Unit 5 Flashcards
What age does early adulthood include?
18 to 40 years
-> difficult to divide into discrete periods because the timing of important milestones varies greatly among individuals
What are some common set of tasks showing early adulthood?
leaving home, completing education, beginning full-time work, attaining economic independence, establishing a long-term sexually and emotionally intimate relationship, and starting a family
When does biological aging begin?
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.
What is biological aging also called?
senescence
What are the changes in physical appearance during the twenties and thirties?
so gradual that most are hardly noticeable
-> later they will accelerate
How do the senses start changing and at what age?
- 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
What is one of the most serious cardiovascular diseases?
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
How do motor performances (athletic skills) change during age?
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
what is largely responsible for age-related declines in motor performance?
inactivity rather than biological aging
How does the physical development change and at what time? (muscular, immune, skeletal, reproductivity and nervous system)
- 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
How did the birth rate change over the years regarding age?
- 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
why do many people get children now later in life?
delaying childbearing until their education is complete
does reproductive capacity decline with age? why?
yes
women: due to reduced quality and quantity of ova
men: semen and sperm motility decreases gradually after 35
How do attributes of the body change over time and when? (skin, hair, height, weight)
- 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
how does stress influence physical responses?
stress induces physical responses
-> contribute to cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer and gastrointestinal problems
Who reports depressive symptoms more often?
young adults
What are changes in the structure of thought?
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
What is cognitive development known as beyond Piagets formal operations?
postformal thought
What increases rational, flexible and practical ways of thinking in early adulthood?
personal effort and social experiences combined
What theories are Perry’s theory of epistemic cognition and Labouvie-Vief’s theory of pragmatic thought and cognitive-affective complexity?
they are influential theories of how thinking is restructured in adulthood
What is Perrys theory of epistemic cognition about?
our reflections on how we arrived at facts, beliefs and ideas
What is dualistic thinking, relativistic thinking and commitment within relativistic thinking according to Perry?
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
What does Labouvie-Vief’s theory state?
from adolescence through middle adulthood, people gained in cognitive-affective complexity
-> need to specialize motivated adults to move from hypothetical to pragmatic thought
What is Vocational Choice?
a gradual process that moves through 3 periods
what are the 3 periods of the vocational choice?
- fantasy period: children explore career options by fantasizing about them
- tentative period: between 11 and 16, adolescents evaluate careers in terms of their interests, abilities and values
- realistic period: late teens and early twenties, further exploration and then crystallization
Do all young people follow this pattern of vocational development?
most of them
is making occupational choices simply a rational process?
no
how many personality types are there that influence vocational choice?
6
what are the 6 personality types that affect vocational choice?
- investigative person
- social person
- realistic person
- artistic person
- conventional person
- enterprising person
are people only one personality type?
no, they are blends of several personality types
what are other influences that also affect career decisions?
- parents provision of educational opportunities, vocational information and encouragement
- close relationships with teachers who hold high educational expectations
Is there a progress in women in male-dominated professions?
yes, but it is very little progress
What is the transition period to adulthood between late teens to mid- to late twenties called?
emerging adulthood
What is the emerging adulthood period defined by?
- feeling in between - neither adolescent nor adult
- identity exploration - especially in love, work and worldview
- self-focused - not self-centered but lacking obligations to others
- instability - frequent changes in living arrangements, relationships, education and work
- possibilities - able to choose among multiple life directions
is emerging adulthood a universal phase of development?
no, not necessarily
What encourages young people to look more closely at themselves?
exposure to multiple viewpoints
-> more complex self-concept
What stage is the emerging adulthood phase in Erikson’s theory?
conflict of intimacy versus isolation
-> close relationship with a partner
intimacy: giving up some of their independent self
negative outcome: loneliness, self-absorption
What is identity achievement and identity moratorium?
- 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
What does the successful resolution of the intimacy vs isolation conflict do?
prepares the individual for the middle adulthood stage, which focuses on generativity -caring for the next generation and helping to improve society
Who expanded Erikson’s stage approach?
Levinson
What did Levinson depicted adult development as?
a sequence of qualitatively distinct eras (or seasons) separated by transitions in which people revise their life structure
What is a life structure?
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
What are the different eras of Levinson theory?
Era or preadulthood: 0-22
Era of early adulthood: 17-45
Era of middle adulthood: 40-65
Era of late adulthood: 60-?
What do young adults usually construct in their transition to early adulthood?
a dream
-> image of themselves in the adult world, that guides their decision making
When does the second transition occurs in Levinson theory?
around age 30
What are the different years used for according to Vaillants theory?
- 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.
What are some critiques of Vaillant and Levinson theory?
- 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
What is the Social clock and where can we find it?
age-graded expectations
-> all societies have some kind of social clock
Can the need for intimacy also be satisfied through other things than romantic love?
yes, through other relationships involving mutual commitment: friends, siblings, co-workers
What is a major milestone of early adulthood development?
self-concept and psychological well-being
What are the three components that shift in emphasis as romantic relationships develop according to Robert Sternberg?
Passion (Physical and psychological arousal component), Intimacy (emotional component) and Commitment (cognitive component)
What is Sternbergs triangular theory of love?
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
What changes over time according to Sternberg?
the balance among passion, intimacy, and commitment in romantic ties
What are companionate and compassionate love?
- 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
What are expressions of the 2 types of love moderately to highly correlated with?
each helping to sustain the relationship
What is a powerful predictor of whether partners keep dating?
early passionate love
-> Without the quiet intimacy, predictability, and shared attitudes and values of companionate love, most romances eventually break up
What factors are strongly linked to partners relational happiness and plans to remain together over the long term?
the combination of intimacy and commitment inherent in compassionate love
What increases in newly-in-love individuals?
serotonin production by 40%
How does the brain process it when we experience a breakup?
similar than quitting a heroin habit
What do long-term love and sexual desire activate?
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
What is the family life cycle?
a series of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world
What are the phases of the family life cycle?
early adulthood: people typically living on their own, Marry and bear children
in middle age: parenting responsibilities diminish as children leave home
late adulthood: retirement, growing old, death of one’s spouse
What is a major step toward assuming adult responsibilities?
departure from the parental home
where is delayed home-leaving normal?
in most industrialized nations
What is having children nowadays?
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)
What does Parenthood bring?
increased responsibilities
What does shared caregiving predict?
greater parental happiness and positive parent-infant interaction
