Developmental Pysch

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LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT
SECTION 7

CHAPTER 13:

PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

BECOMING AN ADULT

Emerging Adulthood: the transition from adolescence to adulthood

Occurs from approximately 18 to 25 years of age

Characterized by experimentation and exploration

$$ Markers of Becoming an Adult in U. S. :

Holding a more or less permanent, full-time job

Economic independence

Taking responsibility for oneself

Different criteria in other countries: ie marriage

BECOMING AN ADULT

Assets linked to well-being during transition to adulthood:
Intellectual: academic success, ability to plan, good decision-making skills
Psychological: mental health, mastery motivation, confidence, identity, values, community contributions
Social: connectedness to others through friendship and positive peer relations

BECOMING AN ADULT

Negative aspects of high school to college transition:
$$ Top-dog phenomenon: found in all academic transitions
Movement to a larger, more impersonal school structure
Increased focus on achievement and assessment
Positive aspects of transition:
More likely to feel grown up
More subjects from which to select
More time to spend with peers
More opportunities to explore different lifestyles and values
Greater independence from parental monitoring

BECOMING AN ADULT

College students’ fail to develop health-promoting habits due to not thinking how their current lifestyle affects them later.

Stressful Circumstances:

Tests and finals

Professors and class environment

Too many demands/Papers and essay exams

Career and future success/ Studying

Intimate relationships/ Roommate conflicts

Finances

Parental conflicts and expectations

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Health:

Biggest risk is establishing poor health habits

EATING AND WEIGHT

Obesity:

Prevalence of obesity in U.S. adults is increasing

Linked to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease

Factors Involved in Obesity:

Heredity plays a significant role

Environmental factor

$$ EATING AND WEIGHT

Regular Exercise:
Set Point Weight: your body tends to maintain a fairly stable weight.
Aerobic exercise: sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity
Most athletes will peak in their late teens
Highest rate of obesity is among low-income women
Exercise benefits both physical and mental health
Improves self-concept and reduces anxiety and depression
Effective in weight-loss

SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Alcohol:

Binge drinking:

Often increases in college

More common among men than women

Increases risk of having unprotected sex, falling behind in school, and driving drunk

Cigarette smoking and nicotine
Smoking linked to cancer deaths, heart disease deaths, and chronic pulmonary disease deaths
Hard to quit

SEXUALITY

During emerging adulthood, most individuals are both sexually active and unmarried
Americans tend to fall into three categories:
1/3 have sex twice a week or more
1/3 a few times a month
1/3 a few times a year or not at all
Married (and cohabiting) couples have sex more often than non-cohabiting couples
Most Americans do not engage in kinky sexual acts
Adultery is the exception rather than the rule
Men think about sex far more often than women do
$$ Other cultures such as China, chastity is essential

SEXUALITY

Attitudes and Behaviors of Lesbians and Gay Males:
Many gender differences that appear in heterosexual relationships occur in same-sex relationships
Lesbians have fewer sexual partners and less permissive attitudes about casual sex than gay men
Balancing the demands of two cultures (heterosexual and lesbian/gay male) can lead to more effective coping

FORCIBLE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Rape: forcible sexual intercourse without consent (F/M)

Characteristics of Male Rapists:

Aggression enhances their sense of power or masculinity

They are angry at women in general

They want to hurt and humiliate their victims

Rape is traumatic for victims and those close to them

Many experience depression, fear, anxiety, and increased substance use

50% experience sexual dysfunctions

Recovery varies

FORCIBLE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Date or Acquaintance Rape: coercive sexual activity directed at someone with whom the victim is at least casually acquainted
2/3 of college freshmen report having been date-raped or having experienced an attempted date rape

Sexual Harassment: a manifestation of power of one person over another
Takes many forms
Can result in serious psychological consequences for the victim

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Reflective and Relativistic Thinking:
Adults move away from absolutist, dualistic thinking in favor of reflective, relativistic thinking
Key aspects of cognitive development in emerging adulthood include:
Deciding on a particular world view
Recognizing that the world view is subjective
Understanding that diverse world views should be acknowledged

CAREERS AND WORK

Developmental changes
From mid-twenties on, individuals often seek to establish their emerging career in a particular field
$$ Glass Ceiling: barrier to career advancement for women and minorities
Finding a path to a purpose
Only 20% of 12 – 22-year-olds had a clear vision of where they want to go in life
$$ By age 25 a little more than half of individuals are independent

CAREERS AND WORK

Dual-Earner Couples:

Work creates a structure and rhythm to life and defines people in fundamental ways

Sometimes difficult to find a balance between work and the rest of life

$$ Recent research suggests that in U. S.:

appearance of long term careers is increasing

husbands are taking increased responsibility for maintaining the home

more than 1/3 work 40 hours a week

women are taking increased responsibility for breadwinning

Workplace is becoming increasingly diverse

READ AND REVIEW

Set Point (adipose cells)
Career Mystique (Phyllis Moen) pg.442

LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT SECTION 7

CHAPTER 14:

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

TEMPERAMENT

Researchers have linked early adulthood as continuous with childhood in that prior life experiences influence adult personality
Easy and difficult temperaments
Inhibition
Ability to control one’s emotions
Link between childhood and adult temperament may depend on aspects of the environment

ATTACHMENT

Adult Attachment Patterns: attachment related avoidance and anxiety

Secure Adults:

Have a positive view of relationships and find it easy to get close to others

Are not overly concerned with and are ore secure about romantic relationships

Tend to enjoy sexuality in the context of a committed relationship

Avoidant Adults:

Are hesitant about getting involved in romantic relationships

Tend to distance themselves from their partner

Anxious Adults:

Demand closeness; are less trusting

Are more emotional, jealous, and possessive

ATTACHMENT

$$ Secure Attachment:

Infants see caregiver as secure and feel free to explore

They have a well-integrated sense of self-acceptance, self-esteem, and self-efficacy

They have the ability to control their emotions, are optimistic, and are resilient

They activate cognitive representations of security, are mindful of what is happening around them, and mobilize effective coping strategies

Attachment insecurity places couples at risk for relationship problems

ATTRACTION

What Motivates Attraction?

Familiarity is necessary for a close relationship

People seek others who are similar to themselves, but opposites do attract in certain instances

Consensual Validation: our own attitudes and values are supported when someone else’s are similar to ours

Physical attractiveness is important, but the link is not clear-cut

Standards of what is attractive change over time and across cultures

Matching Hypothesis: we tend to choose partners who are close to our own level of attractiveness

LOVE

Erikson: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Types of Love
Romantic love: also called passionate love, or eros
Strong components of sexuality and infatuation
Different emotions: anger, fear, passion, sexual desire, joy, jealousy
$$ Affectionate love: also called companionate love
Based on a deep and caring affection
Passion tends to give way to affection
Consummate love: the strongest form of love

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship provides people with:
Companionship/Intimacy/affection
Support/ Source of self-esteem
Cross-gender friendships are more common among adults than among elementary school children
Can provide both opportunities and problems
Learning more about common feelings and interests

Gender Differences in Friendships:

Women have more friends than men; female friendships involve more self-disclosure and exchange of mutual support

Men are less likely to share weaknesses; they seek practical solutions to their problems rather than sympathy

Overall female friendships are more intimate; male friendships are more competitive

ADULT LIFE STYLES

Single Adults:

Dramatic rise in the last 30 years

Common problems:

Forming intimate relationships with other adults

Confronting loneliness

Advantages:

Freedom to make autonomous decisions and pursue one’s own schedule and interests

Opportunities to explore new places and try out new things

Cohabiting Adults :
Percentage has increased in recent years
Relationships between cohabiting men and women tend to be more equal than those between husbands and wives
Problems:
Disapproval by parents and other family members
Difficulty with legal and financial issues
Research suggests cohabiting before marriage increases the likelihood of divorce

ADULT LIFE STYLES

Marital Trends:

Marriage rates have declined in recent years

In 2011, the U.S. average age for a first marriage climbed to 28.7 years for men and 26.5 years for women

$$ Marriage occurs much earlier in non-industrialized countries

Marriage in adolescence is more likely to end in divorce

Getting married in the U.S. between 23 and 27 resulted in a lower likelihood of divorce

Percentage of married persons who said they were “very happy” declined from 1970s to 1990s, but recently began to increase

Men report being happier in marriage than women

ADULT LIFE STYLES

Divorce :

Divorce rates have increased dramatically in all socioeconomic groups

Some groups have a higher incidence of divorce:

Youthful marriage

Low educational level

Low income level

Not having a religious affiliation

Having divorced parents

Having a baby before marriage

Why re-marry?

BECOMING A PARENT

Parenting Myths and Reality:
Myths:
The birth of a child will save a failing marriage
The child will think, feel, and behave like the parents did in their childhood
Having a child gives the parents a “second chance” at achievement
Parenting is an instinct and requires no training

Parenting Trends in the U.S. Today:

The age at which individuals have children is increasing

The number of one-child families is increasing

Women are having fewer children and are working outside the home more

Fathers are increasing their participation in household chores

Women are becoming mothers later life, a large number after they are 35 years of age

DEALING WITH DIVORCE

Strategies for Dealing with Divorce:

Think of divorce as a chance to grow personally

Make decisions carefully

Focus more on future than the past

Use your strengths and resources to cope with difficulties

Don’t expect to be successful and happy in everything you do

Differences in Communication:

Problems come in part from differences in preferred ways of communicating

Research by Deborah Tannen:

Women prefer rapport talk: the language of conversation; a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships

Men prefer report talk: designed to give information, which includes public speaking

$$ READ AND REVIEW

Dealing w/ Divorce (E. Mavis Hetherington’s research)

pg. 471