Unit 5: Adulthood Development

Question 1

Young adulthood

Answer 1

20s-30s
physical abilities peak by mid-twenties

Question 2

Middle adulthood

Answer 2

40s-60s
physical decline accelerates; decline in fertility: perimenopause; menopause; andropause; decline in sexual desire

Question 3

Perimenopause

Answer 3

estrogen levels decrease; uterus gets smaller; hot flashes

Question 4

Menopause

Answer 4

cessation of menstrual cycle; no more babies

Question 5

Andropause

Answer 5

gradual decline in testosterone, sperm count, sexual functioning, etc
men rarely lose all reproductive activity

Question 6

Late adulthood

Answer 6

60+
life expectancy is higher
sensory abilities: vision, smell, and hearing tend to decline after age 70
health: more susceptible to life-threatening ailments; less susceptible to short-term ailments
brain: natural processing slows; loss of brain cells; atrophy of frontal lobe and areas important to memory

Question 7

Fluid intelligence

Answer 7

basic reasoning, memory capacity, and speed of cognitive development; decreases slowly

Question 8

Crystallized intelligence

Answer 8

accumulated knowledge (vocabulary and analogy tests); increases up to old age

Question 9

Social clock

Answer 9

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, retirement, etc; marks life transitions

Question 10

Intimacy vs isolation (stage 6)

Answer 10

Erikson; young adulthood; deep relationships can be formed because people are vulnerable to adulthood from young adulthood versus when people don’t foster relationships and socially isolate themselves, consequently leading to feelings of loneliness

Question 11

Generativity vs stagnation (stage 7)

Answer 11

Erikson; middle adulthood; generativity refers to an individual making their impression and achieving goals related to their stage of adulthood, and stagnation refers to a lack of ambitions and a tendency to become stuck in one place

Question 12

Integrity vs despair (stage 8)

Answer 12

Erikson; late adulthood; involves a retrospective look back and life and either feeling satisfied that life was well-lived (integrity) or regretting choices and missed opportunities (despair)

Question 13

Adult lives are dominated by

Answer 13

intimacy: children and marriage
generativity: important to find a career that provides a sense of competence and accomplishment

Question 14

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Answer 14

5 stages of grief in death and dying: denial; anger; bargaining; depression; acceptance; research on grief and bereavement DOES NOT support such predictable stages