PSYC228_Chap14 Flashcards
middle aged adults are
often teh happiest
bec time of reflection on what they’ve achieved
changes in mid-life are often in response to
significant life events
divorce + career transitions
changes in earlier decades often response to physical growth + maturation
most dramatic changes in adults take place in
adolescence + early adulthood
less change in 30s, + stability from middle to late adulthood
middle aged adults tend to stay the same
relative to one another
but as a group, middle adults tend to become more
easy-going + agreeableness + conscientiousness cont to inc
becoming an adult encourages people to become more
goal-directed, prosocial + emotionally stable
: maturity principle
in adulthood, conscientiousness + agreeableness inc and neuroticism
deces
personality change happens when middle-aged adults
accommodate or chanage their schemas in response to major life events like illnesses, change in marital status, + major career transitions
some people change a lot in mid-life others
change less and some not at all
berkeley longitudinal study
3 studies
asked what makes mid aged adults diff from each other + do these diffs account for diffs in ways their personalities change in mid-life
factors: verbal ability, gender diffs, timing of life events (like completion of education or marriage)
accommodate
adjustment of schemas in response to new experiences
mills longitudinal study
helson
changes in women’s peresonalities
changed thruout 20s + became more stable in 30s
working in paid labour force + marital issues (marital tension + divorce) = differences in personality changes
what was accociated with greater self-resported social well-being /sense of social value in mid-life?
higher levels of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness
greater life satisfaction was associated with higher levels of
big 5 personality traits
= higher level of personality maturity
associated with greater inces in life satisfaction in adulthood
personality in mid-life is related to
physical health
erikson challenged freud’s contention that
personality development was fixed at end of adolescence
erikson said that personal growth at midlife depends on how well an individ is able to resolve 7th psychosocial development:
generativity vs stagnation
generativity vs stagnation
erikson’s 7th stage of psychosocial development
psychosocial crisis as urgency to find something meaningful to do with one’s talents, abilites, + resources
generativity
dedication + investment of self + personal resources in promotion of health of society + future generations
people set + strive to meet personal goals that benefit others, society, + future gens
stagnation
remaining focused on day-to-day self-centered activities + interests; failure to shift one’s focus + investment to future + other oriented goals
little to no growth + dec in investment in antyhing beyond own immediate interests
remains focused on self + fulfillment of immediate concerns
focused on meeting own needs first + what they can get vs what they can give
relationships in midlife
change significantly
launching phase
portion of family life cycle that begins when first child leaves home + continues until last child leaves
intersects usually with middle adulthood
vast majority of middle-aged adults have at least begun launching by midlife
empty nest syndrome
feelings of distress + depression in midlife as result of losing parental role as adult children become independent
often balanced by gains + losses
associated iwth inc marital satisfaction bec mroe time with spouse
also proprtion of adult children living with midlife parents inc by 50% due to
increasingly common financial depedency of adult childrne on parents
boomerang kids - depends on economic power of young adults
associated with unemployment + rates of non-marriage
1/2 of midlife parents are extremely happy with being parents, other 1/2…
feel relational ambivalence = mixed emotions toward adult children
20% of children have at least one physical/emotional problem
35% have 1+ lifestyle behavioural problem
mothers = greater ambivalence about lifestyle + behavioural problems
fathers = greater ambivalence about physical + emotional problems
relational ambivalence
simultaneous + + - feeligns about a relationship
mixed feelings
childfree
never having birthed or parented a child
mens wellbeing associated more with partnership status than
parenthood status
voluntarily childfree middleaged adults have higher levels of wellbing than
those who are involuntarily childlesss
what % of men + women wish to remain childfree
7-8%
women who gave birth first in teens or early 20s reported
lower positive feelings + more negative feelings in midlife
majority of middleaged adults’ common pursuit
launching children into adulthood
what percent of middleaged adults have been continuously married since ealry 20s?
55%
many of them have been married for 30yrs or more
marital biography
info about number, timing, + duration of marriages in person’s life
gottman’s research
not all marital conflict = bad marital conflict
fight constructively or marriage will suffer
relationship repair + coming together aftre an argument
midlife divorce rates have been
incing in past decades
12% of people betw 50-64yrs will sign divorce papers
mean fighting
uses contempt + manipulaiton to control other person
fair fighting
based on problem solving with respect to other person’s needs
3 most common reasons for divorce in midlife
sexual issues (cheating, incompatibility, poor sexual performance, dec physical appearance, homosexuality, inability to have children)
abuse
diff points of view
what is associated with long deliberations before divorce
emotional + psychological risk factors + abuse lack of marital effort/not being there for spouse+ substance use
remarriage has a
stabilizing effect after divorce among adults over 40
living apart together
when couples have intimate relationship but maintain separate residences
sandwich generation
group of caregivers commonly betw ages 40-50, who simultaneously provide care for children + parents
dual caregiver roles
caregiver
unpaid role that involves taking responsibility for someone with chronic illness or who is approaching the natural end of life
kinkeeper
wihtin family
person responsible for organizing communications maintaining relationships among famliy memebres carrying out family tradtions + valuing family celebrations
conflict betw adult siblings occurs in families in whihc one or both siblings hsa experienced negative life events
divorce
psychological problems
addiction
problems with the law
victimization of abuse
financial problems
mroczek
does emotion change over lifespan?
does emotion cont to evolve thruout adulthood?
examined levels of emotional expression
adults report incly positive feelings with age + fewer negative feeligns, less stress + less neuroticism
paradox of well-being
emotional expression
verbal or nonverbal behaviour that expresses emotion
paradox of well-being
idea that even though aging process is characterized by significant physiological + cognitive dec, adults report feeling emotionally positive
remains in effect till mid-70s
as adults age, they are more likely to recall images that evoke
positive emotions + less likely to remember images that provoke neg feelings
carstensen
socio-emotional selectivity theory
carstensen
theory that people change their values as they get older, investing more socio-emotional energy in events that they perceiv as meaningful
why aging is associated with bias toward recall of positive stimuli
draws upon knowledge of cognitive development - processing speed, working memory, other attention + memory functions + takes into account changes in adults’ motivations - older people perceiving less time left in their lives - more motivated to invest in present
labouvie-vief
cognitive + brain development research
suggests that older adults may be more likely to attend to positive rather than negative info bec negative info take smore effort + energy to process
cacioppo says
positivity effect due to strucutural changes in brain
neural degeneration in limbic system’s amygdala - emotional + mental state
gross
emotion regulation can be antecedent-focused or response focused
get better at both as we get older + become more selective + specific in strategies
antecedent-focused emotion regulation
use of emotion regulation strategies before facing a stimulus
response-focused emotion regulation
use of emotion regulation strategies, such as self-talk after facing a stimulus
one reason why middle aged adults have better overall wellbing than younger adults
better emotion regulation
hedonic well-being
emphasizes happiness + life satisfaction + absence of negative feeligns
well-being dec to low point in midlife
but for some it may go up with stress/worry going down
sense of feeling good about + satisfied with one’s life while experiencing an absence of neg emotions
eudaimonic well-being
individs engagement in leading a productive life, associated with personal growth + fulfillment of one’s potential
conceptually related but distinct from hedonic well-being
fositive functioning of individs associated iwth engagement in meaningful goal pursuits
inversely associated with depression
absence of well-being associated iwth what biological markers of poor health + physical stress
higher cortisol levels, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cardiovascular risk + shorter periods of rem sleep
mid-life crisis
psychological experience of rocognizing that life is half over + making course corrections to romantic life, career, + living situation to make life more consistent with values + desires
levinson said its just a normative transition - taks of integration
integrating dominant + non-dominant parts of self
facets of eudaimonic well-being
self-acceptance
pos relations with others
personal growth
purpose in life
environmental mastery
autonomy
gender convergence
tendency for both males + females to become more similiar + identify with set cultural gender roles less and less as they age
gender crossover
past gender convergence
tendency for each sex to adopt traits strongly associated with the opposite gender
shift in gender roles
with age, women tend to inc in verbal fluency while men
continue to exhibit better visual-spatial proficiency
influence communication styles + create gender diffs
mid-life transition about
balancing one’s character + gaining strength by integrating non-dominant parts of self
on average, canadians will have how many careers + jobs?
3 careers + 8 jobs
what proportion of the labour market is middle-aged workers?
1/3 (51-60)
factors promoting later retirement
entry into labour market at younger age
additional training in midlife
dismissal or employment change before midlife
factors promoting earlier retirement
entry into labour market at young age
transition to parenthood at earlier age
part-time work before 50
no pension
fewer dependent chlidren
low-challenge work
poor health
bridge jobs
less demanding full or part time jobs taken up in midlife that ease transition to retirement
over 60% of middle aged workers
other 40% of retirees move back into labour force
encore career
new career path developed in midlife that combines continued income, personal meaning + social impact
typically pay less + fewer benefits, but less stress + more flexibility, + highe rlevels of personal enjoyment
