Human Development, 7: Middle Adulthood

Question 1

“Middle Adulthood” today is defined by roughly what years of life?

Answer 1

40 to 65

Question 2

When in life and why does driving at night begin to become more difficult?

Answer 2

Around age 40, because of changes and opaque areas forming in the vitreous humour, reducing and scattering light reaching the retina, increasing sensitivity to glare. Moving objects become harder to see and oncoming headlights are more ‘blinding.’

Question 3

What are the two most important choices a person concerned about gaining weight and losing strength in middle adulthood can make to offset those changes?

Answer 3

Reduce caloric intake to adjust for declining basal metabolism, and engage regularly in weight bearing resistance exercise or work.

Question 4

How does bone change in middle adulthood?

Answer 4

Bone density decreases substantially, especially for women. Spinal column disks collapse leading to a loss of height, up to an inch.

Question 5

What are the physiological processes that improve the longevity of animals on a restricted calorie diet?

Answer 5

Reducd caloried diets have been experimentally shown in many animals to: 1) inhibit production of free radicals, 2) reduce blood glucose and insulin, better blood pressure and cholesterol, 3) reduce IGF-1, a hormone similar to insulin

Question 6

What are the two most common causes of death in the US during middle adulthood?

Answer 6

Cancer, followed by cardiovascular disease.

Question 7

What are three indicators of cardiovascular disease known as a “silent killer”?

Answer 7

high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries (artherosclerosis). These may occur without a heart attack or other easily noticable symptoms.

Question 8

This symptom of cardiovascular disease is less extreme than a heart attack and involves crushing chest pain or indigestion like pain. What is it and why does it occur?

Answer 8

Angina pectoris, which occurs when the heart is deprived of oxygen.

Question 9

Hostility is an element of Type A behavior that increases heart disease. What are good and bad options for changing it?

Answer 9

Bad: suppression or rumination. Good: adapting new and better methods of coping with stress (e.g., reframing, meditation, exercise [generally, perhaps not while one is angry]).

Question 10

Contrast the problem solving styles of high vs. low hardiness persons.

Answer 10

High hardy persons are more likely to use active and problem centered coping when they view a situation as controllable (which is more often than for low hardy persons). Low hardy persons are more likely to use emotion centered or avoidant strategies such as denial, bingeing, or using a consciousness altering substance such as alcohol.

Question 11

What feature of some developmental research designs is responsible for the widely helf belief that IQ declines in mid-adulthood? Explain.

Answer 11

Cohort effects. Early cross sectional studies showed lower IQ’s in older samples, but when studied longitudinally, an increase in IQ appeared. Follow up sequential research found that cohorts (generations) differed in education and nutrition, affecting their IQ, rather than their age.

Question 12

What is fluid and crystallized intelligence, and how do they change in adulthood?

Answer 12

Fluid = general information processing speed, Crystallized = knowledge, experience, wisdom. Fluid begins to decline in one’s 20’s, crystallized continues to increase through middle adulthood.

Question 13

Which type of memory diminishes in capacity throughout early and middle adulthood?

Answer 13

working memory, which is the ‘conscious’ bottleneck between sensory and long term memory where one rehearses information aloud or silently to themselves.

Question 14

What cognitive ability that can improve through middle adulthood contributes to better decision making?

Answer 14

Practical problem solving, involving calculated and rational responses to situations involving uncertainty.

Question 15

Which demographic of student is least likely to speak in class, and why?

Answer 15

Returning female students (initially). They experience more anxiety due to the unfamiliarity of college, and negative stereotypes about age, gender, and possibly their ethnicity as well.

Question 16

Erikson’s psychosocial conflict of middle adulthood is:

Answer 16

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Question 17

Characterize generativity vs. stagnation.

Answer 17

Generativity occurs when a midlife adult focuses their effort on contributions to society that will outlive them, such as parenting, lasting ideas, or other creations. It is motivated by a culture’s “belief in the species” that human continuity is good despite our dark side. Stagnation involves self-indulgence and a lack of concern for following generations.

Question 18

Characterize Levinson’s task of destruction-creation.

Answer 18

Destruction-creation is a developmental task of middle adulthood in Levinson’s ‘seasons of life’ theory. Through it, one would consider significant harmful acts of their past committed by themselves and others, and refocus that energy on creating a positive legacy.

Question 19

How common is the “midlife crisis”?

Answer 19

A midlife crisis in the sense of a major restructuring of the personality is fairly uncommon. Only 25% of MIDUS respondents report having one, by their definition, which scientists often considered to be more minor than a true identity crisis.

Question 20

What are possible selves?

Answer 20

Future-based self-concepts that represent hopes and fears. In middle adulthood, they usually become fewer, more concrete and realistic, which helps maintain mental health.

Question 21

How does stress change in middle adulthood?

Answer 21

Stress plateaus and then declines during middle adulthood.

Question 22

How does coping change in middle adulthood?

Answer 22

Midlife adults generally have better coping strategies, e.g., finding the upside of tough situations, using humor, delaying action to evaluate alternatives, and better anticipating future stressors.

Question 23

Does divorce affect midlife adults differently than younger adults?

Answer 23

Yes, they seem to cope with the major stressor better, perhaps due to generally better coping strategies. However, repeated divorced often contributes to poverty for females who support children, esp. from multiple marriages.

Question 24

Why do many Italian young adults leave home later than their counterparts in other Western nations?

Answer 24

Parents believe that leaving early without a good justification signifies family problems, and generally enjoy better relationships with their children, so they often do not leave until they are married.

Question 25

How does taking full responsibility for rearing grandchildren affect a grandparent?

Answer 25

Frequently it results in significant emotional and financial strain, despite a willingness to do so.

Question 26

What is the most common reason a grandparent steps in and raises a grandchildren?

Answer 26

Parental substance abuse issues, which, though it can affect all ethnic groups, is disproprtionately distributed.

Question 27

What is the meaning of the term “sandwich generation”?

Answer 27

Some middle adults find themselves supporting both young children and aging parents or grandparents, “sandwiched” between two generations.

Question 28

What factors make job burnout more likely?

Answer 28

A job in helping professions (human services, health care, teaching), or a job where demands exceed resources and support from the employer is minimal.

Question 29

What is the “glass ceiling”?

Answer 29

An implicit barrier to promotion facing many midcareer women and ethnic minorities. Employers may not invest equally in their training. They often have to exceed their counterparts performance to achieve the same upper career levels.

Question 30

Who is least likely to participate in retirement planning?

Answer 30

Individuals with lower lifetime earnings and education, who also stand to benefit the most.