Select a person in Early Adulthood as the age group, and describe the development through the different stages.

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Physical Development and Health

Module 7.1 Physical Development in Early Adulthood

Physical Changes and Challenges (1 of 4)

LO 7.1 Describe the physical changes that occur in early adulthood, and identify the barriers people with physical disabilities face.

Physical changes

Most development and maturation are complete

Most people are at the peak of physical capabilities

Senescence (natural physical decline brought on my aging) has begun, but nothing noticeable now

Gray brain matter is pruned and myelination increases

These changes support cognitive development

Physical Changes and Challenges (2 of 4)

LO 7.1 Describe the physical changes that occur in early adulthood, and identify the barriers people with physical disabilities face.

The Senses: Subtle Shifts

Senses are as sharp as they will be

While changes are occurring, they don’t impact current sensitivity

Physical Changes and Challenges (3 of 4)

LO 7.1 Describe the physical changes that occur in early adulthood, and identify the barriers people with physical disabilities face.

Motor Functioning

Most professional athletes are at their peak during early adulthood

Athletes are at peak until age 30

Psychomotor abilities are at their peak: Hand-eye coordination, muscle strength, reaction time

Physical Changes and Challenges (4 of 4)

LO 7.1 Describe the physical changes that occur in early adulthood, and identify the barriers people with physical disabilities face.

Physical Disabilities: Coping with Physical Challenge

More than 50 million people in the United States are physically or mentally challenged

Disability: Condition that substantially limits a major life activity (walking/vision)

People with disabilities are undereducated and underemployed or unemployed

Even with passing of Americans with Disabilities Act, there are still many barriers

Prejudice can be a barrier as well

Fitness, Diet, and Health (1 of 5)

LO 7.2 Summarize the impact of fitness and diet on general health in early adulthood and identify other health hazards for this age group.

Physical Fitness

Recommended exercise: 30 minutes five times/week

Advantages of regular exercise:

Increases cardiovascular fitness

Lung capacity increases

Muscles become stronger

Body becomes more flexible and maneuverable

Reduces osteoporosis, thinning of bones, in later life

Optimizes the immune response

Decreases stress, anxiety, and depression

Increases sense of control and feelings of accomplishment

Increases longevity

Figure 7.1: The Result of Fitness: Longevity

The relationship between daily duration of physical activity and reduction in all-cause mortality.

Source: Based on Wen, C.P. et al. Minimum amount of physical activity for reduced mortality and extended life expectancy: a prospective cohort study. Lancet, 378, 1244–1253 (2011).

Fitness, Diet, and Health (2 of 5)

LO 7.2 Summarize the impact of fitness and diet on general health in early adulthood and identify other health hazards for this age group.

Good Nutrition: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch?

U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends adults eat a low-fat diet, including whole-grain foods, vegetables, and fruits

Milk and calcium prevent osteoporosis

People should reduce salt intake

Young adults must reduce calorie intake to maintain health

Fitness, Diet, and Health (3 of 5)

LO 7.2 Summarize the impact of fitness and diet on general health in early adulthood and identify other health hazards for this age group.

Obesity: A Weighty Concern

Obesity: Weight that is 20 percent or more above average weight for a given height

More than one-third of adults are obese

More than 1 in 20 are extremely obese

Some recommend not dieting because failure rates are so high

People should eat in moderation

Figure 7-2: Obesity on the Rise

Despite greater awareness of the importance of good nutrition, the percentage of adults with weight problems in the United States has risen dramatically over the past few decades. Why do you think this rise has occurred?

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2014.

Figure 7-3: First in Obesity

Obesity is particularly prevalent in the United States. The world average weight for adults is 137 pounds; in the United States, the average is 180.

Source: Walpole, 2012.

Fitness, Diet, and Health (4 of 5)

LO 7.2 Summarize the impact of fitness and diet on general health in early adulthood and identify other health hazards for this age group.

Health

Young adults are least susceptible to colds and illnesses

Leading causes of death in young adults:

Accidents

AIDS

Cancer

Heart Disease

Suicide

Fitness, Diet, and Health (5 of 5)

LO 7.2 Summarize the impact of fitness and diet on general health in early adulthood and identify other health hazards for this age group.

Health

Drug/alcohol abuse can hasten secondary aging

Men are more apt to die from accidents than women are

African Americans have twice the death rate of Caucasians

Murder rates in the United States are significantly higher than other developed countries

Most frequent cause of death in young Caucasian and African American males

Second most frequent cause of death for Hispanics

Figure 7-4: Tracking Murder

The murder rate (per 100,000 men) is far higher in the United States than in any other developed country. What features of U.S. society contribute to this higher rate?

Source: Based on UNODC, 2013.

Cultural Dimensions: How Cultural Beliefs Influence Health and Health Care

Cultural beliefs reduce people’s use of physicians and medical care.

To ensure everyone receives adequate health care, cultural beliefs have to be taken into account.

Stress and Coping: Dealing With Life’s Challenges

Module 7.1 Physical Development in Early Adulthood

Stress and Coping: Dealing with Life’s Challenges

Stress: The response to events that threaten or challenge an individual

Our lives are filled with stressors

Stressors can be both pleasant events and unpleasant events

Field of psychoneuroimmunology studies relationship between the brain, the immune system, and psychological factors

Stress produces several outcomes that impact health

Long-term, continuous exposure to stressors results in a reduction of the body dealing with stress

The Origins and Consequences of Stress (1 of 2)

LO 7.3 Identify the origins of stress, and explain its consequences.

Lazarus and Folkman: People move through stages that determine whether they will experience stress

Primary appraisal: Assessment of event to determine if its positive, negative, or neutral

Secondary appraisal: Assessment of one’s coping abilities and whether they can overcome the threat

Events and circumstances that produce negative emotions equal stress

Events that are ambiguous and confusing produce stress

Events that are uncontrollable or unpredictable produce stress

People who must accomplish many tasks simultaneously are more likely to experience stress

The Origins and Consequences of Stress (2 of 2)

LO 7.3 Identify the origins of stress, and explain its consequences.

Consequences of stress

Headaches, backaches, skin rashes, indigestion, chronic fatigue, colds

Immune system—organs, glands, and cells that are body’s line of defense against disease—is damaged by stress

Coping With Stress

LO 7.4 Identify strategies for coping with stress.

Coping: Effort to reduce or tolerate threats that lead to stress

Problem-focused coping (change situation)

Emotion-focused coping (regulate emotions)

Social support helps

Defensive coping (unconscious strategies distort or deny the situation)

Emotional insulation (blocking emotions)

Inappropriate coping may lead to drugs and alcohol

Being an Informed Consumer of Development: Coping With Stress

General guidelines for coping:

Seek control over the situation.

Redefine “threat” as “challenge.”

Find social support.

Use relaxation techniques.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Keep in mind that life without stress would be dull.

Cognitive Development and Intelligence

Module 7.2 Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

Intellectual Growth and Postformal Thought (1 of 4)

LO 7.5 Identify and summarize the various approaches to postformal thinking.

Piaget believed very few cognitive changes occur in young adulthood.

Research indicates he was wrong.

Postformal Thought

Giesela Labouvie-Vief suggests that thinking changes qualitatively to transcend logic and include practical experience, moral judgments, and values

Adults exhibit postformal thought (beyond Piaget’s formal operations)

Postformal thought: Thinking that acknowledges that adult predicaments must sometimes be solved in relativistic terms

Intellectual Growth and Postformal Thought (2 of 4)

LO 7.5 Identify and summarize the various approaches to postformal thinking.

Perry’s Approach to Postformal Thinking

Perry examined the way students grew intellectually and morally during college

Studied students at Harvard University

Found that students entering college tend to use dualistic thinking: something is right or wrong

As they are exposed to new views, students begin to hold multiple perspectives

Students show relativistic thinking—different standards and values can all be equally valid

Intellectual Growth and Postformal Thought (3 of 4)

LO 7.5 Identify and summarize the various approaches to postformal thinking.

Schaie’s Stages of Development

Acquisitive stage

Achieving stage

Responsible stage

Executive stage

Reintegrative stage

• The ACQUISITIVE STAGE encompasses all of childhood and adolescence, and the main developmental task is to acquire information.

• The ACHIEVING STAGE is the point reached by young adults in which intelligence is applied to specific situations involving the attainment of long-term goals regarding careers, family, and societal contributions.

• The RESPONSIBLE STAGE is the stage where the major concerns of middle-aged adults relate to their personal situations, including protecting and nourishing their spouses, families, and careers.

• The EXECUTIVE STAGE is the period in middle adulthood when people take a broader perspective than earlier, including concerns about the world.

• The REINTEGRATIVE STAGE is the period of late adulthood during which the focus is on tasks that have personal meaning.

Figure 7-5: Schaie’s Stages of Adult Development

Source: Based on Schaie, 1977–1978.

Intellectual Growth and Postformal Thought (4 of 4)

LO 7.5 Identify and summarize the various approaches to postformal thinking.

Life Events and Cognitive Development

Significant life events lead to cognitive change:

Marriage

Having a child

Buying a house

Allows young adults to deal effectively with complex social world

Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood? (1 of 3)

LO 7.6 Discuss the different types of intelligence, and explain how each affects the career success of young adults.

Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence

Componential intelligence

Experiential intelligence

Contextual intelligence

• Componential intelligence relates to the mental components involved in analyzing data and solving problems, especially problems involving rational behavior.

• Experiential intelligence refers to the relationships among intelligence, people’s prior experience, and their ability to cope with new situations.

• Contextual intelligence involves the degree of success people demonstrate in facing the demands of their everyday, real-world environments.

Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood? (2 of 3)

LO 7.6 Discuss the different types of intelligence, and explain how each affects the career success of young adults.

Practical and Emotional Intelligence

Practical intelligence: Observation and modeling behavior

Emotional intelligence: Assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions

Allows us to get along well with others

We can understand what others are feeling

Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood? (3 of 3)

LO 7.6 Discuss the different types of intelligence, and explain how each affects the career success of young adults.

Creativity: Novel Thought

Creativity is combining responses or ideas in creative ways

At its peak in early adulthood

Creative people are willing to take risks

Creative people endorse unfashionable ideas

Not all people reach peak in early adulthood

Figure 7-6: Creativity and Age

The period of maximum creativity differs depending on the particular field. The percentages refer to the total lifetime major works produced during the particular age period. Why do poets peak earlier than novelists?

Source: Based on Dennis, 1966.

College: Pursuing Higher Education

Module 7.2 Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

The Demographics of Higher Education: Who Attends College? (1 of 2)

LO 7.7 Summarize the demographic make-up of college students in the United States, and describe how that population is changing.

Demographics

College students primarily white and middle class

Minority students are increasing

Only 40 percent who start finish 4 years later

Only 50 percent complete college with a degree

Dropout rate for African Americans is about 60 percent

College improves economic well-being: Just 3 percent of adults who have college education live below poverty line

Figure 7-7: College Enrollment by Racial Group

The proportion of nonwhites who attend college is far lower than the proportion of whites.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2015.

The Demographics of Higher Education: Who Attends College? (2 of 2)

LO 7.7 Summarize the demographic make-up of college students in the United States, and describe how that population is changing.

The Gender Gap in College Attendance

More women enrolled than men

More women earning bachelor’s degrees

Gap is bigger for African Americans

Entry-level jobs more available for men

Women’s academic records may appeal to colleges more

The Changing College Student: Never Too Late to Go to College?

Some students focus on creating stable income first

Maturation reform: Change in attitude to acquiring stability

The Effects of Gender Bias and Negative Stereotypes on College Performance (1 of 4)

LO 7.8 Discuss how gender bias and stereotypes affect the college performance of women and students of color.

Gender Bias

Prejudice and discrimination toward women still part of college life

Classes in education, social sciences have more women

Classes in sciences have more men

Attrition rates for women in the sciences twice as high than for men

The Effects of Gender Bias and Negative Stereotypes on College Performance (2 of 4)

LO 7.8 Discuss how gender bias and stereotypes affect the college performance of women and students of color.

Gender Bias

Gender differences reflect effects of stereotypes:

Men more apt to view themselves above average on several topics related to academic success

Teachers call on men more often and make more eye contact

Males receive more extra help and positive reinforcement

Benevolent sexism is as harmful as hostile sexism

The Effects of Gender Bias and Negative Stereotypes on College Performance (3 of 4)

LO 7.8 Discuss how gender bias and stereotypes affect the college performance of women and students of color.

Stereotype Threat and Disidentification with School

Steele proposed reason both women and African Americans perform less well in college is due to academic disidentification

Disidentification: Lack of identification with the academic domain

Women disidentify with math and science

African Americans disidentify across academic domains

In both cases negative societal stereotypes produce stereotype threat: Obstacles to performance that come from awareness of stereotypes

The Effects of Gender Bias and Negative Stereotypes on College Performance (4 of 4)

LO 7.8 Discuss how gender bias and stereotypes affect the college performance of women and students of color.

College Adjustment: Reacting to the Demands of College Life

Sometimes adjustment to college is not easy

First-year adjustment reaction: Cluster of psychological symptoms (loneliness, anxiety, depression) more common in highly successful high school students

First-generation students also susceptible

May pass, but may also become more serious

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development: When Do College Students Need Help With Their Problems?

College students need help when:

Distress lingers and interferes with their well-being

They feel they are unable to cope

They feel hopeless or depressed for no apparent reason

They are unable to form close relationships

They have physical symptoms (headaches, stomach cramps, skin rashes)

Figure 7-8: College Problems

The difficulties most frequently reported by college students visiting a campus counseling center.

Source: Benton et al., 2003.

Forging Relationships: Intimacy, Liking, and Loving During Early Adulthood

Module 7.3 Social and Personality Development in Early Adulthood

Intimacy, Friendship, and Love (1 of 4)

LO 7.9 Explain how young adults respond to the need for intimacy and friendship and how liking turns to loving.

Seeking Intimacy: Erikson’s View of Young Adulthood

Intimacy-versus-isolation stage: Period of postadolescence into the early 30s

Intimacy comprises:

Degree of selflessness

Joint pleasure

Deep devotion (fuse identity)

Difficulties lead to loneliness, isolation, and fear of relationships with others

Erikson limited healthy intimacy to heterosexuals and focused on men

Intimacy, Friendship, and Love (2 of 4)

LO 7.9 Explain how young adults respond to the need for intimacy and friendship and how liking turns to loving.

Friendship

Need for belongingness leads people to establish relationships with others

Relationships are based on proximity and similarity

Number of cross-race friendships dwindles throughout life span

Intimacy, Friendship, and Love (3 of 4)

LO 7.9 Explain how young adults respond to the need for intimacy and friendship and how liking turns to loving.

Friendship

We choose friends based on personal qualities:

Keep confidences

Loyal

Warm

Affectionate

Supportive

Frank

Good sense of humor

Intimacy, Friendship, and Love (4 of 4)

LO 7.9 Explain how young adults respond to the need for intimacy and friendship and how liking turns to loving.

Falling in Love: When Liking Turns to Loving

Most relationships follow regular progression:

Interact for longer periods of time

Seek out each other’s company

Open up more and share physical intimacy

Willing to share positive, negative, criticism and praise

Agree on the goals they hold for the relationship

Reactions to situations become more similar

Psychological well-being tied to success of relationship

See themselves as a couple

From Research to Practice: Emerging Adulthood: Not Quite There Yet!

Emerging adulthood: Period between 18 and late 20s

Marked by exploring identity, deciding what to become in the future, and focusing less on present

Five features:

Identity exploration

Instability

Self-focus

Feeling in-between

Optimism

• Identity exploration: Entails learning to make important decisions about love, work and one’s core beliefs.

• Instability: Changes in plans, goals or ideologies.

• Self-focus: Comes between parental control and the obligations of child-raising and career.

• Feeling in-between: sense of being no longer an adolescent but not yet an adult.

• Optimism: Confidence in getting what they want out of life.

The Faces of Love (1 of 4)

LO 7.10 Differentiate the different kinds of love.

Love differs qualitatively from liking:

Involves intense physical arousal

Involves an all-encompassing interest in another person

Involves recurrent fantasies about the other individual

Involves rapid swings of emotion

Includes elements of closeness, passion, and exclusivity

The Faces of Love (2 of 4)

LO 7.10 Differentiate the different kinds of love.

Passionate and Companionate Love: The Two Faces of Love

Passionate

Companionate

Berscheid’s labeling theory of passionate love

In many cultures, passionate, romantic love a foreign concept

• PASSIONATE (OR ROMANTIC) LOVE is a state of powerful absorption in someone.

• COMPANIONATE LOVE is the strong affection we have for those with whom our lives are deeply involved.

According to Elaine Hatfield and Ellen Berscheid's LABELING THEORY OF PASSIONATE LOVE, individuals experience romantic love when two events occur together: intense physical arousal and situational cues that indicate that "love" is the appropriate label for the feelings being experienced.

The Faces of Love (3 of 4)

LO 7.10 Differentiate the different kinds of love.

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory: The Three Faces of Love

Three components of love:

Intimacy

Passion

Decision/commitment

• The INTIMACY COMPONENT encompasses feelings of closeness, affection, and connectedness.

• The PASSION COMPONENT comprises the motivational drives relating to sex, physical closeness, and romance.

• The DECISION/COMMITMENT COMPONENT embodies both the initial cognition that one loves another person and the longer-term determination to maintain that love.

The Faces of Love (4 of 4)

LO 7.10 Differentiate the different kinds of love.

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory: The Three Faces of Love

Eight unique combinations of love can be formed:

Nonlove

Liking

Infatuated love

Empty love

Romantic love

Companionate love

Fatuous love

Consummate love

Table 7-4: The Combinations of Love

		Component
Type of Love	Intimacy	Passion	Decision/Commitment	Example
Nonlove	Absent	Absent	Absent	The way you might feel about the person who takes your ticket at the movies
Liking	Present	Absent	Absent	Good friends who have lunch together at least once or twice a week.
Infatuated Love	Absent	Present	Absent	A “fling” or short-term relationship based only on sexual attraction.
Empty love	Absent	Absent	Present	An arranged marriage or a couple who have decided to stay married for ”the sake of the children.”
Romantic love	Present	Present	Absent	A couple who have been happily dating a few months, but have not made any plans for a future together.
Companionate love	Present	Absent	Present	A couple who enjoy each other’s company and their relationship, although they no longer feel much sexual interest in each other.
Fatuous love	Absent	Present	Present	A couple who decides to move in together after knowing each other for only 2 weeks.
Consummate love	Present	Present	Present	A loving, sexually vibrant, long-term relationship.

Choosing a Partner: Recognizing Mr. or Ms. Right (1 of 5)

LO 7.11 Identify the factors that influence young adults’ choice of partner, and give examples of how these are affected by gender and culture.

Seeking a Spouse: Is Love the Only Thing That Matters?

When asked, individuals from the United States, Japan, or Brazil said they would not marry without love; individuals from Pakistan and India said they would

Characteristics differ across cultures:

China: Men ranked good health most important; women rated emotional stability and maturity critical

South Africa (Zulu): Men rated emotional stability first; women rated dependable character first

Choosing a Partner: Recognizing Mr. or Ms. Right (2 of 5)

LO 7.11 Identify the factors that influence young adults’ choice of partner, and give examples of how these are affected by gender and culture.

Seeking a Spouse: Is Love the Only Thing That Matters?

Commonalities across cultures

Love and mutual attraction

Dependability, emotional stability, pleasing disposition, intelligence

Gender differences similar across cultures:

Men prefer physically attractive partner

Women prefer spouse who is ambitious and industrious

Choosing a Partner: Recognizing Mr. or Ms. Right (3 of 5)

LO 7.11 Identify the factors that influence young adults’ choice of partner, and give examples of how these are affected by gender and culture.

Seeking a Spouse: Is Love the Only Thing That Matters?

David Buss and colleagues’ theory: Humans seek certain characteristics in mates that will maximize availability of beneficial genes

Critics argue that cultural similarities reflect gender stereotyping and have nothing to do with evolution

Choosing a Partner: Recognizing Mr. or Ms. Right (4 of 5)

LO 7.11 Identify the factors that influence young adults’ choice of partner, and give examples of how these are affected by gender and culture.

Filtering Models: Sifting Out a Spouse

People seeking mates screen candidates

Filter for broad determinants of attractiveness

Choice based on compatibility

People often marry according to homogamy (similarities)

Marriage gradient: Tendency for men to marry women slightly younger, smaller, and lower in status and vice versa

African American women find it difficult to find spouse according to marriage gradient

Men have larger pool to choose from

Figure 7-9: Filtering Potential Marriage Partners

According to one approach, we screen potential mates through successively finer grained filters to settle on an appropriate spouse.

Source: Based on Janda & Klenke-Hamel, 1980.

Choosing a Partner: Recognizing Mr. or Ms. Right (5 of 5)

LO 7.11 Identify the factors that influence young adults’ choice of partner, and give examples of how these are affected by gender and culture.

Attachment Styles and Romantic Relationships: Do Adult Loving Styles Reflect Attachment in Infancy?

Phillip Shaver: Influence of infants’ attachment styles affects nature of romantic relationships

Secure attachment

Avoidant attachment

Anxious-avoidant attachment

• Adults with secure attachment readily enter into relationships and feel happy and confident about the future of the relationship (half of all adults). They provide more sensitive supportive care to their partner.

• Adults who have avoidant attachment tend to be less invested in relationships, have higher break-up rates, and often feel lonely (one-quarter of all adults).

• Adults who have anxious-avoidant attachment tend to become overly invested in relationships, have repeated break-ups with the same partner, and have relatively low self-esteem (20 percent of adults). They provide compulsive, intrusive assistance to their partners.

Cultural Dimensions: Gay and Lesbian Relationships: Men with Men and Women with Women

Most gays and lesbians seek loving, long-term, meaningful relationships.

These relationships are not different from those desired by heterosexuals.

Review: Forging Relationships: Intimacy, Liking, and Loving During Early Adulthood (1 of 2)

Young adults face Erikson’s intimacy-versus-isolation stage.

Those able to resolve this conflict can form intimate relationships.

Passionate love is characterized by intense physiological arousal, intimacy and caring.

Companionate love is characterized by respect, admiration, and affection.

Sternberg’s triangular theory identifies three basic components: intimacy, passion, decision/commitment.

These basic components can be combined to form different types of of love.

Review: Forging Relationships: Intimacy, Liking, and Loving During Early Adulthood (2 of 2)

Choosing a spouse involves love and mutual attraction.

Men tend to rate physical attractiveness as important.

Women rate ambition and industriousness highly.

Evolutionary theories to account for this have been criticized.

Cross-cultural gender preferences reflect similar patterns of gender stereotyping.

Values assigned to relationships are similar between heterosexual couples and homosexual couples.

Check Yourself: Forging Relationships: Intimacy, Liking, and Loving During Early Adulthood (1 of 2)

According to Erikson, adults spend their early adult years __________.

A) consolidating careers

B) developing their identities

C) being industrious

D) developing relationships with others

Answer: D

Check Yourself: Forging Relationships: Intimacy, Liking, and Loving During Early Adulthood (2 of 2)

__________ love is the strong affection we have for those individuals with whom our lives are deeply involved.

A) Passionate

B) Consummate

C) Intimate

D) Companionate

Answer: D

The Course of Relationships

Module 7.3 Social and Personality Development in Early Adulthood

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (1 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

Cohabitation

Last three decades show decline in number of married couples

More couples living together without being married

Some 7.5 million people are cohabitating

Married couples make up minority of households

Most young adults will cohabitate in their 20s

Cohabitation may be “practice” for marriage

Chances of divorce are higher for cohabitants

Figure 7-10: Cohabitation

The number of couples living together before marriage increased by 41 percent from the year 2000 to 2010.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2010.

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (2 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

Marriage

Preferred alternative for early adulthood

The “right” thing to do

Spouse provides security and financial well-being

Spouse fills a sexual role

Spouse can provide a sounding board and act as a partner for activities

Marriage offers only totally acceptable way to have children

Marriage offers legal benefits and protections

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (3 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

Marriage

Statistics

Fewer U.S. citizens are married than since the 1890s

Attributable to higher divorce rates

People are marrying later in life (28.7 average for men 26.5 for women)

90 percent of people eventually wed

Figure 7-11: Postponing Marriage

The age at which women and men first marry is the highest since national statistics were first collected in the late 1800s. What factors account for this?

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2011.

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (4 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

What Makes Marriage Work?

Characteristics of successful marriages:

Partners show affection

Partners communicate the positive

Partners see themselves as part of interdependent couple

They experience social homogamy, have similar interests, and agree on role distribution

Only about half of all marriages remain intact

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (5 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

Early Marital Conflict

Nearly half of newly married couples experience significant marital conflict

Difficulty transitioning from being children to adults

Difficulty developing an identity apart from spouse

Struggle to find time with spouse

However, for many, newlywed period is the happiest time of entire married life

Figure 7-12: Divorce Around the World

Countries around the world have substantial divorce rates, although in some places the rate is declining.

Source: Adapted from Population Council Report, 2008.

Cohabitation, Marriage, and Other Relationship Choices: Sorting Out the Option of Early Adulthood (6 of 6)

LO 7.12 Summarize the sorts of relationships people enter into in early adulthood, and identify the characteristics of a successful marriage.

Staying Single: I Want to Be Alone

Singlehood has increased over the last several decades

20 percent of women and 30 percent of men live single

Reasons:

Negative view of marriage

Marriage is too restrictive

Do not encounter someone with whom they wish to spend their lives

Value independence, autonomy, and freedom

Pitfalls of staying single: stigmatization for women, lack of companionship and sexual outlets, and concern for the financial future

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (1 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

What makes a couple decide to have children?

Reason against: Economics

U.S. government estimates it takes $235,000 to support a child until he or she is 18

Add cost of college: $300,000

Add cost of childcare, total estimate doubles

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (2 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

What makes a couple decide to have children?

Reasons for:

Pleasure watching them grow

Fulfillment from children’s accomplishments

Satisfaction from seeing them become successful

Enjoyment of forging a close bond

Having someone to take care of them in their old age

Having someone to maintain the family business

Companionship

A strong societal norm: More than 90 percent of married couples have a child

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (3 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

Unwanted pregnancies mostly occur in younger, poorer, less-educated couples

Some couples make decision independent of marriage

59 percent of women are married when they have children

More than half of births to women under the age of 30 occur outside of marriage

Young adult women with college degree choose to be married before children

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (4 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

Family Size

Contraception has resulted in dramatic decrease in family size

1930s: 70 percent of Americans wanted 3 or more children

1990s: Shrunk to 40 percent

Today, most have two children

Actual birth rates

1957: 3.7 children was average

Today: Rate is 2.1 (lower than replacement level)

Some underdeveloped countries: Rate is 6.3 (Afghanistan and Zambia)

Figure 7-13: Smaller Is Better

Continuing trends over the last 75 years, U.S. parents continue to prefer families with fewer children. What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have?

Source: Saad, L. (2011, June 30). Americans’ preference for smaller families edges higher. Princeton, NJ: Gallup Poll. Copyright (©) 2011 Gallup Inc. All rights reserved. The content is used with permission, however, Gallup retains all rights of republication.

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (5 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

Family Size

Reasons for decline in birth rates:

More women using contraceptives

More women working

Women delaying having children until their 30s

High cost of raising children

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (6 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

Dual-earner Couples

75 percent of married women work outside home

Workload of paid and unpaid work nearly identical

Husbands do chores that can be planned in advance

Wives do more of immediate needs

Wives experience more stress and anxiety

Figure 7-14: Division of Labor

Although husbands and wives generally work at their paying jobs a similar number of hours each week, wives are apt to spend more time than their husbands doing home chores and in child-care activities. Why do you think this pattern exists?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012.

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (7 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

The Transition to Parenthood: Two’s a couple, Three’s a Crowd?

Both positive and negative changes occur after child

Dramatic shifts in roles for spouses

John Gottman: Marital satisfaction can stay steady and perhaps rise with birth of a child

Three factors help couples weather the stress:

Working to build fondness and affection for each other

Remaining aware of events in each other’s life and honoring those

Considering problems as controllable and solvable

Coparenting works well

Parenthood: Choosing to Have Children (8 of 8)

LO 7.13 Identify the factors that influence a couple’s decision to have children, and summarize the impact children have on marriage.

Gay and Lesbian Parents

20 percent of gay men and lesbian women are parents

Pre-child homosexual couples divide housework equally

After the child, one person takes over childcare and the other works outside the home

Research shows children raised in homosexual homes show no differences in adjustment compared to those raised in heterosexual homes

Work: Choosing and Embarking on a Career

Module 7.3 Social and Personality Development in Early Adulthood

The Role of Work (1 of 3)

LO 7.14 Explain Vaillant’s stage of career consolidation, and identify the motivations people have for seeking a job other than money.

Identity During Young Adulthood

George Vaillant proposed stage of development called “career consolidation”

Occurs during ages of 20 to 40

Career concerns supplant focus on intimacy

Critics argue that Vaillant’s sample was elite men from the 1930s and not generalizable

The Role of Work (2 of 3)

LO 7.14 Explain Vaillant’s stage of career consolidation, and identify the motivations people have for seeking a job other than money.

Why Do People Work? More Than Earning a Living

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic: Tangible rewards

Intrinsic: Own enjoyment, personal rewards

Puritan work ethic: Work is important in and of itself.

Work also:

Contributes to sense of personal identity

May be central to social life

Determines status

The Role of Work (3 of 3)

LO 7.14 Explain Vaillant’s stage of career consolidation, and identify the motivations people have for seeking a job other than money.

Why Do People Work? More Than Earning a Living

Satisfaction on the Job

Satisfaction depends on:

Status

Nature of the job itself

Variety

Job satisfaction increases when workers have input into the nature of their jobs

Supervisors have more influence and hence more job satisfaction

Picking an Occupation: Choosing Life’s Work (1 of 4)

LO 7.15 Summarize Ginzberg’s career choice theory, Holland’s personality type theory, and how gender affects work choices.

Ginzberg’s Career Choice Theory

Stages of choosing a career

Fantasy period

Tentative period

Realistic period

Critics argue it is too simplistic and may overstate choices available to people in lower socioeconomic levels

• The first stage is the FANTASY PERIOD, which lasts until age 11 and is the period when career choices are made and discarded without regard to skills, abilities, or available job opportunities.

• During the TENTATIVE PERIOD, which spans adolescence, people begin to think in pragmatic terms about the requirements of various jobs and how their own abilities might fit with them.

• Finally, in early adulthood, people enter the REALISTIC PERIOD, during which people explore specific career options.

Picking an Occupation: Choosing Life’s Work (2 of 4)

LO 7.15 Summarize Ginzberg’s career choice theory, Holland’s personality type theory, and how gender affects work choices.

Holland’s Personality Type Theory

Personality types match certain careers:

Realistic

Intellectual

Social

Conventional

Enterprising

Artistic

Critics say not everyone fits neatly into a particular personality type

• Realistic. These people are down-to-earth, practical problem solvers, and physically strong, but their social skills are mediocre. They make good farmers, laborers, and truck drivers.

• Intellectual. Intellectual types are oriented toward the theoretical and abstract. Although not particularly good with people, they are well suited to careers in math and science.

• Social. The traits associated with the social personality type are related to verbal skills and interpersonal relations. Social types are good at working with people, and consequently make good salespersons, teachers, and counselors.

• Conventional. Conventional individuals prefer highly structured tasks. They make good clerks, secretaries, and bank tellers.

• Enterprising. These individuals are risk-takers and take-charge types. They are good leaders and may be particularly effective as managers or politicians.

• Artistic. Artistic types use art to express themselves, and they often prefer the world of art to interactions with people. They are best suited to occupations involving art.

Picking an Occupation: Choosing Life’s Work (3 of 4)

LO 7.15 Summarize Ginzberg’s career choice theory, Holland’s personality type theory, and how gender affects work choices.

Gender and Career Choices: Women’s Work

Illegal to advertise only to men or women

Until 1960s, jobs were advertised in two sections, targeting men or women.

Women were considered most appropriate for communal professions, occupations associated with relationships

Men were perceived as best suited for agentic professions, occupations associated with getting things accomplished

Picking an Occupation: Choosing Life’s Work (4 of 4)

LO 7.15 Summarize Ginzberg’s career choice theory, Holland’s personality type theory, and how gender affects work choices.

Women underrepresented in male-dominated professions like engineering and computer programming

Women earn less than men in many jobs

Between 1950 and 2003, women in the labor force increased from 35 percent to more than 60 percent

Women make up 55 percent of labor force

Women and minorities in high-status, visible professional roles hit glass ceiling

Figure 7-15: The Gender-Wage Gap

Women’s weekly earning as a percentage of men’s have increased since 1979 but are still only a bit more than 79 percent and have remained steady over the past three years.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014.

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development: Choosing a Career

Guidelines for choosing a career:

Systematically evaluate your choices.

Know yourself.

Create a “balance sheet” listing pros and cons.

“Try out” different careers through paid or unpaid internships.

Remember that there are no permanent mistakes.

It is reasonable to expect that shifting values, interests, abilities, and life circumstances might make a different career more appropriate later in life than the one chosen during early adulthood.