Middle Adulthood - Socioemtional Development

Question 1

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Answer 1

Generativity

• Encompasses adult’s desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation
• Generative adults commit themselves to the continuation and improvement of society as a whole through their connection to the next generation

Stagnation

• Develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation
• Represents feeling so stuck and unproductive, lacking a sense of purpose

Question 2

4 Types of Generativity:

Answer 2

1. Biological generativity: adults have offspring
2. Parental generativity: adults nurture and guide children
3. Work generativity: adults have developed skills that are passed down to others
4. Cultural generativity adults create, renovate, or conserve some aspect of culture that ultimately survives

Question 3

What is the principle of Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life?

Answer 3

• The success of the midlife transition rests on how effectively the individual reduces the polarities and accepts each of them as an integral part of his being
• Transition from dependence to independence occurs:

Being young vs. being old / Being destructive vs. being constructive / Being masculine vs. being feminine / Being attached to others vs. being separated from them

Question 4

Stage 1 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 4

1: Early adulthood transition (17 to 22 years old)

• Considered transitional from adolescence to adulthood
• Individual leaves home and family and establishes their independence
• Begin making decisions about their careers and education

Question 5

Stage 2 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 5

2: Entering the adult world (22 to 28 years old)

• Begin solidifying their goals and decide on a career
• Begin dating and forming intimate relationships leading to marriage

Question 6

Stage 3 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 6

3: Age 30 transition (28 to 33 years old)

• Defined as a period of reflection and reevaluation
• Reassess choices and make decisions guided by their attitudes and perceptions towards relationships and careers

Question 7

Stage 4 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 7

4: Settling down (33 to 40 years old)

• Begin to be more involved with the community
• Reinvest in their families and commit to their career

Question 8

Stage 5 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 8

Midlife transition (40 to 45 years old)

• Marked by a period of reevaluation of family and career
• Sometimes sudden changes are made, and past regrets are vocalized
• Marked by a sudden realization of one’s mortality and results in a cognitive shift referred to a midlife crisis where there is a desire to achieve/gain the things previously desired

Question 9

Stage 6 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 9

6: Entering middle adulthood (45 to 50 years old)

• Commit to decisions and act on choices made based on the reflective period in preceding stage

Question 10

Stage 7 of Adulthood according Daniel Levinson

Answer 10

7: Late adulthood (60 to 85 years old)

• Broken up into 2 periods: stable period & transitional period

Question 11

Principle of the Contemporary life-events approach:

Answer 11

• How life events influence the individual’s development depends on not only the life event itself but also on mediating factors involved such as the adaptation to the life event, life-stage context, & sociohistorical context
• Sociohistorical context makes a difference because people in the current generation may cope more effectively than from previous gens.
• Perceptions on life events differ

Question 12

STRESS AND PERSONAL CONTROL IN MIDLIFE

Answer 12

• Experience more “overload” stressors that involve juggling too many activities at once
• Middle-aged adults feel a greater sense of control over their finances, work, and marriage than younger adults but have less control over their sex life and children
• Smaller increase in psychological distress
• Women are more vulnerable to social stressors such as those involving romance, family, work

Question 13

Contexts of Midlife Development:

Answer 13

• Our values, attitudes, expectations, and behaviors are influenced by the period in which we live in
• Social clocks are influenced by social environment
• Stage theories in adult development have a male bias which historically have dominated men’s life choices and life chances more than women’s
• Midlife is diversified, heterogenous period for women and men
• In many cultures, especially non-industrialized cultures, the concept if middle age is not very clear/is absent

Question 14

• Personality type (OCEAN)
• Sometimes called intellect or imagination, this represents the willingness to try new things and think outside the box
• Imaginative or practical
• Interested in variety or routine
• Independent or conforming

Answer 14

Openness to experience

Question 15

• Personality (OCEAN)
• The desire to be careful, diligent and to regulate immediate gratification& with self-discipline.
• Organized or disorganized
• Careful or careless
• Disciplined or impulsive

Answer 15

Conscientiousness

Question 16

• Personality (OCEAN)
• A state where an individual draws energy from others and seeks social connections or interaction, as opposed to being alone
• Sociable or retiring
• Fun-loving or somber
• Affectionate or reserved

Answer 16

Extraversion

Question 17

• Personality (OCEAN)
• The measure of how an individual interacts with others, characterised by degree of compassion and co-operation
• Softhearted or ruthless
• Trusting or suspicious
• Helpful or uncooperative

Answer 17

Agreeableness

Question 18

• Personality (OCEAN)
• A tendency towards negative personality traits, emotional instability and self-destructive thinking
• Calm or anxious
• Secure or insecure
• Self-satisfied or self-pitying

Answer 18

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

Question 19

Stability & Change in Midlife

Answer 19

• Points out that some people experience recurrent crises and undergo substantial changes over the life course while others have more stable, continuous lives with very little change
• personality traits continue to change during adult years, thus people show more stability in their personality when they reach midlife

Question 20

Love and Marriage at Midlife

Answer 20

• Affectionate or compassionate love increases
• Marital satisfaction increases
• Marriages become more stable
• Security, loyalty, mutual emotional interest more prominent as relationships mature
• Divorce may be positive to others

Question 21

• Decline in marital satisfaction after children leave home
• Experience by parents who live vicariously through their children

Answer 21

Empty Nest Syndrome

Question 22

Sibling Relationships and Friendships in Midlife

Answer 22

• Are extremely close, apathetic, or highly rivalrous
• Takes time to develop intimate friendships so those that have endured over the adult years are often deeper than those that are newly formed
• Old friendships are often deeper than newly developed ones
• Adult siblings provide practical and emotional support

Question 23

Grandparenting or Grandparent Roles

Answer 23

• Source of biological reward and continuity
• Source of emotional self-fulfillment, generating feelings of companionship and satisfaction that may have been missing in earlier adult-child relationships
• Grandmothers have more contact with grandchildren because as a woman they tend to define their role as a part of responsibility for maintaining ties between family members across generations
• Middle-aged and older adults show a strong sense of family responsibility

Question 24

Grandparenting Styles:

Answer 24

1. Formal style

• Strong interest in grandchildren
• Careful not to give childrearing advice

2. Fun-seeking style

• Informal and playful

3. Distant figures

• Benevolent with infrequent interactions

Question 25

Why are middle-aged generation called sandwiched?

Answer 25

Because of the responsibilities they have for their adolescent and young children as well as their aging parents