Middle adulthood Flashcards
What stage is middle adulthood in Schaie’s Stages of cognitive development?
Executive or Responsible stage
What are the ‘big five’ dimensions of personality?
- Neuroticism: tend to experience negative emotions such as fear, anger and sadness
- Extroversion: sociability, but closely associated with the tendency to experience excitement, joy and good spirits
- Openness to experience: welcoming new experiences; imagination and curious
- Agreeableness: sympathy, trust, cooperativeness and altruism
- Conscientiousness: organsation, scrupulousness, persistence and achievement motivation
How is leisure seen for people in middle adulthood?
Freely chosen; enjoyed at own pace, intrinsic reward
Informal or formal
Active or passive
Late-life participation predicted by prior participation
Associated with health; cognitive benefits
What is a midlife crisis?
Radical personality changes associated with an adult’s re-examination of goals, priorities and life accomplishments as the midpoint of life is passed. There are wide individual and gender differences but typically for Men changes are experienced in early 40s and Women late 40s–50s.
What is primary aging?
Primary ageing: normal age-related changes everyone experiences, such as menopause in women and hormonal changes in men.
What is secondary aging?
Secondary ageing: pathological ageing - the effects of illness or disease on the body due to environmental exposure. More variable
What is crystallised intelligence?
Learned cognitive processes and primary abilities such as general information and word fluency. It is the intellectual achievement from a lifetime, life experience and product of education.
What is fluid intelligence?
The ability to process new information in novel situations. Includes reasoning.
What is menopause?
when as previously menstruating women has gone an entire year without a menstrual period
What is practical intelligence?
Application of intellectual skills to everyday situations
What is the impact of aging on intelligence?
Crystallised intelligence improves with age while fluid intelligence peaks in adolescence and decreases with age. Practical intelligence shows improved performance through middle age
Describe how male and female reproductive systems change during middle adulthood?
The climacteric refers to the gradual process of decline in reproductive capacity. In women, it is called menopause and for men, the climactic reduces fertility but does does not lead to sterility.
What issues of work become important during the mid and late career stages?
Mid and late career stages call for the reappraisal of early career decisions and new choices that provide continuing challenges. However. many factors can lead to plateauing. Women are more likely to plateau before reaching the top of an organisation because of stereotyping. Unemployment has effects on older workers as they typically remain unemployed longer than do their young counterparts.
What is the glass ceiling?
Invisible barriers preventing career advancement of women or ethnic minorities and indigenous workers
What is a normative change for women in middle age?
Change in dominance and feminity/masculinity scales or women. There is a change in sex roles and other experimental factors impact on normative change in personality. Typically women become more ’tough’ men ‘nurturing’ (see textbook p864 15.3)
In Erikson’s theory, what factors show signs of generativity for someone in middle adulthood?
Place own comfort and security above challenge and sacrifice. Self-centered, self-indulgent, self-absorbed. Lack of involvement or concern with young people. Little interest in work
In Erikson’s theory, what factors show signs of stagnation for someone in middle adulthood?
Reaching out to others in ways that give to and guide the next generation. Commitment extends beyond self, Typically realised through child rearing. Other family, work mentoring relationships also generative
How does gender identity change for those in middle adulthood?
Women: Increase in “masculine traits”
Men: Increase in “feminine traits”
Theories
- Parental Imperative
- Decline in sex hormones
- Demands of midlife
What are the factors in Midlife: Psychological Well-Being? (powerpoint lecture 10)
Good Health Exercise Sense of Control Personal life investment Positive social relationships Good Marriage Mastery of Multiple Roles
Describe adult education
A pattern of study, work, rest, unemployment not linear, but cyclical.
What is work-life like for people in middle adulthood?
Mid-career
- Establishment and consolidation
- Generativity – mentoring, leadership
- Reappraising, reaffirming or modifying goals
Late career
- Preparing for retirement, life balance
What ages are considered middle adulthood?
40-65
What are work concerns for middle adulthood?
Plateauing: reach a point that’s it Role conflict: parent and work Burnout or “workaholism” U-shape job satisfaction Middlescence Discrimination: Glass ceiling
What is the impact of underemployment?
Shock, disbelief, effort, frustration, resignation
Negative impact on physical, mental and social well-being
The psychological impact often greater for men
Job loss response is like grief reaction
Describe the normative crisis model
Explanations that view developmental change in terms of a series of distinct period or stages influenced by physical and cognitive performance.
What is the impact of divorce?
Wives usually experience a lower standard of living
- Effect stronger if they have children
Husbands usually have reduced contact with children
- Long term effects: lack support
Kinkeeping skills are important
What is generally associated with an empty nest household?
Improved well-being and marital satisfaction
What is a sandwich generation?
Middle-aged adults caught between the needs of their children and their aging parents
What impact does a sandwich generation have?
- Daughters most likely to provide care
- Men make a big commitment
- Parental death normative in midlife
- Highly stressful
- Often starts suddenly
- Work and costs increase
- Hard to witness a parent’s decline
- Support needed
What are the surrogate parenting roles for grandchildren?
Feel more experienced and relaxed Have more time and energy Challenges in roles and health Feeling unprepared Being unsure of their rights Managing grandchildren’s behaviors
What are the four caregiving styles as stated by Goodfellow and Laverty (2003)?
Avid caregivers - grandchildren were the focus of their lives
Flexible caregivers - who prioritised personal as well as
family time
Selective caregivers - who believed grandparenting was an important but not defining part of their identity
Hesitant caregivers - who did not anticipate caring for grandchildren and who recognise that the need to balance multiple roles in their lives
Describe the beanpole family structure
The contemporary family structure which has more generations but fewer people in each generation because of increased longevity and a decreased birth rate
What stage of Erikson’s is middle adulthood associated with?
Generativity versus Stagnation. A person must balance ther feeling their life is personally satisfying and socially meaningful with feelings of purposelessness
List some motivations for adults to learn
- Job or occupation
- Managing home and family
- Curiosity, hobby or leisure
- Transition
Define burnout
Disillusionment and exhaustion on the job that may result from stress caused by multiple role commitments, discrimination based on ethnicity or gender, or other factors.
Define climacteric
The gradual reduction in sex hormone production that is an aspect of primary ageing during middle adulthood, leading to menopause in women and to reproductive system changes in men that decrease fertility
Describe the themes of homosexual identity according to Kertzner
- Self realisation- awareness and disclosure of sexual orientation and the way this has been negotiated across the lifespan.
- Transformation referred to the expansion of personal identity into arenas that valued awareness, compassion, creativity or activism.
- Accommodation described the views of midlife gay men who said they were satisfied with their lives and relationships, but who thought traditional family life and heterosexual orientation would have led to an easier life.
- Encumbrance described the view that homosexual identity was a burden and would lead to negative ageing outcomes.
Describe the Primary Mental Abilities (PMA) according to Schaie and his associates (Seattle Longitudinal Study)
- Verbal meaning (understanding what a word or a sentence means)
- Spatial orientation (being able to use a map)
- nductive reasoning (finding the guiding rule to make a decision, such as reading a bus timetable)
- Number skill (using numbers in simple arithmetic)
- Word fluency (being able to readily think of a word).
