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Developmental psychology II > Unit 5 > Flashcards

Unit 5 Flashcards

1
Q

What age does early adulthood include?

A

18 to 40 years
-> difficult to divide into discrete periods because the timing of important milestones varies greatly among individuals

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2
Q

What are some common set of tasks showing early adulthood?

A

leaving home, completing education, beginning full-time work, attaining economic independence, establishing a long-term sexually and emotionally intimate relationship, and starting a family

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3
Q

When does biological aging begin?

A

Once body structures reach maximum capacity and efficiency in the teens and twenties
-> genetically influenced
-> universal in all members
e.g.: grey hair, wrinkles, etc.

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4
Q

What is biological aging also called?

A

senescence

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5
Q

What are the changes in physical appearance during the twenties and thirties?

A

so gradual that most are hardly noticeable
-> later they will accelerate

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6
Q

How do the senses start changing and at what age?

A
  • vision (from 30): ability to focus on close objects declines, visual acuity drops between 70 and 80
  • hearing (from 30): sensitivity to sound declines, especially at high frequencies -> more than twice as rapid for men as for women
  • taste (from 60): sensitivity to the four basic tastes is reduced
  • smell (from 60): loss of smell receptors reduces ability to detect and identify odors
  • respiratory (gradually): decreases, breathing rate increases
  • cardiovascular (gradually): heart muscle becomes more rigid, maximum heart rate decreases
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7
Q

What is one of the most serious cardiovascular diseases?

A

atherosclerosis: heavy deposits of plaque containing cholesterol and fats collect on the walls of the main arteries.
-> begins early in life, progresses during middle adulthood

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8
Q

How do motor performances (athletic skills) change during age?

A

they peak between 20-35, then gradually decline
-> speed, strength, gross-motor coordination peak in early twenties
-> endurance, arm-hand steadiness and aiming peak in late twenties and early thirties

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9
Q

what is largely responsible for age-related declines in motor performance?

A

inactivity rather than biological aging

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10
Q

How does the physical development change and at what time? (muscular, immune, skeletal, reproductivity and nervous system)

A
  • muscular (gradual): fast-twitch muscle fibers decline in number and size to a greater extent than slow-twitch fibers, tendons stiffen
  • immune (gradual): immune system declines after age of 20, shrinking of the thymus limits maturation of T cells
  • skeletal (begins in late thirties, accelerates in 50s, slows in the 70s): cartilage in the joints thins and racks -> bone ends to erode
  • reproductive (in women after 35, in men after 40): fertility problems and risk of having disabled baby
  • nervous system (from 50): brain weight declines as neurones lose water content
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11
Q

How did the birth rate change over the years regarding age?

A
  • decreased for women 20 to 24 years of age whereas it increased for women 25 years of age and older
  • women in the 30s: birth rate increased sixfold and for early forties it doubled
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12
Q

why do many people get children now later in life?

A

delaying childbearing until their education is complete

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13
Q

does reproductive capacity decline with age? why?

A

yes
women: due to reduced quality and quantity of ova
men: semen and sperm motility decreases gradually after 35

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14
Q
A
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15
Q

How do attributes of the body change over time and when? (skin, hair, height, weight)

A
  • skin (gradual): epidermis is held less tightly to the dermis, skin becomes looser and wrinkly
  • hair (from 35): grays and thins
  • height (from 50): loss of bone strength -> height loss 5cm by 70s and 80s
  • weight (increase to age 50, declines from age 60): rise in fat and decline in muscle and bone mineral
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16
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A
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17
Q
A
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18
Q

how does stress influence physical responses?

A

stress induces physical responses
-> contribute to cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer and gastrointestinal problems

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19
Q
A
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20
Q

Who reports depressive symptoms more often?

A

young adults

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21
Q

What are changes in the structure of thought?

A

development of cerebral cortex in early adulthood results in continued fine-tuning of the prefrontal cognitive-control network
-> achieves better balance with the brains emotional/social network
-> improvements in planning, reasoning and decision making

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22
Q

What is cognitive development known as beyond Piagets formal operations?

A

postformal thought

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23
Q

What increases rational, flexible and practical ways of thinking in early adulthood?

A

personal effort and social experiences combined

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24
Q

What theories are Perry’s theory of epistemic cognition and Labouvie-Vief’s theory of pragmatic thought and cognitive-affective complexity?

A

they are influential theories of how thinking is restructured in adulthood

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25
Q

What is Perrys theory of epistemic cognition about?

A

our reflections on how we arrived at facts, beliefs and ideas

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26
Q

What is dualistic thinking, relativistic thinking and commitment within relativistic thinking according to Perry?

A

Dualistic thinking: dividing information into right and wrong.
Relativistic thinking: awareness of multiple truths, each relative to its context
Commitment within relativistic thinking: instead of choosing between opposing views, they try to formulate a more personally satisfying perspective

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27
Q

What does Labouvie-Vief’s theory state?

A

from adolescence through middle adulthood, people gained in cognitive-affective complexity
-> need to specialize motivated adults to move from hypothetical to pragmatic thought

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28
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29
Q
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30
Q
A
31
Q

What is Vocational Choice?

A

a gradual process that moves through 3 periods

32
Q

what are the 3 periods of the vocational choice?

A
  1. fantasy period: children explore career options by fantasizing about them
  2. tentative period: between 11 and 16, adolescents evaluate careers in terms of their interests, abilities and values
  3. realistic period: late teens and early twenties, further exploration and then crystallization
33
Q

Do all young people follow this pattern of vocational development?

A

most of them

34
Q

is making occupational choices simply a rational process?

A

no

35
Q

how many personality types are there that influence vocational choice?

A

6

36
Q

what are the 6 personality types that affect vocational choice?

A
  1. investigative person
  2. social person
  3. realistic person
  4. artistic person
  5. conventional person
  6. enterprising person
37
Q

are people only one personality type?

A

no, they are blends of several personality types

38
Q

what are other influences that also affect career decisions?

A
  • parents provision of educational opportunities, vocational information and encouragement
  • close relationships with teachers who hold high educational expectations
39
Q

Is there a progress in women in male-dominated professions?

A

yes, but it is very little progress

40
Q

What is the transition period to adulthood between late teens to mid- to late twenties called?

A

emerging adulthood

41
Q

What is the emerging adulthood period defined by?

A
  1. feeling in between - neither adolescent nor adult
  2. identity exploration - especially in love, work and worldview
  3. self-focused - not self-centered but lacking obligations to others
  4. instability - frequent changes in living arrangements, relationships, education and work
  5. possibilities - able to choose among multiple life directions
42
Q

is emerging adulthood a universal phase of development?

A

no, not necessarily

43
Q

What encourages young people to look more closely at themselves?

A

exposure to multiple viewpoints
-> more complex self-concept

44
Q

What stage is the emerging adulthood phase in Erikson’s theory?

A

conflict of intimacy versus isolation
-> close relationship with a partner
intimacy: giving up some of their independent self
negative outcome: loneliness, self-absorption

45
Q

What is identity achievement and identity moratorium?

A
  • Identity achievement positively correlated with fidelity (loyalty in relationships) and love, for both men and women.
  • Identity moratorium negatively associated with fidelity and love.
    -> secure identity promotes the attainment of intimacy
46
Q

What does the successful resolution of the intimacy vs isolation conflict do?

A

prepares the individual for the middle adulthood stage, which focuses on generativity -caring for the next generation and helping to improve society

47
Q

Who expanded Erikson’s stage approach?

A

Levinson

48
Q

What did Levinson depicted adult development as?

A

a sequence of qualitatively distinct eras (or seasons) separated by transitions in which people revise their life structure

49
Q

What is a life structure?

A

the underlying design of a person’s life and includes all the roles an individual occupies, all of his or her relationships and the conflicts and balance that exist among them

50
Q

What are the different eras of Levinson theory?

A

Era or preadulthood: 0-22
Era of early adulthood: 17-45
Era of middle adulthood: 40-65
Era of late adulthood: 60-?

51
Q

What do young adults usually construct in their transition to early adulthood?

A

a dream
-> image of themselves in the adult world, that guides their decision making

52
Q

When does the second transition occurs in Levinson theory?

A

around age 30

53
Q

What are the different years used for according to Vaillants theory?

A
  • The twenties devoted to intimacy The thirties to career consolidation
  • The forties to strengthening generativity
  • The fifties and sixties to extending generativity in passing on cultural values (“keepers of meaning”)
  • In late adulthood: more spiritual and reflecting on life’s meaning.
54
Q

What are some critiques of Vaillant and Levinson theory?

A
  • patterns described based on interviews with people born in the first few decades of the twentieth century, many of whom were educationally and economically advantages
  • development far more variable today
55
Q

What is the Social clock and where can we find it?

A

age-graded expectations
-> all societies have some kind of social clock

56
Q

Can the need for intimacy also be satisfied through other things than romantic love?

A

yes, through other relationships involving mutual commitment: friends, siblings, co-workers

57
Q

What is a major milestone of early adulthood development?

A

self-concept and psychological well-being

58
Q

What are the three components that shift in emphasis as romantic relationships develop according to Robert Sternberg?

A

Passion (Physical and psychological arousal component), Intimacy (emotional component) and Commitment (cognitive component)

59
Q

What is Sternbergs triangular theory of love?

A

At the beginning of a relationship, passionate love is strong: intense sexual attraction
gradually: passion declines in favor of intimacy and commitment which form the basis for two additional forms of love

60
Q

What changes over time according to Sternberg?

A

the balance among passion, intimacy, and commitment in romantic ties

61
Q

What are companionate and compassionate love?

A
  • companionate love: warm, trusting affection and valuing of the other
  • compassionate love: concern for the other’s well-being, expressed through caring efforts to alleviate the others distress and promote the others growth and flourishing
62
Q

What are expressions of the 2 types of love moderately to highly correlated with?

A

each helping to sustain the relationship

63
Q

What is a powerful predictor of whether partners keep dating?

A

early passionate love
-> Without the quiet intimacy, predictability, and shared attitudes and values of companionate love, most romances eventually break up

64
Q

What factors are strongly linked to partners relational happiness and plans to remain together over the long term?

A

the combination of intimacy and commitment inherent in compassionate love

65
Q

What increases in newly-in-love individuals?

A

serotonin production by 40%

66
Q

How does the brain process it when we experience a breakup?

A

similar than quitting a heroin habit

67
Q

What do long-term love and sexual desire activate?

A

different areas of the brain
-> sexual needs: part that is particularly sensitive to innately pleasurable things (food, sex and drugs)
-> love: requires conditioning, more like a habit. love grows out of positive rewards, expectancies and habit

68
Q

What is the family life cycle?

A

a series of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world

69
Q

What are the phases of the family life cycle?

A

early adulthood: people typically living on their own, Mary and bear children
in middle age: parenting responsibilities diminish as children leave home
late adulthood: retirement, growing old, death of one’s spouse

70
Q

What is a major step toward assuming adult responsibilities?

A

departure from the parental home

71
Q

where is delayed home-leaving normal?

A

in most industrialized nations

72
Q

What is having children nowadays?

A

a matter of true individual choice affected by a complex array of factors (financial circumstances, personal and religious values, career goals, health conditions and so on)

73
Q

What does Parenthood bring?

A

increased responsibilities

74
Q

What does shared caregiving predict?

A

greater parental happiness and positive parent-infant interaction

Developmental psychology II (7 decks)

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