves as less concerned about others’ expectations and evaluations and more concerned with following self-chosen standards
autonomy
middle-aged people saw themselves as capable of managing a complex array of tasks easily and effectively
environmental mastery
Many studies report an increase in “masculine” traits in women and “feminine” traits in men across middle age, in diverse cultures and varying SES
A biological explanation for greater androgyny in midlife is the _____________
androgyny shift
parental imperative theory
