Early Adulthood Flashcards
Emergent adulthood
Markers of fully fledged maturity are uncertain and constantly changing
Key milestone: marriage and parenthood
Full adulthood is rarely now achieved in the 20’s
Life events and emergent adulthood
3 key life events 23-30 years old: Residential (moving out of family home)
Vocational (entry into career)
Inter-personal (development of couple relationships
Normative (on time) transition into significant life events = better psychological health
Neurocognitive growth and functioning (early adulthood)
Brain growth continues throughout adult life
Neuroplasticity continues by synaptic pruning, synaptogenesis and neurogenesis (continues specialisation of function based on experience, decreased brain size & greater neural efficiency)
Allows for development of adult competencies (motor and cognitive)
Cognitive development (early adulthood)
William Perry
Cognitive development occurs throughout early adulthood.
4 stages of mental and moral development: dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment
Dualism
Every problem is solavable (eg true vs false, good vs bad)
Multiplicity
There are two types of problems: solvable and unknown
Relativism
Recognition of the importance of context. Evidence is considered
Commitment
Integration of external sources of knowledge with own experience. A commitment to values.
Relationship maturity
Early adulthood is the peak of readiness for love.
Inverted U: early teens too young, late adults too old.
Romantic love is hard to study: no clear operational definition
Neural basis of romantic love
fMRI scans performed while viewing images of loved ones.
Reduced activation occurred in the posterior cingulate gyrus and amygdala.
Similar neural responses for romantic and maternal love.
Triangular theory of love
Sternberg Passion Intimacy Commitment Pg 13
Lifespan development theories of love
Romantic relationships progress through two stages of love:
Passionate love
Companionate love
Passionate love
‘A state of intense longing for union with one another’
Important for the formation of a bond or the initation of a relationship
When reciprocated, leads to positive emotional states (fulfilment and ecstasy), unrequited leads to negative emotional states (anxiety and despair)
Equal across genders
Companionate love
‘The affection we feel for those with whom our lives are deeply entwined’
Higher in women
Focus of equity: subjective sense of balance
Both loves decline equally over time
Intimacy vs isolation
Erikson
Intimacy develops out of the central dialectical conflict of early adulthood.
State of ‘mutual devotion’
Major reorganisation of psychological make-up
Personal identity formation is important pre-requisite as intimacy involves fixing of personal identities to form new couple identity.
Love and attachment styles
Attachment styles in adulthood influenced by attachment style in infancy. 3 attachment styles in adulthood: Type A: avoidant Type B: secure Type C: anxious/ambivalent
What is early adulthood?
Age 18-30 Substantial changes in the everyday life of an individual: Finishing school Entering the workforce Pursuing further education
The first career
Important milestone into adulthood.
Involved in self-definition and identity formation.
Unemployment effects psychological well-being.
Occupational climate influences life, identity and career progression (normative progression is influenced by availablilty of opportunities)
Career progression
Trial commitment: move from job to job to find right ‘fit’. Commit to place that suits psychological orientation, goals and ambitions.
Adjustment to job: common complaints are personal stagnation and thwarting of achievement
Marriage
Important milestone in early/middle adulthood
Average age: men 30, women 28
Love vs arranged marriage
Cohabitating
In Aust 80% couples live together before marriage
Requires an adjustment in habits
Responsibilities are divided according to 3 styles: traditional, egalitarian, colleague partnership
Role division: traditional
Role specialisation based on social expectations
Role division: egalitarian
All roles are shared equally without specialisation
Role division: colleague partnership
Role specialisation independent of social expectations
