Lecture 9 - Development Beyond Childhood

Question 1

Physical changes in puberty

Answer 1

Sexual maturity and a growth spurt (5-6cm per year in childhood and 9-10cm in adolescence)

Question 2

Brain development in puberty

Answer 2

“Remodelling of the brain” (areas affecting emotional regulation, response inhibition, planning) and increase white matter, decrease grey matter

Question 3

Possible psychological changes in puberty

Answer 3

Risk-taking, moodiness and aggression in the transition from childhood to adulthood

Question 4

Stages of adolescence

Answer 4

Early (11-14 years)
Middle (15-17 years)
Late (18+ years)

We are unsure when puberty ends

Question 5

Erikson (1958, 1963)

Answer 5

Trust vs Mistrust
Autonomy vs Shame
Initiative vs Guilt
Industry vs Inferiority
Identity vs Role Confusion
Intimacy vs Isolation
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Ego Integrity vs. Despair

Different “conflict” at each stage which must be resolved successfully (eg trust and mistrust in first year). There is an identity crisis in adolescence and psychosocial moratorium.

Question 6

McAdams (2001)

Answer 6

Erikson outlines a more realistic perspective of personality development compared to previous theories

Question 7

McCrae & Costa (1997)

Answer 7

There is a lack of discrete stages in Erikson’s theory

Question 8

Marcia (1966) - Method

Answer 8

Interview technique to assess stage of identity crisis – occupational role, beliefs, values and sexuality.

Question 9

Marcia (1966) - Identity ‘statuses’

Answer 9

1. Diffusion: haven’t started thinking about it seriously (no identity crisis or commitment)
2. Foreclosure: formed commitment without having explored possibilities
3. Moratorium: still considering alternatives
4. Achievement of identity: been through crisis and reached a solution

Question 10

Meilman (1979)

Answer 10

Identity achievement may develop into adulthood

Question 11

O’Connell (1976)

Answer 11

Women reported it achieved after their children went to school

Question 12

Arnett (1999) quoting Socrates

Answer 12

Youth inclined to “contradict their parents” & “tyrannize their teachers”

Question 13

Recent evidence with the idea of adolescence

Answer 13

Conflict with parents and risky behaviour is not experienced by all adolescents and often over-exaggerated

Question 14

Laursen et al (1988)

Answer 14

Conflicts increase in early adolescence, intensity peaks in middle adolescence

Question 15

Rossi and Rossi (1991)

Answer 15

Dip in closeness to parents from 10 to 16 years, recovers at 25

Question 16

Rutter et al. (1976)

Answer 16

Only 1/6 of parents and 1/3 of adolescents reported conflicts - not as high as expected

Question 17

Buchanan et al (1992)

Answer 17

Some longitudinal studies report negative effect when comparing mood disruptions throughout time

Question 18

Young Adulthood (20-40 years)

Answer 18

Acquisition and utilisation of knowledge at peak
Achieve maturity
Erikson’s conflict: intimacy vs isolation

Question 19

Middle Adulthood (40-64 years)

Answer 19

Some decline, but also intellectual stability
Peak of career achievement
Erikson’s conflict: generativity vs stagnation

Question 20

Late Adulthood (64+ years)

Answer 20

Memory and other abilities decline; some might remain stable

Erikson’s conflict: integrity vs despair

Question 21

Piaget’s formal operations (11+ yrs)

Answer 21

• Logic, inferential reasoning, planning, ability to think about abstract concepts, hypothetical situations
• Criticisms: limited to straightforward situations, not complexities & vagaries of real-life situations

Question 22

Post-formal thinking, 3 themes (Kramer, 1983)

Answer 22

• Realization of “realitivistic” nature of knowledge
• Acceptance of contradiction
• Integration of contradiction into a whole concept

Question 23

Vetter et al (2012)

Answer 23

Adolescents (12-15 yrs) performed with lower accuracy than young adults (18-22 yrs) in the Strange Stories and Eyes tasks

Question 24

Willis & Schaie (1999)

Answer 24

Seattle Longitudinal Study – inductive reasoning, vocabulary, verbal memory, & spatial orientation peak from 40-60 years

Question 25

Soederberg (2000)

Answer 25

Middle adults (between 40-59 years) showed no declines in cognitive abilities compared to young adults (25-39)

Older adults outperformed younger adults on vocabulary texts

Question 26

Finkel et al (1998)

Answer 26

Significantly better performance in Middle (M = 55) than late adulthood (M = 83) on 14 cognitive abilities

Question 27

Schaie et al (1998)

Answer 27

Decline in ages 60-67 in all tested areas except verbal recall

Question 28

Salthouse (2012)

Answer 28

Cognitive functioning often lower several years prior to death

Question 29

Role of experience

Answer 29

Pilots and similar careers show less evidence of cognitive decline than others of similar age

Question 30

What affects cognitive decline?

Answer 30

1. Different abilities affected more
2. Relationship between physical health and cognitive ability
3. Type of job
4. Genetic influence/genes