Early Adulthood: SOCIAL & PERSONALITY Flashcards
1
Q
What is Erikson’s psychosocial stage for early adulthood?
A
- intimacy vs isolation
2
Q
What is the intimacy vs isolation stage?
A
- Erikson’s early adulthood stage, in which an individual must find a life partner or supportive friends in order to avoid social isolation
- Successful resolution of the intimacy versus isolation stage depends on a good resolution of the identity versus role confusion crisis encountered in adolescence
- Identity vs. role confusion: gained a better sense of who you are
3
Q
Define Intimacy
A
the capacity to engage in a supportive, affectionate relationship without losing one’s own sense of self
4
Q
What is Levinson’s life structure
A
- a key concept in Levinson’s theory - the underlying pattern or design of a person’s life at a given time, which includes roles, relationships, and behaviour patterns
- Life structure changes with different phases of life (ex. Being single to into relationship) lead you to rearrange it
- Adults cycle through periods of stability and instability
- An adult passes through three phases when a new life structure is required: novice phase, mid-era phase and the culmination phase
5
Q
What are the three phases when a new life structure is required? and describe them
A
- novice: starting to learn, adjust to new circumstances
- mid era: more competent meeting new challenges through reassessment and reorganization of life structure from novice stage
- culmination: stability returns, manage new challenges effectively. more confidence, get used to it and moving on to a new phase in life
6
Q
What is emerging adulthood?
A
- the period from the late teens to early 20s when individuals explore options prior to committing to adult roles
- Neuroimaging studies have provided some support for the notion that emerging adulthood is a unique period of life
7
Q
What developmental tasks must emerging adults address? (5 domains)
A
- academic
- friendship
- conduct
- work
- romantic
8
Q
What happens to intimate relationships in early adulthood?
A
Intimate relationships form the secure base from which most young adults move out into the adult world
9
Q
List the theories of mate selection
A
- evolutionary theories
- parental investment theory
- social role theory
- the neuroscience of human attachment
10
Q
What are the evolutionary theories of mate selection
A
- Evolutionary theories often cite research on sex differences in mate preferences and mating behaviour to support their views
- Men prefer physically attractive, younger women
- Women look for men with higher socioeconomic status, offering earning potential and stability
11
Q
What is the social role theory in theories of mate selection?
A
- the idea that sex differences in mate preferences and mating behaviour are adaptations to gender roles
- Both men’s and women’s mate preferences change as women gain economic power; women’s emphasis on potential mates’ earning power declines, and men’s focus on potential mates’ domestic skills decreases
- People are drawn to those who are of a similar age, education, social class, ethnic group membership, religion, attitudes, interests, and temperament
- includes Assortative mating (homogamy)
12
Q
What is assortative mating (homogamy)?
A
sociologist’s term for the tendency to mate with someone who has traits similar to one’s own
13
Q
What is the neuroscience of human attachment theory?
A
- part of theories of mate selection
- Neuroimaging techniques such as MRI and EEG are used to measure the structural and functional brain correlates of attachment processes
- Parent–infant and romantic-couple bonds share much of the same neural architecture and physiology: dopamine and oxytocin (parent relationship helps base off what you look for in a significant other)
- EEG scans show there is greater neuro-synchrony among couples and close friends than there is among strangers
14
Q
What are the factors that predict quality of relationships?
A
- attachment
- love
- conflict management
15
Q
What are some aspect in relationship quality?
A
- A large majority of adults believe that intimacy issues are more important than material aspects
- Each partner brings skills, resources & traits
- Personality is especially important
- Attitudes toward marriage affect marital stability
16
Q
What is the role of attachment in quality of relationships?
A
- Adults create internal models of attachment to a prospective spouse that are similar to their attachment to their parents
- New couples must let go of families of origin in favour of their new family
17
Q
What is the role of love in quality of relationships?
A
- Sternberg suggests 3 key components of love: Intimacy, passion, commitment
- When these components combine in all possible ways, the result is 7 sub-varieties of love
18
Q
What are the 7 sub-varieties of love? include intimacy, passion and commitment
A
- companionate love (C & i)
- liking (i)
- empty love (c)
- fatuous love (c & p)
- romantic love (i & p)
- infatuation (p)
- consummate love (c,p, i)
19
Q
Couples with stable or enduring marriages may be:
A
- Validating
- Volatile
- Avoidant
20
Q
Couples with unsuccessful marriages may be:
A
- Hostile/engaged
- Hostile/detached
21
Q
When does divorce rate usually peak?
A
5th year of marriage
22
Q
How long has an average marriage last?
A
- almost 15 years
- Longitudinal studies show that 38% of marriages in Canada will end in divorce within 30 years of marriage
23
Q
What are the average ages for divorce for men and women?
A
- men: 43.1
- women: 40.5
24
Q
What are the psychological effects of divorce?
A
- Divorce is associated with increases in mental health problems, especially depression
• Compared to those who stay married
- Men are 3 times more likely to become depressed following marital breakdown
- Women are 2½ times more likely to become depressed following marital breakdown
25
What are the economic effects of divorce?
- Most men commonly leave a marriage with far greater earning power than women
- They are more likely to have had continuous work histories
- Women usually retain custody of the children
- Divorced men generally increase their economic positions to above average
- Divorced women are strongly adversely affected, with an average decline in income to below average
- For many women, the financial effect never disappears, unless they were above-average earners before divorce
26
Effects of cohabiting
- Studies in Canada, the U.S., and several European countries show that those who cohabit before marriage are less satisfied with their subsequent marriages
- The divorce rate for those who cohabit before marriage is double that of couples who did not cohabit
- Cohabiting leads to development of a life structure for cohabiting, not for marriage
- Adults who choose to cohabit before marriage are different, in key ways, from those who do not
27
What are relationships like for gay and lesbian couples?
- Attachment security is just as important in same-sex unions as in heterosexual ones
- Gay and lesbian partners are often more dependent on each other for social support
- Homosexual couples seem to be more egalitarian than heterosexual couples
- Monogamy is important to gay male couples but is considered to be negotiable by most
28
What is singlehood?
- Mature singles who do not intend to marry do not value being part of a couple or a family as highly as singles who expect to marry
- Continual singlehood has benefits over singlehood that follows a divorce or the death of a spouse
- Many singles still have intimate relationships
- Once singles have determined that they expect to stay single, this self-affirmation may help protect singles from some of the negative aspects of singlehood
29
What are the processes of parenthood?
- desire to become a parent
- transition experience
- postpartum depression
30
What is the transition experience of parenthood?
- New parents may argue about child-rearing philosophy as well as how, when, where, and by whom child-care chores should be done
- Parents are usually also physically exhausted, perhaps even seriously sleep-deprived, because their newborn keeps them up for much of the night
- Some cultures have ritualized rites of passage that help the new parents cope
31
What is the postpartum depression part of parenthood?
- a severe mood disturbance resulting in feelings of sadness lasting a few weeks or, rarely, for a year or more
- Between 10% and 25% of new mothers experience a severe mood disturbance called postpartum depression (PPD)
- greatest predictor of PPD is depression during pregnancy, but hormones also play a role
32
What are the developmental impact of parenthood?
- positve behaviour changes (dec risky behaviours)
- changes in martial satisfaction (at its peak before birth, then drops until last child leaves home)
- parenting partner is a significant protective factor in managing stressful transition into parenthood
33
What factors could impact martial satisfaction?
- child birth
- balance of work and family
- conflict-resoluation strategies
- amount of education
- number of children
- length of time together before child birth
34
What are the effects of life without children?
- Marital satisfaction fluctuates less over time for childless couples
- Childless couples report higher cohesion than do couples with children
- Women without children are much more likely to have full-time continuous careers
35
What are most common reasons for not having children?
For Canadian women from ages 30 to 39, the most common reasons given for not having children are that children don’t fit in with their lifestyle (~20 to 31%), they are too old (~14%), and infertility (~13%)
36
What is motherhood earnings gap?
a measure showing how much the earnings of women with children are below those of women without children
37
What happens to family relationships during early adulthood?
– Parents remain significant parts of the young adult's life
– Relationships are strongly influenced by proximity
- Family connectedness over time has strong cultural influences
38
What happens to friendships during early adulthood?
Friends are chosen from among those we see as like ourselves in education, social class, interests, family background, or family life cycle stage
39
What are womens relationships like in early adulthood?
Women have more close friends, and their friendships are more intimate, with more self-disclosure and more exchange of emotional support (female friends talk to one another)
- have a larger relationship role than men
40
What are males relationships like in early adulthood?
Male friends are less likely to agree with each other or to ask for or provide emotional support to one another (male friends do things together)
41
What is a kin-keeper?
a family role, usually occupied by a woman, which includes responsibility for maintaining family and friendship relationships
42
what is the parental investment theory of mate selection?
Parental investment theory says that sex differences in mate preferences and mating behaviour are based on the different amounts of time and effort men and women must invest in child-rearing
