Psychosocial Developmentin Adulthood

Multiple Clocks

Old norms and beliefs about aging have become outdated

People have children later, marry later, change careers, etc…

Personality Throughout Adulthood

Circumstances Contributing to Personality• Genes• Parental Practices• Culture• Adult Circumstances

• Of these four, genes are probably the most influential, according to longitudinal studies.

• Since genes do not change from conception through death, it is not surprising that every study finds

substantial continuity in personality.

Personality throughout Adulthood

The Big Five• Openness

– Imaginative, curious, artistic, creative, open to new experiences

• Conscientiousness– Organized, deliberate, conforming, self-disciplined

• Extroversion– Outgoing, assertive, active

• Agreeableness– Kind, helpful, easygoing, generous

• Neuroticism– Anxious, moody, self-punishing, critical

Major Developmental Theories of Adulthood

Erikson and MaslowEriksonIdentity vs Role ConfusionIntimacy vs IsolationGenerativity vs StagnationIntegrity vs Despair

MaslowHierarchy of Needs

• In his later years, Maslow reassessed his final level, self-actualization. He suggested another level after that, called self-transcendence, not attained till late in life.

Midlife Crisis MythIdentity versus Role Confusion

A supposed period of unusual anxiety, radical self-reexamination, and sudden transformation Once widely associated with middle age but that

actually had more to do with developmental history. Popularized by Gail Sheehy (1976) and Daniel

Levinson (1978).

Intimacy versus Isolation

Intimacy needs are lifelong.Adults meet their need for social

connection through their relationships with relatives, friends, coworkers, and romantic partners.

Social convoy Collectively, the family members, friends,

acquaintances, and even strangers who move through life with an individual.

Friends: most crucial members of the social convoy Often able to provide practical help and

useful advice when serious problems—death of a family member, personal illness, loss of a job—arise.

Family BondsIntimacy versus Isolation

Parents & Adult ChildrenOver the years of adulthood, parents and adult children

typically increase in closeness, forgiveness, and pride as both generations gain maturity.

Adult Siblings • Adult siblings also often become mutually supportive in

adulthood.FamilismThe belief that family members should support one another, sacrificing individual freedom and success, if necessary, in order to preserve family unity.

Family BondsIntimacy versus Isolation

Family closeness can sometimes be destructive. Some adults wisely keep their distance from

their blood relatives.Fictive kin

Someone who is accepted as part of a family to which there is no blood relation

Adults need kin, fictive or otherwise.

Committed PartnersIntimacy versus Isolation

Adults everywhere seek committed sexual partnerships to help meet their needs for intimacy as well as to raise children, share resources, and provide care when needed.

Less than 15 percent of U.S. residents marry before age 25, but by age 40, 85 percent have married.

Married people are a little happier, healthier, and richer than never-married ones—but not by much.

Empty NestIntimacy versus Isolation

Empty nestThe time when parents are alone again after their children have moved out and launched their own livesContrary to outdated impressions, often improves a relationship.Most long-married people stay together because they love and trust each other, not simply because they are stuck.

Divorce and Separation

Adults are affected (for better or for worse) by divorce in ways they never anticipated.

Generally, those in very distressed marriages are happier after divorce, while those in merely distant marriages (most U.S. divorces) are less happy than they thought they would be.

Divorce reduces income, severs friendships, and weakens family ties.

Caregiving:Generativity versus Stagnation

Some caregiving involves meeting another person’s physical needs—feeding, cleaning, and so on—but much of it has to do with fulfilling another person’s psychological needs.

Kinkeeper A caregiver who takes responsibility for maintaining

communication among family members.

Caring for Nonbiological Children:Generativity versus Stagnation

Roughly one-third of all North American adults become stepparents, adoptive parents, or foster parents.

Many adopted or foster children remain attached to their birth parents.

If children are not attached to anyone (ie. after spending years in an institution), they are mistrustful of all adults and fearful of becoming too dependent.

Caring for Aging Parents:Generativity versus Stagnation

Sandwich Generation• The generation of middle-aged people who are

supposedly “squeezed” by the needs of the younger and older members of their families.

• In reality, some adults do feel pressured by these obligations, but most are not burdened by them, either because they enjoy fulfilling them or because they choose to take on only some of them or none of them.

Working for More Than Money:Generativity versus Stagnation

Work meets generativity needs by allowing people to do the following:

• Develop and use their personal skills• Express their creative energy• Aid and advise coworkers, as a mentor or friend• Support the education and health of their families• Contribute to the community by providing goods or services

Between ages 25 and 42, the average U.S. worker has five separate employers.

Developmentin Late Adulthood

Late Adulthood

Generally, older adults are quite active.

Though some cognitive process slow-down, mostindividual in late adulthoodfind this phase of life atime of hope, expansion,and continued personal growth.

Late Adulthood: Cognition

The Aging Brain

Effects of senescence:- Reduced production of neurotransmitters- Myelination thins- Corpus Callosum reduced- Cerebral blood circulates more slowly

Results:- Overall brain slow down in reaction times, talking, and thinking

Late Adulthood: Cognition

The Aging BrainOlder Adults use more parts of their brains to solve problems.1. Compensation

Using one part for complex thinking is inadequate

2. Reduced Brain ReservesCognitive reserves combine for relatively moderate cognitive tasks.

3. Wandering MindUsing more parts of the brain can cause wandering, intrusions, and irrelevant comments

Late Adulthood

The Aging Brain: Erikson & MaslowOlder adults tend to gain more interest in the arts, children,and in the human experience as a whole.

Eriksons - Vital InvolvementMaslow – Self-Actualization

Characterized by aesthetic, creative, philosophical, and spiritual understanding

Late Adulthood: Psychosocial

Erikson’s Final Stage:Integrity versus DespairIntegrity as a feeling of being whole (not scattered) and comfortable with oneself.

Older adults seek to integrate their unique self with their vision of community.

Stratification Theories

Focuses on the relationship between social forces and the individual.Specifically, the consequences of social forces placing the older person in a category or role.Categorization can limit people throughout their lives.Stratification by AgeStratification by GenderStratification by EthnicityThese accumulate throughout a person’s life.

Predjudice

Agism is the idea that age determines who you are.

Stereotype threat can be debilitating for older adults.

Agism can lead to depression and illness.

Elderspeak…talking to older adults as if they are children. Simple slow speech & exaggerated phrases

Older Adults

Gerentologist distinguish between three groups of older adults: Young-old, old-old, oldest-oldYoung-old (Optimal Aging) typically 60-75 healthy, active, financially secure, independentMake up the largest group of older adults

Older Adults

Old-old (Usual Aging) age variessuffer from some reductions in physical or mental ability or in social support, but they can still take care of themselves

Oldest-old (Pathological Aging)varies/over 85Are infirm and at risk for illness and injury