Chapter 16: Older Adulthood Physical & Cognitive Development
I. Aging Today
A. Ageism and stereotypes
1. AGEISM – the widely prevalent negative attitudes which many people hold of older adults, that overvalues youth and degrades older people
2. The error of generalizing from the few to the many
a. In the U.S. people still use ageist stereotypes
b. Some of these images may reflect the cohort that makes up elderly people today
c. The context in which we hear about the elderly is often negative
d. Older people are often seen as both wise and senile, kind and grouchy, concerned for others and inactive and unsociable
3. A sociocultural perspective
a. FILIAL PIETY – the veneration given to the elderly in Asian cultures and other cultures, which is manifested in cultural traditions, as well as in everyday encounters
b. Some cultures view their elderly as wise and hold them in high reverence
c. The median age of people in the US is 35.4 and growing
B. Four decades of later life
1. Young-old: ages 60-69
a. This stage is accompanied by a major transition in roles
b. Income is often reduced by retirement or reduced hours or work
c. Retirement is the key developmental transition
d. Expectations of people in their 60s is greatly reduced
2. Middle-aged-old: ages 70-79
a. SEPTUAGENARIANS – people in their 70s
b. This stage is often characterized by significant illness and loss
c. Increasingly larger proportions of adults in their 70s are maintaining good health
3. Old-old: ages 80-89
a. OCTOGENARIANS – people in their 80s
b. Most people in the age group are frail but not necessarily disabled or totally dependent on others
c. This group makes up the fastest growing group in the U.S. population
4. Very old-old: ages 90 and over
a. NONAGENARIANS – people in their 90s
b. Changes that shape life for people in their 90s are slow and gradual
c. They only experience minimal cognitive decline and could be healthier and more agile than people 20 years younger
5. Aging in perspective
a. Older adults are not a cohesive group but, rather, are a collection of subgroups
b. Each person experiences older adulthood in a different way
II. The Physical Aspects of Aging
A. PATHOLOGICAL AGING FACTORS – the cumulative effects that result from earlier events and lifestyle choices – accidents, previous illnesses, or bad health habits – that may accelerate aging
B. The changing body
1. Appearance
a. Gray or thinning hair
b. Shift in posture
c. Deepening wrinkles
2. Muscles, bones, and mobility
a. Weaker, shorter, and less able to maintain balance
b. Strength and endurance decrease
c. This decline can be delayed by high intensity exercise training
d. Osteoporosis can contribute to problems with mobility
3. Internal organs
a. Reduced functioning of most internal organs
b. The heart, like other muscles decreases in strength and efficiency
c. Reserve capacity of the heart, lungs and other organs decreases
4. Sleep problems
a. Insomnia – inability to sleep
b. Sleep apnea – repeated waking due to interruption or pauses in breathing
c. usually can be treated with medication or change in habits
5. The senses
a. All senses generally become less efficient as we age
b. Taste is least affected
c. HYPERTENSION – abnormally high blood pressure, sometimes accompanied by headaches and dizziness
d. CATARACT – the clouding of the lens of the eye that obstructs light and thereby limits vision
e. GLAUCOMA – an increase of pressure within the eyeball that can result in damage and the gradual loss of vision
f. VISUAL ACUITY – the ability to distinguish fine detail
6. brain and nervous system
a. DEMENTIA – a disorder associated with older age that includes a broad array of cognitive deficiencies, such as impaired learning and memory ability, a deterioration of language and motor functions, a progressive inability to recognize familiar people and objects, frequent confusion, and personality changes
b. Reaction times are slower; words and names are harder to remember
c. Shrinkage of the frontal cortex, which controls higher cognitive functions, occurs
d. Fewer connections among neurons appears to cause decreased brain weight
C. Health, disease, and nutrition
1. Chronic health problems
a. Chronic diseases are those that are lasting or recurring
b. The most common is hypertension
c. Visual and hearing impairments and the aftereffects of falls are also problematic for a large percentage of adults
d. These problems largely reflect the body’s decreased ability to cope with stress
e. Sociocultural factors also play a part
f. ATHEROSCLEROSIS – hardening of the arteries, which is a common condition of aging caused by the body’s increasing inability to use excess fats in the diet; responsible for many of the heart conditions prevalent among older people; these fats are stored along the walls of arteries where they restrict flow of blood when they harden
g. Dietary deficiencies in old age are often remedied by vitamin supplements
2. The misuse of prescribed medication
a. Abuse relates to the abundance of medications that are prescribed to the elderly
b. They may forget which medications they have taken or how much to take
c. They may fail to report all the medications they are taking to their physicians
d. Their body chemistry may shift and the action of the drugs may change
III. The Causes of Aging
A. SENESCENCE – the normal aging process, not connected with the occurrence of disease in an individual; refers to the universal biological process of aging
B. Theories of Aging
1. Stochastic theories
a. STOCHASTIC THEORIES OF AGING – theories suggesting that the body ages as a result of random assaults from both internal and external environments
b. Also called wear and tear theories
c. Free radicals that are left over from cellular process react with other chemical compounds and this interrupts normal cell functions causing damage
d. Toxins build up over time and could cause cellular damge
e. Age inhibits the repair mechanisms that counterbalance the damage
2. biological clock theories
a. BIOLOGICAL CLOCK THEORIES OF AGING – theories suggesting that genetic programming determines the pace and process of aging
b. Telomeres become shorter with cell division and there is not enough telomere left eventually and the cell will fail to reproduce and then die
c. A hormone starts a process of cellular decline at a programmed rate
IV. Cognitive Changes in Advanced Age
A. Understanding various aspects of cognition
1. Speed of cognition
a. Slower reaction times, slower perceptual processing, and slower cognitive process in general
b. Attributable to the neurological changes associated with aging
c. Also due to the different strategies that older people use
d. Compensation for the loss of speed usually occurs
2. Memory
a. sensory memory and short term memory decline slightly or not at all
b. working memory declines but more effective strategies can limit the effects
c. episodic long term memory declines but may be due to slower processing speed
d. semantic long term memory shows minimal decline
3. Wisdom
a. WISDOM – an expert knowledge system that focuses on the practicalities of life and that involves excellent judgment and advice on critical life issues, including the meaning of life and the human condition; wisdom represents the capstone of human intelligence
b. Wisdom is assessed by posing dilemmas and evaluating how a person’s responses approach the 5 criteria of wisdom related knowledge
i. Factual knowledge
ii. Procedural knowledge
iii. Life span contextualism
iv. Value relativism
v. Recognition and management of uncertainty
B. Cognitive decline
1. Dementia
a. Chronic confusion, forgetfulness, and accompanying personality changes
b. Unable to cope with routine tasks
c. Not simply an aspect of growing old, it results from specific causes
2. General causes of cognitive decline
a. Poor health
b. Non-stimulating environment
3. Specific causes of cognitive decline
a. STROKE – blockage of blood to a region in the brain, which can cause brain damage
b. atherosclerosis
c. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE – a disease that causes dementia due to a progressive deterioration of brain cells, especially those in the cerebral cortex
i. Memory impairment
ii. Language disturbance
iii. Motor impairment
iv. Inability to recognize objects or people
v. Impairment in executive functions
vi. Gradual and continuous onset
vii. Cause is not known
C. Compensating for an aging mind
1. Reorganize and adjust their sense of self in response to the changes in mental abilities
2. Sustained overall activity is linked to the ability to compensate
3. Select fewer tasks
4. Devote more attention to the tasks
5. Optimize their outcomes
This Blog was created for students enrolled in Psychology 2960: Human Growth & Development through Bemidji State University for the 2009 Summer Semester. The class meets at Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, MN Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 6:00 - 9:00 PM.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Lecture Notes/Outine: Chapter 17: Older Adulthood Personality & Sociocultural Development
Chapter 17: older Adulthood Personality & Sociocultural Development
I. Personality and Aging
A. STATUS PASSAGES – the changes in role and social position that occurs when a person enters adolescence, becomes a parent, retires, or becomes a widow or widower
B. Developmental tasks in older adulthood
1. Erikson’s stage of integrity versus despair
a. INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR – according to Erikson, the final developmental task in the lifespan when people think about how their lives have fulfilled their earlier expectations
b. Part of the adjustment to older adulthood includes the need to reminisce and reflect on past events
c. Older adults may still have regrets, but satisfactory resolution involves accepting that not everything in life has worked out as ideal, yet life has been of value
2. Maintaining identity
a. Identity is a clear and consistent view of the physical, psychological, and social attributes of one’s self
b. Assimilation of changing circumstances and accommodating one’s self when major life events cannot be assimilated
c. Ideally a balance between assimilation and accommodation occurs
d. Maintaining consistency in personal identity is key for many of the very old
C. Emotional development in older adulthood
1. This life stage is usually experienced as one of continued emotional growth
2. Satisfaction with their interpersonal relationships occurs
3. Awareness of the fragility of human life leads to greater investments in emotionally close relationships
4. Positive emotions occur at the same rate, but negative emotions surface less frequently
5. Sense of time is fleeting and usually deepens and can cause sadness
D. Continuity and change in older adulthood
1. Continuity and change in personality
a. Personality is largely established by early adulthood, but some minor changes occur
b. Have higher self esteem and more life satisfaction
c. Well being has been conceptualized as being comprised of six components
d. Each of these components can increase or decrease as adults grow older
e. They are self acceptance, positive relations with other people, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth
2. Coping styles
a. Coping styles appear to become increasingly mature as we grow older
b. Found to be more passive and focused on emotions instead of active and focusing on specific problems
c. MAGIC MASTERY – a coping style of very old men that is characterized by dealing with reality through projection and distortion
d. PARENTAL IMPERATIVE – the traditional social pressures for women to conform to nurturing roles and for men to be financially responsible and to suppress any traits that conflict with that role. The parental imperative usually relaxes when children are launched
E. Successful aging
1. Social comparison plays a crucial role
2. Older adults who compare their situations to those of other older people modify their perspectives accordingly
3. Health is not the only factor, money, social class, marital status, adequacy of housing, and amount of social interaction also play an influence on satisfaction
4. Successful aging involves maintaining physical and cognitive functioning and being engaged in social and productive activities
II. Retirement: A Major Change in Status
A. Adjusting to retirement
1. Attitude toward work is an important influence on how a person experiences retirement
2. If they are very devoted to work, leisure activities may seem superficial and lack meaning
3. Economic status is another major factor
4. Women are often more likely to be poor
5. This could possibly be due to lower wages during working time
6. Health also plays a role in satisfaction with the transition to retirement
B. Retirement options
1. Older adults often prefer to continue working, but for fewer hours
2. Increases in social security benefits, retirement funds, and pensions are partially responsible for delayed retirement and early retirement
3. Income, a place to live, adequate savings, and plans for further work, are specific factors considered before retirement
4. RETIREMENT MATURITY – a measure of how well prepared a person is to retire
III. Family and Friends: Interpersonal Contexts
A. When parenting is over
1. When children leave, relationships change
2. Decreased stress and increased feelings of satisfaction occur
3. Couples with marriage as the emotional center of their lives are generally among the most satisfied
4. Relationships with children and grandchildren
a. Most adults report having relatively frequent contact with their children and grandchildren
b. Grandparenthood is often seen as one of the most satisfying roles of older adulthood
c. Kinship patterns have undergone change
d. Divorce and remarriage have made family grand-parenting more complex, but grandparents have an important role in maintaining stability during disruption
B. Caring for an ill spouse
1. When illness is temporary it is relatively easy to make short term adjustments
2. When an illness is terminal, care giving can consume the caregiver’s life
3. Despite stresses and strains, caregivers often report gratification from providing care for a person who means so much to them
C. Widows and widowers
1. Living arrangements
a. Women are less likely than men to remarry
b. Women tend to survive their spouses
c. Living alone involves many practical and psychological challenges
d. The prospect of being alone causes loneliness, and therefore many of these people seek out companionship from friends and family members
2. Social support
a. Widowers are less active in social organizations
b. Widows have an easier time maintaining a social life
c. Typically depend heavily on their children
d. Having the children become more involved can cause problems
e. Siblings also contribute to helping an older adult adjust to he loss of their spouse
f. Friendships can provide similar support, but older adults do not feel they can make the same demands on friends as family
IV. U.S. Social Policy and Older Adulthood
A. The demographics of aging
1. SOCIAL SECURITY – a U.S. government pension program of forced savings through payroll deductions from working adults’ income and corporate contributions, with money disbursed to the adults after they reach a certain minimum age, usually at retirement
2. MEDICARE – a U.S. government program subsidized by taxes that provides payment for many basic health care services and drugs needed by older adults
3. SS provides the largest proportions of retirement income for older adults
4. SS and Medicare are just 2 programs
5. Another problem that needs to be addressed is public housing does not accommodate the requirements of older adults
B. Lifestyle options for older adults
1. Nursing homes
a. Placement can be temporary or long term
b. The care received can vary widely in quality
c. People often experience anxiety and dread before entering a nursing home
d. Children often feel guilty
e. Loss of independence, identity, and control over daily routine can lead to apathy, passivity, bitterness, or depression
f. Assisted living centers are growing in popularity – older adults live in their own apartments but also receive some support in meeting their daily needs
2. Day care centers for older adults
a. For families who care for their older relative in the evening and at night
b. Day care centers allow the family to maintain a normal work schedule
c. They also provide a stimulating and agreeable environment for older adults
d. Usually the cost is not covered by health insurance
3. Other options
a. Retirement communities allow adults to maintain their own home, while living in communities comprised of other older residents
b. Community services can sometimes allow people to stay in their own homes and still get some limited support
C. Goals for the care of older adults
1. Older adults are a varied group
2. Gray Panthers and the AARP are giving older adults a better self image
3. Older adults do not imply a larger or unfair burden on the rest of society
I. Personality and Aging
A. STATUS PASSAGES – the changes in role and social position that occurs when a person enters adolescence, becomes a parent, retires, or becomes a widow or widower
B. Developmental tasks in older adulthood
1. Erikson’s stage of integrity versus despair
a. INTEGRITY VERSUS DESPAIR – according to Erikson, the final developmental task in the lifespan when people think about how their lives have fulfilled their earlier expectations
b. Part of the adjustment to older adulthood includes the need to reminisce and reflect on past events
c. Older adults may still have regrets, but satisfactory resolution involves accepting that not everything in life has worked out as ideal, yet life has been of value
2. Maintaining identity
a. Identity is a clear and consistent view of the physical, psychological, and social attributes of one’s self
b. Assimilation of changing circumstances and accommodating one’s self when major life events cannot be assimilated
c. Ideally a balance between assimilation and accommodation occurs
d. Maintaining consistency in personal identity is key for many of the very old
C. Emotional development in older adulthood
1. This life stage is usually experienced as one of continued emotional growth
2. Satisfaction with their interpersonal relationships occurs
3. Awareness of the fragility of human life leads to greater investments in emotionally close relationships
4. Positive emotions occur at the same rate, but negative emotions surface less frequently
5. Sense of time is fleeting and usually deepens and can cause sadness
D. Continuity and change in older adulthood
1. Continuity and change in personality
a. Personality is largely established by early adulthood, but some minor changes occur
b. Have higher self esteem and more life satisfaction
c. Well being has been conceptualized as being comprised of six components
d. Each of these components can increase or decrease as adults grow older
e. They are self acceptance, positive relations with other people, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth
2. Coping styles
a. Coping styles appear to become increasingly mature as we grow older
b. Found to be more passive and focused on emotions instead of active and focusing on specific problems
c. MAGIC MASTERY – a coping style of very old men that is characterized by dealing with reality through projection and distortion
d. PARENTAL IMPERATIVE – the traditional social pressures for women to conform to nurturing roles and for men to be financially responsible and to suppress any traits that conflict with that role. The parental imperative usually relaxes when children are launched
E. Successful aging
1. Social comparison plays a crucial role
2. Older adults who compare their situations to those of other older people modify their perspectives accordingly
3. Health is not the only factor, money, social class, marital status, adequacy of housing, and amount of social interaction also play an influence on satisfaction
4. Successful aging involves maintaining physical and cognitive functioning and being engaged in social and productive activities
II. Retirement: A Major Change in Status
A. Adjusting to retirement
1. Attitude toward work is an important influence on how a person experiences retirement
2. If they are very devoted to work, leisure activities may seem superficial and lack meaning
3. Economic status is another major factor
4. Women are often more likely to be poor
5. This could possibly be due to lower wages during working time
6. Health also plays a role in satisfaction with the transition to retirement
B. Retirement options
1. Older adults often prefer to continue working, but for fewer hours
2. Increases in social security benefits, retirement funds, and pensions are partially responsible for delayed retirement and early retirement
3. Income, a place to live, adequate savings, and plans for further work, are specific factors considered before retirement
4. RETIREMENT MATURITY – a measure of how well prepared a person is to retire
III. Family and Friends: Interpersonal Contexts
A. When parenting is over
1. When children leave, relationships change
2. Decreased stress and increased feelings of satisfaction occur
3. Couples with marriage as the emotional center of their lives are generally among the most satisfied
4. Relationships with children and grandchildren
a. Most adults report having relatively frequent contact with their children and grandchildren
b. Grandparenthood is often seen as one of the most satisfying roles of older adulthood
c. Kinship patterns have undergone change
d. Divorce and remarriage have made family grand-parenting more complex, but grandparents have an important role in maintaining stability during disruption
B. Caring for an ill spouse
1. When illness is temporary it is relatively easy to make short term adjustments
2. When an illness is terminal, care giving can consume the caregiver’s life
3. Despite stresses and strains, caregivers often report gratification from providing care for a person who means so much to them
C. Widows and widowers
1. Living arrangements
a. Women are less likely than men to remarry
b. Women tend to survive their spouses
c. Living alone involves many practical and psychological challenges
d. The prospect of being alone causes loneliness, and therefore many of these people seek out companionship from friends and family members
2. Social support
a. Widowers are less active in social organizations
b. Widows have an easier time maintaining a social life
c. Typically depend heavily on their children
d. Having the children become more involved can cause problems
e. Siblings also contribute to helping an older adult adjust to he loss of their spouse
f. Friendships can provide similar support, but older adults do not feel they can make the same demands on friends as family
IV. U.S. Social Policy and Older Adulthood
A. The demographics of aging
1. SOCIAL SECURITY – a U.S. government pension program of forced savings through payroll deductions from working adults’ income and corporate contributions, with money disbursed to the adults after they reach a certain minimum age, usually at retirement
2. MEDICARE – a U.S. government program subsidized by taxes that provides payment for many basic health care services and drugs needed by older adults
3. SS provides the largest proportions of retirement income for older adults
4. SS and Medicare are just 2 programs
5. Another problem that needs to be addressed is public housing does not accommodate the requirements of older adults
B. Lifestyle options for older adults
1. Nursing homes
a. Placement can be temporary or long term
b. The care received can vary widely in quality
c. People often experience anxiety and dread before entering a nursing home
d. Children often feel guilty
e. Loss of independence, identity, and control over daily routine can lead to apathy, passivity, bitterness, or depression
f. Assisted living centers are growing in popularity – older adults live in their own apartments but also receive some support in meeting their daily needs
2. Day care centers for older adults
a. For families who care for their older relative in the evening and at night
b. Day care centers allow the family to maintain a normal work schedule
c. They also provide a stimulating and agreeable environment for older adults
d. Usually the cost is not covered by health insurance
3. Other options
a. Retirement communities allow adults to maintain their own home, while living in communities comprised of other older residents
b. Community services can sometimes allow people to stay in their own homes and still get some limited support
C. Goals for the care of older adults
1. Older adults are a varied group
2. Gray Panthers and the AARP are giving older adults a better self image
3. Older adults do not imply a larger or unfair burden on the rest of society
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Grades - test 4: Chapters 10,11,12,13
Grades - test 4: Chapters 10,11,12,13
P33 – 44/A-
O41- 42/B
T11 – 50/A+
S56 – 20/F
U77 – 45/A
R21 – 29/F
W80 – 45/A
Z99 – 50/A+
Y08 – 47/A
X90 – 42/B
V16 – 47/A
M51 – 48/A
L88 – 50/A+
P33 – 44/A-
O41- 42/B
T11 – 50/A+
S56 – 20/F
U77 – 45/A
R21 – 29/F
W80 – 45/A
Z99 – 50/A+
Y08 – 47/A
X90 – 42/B
V16 – 47/A
M51 – 48/A
L88 – 50/A+
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Lecture Notes/Outine: Chapter 15 Middle Adulthood - Personality & Socio-Cultural Development
Chap. 15 Middle Adulthood: Personality & Socio-Cultural Development
I. Personality Continuity and Change
A. The tasks of middle adulthood
1. The stage of middle adulthood is defined as much by tasks as it is by age
2. Friendships are established with people who are in the same stage even though they may not be the same age
3. Erikson
a. GENERATIVITY VERSUS SELF ABSORPTION – for Erikson, the overarching task of middle age where adults develop either the feeling that they have contributed in worthwhile ways or that their lives have not been worthwhile
b. People act within three domains
i. Procreative – giving and responding to the needs of their children
ii. Productive – integrating work with family life or by caring for the next generation
iii. Creative – contributing to society on a larger scale
c. When a sense of generativity fails to develop, stagnation and boredom are often the result
4. Extending Erikson’s view
a. Peck argued that Erikson’s eight stages placed too much emphasis on earlier stages of life
b. Peck developed new ideas about the conflicts that each person goes through
c. His ideas were focused on middle and older adulthood
B. Personal reactions to middle adulthood
1. Men’s reactions
a. Men have developed routines that allow them to successfully cope with problems
b. Men now realize that family relations are important and they don’t focus on their job roles
c. They have to cope with the idea that they may have not lived up to the standard that they wanted to
2. Women’s reactions
a. The types of adjustment women experience depends on the roles they adopt
b. The timing of key life events also defines their status, lifestyle, and options at middle adulthood
c. ROLE STRAIN – an overload of demands within a given role, such as being a mother or father
3. Goals and choices
a. Reassessment of priorities occurs and they reflect on whether their original goals have been met
b. Finding a way to contribute to other people allows a healthy adjustment
II. Family and Friends: Interpersonal Contexts
A. The generation that runs things
1. This new responsibility means people have to view their lives in a realistic focus
2. They must live in the present
3. KINKEEPER – the role assumed by middle aged people that includes maintaining family rituals, celebrating achievements, keeping family histories alive, reaching out to family members who are far away, and gathering the family together for holiday celebrations – all of which helps keep the family close
B. Relationships with adult children
1. Launching of adolescents and young adults
a. LAUNCHING OF ADOLESCENTS – parents letting go of older adolescent children so that they can assume responsible adult roles
b. Some families are better at letting go than others
c. Parents must learn to accept who their children are
d. This can sometimes violate parents’ expectations and lower their satisfaction, thus straining the relationship
e. It is often harder for single parents
2. Empty nest
a. EMPTY NEST – the period in the family life cycle that occurs after the last child has left home
b. This stage can be difficult if the partners have grown apart over the years
c. They still rely on each other for emotional support
d. Marital satisfaction is not based on the same things as earlier phases of the family phases
3. Mutually reciprocal relationships
a. As children reach adulthood they establish a reciprocal relationship with their parents
b. Children need to distance themselves to see their parents in a realistically; this can hurt parents
C. Relationships with aging parents
1. The reciprocal exchange of assistance
a. Data have revealed lasting social, emotional, and material exchanges between adult children and their parents
b. How children behave toward their parents depends on their stage in the family life cycle, life expectancy, gender, ethnicity, social class, and family history
2. Role reversals
a. Middle aged adults become the generation in charge
b. Their parents may be in poor health, retired, or in need of financial aid
c. Resentment can occur on both sides if realization that this role reversal is common and inevitable
3. caring for elderly parents
a. Most people think that care of the elderly is relegated to nursing homes, but only about 10% of caregivers use formal services
b. Middle aged caregivers hold the responsibility of parent care
c. This can create tension between the child and parent
d. Daughters are more likely than male family members to care for aging parents
D. Becoming a grandparent
1. Majority of people in the U.S. become grandparents during middle age
2. Grandparents can help raise a new generation without the daily responsibilities of being a parent
3. Grandparents are no longer the old person in a rocking chair, but are involved family members
4. Important roles of grandparents include:
a. Being there – they can be a calming presence in the face of disruption
b. Family national guard – actively managing the grandchildren in times of emergency
c. Arbitrator – imparting and negotiating family values, maintaining family continuity, and assisting in times of conflict
d. Maintaining the family’s biography – teaching grandchildren about the heritage and traditions of the family
E. Friendship: a lifelong perspective
1. Friends can serve as a central part of the lives of people who do not marry or have children by providing intimacy
2. Most complex friendships occurred in the late middle aged group
3. People at this stage are likely to appreciate the unique characteristics of their friends
4. Sex differences are also apparent since women are more deeply involved with friends and consider reciprocity to be their most important dimension
III. The Changing Family
A. Divorce and remarriage
1. Why couples divorce
a. When people at any stage of life want more from their marriage, divorce appears preferable to an unhappy relationship
b. Usually a gradual process of emotional distancing
c. Women are usually the initiators of divorce
2. Coping with life after divorce
a. Financial hardship affects both men and women
b. Women must enter the workforce if they were not already working
c. Men may need to work longer hours
d. Grief and mourning over the loss of an intimate relationship occurs
e. Disruption of normal routines also occurs
f. If it occurs in middle adulthood they may have to do things that were considered more appropriate for people in early adulthood like dating, going back to school or finding a new job
3. Starting a new life
a. May feel like they have a new chance at life after divorce
b. May have problems relinquishing their previous roles
c. May be unready to manage financial and legal matters
d. Within 2 or 3 years many individuals experience considerable improvement in well being
e. Men are 3 times as likely to remarry
4. Marriages that succeed
a. Both males and females list “my spouse is my best friend” as the primary reason for happiness
b. They are usually satisfied with their sex lives though it is not a primary factor
c. Marriage helps older people deal with stressful life events
B. RECONSTITUTED / BLENDED FAMILY – a family in which partners with children have remarried or formed a cohabiting relationship; also called a step family
1. Reconstituted families in perspective
a. Now a result of marriage-divorce-remarriage instead of marriage-death-remarriage
b. Contact with the former spouse can make it difficult to maintain appropriate distance between the parents
c. Characterized by more open communication and greater acceptance of conflict
2. Learning to live in a reconstituted family
a. Most parents list discipline as the greatest difficulty in being a stepparent
b. The stereotype of the stepchild as being neglected is widespread, but inaccurate
c. Taking time to develop mutual trust, affection, and closeness to the child helps form a workable relationship
d. Stepparents who try to compete with the stepchild’s biological parent are more likely to fail
IV. Occupational Continuity and Change
A. Job change and stress
1. It is difficult to find another job with comparable pay and benefits
2. Career changes are not welcome and may not go smoothly
3. This can increase stress and conflict both at home and on the job
B. Job loss
1. People who are forced to leave their job experience problems that may outweigh the loss of income
2. Emotional responses include anger, protest, bargaining, and depression
3. More difficult for middle aged adults
4. Those who cope best take loss in stride and don’t turn their anger inward
C. JOB BURNOUT – the emotional exhaustion that often affects people in high stress professions and trades
1. People in helping professions who experience job burnout are generally idealistic, highly motivated, extremely competent workers who realize they can’t make the difference they wanted to
2. General cause is lack of rewards
3. It is not the result of incompetence or personal failings
D. Midcareer reassessment
1. Occurs when workers find out they are not being promoted as rapidly as expected or a job is less desirable than expected
2. Since there is a greater tolerance for deviations from social norms, it has become easier for a wife to support her husband
3. As children grow older and more independent, people in middle adulthood may make changes to reduce their income or transform their way of living
V. Continuity and Change in the Structure of Personality
A. The five factor model
1. Personality can be well described by assessing five traits
2. Emotional stability
3. Extraversion
4. Openness to experiences
5. Agreeableness
6. Conscientiousness
B. Stability or change?
1. Personality seems to be established early in life
2. Agreeableness and conscientiousness increase through adulthood
3. Emotional stability increases more for women than men
4. Personality can be shaped by life events
I. Personality Continuity and Change
A. The tasks of middle adulthood
1. The stage of middle adulthood is defined as much by tasks as it is by age
2. Friendships are established with people who are in the same stage even though they may not be the same age
3. Erikson
a. GENERATIVITY VERSUS SELF ABSORPTION – for Erikson, the overarching task of middle age where adults develop either the feeling that they have contributed in worthwhile ways or that their lives have not been worthwhile
b. People act within three domains
i. Procreative – giving and responding to the needs of their children
ii. Productive – integrating work with family life or by caring for the next generation
iii. Creative – contributing to society on a larger scale
c. When a sense of generativity fails to develop, stagnation and boredom are often the result
4. Extending Erikson’s view
a. Peck argued that Erikson’s eight stages placed too much emphasis on earlier stages of life
b. Peck developed new ideas about the conflicts that each person goes through
c. His ideas were focused on middle and older adulthood
B. Personal reactions to middle adulthood
1. Men’s reactions
a. Men have developed routines that allow them to successfully cope with problems
b. Men now realize that family relations are important and they don’t focus on their job roles
c. They have to cope with the idea that they may have not lived up to the standard that they wanted to
2. Women’s reactions
a. The types of adjustment women experience depends on the roles they adopt
b. The timing of key life events also defines their status, lifestyle, and options at middle adulthood
c. ROLE STRAIN – an overload of demands within a given role, such as being a mother or father
3. Goals and choices
a. Reassessment of priorities occurs and they reflect on whether their original goals have been met
b. Finding a way to contribute to other people allows a healthy adjustment
II. Family and Friends: Interpersonal Contexts
A. The generation that runs things
1. This new responsibility means people have to view their lives in a realistic focus
2. They must live in the present
3. KINKEEPER – the role assumed by middle aged people that includes maintaining family rituals, celebrating achievements, keeping family histories alive, reaching out to family members who are far away, and gathering the family together for holiday celebrations – all of which helps keep the family close
B. Relationships with adult children
1. Launching of adolescents and young adults
a. LAUNCHING OF ADOLESCENTS – parents letting go of older adolescent children so that they can assume responsible adult roles
b. Some families are better at letting go than others
c. Parents must learn to accept who their children are
d. This can sometimes violate parents’ expectations and lower their satisfaction, thus straining the relationship
e. It is often harder for single parents
2. Empty nest
a. EMPTY NEST – the period in the family life cycle that occurs after the last child has left home
b. This stage can be difficult if the partners have grown apart over the years
c. They still rely on each other for emotional support
d. Marital satisfaction is not based on the same things as earlier phases of the family phases
3. Mutually reciprocal relationships
a. As children reach adulthood they establish a reciprocal relationship with their parents
b. Children need to distance themselves to see their parents in a realistically; this can hurt parents
C. Relationships with aging parents
1. The reciprocal exchange of assistance
a. Data have revealed lasting social, emotional, and material exchanges between adult children and their parents
b. How children behave toward their parents depends on their stage in the family life cycle, life expectancy, gender, ethnicity, social class, and family history
2. Role reversals
a. Middle aged adults become the generation in charge
b. Their parents may be in poor health, retired, or in need of financial aid
c. Resentment can occur on both sides if realization that this role reversal is common and inevitable
3. caring for elderly parents
a. Most people think that care of the elderly is relegated to nursing homes, but only about 10% of caregivers use formal services
b. Middle aged caregivers hold the responsibility of parent care
c. This can create tension between the child and parent
d. Daughters are more likely than male family members to care for aging parents
D. Becoming a grandparent
1. Majority of people in the U.S. become grandparents during middle age
2. Grandparents can help raise a new generation without the daily responsibilities of being a parent
3. Grandparents are no longer the old person in a rocking chair, but are involved family members
4. Important roles of grandparents include:
a. Being there – they can be a calming presence in the face of disruption
b. Family national guard – actively managing the grandchildren in times of emergency
c. Arbitrator – imparting and negotiating family values, maintaining family continuity, and assisting in times of conflict
d. Maintaining the family’s biography – teaching grandchildren about the heritage and traditions of the family
E. Friendship: a lifelong perspective
1. Friends can serve as a central part of the lives of people who do not marry or have children by providing intimacy
2. Most complex friendships occurred in the late middle aged group
3. People at this stage are likely to appreciate the unique characteristics of their friends
4. Sex differences are also apparent since women are more deeply involved with friends and consider reciprocity to be their most important dimension
III. The Changing Family
A. Divorce and remarriage
1. Why couples divorce
a. When people at any stage of life want more from their marriage, divorce appears preferable to an unhappy relationship
b. Usually a gradual process of emotional distancing
c. Women are usually the initiators of divorce
2. Coping with life after divorce
a. Financial hardship affects both men and women
b. Women must enter the workforce if they were not already working
c. Men may need to work longer hours
d. Grief and mourning over the loss of an intimate relationship occurs
e. Disruption of normal routines also occurs
f. If it occurs in middle adulthood they may have to do things that were considered more appropriate for people in early adulthood like dating, going back to school or finding a new job
3. Starting a new life
a. May feel like they have a new chance at life after divorce
b. May have problems relinquishing their previous roles
c. May be unready to manage financial and legal matters
d. Within 2 or 3 years many individuals experience considerable improvement in well being
e. Men are 3 times as likely to remarry
4. Marriages that succeed
a. Both males and females list “my spouse is my best friend” as the primary reason for happiness
b. They are usually satisfied with their sex lives though it is not a primary factor
c. Marriage helps older people deal with stressful life events
B. RECONSTITUTED / BLENDED FAMILY – a family in which partners with children have remarried or formed a cohabiting relationship; also called a step family
1. Reconstituted families in perspective
a. Now a result of marriage-divorce-remarriage instead of marriage-death-remarriage
b. Contact with the former spouse can make it difficult to maintain appropriate distance between the parents
c. Characterized by more open communication and greater acceptance of conflict
2. Learning to live in a reconstituted family
a. Most parents list discipline as the greatest difficulty in being a stepparent
b. The stereotype of the stepchild as being neglected is widespread, but inaccurate
c. Taking time to develop mutual trust, affection, and closeness to the child helps form a workable relationship
d. Stepparents who try to compete with the stepchild’s biological parent are more likely to fail
IV. Occupational Continuity and Change
A. Job change and stress
1. It is difficult to find another job with comparable pay and benefits
2. Career changes are not welcome and may not go smoothly
3. This can increase stress and conflict both at home and on the job
B. Job loss
1. People who are forced to leave their job experience problems that may outweigh the loss of income
2. Emotional responses include anger, protest, bargaining, and depression
3. More difficult for middle aged adults
4. Those who cope best take loss in stride and don’t turn their anger inward
C. JOB BURNOUT – the emotional exhaustion that often affects people in high stress professions and trades
1. People in helping professions who experience job burnout are generally idealistic, highly motivated, extremely competent workers who realize they can’t make the difference they wanted to
2. General cause is lack of rewards
3. It is not the result of incompetence or personal failings
D. Midcareer reassessment
1. Occurs when workers find out they are not being promoted as rapidly as expected or a job is less desirable than expected
2. Since there is a greater tolerance for deviations from social norms, it has become easier for a wife to support her husband
3. As children grow older and more independent, people in middle adulthood may make changes to reduce their income or transform their way of living
V. Continuity and Change in the Structure of Personality
A. The five factor model
1. Personality can be well described by assessing five traits
2. Emotional stability
3. Extraversion
4. Openness to experiences
5. Agreeableness
6. Conscientiousness
B. Stability or change?
1. Personality seems to be established early in life
2. Agreeableness and conscientiousness increase through adulthood
3. Emotional stability increases more for women than men
4. Personality can be shaped by life events
Lecture Notes/Outine: Chapter 14: Middle Adulthood Physical & Cognitive Development
Chapter Chapter 14: Middle Adulthood Physical & Cognitive Development
I. Development in Middle Adulthood
A. Prime time or the beginning of the end?
1. Theorists cannot agree on whether or not it is a time of new fulfillment or a period of dissatisfaction
2. COMMAND GENERATION – a term for the generation of middle aged people; reflects the idea that this age group makes most of the policy decisions that affect our lives
3. Most people experience a sense of ambivalence since they are keenly aware of their mortality
B. Midlife crisis: is it real?
1. CRISIS MODEL – the view that changes in midlife are abrupt and often stressful
2. According to Levinson it occurs between the ages of 40 and 45 and it occurs in 75% of males
3. TRANSITION MODEL – the view that changes in midlife are gradual and midlife crisis is not the norm
4. Longitudinal studies do not support the occurrence of midlife crisis
5. Major transitions can occur in life but they do not have to occur in any specific time period
6. This is the period when people begin to take stock of their lives
C. Perceptions and realities at midlife
1. Some data show that middle age is the best time in life since the rates of general distress are low
2. Research also suggests that the midlife crisis is the exception and not the rule
3. Those who are likely to experience midlife crisis are less introspective and use denial to avoid thinking about their changing lives
II. Physical Continuity and Change
A. Changes in capabilities
1. Sensation
a. Decline in visual acuity
b. Hearing loss
c. Decline in taste
2. Reaction time
a. Slow decline in reaction time
b. Motor skills decrease
3. Internal changes
a. Slowing of the nervous system
b. Stiffening and shrinking of the skeleton
c. Loss of elasticity in the skin
d. Accumulation of subcutaneous fat
e. Decrease in heart and lung capacity
B. CLIMACTERIC – the broad complex of physical and emotional symptoms that accompany reproductive changes in middle adulthood, affecting both men and women
1. MENOPAUSE – the permanent end of menstruation; occurs in middle adulthood and may be accompanied by physical symptoms and intense emotional reactions, more so in women and in some cultures than others
2. Physical changes
a. Generally occur between 45 and 55
b. Ovulation becomes erratic and then stops
c. Hot flashes and night sweats occur due to the decrease in estrogen levels
3. Emotional effects
a. Feelings of depression and a sense of being less feminine
b. Most women do not respond negatively in either the short term or the long term
c. Many women feel freer and more in control of their own lives
4. Long term effects
a. OSTEOPOROSIS – the loss of bone mass and increased bone fragility in middle adulthood and beyond
b. Vaginal atrophy
c. There could also be a link between menopause and heart disease
5. Hormone replacement therapy
a. Estrogen or progesterone supplements
b. alleviates unpleasant symptoms of menopause
c. Could increase chance of heart disease
d. May prevent onset of Alzheimer’s
e. It is now recommended that women only use these drugs for the short term relief
6. Changes in men
a. Nothing comparable to menopause
b. May experience erectile dysfunction (impotence)
c. Originally thought of to be primarily a psychological problem but new research indicates a physiological basis
d. Prescription drugs can remedy it in 80% of men
C. Sexuality in the middle years
1. Frequency generally slows down in middle adulthood
2. Lack of opportunity and physical problems lead to this decrease
3. Men experience an increase in sexual anxiety
4. Women experience a decrease due to menopause
5. More emphasis placed on sensuality
6. SENSUALITY – hugging, touching, stroking, and other behaviors that may or may not lead to sex
III. Disease and Health
A. The cumulative effects of health habits
1. Good health habits
a. Longevity is attributable to good health
b. A balanced diet, exercise, and health care can extend adulthood
c. Exercise is especially important
2. Poor health habits
a. Most chronic disorders begin to develop before they are diagnosed since they show symptoms long after they begin
b. Smoking is one dangerous activity
c. Smoking can contribute to cancer, emphysema, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension
d. Long term effects are often compounded by other bad habits
e. Being overweight is also a significant contributor to poor life quality in adulthood
B. Stress and health
1. Stress plays a role in many diseases of middle adulthood
2. Stress is a normal part of life
3. How an individual perceives an event can dictate how stressful it becomes
4. Increased stress is connected to heart disease, diabetes, stomach ulcers, and some cancer
C. Ethnicity, poverty, and health
1. Since some groups of people live in more stressful conditions, their life quality is different
2. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to die from heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, and aids than whites
3. This could be due to lack of health care, increased exposure to stress, and a high rate of poverty
IV. Cognitive Continuity and Change
A. Fluid versus crystallized intelligence
1. CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE – accumulated knowledge and skills based on education and life experiences; also referred to as cognitive pragmatics
2. FLUID INTELLIGENCE – abilities involved in acquiring new knowledge and skills; also referred to as cognitive mechanics
3. Crystallized remains unaffected by age
4. Fluid begins to diminish in adulthood and gets worse with age
5. Implications for intellectual functioning
a. A decline is most likely to be seen in tasks involving speed
b. General slowing is not noticed since adults compensate by an increase in efficiency and general knowledge
c. A major influence on cognition in adulthood is the wealth of past life experience
B. Experience and Expertise
1. DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE – factual knowledge; knowing what
2. PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE – action oriented knowledge; knowing how to
3. The accumulation of knowledge can compensate for cognitive declines
4. Experience cannot reverse age related declines, but it can compensate for them
5. One skill declines and another improves
C. Cognitive skill in the workplace
1. People who are intellectually challenged in their work have a higher degree of intellectual flexibility
2. Adults have more time to spend in the work place and can therefore have more intellectual flexibility
3. Engaging in complex tasks is key to maintaining high levels of intellectual functioning
I. Development in Middle Adulthood
A. Prime time or the beginning of the end?
1. Theorists cannot agree on whether or not it is a time of new fulfillment or a period of dissatisfaction
2. COMMAND GENERATION – a term for the generation of middle aged people; reflects the idea that this age group makes most of the policy decisions that affect our lives
3. Most people experience a sense of ambivalence since they are keenly aware of their mortality
B. Midlife crisis: is it real?
1. CRISIS MODEL – the view that changes in midlife are abrupt and often stressful
2. According to Levinson it occurs between the ages of 40 and 45 and it occurs in 75% of males
3. TRANSITION MODEL – the view that changes in midlife are gradual and midlife crisis is not the norm
4. Longitudinal studies do not support the occurrence of midlife crisis
5. Major transitions can occur in life but they do not have to occur in any specific time period
6. This is the period when people begin to take stock of their lives
C. Perceptions and realities at midlife
1. Some data show that middle age is the best time in life since the rates of general distress are low
2. Research also suggests that the midlife crisis is the exception and not the rule
3. Those who are likely to experience midlife crisis are less introspective and use denial to avoid thinking about their changing lives
II. Physical Continuity and Change
A. Changes in capabilities
1. Sensation
a. Decline in visual acuity
b. Hearing loss
c. Decline in taste
2. Reaction time
a. Slow decline in reaction time
b. Motor skills decrease
3. Internal changes
a. Slowing of the nervous system
b. Stiffening and shrinking of the skeleton
c. Loss of elasticity in the skin
d. Accumulation of subcutaneous fat
e. Decrease in heart and lung capacity
B. CLIMACTERIC – the broad complex of physical and emotional symptoms that accompany reproductive changes in middle adulthood, affecting both men and women
1. MENOPAUSE – the permanent end of menstruation; occurs in middle adulthood and may be accompanied by physical symptoms and intense emotional reactions, more so in women and in some cultures than others
2. Physical changes
a. Generally occur between 45 and 55
b. Ovulation becomes erratic and then stops
c. Hot flashes and night sweats occur due to the decrease in estrogen levels
3. Emotional effects
a. Feelings of depression and a sense of being less feminine
b. Most women do not respond negatively in either the short term or the long term
c. Many women feel freer and more in control of their own lives
4. Long term effects
a. OSTEOPOROSIS – the loss of bone mass and increased bone fragility in middle adulthood and beyond
b. Vaginal atrophy
c. There could also be a link between menopause and heart disease
5. Hormone replacement therapy
a. Estrogen or progesterone supplements
b. alleviates unpleasant symptoms of menopause
c. Could increase chance of heart disease
d. May prevent onset of Alzheimer’s
e. It is now recommended that women only use these drugs for the short term relief
6. Changes in men
a. Nothing comparable to menopause
b. May experience erectile dysfunction (impotence)
c. Originally thought of to be primarily a psychological problem but new research indicates a physiological basis
d. Prescription drugs can remedy it in 80% of men
C. Sexuality in the middle years
1. Frequency generally slows down in middle adulthood
2. Lack of opportunity and physical problems lead to this decrease
3. Men experience an increase in sexual anxiety
4. Women experience a decrease due to menopause
5. More emphasis placed on sensuality
6. SENSUALITY – hugging, touching, stroking, and other behaviors that may or may not lead to sex
III. Disease and Health
A. The cumulative effects of health habits
1. Good health habits
a. Longevity is attributable to good health
b. A balanced diet, exercise, and health care can extend adulthood
c. Exercise is especially important
2. Poor health habits
a. Most chronic disorders begin to develop before they are diagnosed since they show symptoms long after they begin
b. Smoking is one dangerous activity
c. Smoking can contribute to cancer, emphysema, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension
d. Long term effects are often compounded by other bad habits
e. Being overweight is also a significant contributor to poor life quality in adulthood
B. Stress and health
1. Stress plays a role in many diseases of middle adulthood
2. Stress is a normal part of life
3. How an individual perceives an event can dictate how stressful it becomes
4. Increased stress is connected to heart disease, diabetes, stomach ulcers, and some cancer
C. Ethnicity, poverty, and health
1. Since some groups of people live in more stressful conditions, their life quality is different
2. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to die from heart disease, hypertension, cancer, diabetes, and aids than whites
3. This could be due to lack of health care, increased exposure to stress, and a high rate of poverty
IV. Cognitive Continuity and Change
A. Fluid versus crystallized intelligence
1. CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE – accumulated knowledge and skills based on education and life experiences; also referred to as cognitive pragmatics
2. FLUID INTELLIGENCE – abilities involved in acquiring new knowledge and skills; also referred to as cognitive mechanics
3. Crystallized remains unaffected by age
4. Fluid begins to diminish in adulthood and gets worse with age
5. Implications for intellectual functioning
a. A decline is most likely to be seen in tasks involving speed
b. General slowing is not noticed since adults compensate by an increase in efficiency and general knowledge
c. A major influence on cognition in adulthood is the wealth of past life experience
B. Experience and Expertise
1. DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE – factual knowledge; knowing what
2. PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE – action oriented knowledge; knowing how to
3. The accumulation of knowledge can compensate for cognitive declines
4. Experience cannot reverse age related declines, but it can compensate for them
5. One skill declines and another improves
C. Cognitive skill in the workplace
1. People who are intellectually challenged in their work have a higher degree of intellectual flexibility
2. Adults have more time to spend in the work place and can therefore have more intellectual flexibility
3. Engaging in complex tasks is key to maintaining high levels of intellectual functioning
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Grades - Test 3: Chapters 6,7,8,9
P33 – 39/C+
O41- 45/A
T11 – 26
S56 – 33/D
U77 – 33/D
W80 – 41/B
Z99 – 45/A
N01 – 32/D
Y08 – 45/A
X90 – 44/B+
V16 – 48/A
M51 – 47/A
L88 – 48/A
O41- 45/A
T11 – 26
S56 – 33/D
U77 – 33/D
W80 – 41/B
Z99 – 45/A
N01 – 32/D
Y08 – 45/A
X90 – 44/B+
V16 – 48/A
M51 – 47/A
L88 – 48/A
Monday, June 22, 2009
Chapter 12: Young Adulthood; Physical & Cognitive Development
Slide 2
ü Adulthood is not the final destination in the development journey
o You don’t stop developing when you “get there”
o We have divided the first 20 years or so into 4 distinct stages [infancy & toddlers, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence].
o Adulthood generally lasts much longer…3,4, or even 5 times longer; it only reasonable that there are distinct stages of development continues. Early adulthood [20’s & 30’s] is just another beginning; similar to toddlers and young children.
ü Developmental changes in thinking, personality & behavior during
adulthood is very different from child development
o Generally, based much less on chronological age or biological changes - More on personal, social or cultural influences
o Adult role & responsibility for decision-making and problem-solving
o Leads to greater differences among adults than children; adults have less in common with one another than children have in common with one another
Slide 3
ü Culturally defined markers or “social milestones” of development rather than physical markers like walking or pubescence
o Normative: getting your first job, moving out of parent’s home, marriage, career choice & advancement, parenting, etc.
Timing differs from individual to individual & culture to culture but generally occur at “relatively” specific times for most people in a particular group
o Idiosyncratic: unanticipated “life-changing events”; getting fired, death of a spouse, winning the lottery
Slide 4
Age Clocks & Social Norms: concepts that help study & categorize adult development; since it is mainly based on individual behavior & judgement
Slide 5
o Age clocks are a sort of “internal timing” regarding life events, in relation to one’s culture
Example: birth of first child
o Cultural changes in last couple of decades “blurring of traditional life periods” ; we are becoming an “age-irrelevant” society
Slide 6
o Contextual Paradigm: very complex idea of integrating various “contexts”.
Focus on development as a whole, as opposed to looking at one perspective at a time.
Everything influences everything else
Slide 7
Strength & Stamina
o Most young adults at peak of physical development: strength, endurance
o Generally physical functioning on the whole reaches its prime
o Gradual decline in functioning in most areas between 20 & 30 [see table page 372]
Slide 8
o Health & fitness habits important & often those developed in early adulthood often carry over through later years. FORM GOOD HABITS YOUNG!
o Historical changes based on improvements in exercise, medicine & nutrition. Example of Olympic performance [not to mention use of steroids]
Slide 9
Causes of death among young adults
o Accidents, HIV/AIDS, Cancers (among women)
Slide 10
Sex & sexuality: Attitudes & behavior
o Monogamy
o 1/3 2X week; 1/3 several X month, 1/3 none to a few X year
o Married couples have more sex & more orgasms.
o Only very minor differences in frequency across ethic groups
o Major changes in past few decades
>Duration has increased markedly
>Suggests greater relaxation, enjoyment & mutuality
>Maximize pleasure vs. get it over with
Cognitive Changes: Adult thinking referred to as “Post Formal Thought”
o Goes beyond Piaget’s Formal Operations which is simpler, logic-driven
o Uses cognitive & emotional aspects in problem-solving
o Takes into account social context
Slide 11
Goleman’s 4 areas of Emotional Intelligence
Developing emotional self-awareness
Managing emotions
Reading emotions
Handling relationships
Slide 12
Major Tasks of Early Adulthood ( Table 12-7; p. 395)
Erikson -
Gould – Overcome dependency assumptions, develop competence, acknowledge limitations, accept responsibility
Havighurst – Start a Family & establish a career
Slide 13
Schaie - using intellectual & cognitive abilities to accomplish personal & career goals
Slide 14
Levenson – develop “early life structure”, which includes establishing a career & an intimate relationship with a special partner
o Different for men & women – pages 391& 392
Slide 2
ü Adulthood is not the final destination in the development journey
o You don’t stop developing when you “get there”
o We have divided the first 20 years or so into 4 distinct stages [infancy & toddlers, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence].
o Adulthood generally lasts much longer…3,4, or even 5 times longer; it only reasonable that there are distinct stages of development continues. Early adulthood [20’s & 30’s] is just another beginning; similar to toddlers and young children.
ü Developmental changes in thinking, personality & behavior during
adulthood is very different from child development
o Generally, based much less on chronological age or biological changes - More on personal, social or cultural influences
o Adult role & responsibility for decision-making and problem-solving
o Leads to greater differences among adults than children; adults have less in common with one another than children have in common with one another
Slide 3
ü Culturally defined markers or “social milestones” of development rather than physical markers like walking or pubescence
o Normative: getting your first job, moving out of parent’s home, marriage, career choice & advancement, parenting, etc.
Timing differs from individual to individual & culture to culture but generally occur at “relatively” specific times for most people in a particular group
o Idiosyncratic: unanticipated “life-changing events”; getting fired, death of a spouse, winning the lottery
Slide 4
Age Clocks & Social Norms: concepts that help study & categorize adult development; since it is mainly based on individual behavior & judgement
Slide 5
o Age clocks are a sort of “internal timing” regarding life events, in relation to one’s culture
Example: birth of first child
o Cultural changes in last couple of decades “blurring of traditional life periods” ; we are becoming an “age-irrelevant” society
Slide 6
o Contextual Paradigm: very complex idea of integrating various “contexts”.
Focus on development as a whole, as opposed to looking at one perspective at a time.
Everything influences everything else
Slide 7
Strength & Stamina
o Most young adults at peak of physical development: strength, endurance
o Generally physical functioning on the whole reaches its prime
o Gradual decline in functioning in most areas between 20 & 30 [see table page 372]
Slide 8
o Health & fitness habits important & often those developed in early adulthood often carry over through later years. FORM GOOD HABITS YOUNG!
o Historical changes based on improvements in exercise, medicine & nutrition. Example of Olympic performance [not to mention use of steroids]
Slide 9
Causes of death among young adults
o Accidents, HIV/AIDS, Cancers (among women)
Slide 10
Sex & sexuality: Attitudes & behavior
o Monogamy
o 1/3 2X week; 1/3 several X month, 1/3 none to a few X year
o Married couples have more sex & more orgasms.
o Only very minor differences in frequency across ethic groups
o Major changes in past few decades
>Duration has increased markedly
>Suggests greater relaxation, enjoyment & mutuality
>Maximize pleasure vs. get it over with
Cognitive Changes: Adult thinking referred to as “Post Formal Thought”
o Goes beyond Piaget’s Formal Operations which is simpler, logic-driven
o Uses cognitive & emotional aspects in problem-solving
o Takes into account social context
Slide 11
Goleman’s 4 areas of Emotional Intelligence
Developing emotional self-awareness
Managing emotions
Reading emotions
Handling relationships
Slide 12
Major Tasks of Early Adulthood ( Table 12-7; p. 395)
Erikson -
Gould – Overcome dependency assumptions, develop competence, acknowledge limitations, accept responsibility
Havighurst – Start a Family & establish a career
Slide 13
Schaie - using intellectual & cognitive abilities to accomplish personal & career goals
Slide 14
Levenson – develop “early life structure”, which includes establishing a career & an intimate relationship with a special partner
o Different for men & women – pages 391& 392
Lecture Notes/Chapter Outine Chapter 13 – Young Adult Personality & Sociocultural Development
Chapter 13 – Young Adult Personality & Sociocultural Development
As we enter adulthood, we become socialized into new roles
Ø Maslow’s Self-Actualization Theory
Ø Carl Rogers
Facets of Self
Family member
Worker – intrinsic; extrinsic
Youthful “ideal”
Must be integrated into self-identity
Close Relationships: Friendships & similarity to Love
Ericson: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
Components:
1. Intimacy
2. Passion
3. Decision to commit/commitment
Taxonomy:
1. liking
2. infatuated love
3. empty love
4. companionate love
5. fatuous [foolishly self-satisfied] love
6. consummate [perfect] love
Mate selection & marriage
Why & how people choose mates - various theories
Freud: acceptable focus for oedipal feelings
Instrumental theory of mate selection – based on gratification of needs,
attraction based on similar or complementary needs
Stimulus-Value- Role Theory: stimulus stage, value-comparison stage, role stage [determine if marriage/relationship roles can/will endure]
Family Systems perspective: focus on boundaries & redefining relationships with friends & family, as well as couples own relationship
Marriage vs. cohabitation
90% of men & women marry at some point in their lives
Cohabitation - overtly focus that they are not married.
1/3 of cohabitating couples eventually marry
Parenting & development
Family cycles
Transition to parenthood
1. changes in identity & inner life
2. shifting roles & relationship in the marriage
3. shifts in general roles & relationships [grandparent factor]
4. Changing roles outside of family [work, friends, etc.]
5. new parenting role & relationship – navigating new responsibilities
Parents’ developmental stages
1. Image-making stage [conception to birth, what kind of parent will I be?]
2. Nurturing stage – birth to 2 [until the kid says “NO”]
3. Authority stage – 2-5 [often question their parenting skills, know they aren’t perfect]
4. interpretive stage – middle years 6-12 [parents reexamine & test out their ideas about parenting
5. Interdependence stage – adolescence [redefine their authority relationship]
6. departure stage – letting go & accepting experiences as a parent
Single Parenthood
Tremendous change – in 70’s one in 7 kids lived in a home with no father
Single –parent families have increased 10X faster than 2-parent families since then. 1995 1/3 (33.3%)of all families headed by single mother.
why?
1. In the 70’s & early ‘80’s – divorce was at its peak. That was why then. In ‘99 it was 12% lower than in ’79. In ’95 2 out 5 [40%] of marriages expected to fail. Most divorces happen during early adulthood
2. Now: large increase in unmarried mothers [in ’98 almost 1/3 of births were to unmarried women – nearly 70% among black women]
3. increase in # of mothers separated but not divorced
Single fathers & Gay & Lesbian families
Single fathers still rare but getting more common. 10% gain custody after
divorce; 16% joint custody]
Gay & Lesbian very new phenomenon
Occupation / career cycles
Stages of vocational life:
1. id. with. a worker [5-10]
2. acquiring “habits of industry” [10-15]
3. Develop Id. as a worker [15- 25
4. becoming productive person [25 –40]
5. maintaining/contributing to productive society [40 – 70]
6. contemplation of productive & responsible life [70 - ]
Women in the workforce
Myths
As we enter adulthood, we become socialized into new roles
Ø Maslow’s Self-Actualization Theory
Ø Carl Rogers
Facets of Self
Family member
Worker – intrinsic; extrinsic
Youthful “ideal”
Must be integrated into self-identity
Close Relationships: Friendships & similarity to Love
Ericson: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love
Components:
1. Intimacy
2. Passion
3. Decision to commit/commitment
Taxonomy:
1. liking
2. infatuated love
3. empty love
4. companionate love
5. fatuous [foolishly self-satisfied] love
6. consummate [perfect] love
Mate selection & marriage
Why & how people choose mates - various theories
Freud: acceptable focus for oedipal feelings
Instrumental theory of mate selection – based on gratification of needs,
attraction based on similar or complementary needs
Stimulus-Value- Role Theory: stimulus stage, value-comparison stage, role stage [determine if marriage/relationship roles can/will endure]
Family Systems perspective: focus on boundaries & redefining relationships with friends & family, as well as couples own relationship
Marriage vs. cohabitation
90% of men & women marry at some point in their lives
Cohabitation - overtly focus that they are not married.
1/3 of cohabitating couples eventually marry
Parenting & development
Family cycles
Transition to parenthood
1. changes in identity & inner life
2. shifting roles & relationship in the marriage
3. shifts in general roles & relationships [grandparent factor]
4. Changing roles outside of family [work, friends, etc.]
5. new parenting role & relationship – navigating new responsibilities
Parents’ developmental stages
1. Image-making stage [conception to birth, what kind of parent will I be?]
2. Nurturing stage – birth to 2 [until the kid says “NO”]
3. Authority stage – 2-5 [often question their parenting skills, know they aren’t perfect]
4. interpretive stage – middle years 6-12 [parents reexamine & test out their ideas about parenting
5. Interdependence stage – adolescence [redefine their authority relationship]
6. departure stage – letting go & accepting experiences as a parent
Single Parenthood
Tremendous change – in 70’s one in 7 kids lived in a home with no father
Single –parent families have increased 10X faster than 2-parent families since then. 1995 1/3 (33.3%)of all families headed by single mother.
why?
1. In the 70’s & early ‘80’s – divorce was at its peak. That was why then. In ‘99 it was 12% lower than in ’79. In ’95 2 out 5 [40%] of marriages expected to fail. Most divorces happen during early adulthood
2. Now: large increase in unmarried mothers [in ’98 almost 1/3 of births were to unmarried women – nearly 70% among black women]
3. increase in # of mothers separated but not divorced
Single fathers & Gay & Lesbian families
Single fathers still rare but getting more common. 10% gain custody after
divorce; 16% joint custody]
Gay & Lesbian very new phenomenon
Occupation / career cycles
Stages of vocational life:
1. id. with. a worker [5-10]
2. acquiring “habits of industry” [10-15]
3. Develop Id. as a worker [15- 25
4. becoming productive person [25 –40]
5. maintaining/contributing to productive society [40 – 70]
6. contemplation of productive & responsible life [70 - ]
Women in the workforce
Myths
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Chapter 11: Adolescence: Personality & Sociocultural Development
Chapter 11
Adolescence: Personality & Sociocultural Development
I. Developmental Tasks of Adolescence
A. Most theorists agree that adolescents must confront two major tasks
1. Achieving autonomy and independence from their parents
2. Forming an identity
B. Self regulation and interdependence
1. SELF REGULATION – in adolescence, making one’s own judgments and regulating one’s own behavior
2. INTERDEPENDENCE – reciprocal dependence, where both parties depend on each other
C. Forming an identity
1. IDENTITY FORMATION – gaining a sense of who you are and how you fit into society
2. SOCIAL REFERENCE GROUPS – narrow or broad groups with which people identify, and in so doing, help to define themselves
3. Erikson’s concept of identity
a. IDENTITY VERSUS IDENTITY CONFUSION – for Erikson, the critical developmental task for adolescents, which focuses on forging an answer to the question, “Who am I?”
b. The adolescent tries out various alternative identities as they attempt to sort through the options to make sense of who they are
c. If they do not decide, they withdraw and become isolated or they conform to expectations of whoever exerts the greatest power over their lives
4. Modes of identity formation
a. Erikson believed that identity formation involved an IDENTITY CRISIS – a period during which individuals grapple with the options available and ultimately make a choice and commitment as to which path their lives will take
b. Other researchers though defined identity formation into four modes or statuses
i. COMMITMENT – for Marcia, the part of identity formation that involves making a personal investment in the paths one chooses
ii. FORCLOSRE STATUS – the identity status of those who have made commitments without going through much decision making or through an identity crisis
iii. DIFFUSIO STATUS – the identity status of those who have neither gone through an identity crisis nor committed to an occupational role or moral code
iv. MORATORiIM STATUS – the identity status of those who are currently in the midst of an identity crisis or decision making period
v. IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT – the identity status of those who have gone through an identity crisis and have made commitments
c. influences on identity formation
i. Identity status influences an adolescent’s social expectations, self image, and reactions to stress
ii. The environment, age, and gender also influence identity formation
D. Identity formation, culture and context
1. Collectivist societies place much less emphasis on autonomy and more on a child becoming and remaining interdependent with others
2. Western societies stress becoming a distinct, relatively autonomous individual as opposed to becoming a contributing member of a cooperative group
II. Family Dynamics
A. Intergenerational communication
1. Research shows that there is much less conflict between adolescents and their families than often assumed
2. Conflict occurs more frequently in early adolescence than in later adolescence
B. Family alliances
1. Family alliances shape behavior before adolescence
a. A person dominated by an older sibling is likely to dominate his/her younger siblings
b. A “daddy’s girl” at age 6 will still be close to her father at age 16
2. Parenting styles and parental monitoring
a. Three primary parental styles
i. Adolescents who have experienced authoritarian parenting become dependent and anxious in the presence of authority figures or may become defiant and resentful
ii. Adolescents who have experienced permissive parenting may have difficulty setting boundaries and defining appropriate behavior
iii. Adolescents who have authoritative parents display normal and healthy behavior
b. Adolescents have fewer conflicts with their fathers, which suggests that fathers interfere less and allow greater freedom for teenagers
c. Mothers interact with their children more both in and out of the home and this can cause greater strain, but it also tends to create greater closeness
d. Parental monitoring occurs when the adolescent moves closer to adulthood since the parents cannot be with the adolescent at all times and teens do not offer full disclosure about their life
III. Peer Relationships During Adolescence
A. Social comparison
1. SOCIAL COMPARISON – evaluating yourself and your situation relative to others
2. Teens define themselves in a diverse peer arena made up of many different kinds of young people
3. Initially they focus on appearance and personality characteristics
4. Teens seek few close friendships and more loose friendships
5. As intimacy in friendship increases sharing of personal feeling and concerns occurs
B. Cliques and crowds
1. CROWD – adolescent peer group with perhaps 15 to 30 members
2. CLIQUE – adolescent peer group with as few as 3 members or as many as 9; more cohesive than crowd
3. Loners are those who do not belong to identifiable cliques or crowds. When it is voluntary it can provide creativity and relief from pressure
C. Dating
1. Adolescence is a stage of testing, imagining, and discovering what it is like to function in mixed groups and pairs
2. Young adolescents look for dates who are physically attractive, dress well, and are liked by others
3. Older adolescents are less superficial and are more concerned about personality characteristics
D. Peers and parents: a clash of cultures
1. As peers replace parents as the primary socializing force in a teenager’s life, parents become concerned about the characteristics of the peers
2. If the peers are different than the parents would prefer a clash of cultures occurs
3. This conflict is usually more serious for girls because disparities in hairstyles and dress are greater for women
IV. Risk and Resilience in Adolescence
A. Risk taking
1. Adolescents engage in sex, possibly without protection or with multiple partners, or abuse drugs
2. Adolescents’ judgment may not be fully developed and they could not understand the risks they are taking
3. When they develop self esteem, competence, and belonging they are less likely to engage in risky behavior
B. The use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs
1. Mostly prevalent in latter part of teenage years and in early adulthood
2. Tobacco
a. Smoking becomes alluring because it is a perceived symbol of maturity
b. Boys tend to smoke more and earlier
3. Alcohol
a. Alcohol is also perceived as something that lends itself to maturity and adulthood
b. Is most prevalent in teens whose friends drink
c. Binge drinking is especially problematic
4. Marijuana
a. The third most widely used drug in the US
b. Short term effects include impaired coordination, memory, attention, and perception, rise in heart rate, and rise in blood pressure
c. Long term effects are comparable to smoking cigarettes
5. Other drugs
a. Use of cocaine, heroine, LSD have been low
b. Designer drugs like ecstasy have become popular at raves
c. Methamphetamine use has increased primarily in rural areas
C. Delinquency
1. DELINQUENTS - people under age 16 or 18 who commit criminal acts
2. Association between crime and living in disadvantaged or stressful environments have been noted to contribute to delinquency
3. Other factors include the mass media and because adolescents seek to be members of delinquent peer groups
D. Sexual abuse of adolescents
1. Abuse is a problem for many adolescents, both male and female
2. Female
a. In early adolescence it is primarily between a female and an older adult male relative or family friend
b. Older adolescents are subjected to date rape
c. Sexually abused and traumatized girls often feel depressed, guilty and ashamed
d. Abuse is often long term
3. Male
a. Also most likely to be abused by a male who is not a family member
b. Feel particularly ashamed since they were forced to engage in same sex acts and they were powerless to defend themselves
V. Stress, Depression, and Coping
A. Depression
1. At any time about 8% of adolescents are suffering from moderate to severe depression
2. An interactive approach
a. Results from a combination of risk factors that interact, including biological, psychological, and social systems variables
b. Can be treated with prescription drugs
3. Adolescent suicide
a. Suicide rates have quadrupled for ages 15 & 19
b. They are not responding to one disturbing event, rather the context of long standing personal or family problems
c. copycat suicides are likely in adolescents because of the belief that the future is beyond their control
B. Risk factors for psychological problems tend to fall into four categories:
1. Teenage sexual activity
2. Abuse of alcohol
3. Antisocial and unproductive behavior
4. Poor school performance
C. Protective factors and coping responses
1. For adolescents whose lives have been easy, most risk factors are minor problems and positive adjustment is a likely outcome
2. Problematic adjustments are usually the result of experiencing several negative risk factors along with the interactions among them
3. Good intellectual functioning and appealing personalities, strong positive family support, good schools, and favorable organizations are likely to be associated with adolescents who can deal effectively with bad circumstances
Adolescence: Personality & Sociocultural Development
I. Developmental Tasks of Adolescence
A. Most theorists agree that adolescents must confront two major tasks
1. Achieving autonomy and independence from their parents
2. Forming an identity
B. Self regulation and interdependence
1. SELF REGULATION – in adolescence, making one’s own judgments and regulating one’s own behavior
2. INTERDEPENDENCE – reciprocal dependence, where both parties depend on each other
C. Forming an identity
1. IDENTITY FORMATION – gaining a sense of who you are and how you fit into society
2. SOCIAL REFERENCE GROUPS – narrow or broad groups with which people identify, and in so doing, help to define themselves
3. Erikson’s concept of identity
a. IDENTITY VERSUS IDENTITY CONFUSION – for Erikson, the critical developmental task for adolescents, which focuses on forging an answer to the question, “Who am I?”
b. The adolescent tries out various alternative identities as they attempt to sort through the options to make sense of who they are
c. If they do not decide, they withdraw and become isolated or they conform to expectations of whoever exerts the greatest power over their lives
4. Modes of identity formation
a. Erikson believed that identity formation involved an IDENTITY CRISIS – a period during which individuals grapple with the options available and ultimately make a choice and commitment as to which path their lives will take
b. Other researchers though defined identity formation into four modes or statuses
i. COMMITMENT – for Marcia, the part of identity formation that involves making a personal investment in the paths one chooses
ii. FORCLOSRE STATUS – the identity status of those who have made commitments without going through much decision making or through an identity crisis
iii. DIFFUSIO STATUS – the identity status of those who have neither gone through an identity crisis nor committed to an occupational role or moral code
iv. MORATORiIM STATUS – the identity status of those who are currently in the midst of an identity crisis or decision making period
v. IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT – the identity status of those who have gone through an identity crisis and have made commitments
c. influences on identity formation
i. Identity status influences an adolescent’s social expectations, self image, and reactions to stress
ii. The environment, age, and gender also influence identity formation
D. Identity formation, culture and context
1. Collectivist societies place much less emphasis on autonomy and more on a child becoming and remaining interdependent with others
2. Western societies stress becoming a distinct, relatively autonomous individual as opposed to becoming a contributing member of a cooperative group
II. Family Dynamics
A. Intergenerational communication
1. Research shows that there is much less conflict between adolescents and their families than often assumed
2. Conflict occurs more frequently in early adolescence than in later adolescence
B. Family alliances
1. Family alliances shape behavior before adolescence
a. A person dominated by an older sibling is likely to dominate his/her younger siblings
b. A “daddy’s girl” at age 6 will still be close to her father at age 16
2. Parenting styles and parental monitoring
a. Three primary parental styles
i. Adolescents who have experienced authoritarian parenting become dependent and anxious in the presence of authority figures or may become defiant and resentful
ii. Adolescents who have experienced permissive parenting may have difficulty setting boundaries and defining appropriate behavior
iii. Adolescents who have authoritative parents display normal and healthy behavior
b. Adolescents have fewer conflicts with their fathers, which suggests that fathers interfere less and allow greater freedom for teenagers
c. Mothers interact with their children more both in and out of the home and this can cause greater strain, but it also tends to create greater closeness
d. Parental monitoring occurs when the adolescent moves closer to adulthood since the parents cannot be with the adolescent at all times and teens do not offer full disclosure about their life
III. Peer Relationships During Adolescence
A. Social comparison
1. SOCIAL COMPARISON – evaluating yourself and your situation relative to others
2. Teens define themselves in a diverse peer arena made up of many different kinds of young people
3. Initially they focus on appearance and personality characteristics
4. Teens seek few close friendships and more loose friendships
5. As intimacy in friendship increases sharing of personal feeling and concerns occurs
B. Cliques and crowds
1. CROWD – adolescent peer group with perhaps 15 to 30 members
2. CLIQUE – adolescent peer group with as few as 3 members or as many as 9; more cohesive than crowd
3. Loners are those who do not belong to identifiable cliques or crowds. When it is voluntary it can provide creativity and relief from pressure
C. Dating
1. Adolescence is a stage of testing, imagining, and discovering what it is like to function in mixed groups and pairs
2. Young adolescents look for dates who are physically attractive, dress well, and are liked by others
3. Older adolescents are less superficial and are more concerned about personality characteristics
D. Peers and parents: a clash of cultures
1. As peers replace parents as the primary socializing force in a teenager’s life, parents become concerned about the characteristics of the peers
2. If the peers are different than the parents would prefer a clash of cultures occurs
3. This conflict is usually more serious for girls because disparities in hairstyles and dress are greater for women
IV. Risk and Resilience in Adolescence
A. Risk taking
1. Adolescents engage in sex, possibly without protection or with multiple partners, or abuse drugs
2. Adolescents’ judgment may not be fully developed and they could not understand the risks they are taking
3. When they develop self esteem, competence, and belonging they are less likely to engage in risky behavior
B. The use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs
1. Mostly prevalent in latter part of teenage years and in early adulthood
2. Tobacco
a. Smoking becomes alluring because it is a perceived symbol of maturity
b. Boys tend to smoke more and earlier
3. Alcohol
a. Alcohol is also perceived as something that lends itself to maturity and adulthood
b. Is most prevalent in teens whose friends drink
c. Binge drinking is especially problematic
4. Marijuana
a. The third most widely used drug in the US
b. Short term effects include impaired coordination, memory, attention, and perception, rise in heart rate, and rise in blood pressure
c. Long term effects are comparable to smoking cigarettes
5. Other drugs
a. Use of cocaine, heroine, LSD have been low
b. Designer drugs like ecstasy have become popular at raves
c. Methamphetamine use has increased primarily in rural areas
C. Delinquency
1. DELINQUENTS - people under age 16 or 18 who commit criminal acts
2. Association between crime and living in disadvantaged or stressful environments have been noted to contribute to delinquency
3. Other factors include the mass media and because adolescents seek to be members of delinquent peer groups
D. Sexual abuse of adolescents
1. Abuse is a problem for many adolescents, both male and female
2. Female
a. In early adolescence it is primarily between a female and an older adult male relative or family friend
b. Older adolescents are subjected to date rape
c. Sexually abused and traumatized girls often feel depressed, guilty and ashamed
d. Abuse is often long term
3. Male
a. Also most likely to be abused by a male who is not a family member
b. Feel particularly ashamed since they were forced to engage in same sex acts and they were powerless to defend themselves
V. Stress, Depression, and Coping
A. Depression
1. At any time about 8% of adolescents are suffering from moderate to severe depression
2. An interactive approach
a. Results from a combination of risk factors that interact, including biological, psychological, and social systems variables
b. Can be treated with prescription drugs
3. Adolescent suicide
a. Suicide rates have quadrupled for ages 15 & 19
b. They are not responding to one disturbing event, rather the context of long standing personal or family problems
c. copycat suicides are likely in adolescents because of the belief that the future is beyond their control
B. Risk factors for psychological problems tend to fall into four categories:
1. Teenage sexual activity
2. Abuse of alcohol
3. Antisocial and unproductive behavior
4. Poor school performance
C. Protective factors and coping responses
1. For adolescents whose lives have been easy, most risk factors are minor problems and positive adjustment is a likely outcome
2. Problematic adjustments are usually the result of experiencing several negative risk factors along with the interactions among them
3. Good intellectual functioning and appealing personalities, strong positive family support, good schools, and favorable organizations are likely to be associated with adolescents who can deal effectively with bad circumstances
Lecture Notes/Chapter Outine Chapter 10: Adolescence
Chapter 10
Adolescence: Physical & Cognitive Development
I. Adolescent Development in a Cultural and Historical Context
A. RIGHTS OF PASSAGE – symbolic events or rituals to mark life transitions, such as from childhood to adult status.
1. As social circumstances change, adolescents react and adapt to the social relationships and institutions around them.
2. The social context in which development occurs must be considered in understanding adolescence.
B. Adolescence in the United States Today
1. Adolescents are largely age segregated, that is, they interact mostly with other adolescents and much less with younger children or adults.
a. Developmental niche: the interaction of various aspects of development - such as everyday physical & social settings, parenting & family customs & overall environmental context – that determines the unique world of each individual.
b. This separates the adolescent from younger children and thus deprives them of the opportunity to guide and tutor those who are less knowledgeable.
c. This also separates them from adult culture and they lack the chance to learn jobs by working with adults
2. Adolescents are also largely economically dependent on their parents
3. Adolescents are deeply affected by, and develop strong opinions about, the events of the time in which they live.
4. Adolescents are influenced by images projected by the mass media
a. They accept tragedy, sexuality, and brutality in a matter of fact way
b. Adolescents tend to gravitate to the more grizzly, counterculture aspects of media programming.
II. Physical Development and Adaptation
A. Physical Growth and Change
1. The biological hallmarks of adolescence are a marked increase in the rate of growth, rapid development of the reproductive organs, and the appearance of secondary sex characteristics such as body hair, increased body fat and muscle, and enlargement and maturation of genitalia
2. Some changes are the same for both boys and girls – increased size, strength, and stamina
3. Most changes are sex specific
4. The physical changes are largely controlled by HORMONES, which are the bio-chemical substances that are secreted into the bloodstream in very tiny amounts by internal organs called endocrine glands; hormones exert an effect on particular target organs or tissues.
a. ANDROGENS are male sex hormones; TESTOSTERONE is the most important androgen
b. ESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE are both female sex hormones
c. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are the two areas of the brain that maintain the balance of hormones.
i. The hypothalamus initiates growth and eventual reproductive capability
ii. The pituitary gland produces both growth hormones and some trophic hormones
5. The increase in hormone output is followed by the ADOLESCENT GROWTH SPURT, a period of rapid growth in physical size and strength, accompanied by changes in body proportion. Especially for girls, the growth spurt is a sign of entry into puberty.
B. PUBERTY is the attainment of sexual maturity in both males and females
1. A SECULAR TREND toward earlier sexual maturation has occurred.
2. Changes in girls
a. Breast development
b. Growth of pubic hair
c. Growth of underarm hair
d. Body growth
e. MENARCHE – the time of the first menstrual period
f. Increased output of oil and sweat producing glands
3. Changes in boys
a. Growth of testes and scrotal sac
b. Growth of pubic hair
c. Growth of facial and underarm hair
d. Body growth
e. Growth of penis
f. Change in voice
g. First ejaculation of semen
h. Increased output of oil and sweat producing glands
C. Body Image and Adjustment
1. MARGINAL GROUP is a group between cultures or on the fringe of a dominant culture that typically exhibits an intensified need to conform
2. Concerns about body image
a. ANOREXIA NERVOSA – an eating disorder in which a person is obsessed by thoughts of an unattainable image of perfect thinness; can result in death
b. BULIMIA NERVOSA – an eating disorder characterized by bingeing and purging
3. Early and late maturers
a. Girls mature on average 2 years earlier than boys
b. Early maturation is rarely a benefit for girls
i. One effect is that they have fewer opportunities to discuss their physical and emotional changes with friends
ii. They are significantly more likely to experience psychological distress over their maturity (e.g. lower self esteem).
c. Late maturation is rarely a benefit for boys.
i. They miss valuable childhood psychological development
ii. May be pressured into early sexual behavior
iii. More likely to experience psychological distress
III. Gender Identity and Sexual Practices
A. Four Decades of Changes in Sexual Practices
1. In the 1950’s and 1960’s most young people felt premarital sex was immoral
2. In the late 1960’s and 1970’s sexual attitudes changed partly because of the development of birth control
3. SEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARD is the view that sexual activity is more permissible for boys than for girls; this became less endorsed in the 1970’s
4. SAME SEX ORIENTATION is the sexual attraction toward members of one’s own sex
5. A sexual revolution was in full swing during the late 1970’s
6. In the 1980’s the revolution in changing sexual norms began to decline. People began to view the sexual attitudes of the 1970’s as irresponsible.
7. The 1990’s ushered in some stability in sexual attitudes.
8. Masturbation, homosexuality, cohabitation, premarital sex, “serial monogamy”, etc.
B. Factors that Influence Early Sexual Relationships
1. The age at which a person first becomes sexually active varies by both gender and ethnicity.
2. Sexual activity is also associated with the adolescent’s family situation
a. Adolescents from two parent families have less and later sexual experience than those from single parent families
b. Overly restrictive and overly permissive parenting are associated with earlier sexual activity
c. Education is also positively correlated with the age sexual activity occurs
C. Consequences of Adolescent Sexual Behavior
1. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
a. One of the most serious problems of adolescent sexual activity
b. About 20% of sexually active teenagers have an STD
2. Why teenagers become pregnant
a. 8% of teenaged girls become pregnant
b. 75% of girls and 82% of boys do not use contraception at first intercourse
c. Adolescents feel uncomfortable making demands of their partner in times of high excitement
d. Pregnancy rates have been decreasing in the last decade
3. The Effects of Early Parenthood
a. For the mother
i. Less likely to marry the father of their first child
ii. More likely to become divorced
iii. More likely to spend twice as much time as a single parent prior to age 30
iv. More likely to drop out of school
v. Less likely to earn a high school diploma by age 30
vi. More likely to work more hours at a lower rate of pay
b. For the father
i. Less likely to earn a high school diploma
ii. More likely to work in a blue collar ocupation
iii. More likely to experience lower income levels
iv. More likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behaviors
c. For the Child
i. More likely to be born premature and of low birth weight
ii. More likely to experience serious or life threatening medical conditions at birth
iii. Less likely to receive quality medical care and nutrition
iv. Less likely to receive necessary emotional support and cognitive stimulation
v. More likely to drop out of school
vi. More likely to become involved in delinquent and criminal behaviors
vii. More likely to have children before marriage
d. For society
i. Increased financial burden to taxpayers and extended families
ii. Additional strain on the resources of governmental programs and systems
IV. Cognitive Changes in Adolescence
A. Brain Development in Adolescence
1. Brain Imaging
a. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies are providing researchers a clearer look at how brain cells develop
b. Children’s brains contain more nerve cells than the adult brain will retain
c. Important changes continue to occur within the brain long past childhood, adolescence and perhaps even into early adulthood
2. Changes in the Adolescent Brain
a. Gray matter levels at the age of 25
b. White matter increases until about the age of 40
c. The processes of pruning and increasing myelinization first start in the back of the brain and then occur in brain areas responsible for coordination and end in areas that control decision making and problem solving
3. The Influence of Hormones on the Brain
a. Hormones tend to target areas of the brain related to emotional regulation such as the amygdale
i. When the amygdale is triggered, emotions become volatile
ii. Stimulus seeking behavior and risk seeking tendencies also occur
b. The emotional outbursts and overly emotional responses seen in teen behavior are the result of the pace with which different regions of the brain mature
c. Changes in how adolescents experience emotion, make judgments about risky behavior and actually think are associated with changes in the brain
B. Piaget’s Period of Formal Operations
1. Formal Operational Thought
a. FORMAL OPERATIONS – the final stage of cognitive development that is characterized by the ability to reason hypothetically and think about abstract concepts
b. Adolescents also show an increasing ability to plan and to think ahead
2. Expanding Piaget’s View
a. Information processing functions also occur because they involve the development of increasingly effective strategies for thought
b. Not all individuals attain the abilities associated with formal thought
c. Moreover those who attain it do not use it consistently.
C. The Scope and Content of Adolescent Thought
1. Examining the World and the Family
a. Adolescents contrast their ideal parent with the real parent and the real parents have a difficult time meeting the adolescent’s expectations, therefore, bickering tends to escalate during early adolescence (“The Foundling Fable”)
b. Teens tend to battle for their independence through means of negotiation
c. Research indicates that those with parents who offered guidance but allowed their children to develop their own points of view, had the strongest sense of themselves as individuals
2. Adolescent Egocentrism
a. The self centered view assumes that other people are as fascinated with them as they are with themselves
b. IMAGINARY AUDIENCE – adolescents’ assumption that others are focusing a great deal of critical attention on them
c. PERSONAL FABLE – adolescents’ belief that they are so special that they should be exempt from the laws of nature, that nothing bad can happen to them, and they will live forever
3. Moral Development in Adolescence
a. Cognitive changes that occur during adolescence contribute to moral development as well
b. Some of the decisions have complex consequences, but the adolescent may not have the moral framework to deal with the pressures until well into adolescence or even early adulthood
c. Kohlberg specified that the ability to reason through moral dilemmas proceeds developmentally, from preconventional, through conventional, to postconventional thinking
d. Presenting a child with increasingly complex moral issues creates disequilibrium forcing the child to resolve contradictions
Adolescence: Physical & Cognitive Development
I. Adolescent Development in a Cultural and Historical Context
A. RIGHTS OF PASSAGE – symbolic events or rituals to mark life transitions, such as from childhood to adult status.
1. As social circumstances change, adolescents react and adapt to the social relationships and institutions around them.
2. The social context in which development occurs must be considered in understanding adolescence.
B. Adolescence in the United States Today
1. Adolescents are largely age segregated, that is, they interact mostly with other adolescents and much less with younger children or adults.
a. Developmental niche: the interaction of various aspects of development - such as everyday physical & social settings, parenting & family customs & overall environmental context – that determines the unique world of each individual.
b. This separates the adolescent from younger children and thus deprives them of the opportunity to guide and tutor those who are less knowledgeable.
c. This also separates them from adult culture and they lack the chance to learn jobs by working with adults
2. Adolescents are also largely economically dependent on their parents
3. Adolescents are deeply affected by, and develop strong opinions about, the events of the time in which they live.
4. Adolescents are influenced by images projected by the mass media
a. They accept tragedy, sexuality, and brutality in a matter of fact way
b. Adolescents tend to gravitate to the more grizzly, counterculture aspects of media programming.
II. Physical Development and Adaptation
A. Physical Growth and Change
1. The biological hallmarks of adolescence are a marked increase in the rate of growth, rapid development of the reproductive organs, and the appearance of secondary sex characteristics such as body hair, increased body fat and muscle, and enlargement and maturation of genitalia
2. Some changes are the same for both boys and girls – increased size, strength, and stamina
3. Most changes are sex specific
4. The physical changes are largely controlled by HORMONES, which are the bio-chemical substances that are secreted into the bloodstream in very tiny amounts by internal organs called endocrine glands; hormones exert an effect on particular target organs or tissues.
a. ANDROGENS are male sex hormones; TESTOSTERONE is the most important androgen
b. ESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE are both female sex hormones
c. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are the two areas of the brain that maintain the balance of hormones.
i. The hypothalamus initiates growth and eventual reproductive capability
ii. The pituitary gland produces both growth hormones and some trophic hormones
5. The increase in hormone output is followed by the ADOLESCENT GROWTH SPURT, a period of rapid growth in physical size and strength, accompanied by changes in body proportion. Especially for girls, the growth spurt is a sign of entry into puberty.
B. PUBERTY is the attainment of sexual maturity in both males and females
1. A SECULAR TREND toward earlier sexual maturation has occurred.
2. Changes in girls
a. Breast development
b. Growth of pubic hair
c. Growth of underarm hair
d. Body growth
e. MENARCHE – the time of the first menstrual period
f. Increased output of oil and sweat producing glands
3. Changes in boys
a. Growth of testes and scrotal sac
b. Growth of pubic hair
c. Growth of facial and underarm hair
d. Body growth
e. Growth of penis
f. Change in voice
g. First ejaculation of semen
h. Increased output of oil and sweat producing glands
C. Body Image and Adjustment
1. MARGINAL GROUP is a group between cultures or on the fringe of a dominant culture that typically exhibits an intensified need to conform
2. Concerns about body image
a. ANOREXIA NERVOSA – an eating disorder in which a person is obsessed by thoughts of an unattainable image of perfect thinness; can result in death
b. BULIMIA NERVOSA – an eating disorder characterized by bingeing and purging
3. Early and late maturers
a. Girls mature on average 2 years earlier than boys
b. Early maturation is rarely a benefit for girls
i. One effect is that they have fewer opportunities to discuss their physical and emotional changes with friends
ii. They are significantly more likely to experience psychological distress over their maturity (e.g. lower self esteem).
c. Late maturation is rarely a benefit for boys.
i. They miss valuable childhood psychological development
ii. May be pressured into early sexual behavior
iii. More likely to experience psychological distress
III. Gender Identity and Sexual Practices
A. Four Decades of Changes in Sexual Practices
1. In the 1950’s and 1960’s most young people felt premarital sex was immoral
2. In the late 1960’s and 1970’s sexual attitudes changed partly because of the development of birth control
3. SEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARD is the view that sexual activity is more permissible for boys than for girls; this became less endorsed in the 1970’s
4. SAME SEX ORIENTATION is the sexual attraction toward members of one’s own sex
5. A sexual revolution was in full swing during the late 1970’s
6. In the 1980’s the revolution in changing sexual norms began to decline. People began to view the sexual attitudes of the 1970’s as irresponsible.
7. The 1990’s ushered in some stability in sexual attitudes.
8. Masturbation, homosexuality, cohabitation, premarital sex, “serial monogamy”, etc.
B. Factors that Influence Early Sexual Relationships
1. The age at which a person first becomes sexually active varies by both gender and ethnicity.
2. Sexual activity is also associated with the adolescent’s family situation
a. Adolescents from two parent families have less and later sexual experience than those from single parent families
b. Overly restrictive and overly permissive parenting are associated with earlier sexual activity
c. Education is also positively correlated with the age sexual activity occurs
C. Consequences of Adolescent Sexual Behavior
1. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
a. One of the most serious problems of adolescent sexual activity
b. About 20% of sexually active teenagers have an STD
2. Why teenagers become pregnant
a. 8% of teenaged girls become pregnant
b. 75% of girls and 82% of boys do not use contraception at first intercourse
c. Adolescents feel uncomfortable making demands of their partner in times of high excitement
d. Pregnancy rates have been decreasing in the last decade
3. The Effects of Early Parenthood
a. For the mother
i. Less likely to marry the father of their first child
ii. More likely to become divorced
iii. More likely to spend twice as much time as a single parent prior to age 30
iv. More likely to drop out of school
v. Less likely to earn a high school diploma by age 30
vi. More likely to work more hours at a lower rate of pay
b. For the father
i. Less likely to earn a high school diploma
ii. More likely to work in a blue collar ocupation
iii. More likely to experience lower income levels
iv. More likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behaviors
c. For the Child
i. More likely to be born premature and of low birth weight
ii. More likely to experience serious or life threatening medical conditions at birth
iii. Less likely to receive quality medical care and nutrition
iv. Less likely to receive necessary emotional support and cognitive stimulation
v. More likely to drop out of school
vi. More likely to become involved in delinquent and criminal behaviors
vii. More likely to have children before marriage
d. For society
i. Increased financial burden to taxpayers and extended families
ii. Additional strain on the resources of governmental programs and systems
IV. Cognitive Changes in Adolescence
A. Brain Development in Adolescence
1. Brain Imaging
a. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies are providing researchers a clearer look at how brain cells develop
b. Children’s brains contain more nerve cells than the adult brain will retain
c. Important changes continue to occur within the brain long past childhood, adolescence and perhaps even into early adulthood
2. Changes in the Adolescent Brain
a. Gray matter levels at the age of 25
b. White matter increases until about the age of 40
c. The processes of pruning and increasing myelinization first start in the back of the brain and then occur in brain areas responsible for coordination and end in areas that control decision making and problem solving
3. The Influence of Hormones on the Brain
a. Hormones tend to target areas of the brain related to emotional regulation such as the amygdale
i. When the amygdale is triggered, emotions become volatile
ii. Stimulus seeking behavior and risk seeking tendencies also occur
b. The emotional outbursts and overly emotional responses seen in teen behavior are the result of the pace with which different regions of the brain mature
c. Changes in how adolescents experience emotion, make judgments about risky behavior and actually think are associated with changes in the brain
B. Piaget’s Period of Formal Operations
1. Formal Operational Thought
a. FORMAL OPERATIONS – the final stage of cognitive development that is characterized by the ability to reason hypothetically and think about abstract concepts
b. Adolescents also show an increasing ability to plan and to think ahead
2. Expanding Piaget’s View
a. Information processing functions also occur because they involve the development of increasingly effective strategies for thought
b. Not all individuals attain the abilities associated with formal thought
c. Moreover those who attain it do not use it consistently.
C. The Scope and Content of Adolescent Thought
1. Examining the World and the Family
a. Adolescents contrast their ideal parent with the real parent and the real parents have a difficult time meeting the adolescent’s expectations, therefore, bickering tends to escalate during early adolescence (“The Foundling Fable”)
b. Teens tend to battle for their independence through means of negotiation
c. Research indicates that those with parents who offered guidance but allowed their children to develop their own points of view, had the strongest sense of themselves as individuals
2. Adolescent Egocentrism
a. The self centered view assumes that other people are as fascinated with them as they are with themselves
b. IMAGINARY AUDIENCE – adolescents’ assumption that others are focusing a great deal of critical attention on them
c. PERSONAL FABLE – adolescents’ belief that they are so special that they should be exempt from the laws of nature, that nothing bad can happen to them, and they will live forever
3. Moral Development in Adolescence
a. Cognitive changes that occur during adolescence contribute to moral development as well
b. Some of the decisions have complex consequences, but the adolescent may not have the moral framework to deal with the pressures until well into adolescence or even early adulthood
c. Kohlberg specified that the ability to reason through moral dilemmas proceeds developmentally, from preconventional, through conventional, to postconventional thinking
d. Presenting a child with increasingly complex moral issues creates disequilibrium forcing the child to resolve contradictions
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Grades to date - June 16, 2009
Human Growth & Development 2960
summer 2009
class code T 1 T 2 Qz 1 Qz 2 exrcse1 exrcse2 Pres'tion Total %
P33 44 44 4 4 96 77
O41 44 50 3 7 5 109 87
T11 48 44 3 6 4 105 84
S56 46 36 5 7 4 5 103 82
U77 48 46 5 8 4 5 116 93
W80 41 48 3 6 4 5 47 154 88
Z99 49 50 5 9 4 5 122 98
N01 42 38 4 5 4 5 98 78
Y08 51 50 3 3 5 112 90
X90 45 50 1 5 4 105 84
V16 46 48 2 4 100 80
M51 50 46 4 7 4 5 47 163 93
R21 42 34 5 6 4 5 47 143 82
L88 53 34 4 8 3 5 107 86
summer 2009
class code T 1 T 2 Qz 1 Qz 2 exrcse1 exrcse2 Pres'tion Total %
P33 44 44 4 4 96 77
O41 44 50 3 7 5 109 87
T11 48 44 3 6 4 105 84
S56 46 36 5 7 4 5 103 82
U77 48 46 5 8 4 5 116 93
W80 41 48 3 6 4 5 47 154 88
Z99 49 50 5 9 4 5 122 98
N01 42 38 4 5 4 5 98 78
Y08 51 50 3 3 5 112 90
X90 45 50 1 5 4 105 84
V16 46 48 2 4 100 80
M51 50 46 4 7 4 5 47 163 93
R21 42 34 5 6 4 5 47 143 82
L88 53 34 4 8 3 5 107 86
Lecture Notes/Chapter Outine Chapter 9: Middle Childhood
Chapter 9 - Middle Childhood: Personality & Sociocultural Development
I. Personality Development in an Expanding Social World
A. Three perspectives on middle childhood
1. Social learning view
2. Psychodynamic view
3. Cognitive developmental view
B. Self concept
1. How children define who they are
2. Less realistic and accurate in younger children
3. Frequently compare themselves with their peers and draw conclusion when seeing how they relate to other people
C. INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY – In Erikson’s theory, the third stage of development in which the child attempts to establish a sense of personal competence and mastery
D. SELF ESTEEM – one’s attitude toward oneself, which can range from positive to negative
II. Social Knowledge and Reasoning
A. The development of social cognition
1. SOCIAL COGNITION – thought, knowledge, and understanding that involve the social world
2. SOCIAL INFERENCE – an individual’s guesses and assumptions about what another person is feeling, thinking, or intending
3. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – an individual’s obligations to family, friends, and to society
4. SOCIAL REGULATIONS – the customs and conventions that govern social interactions
B. The development of morality
1. MORALITY – a person’s ideas about fairness and justice and right and wrong
2. Moral realism and moral relativism
a. MORAL REALISM – Piaget’s term for the first stage of moral development; children believe in rules as real, indestructible things, not as abstract principles
b. MORAL RELATIVISM – Piaget’s term for the second stage of moral development; children realize rules are created and agreed upon cooperatively by individuals and can change if necessary
3. Kohlberg’s preconventional, conventional, and postconventional reasoning
a. Preconventional – stage 1 and 2 – obey rules in order to avoid punishment and obey rules to obtain rewards or to have favors returned
b. Conventional – stage 3 and 4 – conform to win the approval of others and conform to avoid disapproval or dislike of others
c. Postconventional – stage 5 and 6 – abide by laws of the land for the community’s welfare and abide by universal ethical principles, which may or may not conform to society’s laws or expectations
d. MORAL DILEMMAS – in Kohlberg’s research, stories in which individuals are asked to judge whether a character’s behavior was moral or immoral
4. Critiques of Kohlberg’s theory
a. Argue that his research investigates moral attitudes and not moral behavior
b. Moral development is not as predictable as his model suggests
c. MORAL ABSOLUTISM – any theory of morality that disregards cultural differences in moral beliefs
5. Gender differences in moral development
a. Kohlberg based his theory on male subjects
b. Women’s moral judgments are based on justice or caring
c. Boys are trained to strive for independence while girls are taught to nurture and care
III. Peer Relationships
A. Functions of friendship
1. Help children learn social concepts and social skills
2. Allow the child to develop self esteem
3. They can share their feelings, fears, and details of their lives
4. Allow someone to confide in
B. Developmental patterns in friendship
1. Selman’s stages of friendship development
2. Stage 1 – friendship is based on physical or geographic factors and children are self centered with no understanding of the perspectives of others
3. Stage 2 – friendship begins to be based on reciprocity and awareness of others’ feelings and friendship begins to be based on social actions and evaluation by each other
4. Stage 3 – friendship is based on genuine give and take and friends are seen as people who help each other; mutual evaluation of each other’s actions occurs and the concept of trust appears
5. Stage 4 – friendship is seen as a stable continuing relationship based on trust and children can observe the friendship relationship from the perspective of a third party
C. PEER GROUP – a group of three or more people of similar age who interact with each other and who share norms and goals
1. Developmental trends
a. Peer groups take on greater significance when children reach ages 10 to 12
b. Separation of the sexes becomes noticeable
c. Peer pressure becomes more effective & conformity to group norms becomes important
2. Peer group conformity
a. Some children become dependent on their peer group to meet their needs of belonging and social support
b. Children who conform most often are especially sensitive to social cues and tend to self monitor
c. Can influence and encourage academic motivation
d. Can also encourage antisocial acts (particularly in boys)
D. In groups, out groups, and prejudice
1. PREJUDICE – a negative attitude formed without adequate reason and usually directed toward people because of their membership in a certain group
2. DISCRIMINATION – treating others in a prejudiced manner
3. The development of ethnic identity
a. Develops during early childhood
b. Reflects the culture in which the child is raised
c. Complex concept that is only gradually acquired
d. Understanding group differences and what it means to be a member of the group requires social cognition that only comes with cognitive development
4. Popularity within the peer group
a. Popular children are likely to have good emotional control
b. They can cooperate and share
c. Academic performance and athletic ability become important in determining popularity
d. Children who are overly aggressive, timid, or different are less popular
e. Unpopular children can be encouraged to change behaviors that are objected to
IV. Family Influences in Middle Childhood
A. Parent child interactions and relationships
1. SELF REGULATED BEHAVIOR – behavior that is controlled and directed by the child rather than by parents, teachers, or other external forces
2. COREGULATION – the development or a sense of shared responsibility between parents and their children
3. Parents need to effectively monitor their children’s activities and behavior
4. Less stress economically, socially, and emotionally can make parenting easier
B. The changing nature of the family
1. Families and stress
a. When stress is chronic and extreme, children and adults may develop symptoms, such as nightmares, fearfulness, depression, anxiety, trouble with concentration, aggressive behavior, or blunted emotions
b. Stress is better dealt with when events do not pile up
c. When family and social support is available stress becomes more manageable
d. Some children are more resilient and are better able than others to deal with stress
e. RESILIENT CHIDREN – children who are able to overcome difficult environments to lead socially competent lives
2. Stress and single parenting
a. Single parents are especially vulnerable to stress because of lack of social support and economic resources
b. When stressed, they use less effective parenting techniques
c. The development of their children is more susceptible to harm
d. Social support and clear rules and expectations for children can help them deal more effectively
3. Children of divorce
a. Half of all marriages in the US end in divorce
b. Divorce is more traumatic for children when parents are hostile
c. Children are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties, anxiety, depression, and low self esteem when parents divorce
d. RECONSITITUTED CHILDREN – also known as stepfamily; a family where a mother or a father with children has remarried to produce a new family
I. Personality Development in an Expanding Social World
A. Three perspectives on middle childhood
1. Social learning view
2. Psychodynamic view
3. Cognitive developmental view
B. Self concept
1. How children define who they are
2. Less realistic and accurate in younger children
3. Frequently compare themselves with their peers and draw conclusion when seeing how they relate to other people
C. INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY – In Erikson’s theory, the third stage of development in which the child attempts to establish a sense of personal competence and mastery
D. SELF ESTEEM – one’s attitude toward oneself, which can range from positive to negative
II. Social Knowledge and Reasoning
A. The development of social cognition
1. SOCIAL COGNITION – thought, knowledge, and understanding that involve the social world
2. SOCIAL INFERENCE – an individual’s guesses and assumptions about what another person is feeling, thinking, or intending
3. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – an individual’s obligations to family, friends, and to society
4. SOCIAL REGULATIONS – the customs and conventions that govern social interactions
B. The development of morality
1. MORALITY – a person’s ideas about fairness and justice and right and wrong
2. Moral realism and moral relativism
a. MORAL REALISM – Piaget’s term for the first stage of moral development; children believe in rules as real, indestructible things, not as abstract principles
b. MORAL RELATIVISM – Piaget’s term for the second stage of moral development; children realize rules are created and agreed upon cooperatively by individuals and can change if necessary
3. Kohlberg’s preconventional, conventional, and postconventional reasoning
a. Preconventional – stage 1 and 2 – obey rules in order to avoid punishment and obey rules to obtain rewards or to have favors returned
b. Conventional – stage 3 and 4 – conform to win the approval of others and conform to avoid disapproval or dislike of others
c. Postconventional – stage 5 and 6 – abide by laws of the land for the community’s welfare and abide by universal ethical principles, which may or may not conform to society’s laws or expectations
d. MORAL DILEMMAS – in Kohlberg’s research, stories in which individuals are asked to judge whether a character’s behavior was moral or immoral
4. Critiques of Kohlberg’s theory
a. Argue that his research investigates moral attitudes and not moral behavior
b. Moral development is not as predictable as his model suggests
c. MORAL ABSOLUTISM – any theory of morality that disregards cultural differences in moral beliefs
5. Gender differences in moral development
a. Kohlberg based his theory on male subjects
b. Women’s moral judgments are based on justice or caring
c. Boys are trained to strive for independence while girls are taught to nurture and care
III. Peer Relationships
A. Functions of friendship
1. Help children learn social concepts and social skills
2. Allow the child to develop self esteem
3. They can share their feelings, fears, and details of their lives
4. Allow someone to confide in
B. Developmental patterns in friendship
1. Selman’s stages of friendship development
2. Stage 1 – friendship is based on physical or geographic factors and children are self centered with no understanding of the perspectives of others
3. Stage 2 – friendship begins to be based on reciprocity and awareness of others’ feelings and friendship begins to be based on social actions and evaluation by each other
4. Stage 3 – friendship is based on genuine give and take and friends are seen as people who help each other; mutual evaluation of each other’s actions occurs and the concept of trust appears
5. Stage 4 – friendship is seen as a stable continuing relationship based on trust and children can observe the friendship relationship from the perspective of a third party
C. PEER GROUP – a group of three or more people of similar age who interact with each other and who share norms and goals
1. Developmental trends
a. Peer groups take on greater significance when children reach ages 10 to 12
b. Separation of the sexes becomes noticeable
c. Peer pressure becomes more effective & conformity to group norms becomes important
2. Peer group conformity
a. Some children become dependent on their peer group to meet their needs of belonging and social support
b. Children who conform most often are especially sensitive to social cues and tend to self monitor
c. Can influence and encourage academic motivation
d. Can also encourage antisocial acts (particularly in boys)
D. In groups, out groups, and prejudice
1. PREJUDICE – a negative attitude formed without adequate reason and usually directed toward people because of their membership in a certain group
2. DISCRIMINATION – treating others in a prejudiced manner
3. The development of ethnic identity
a. Develops during early childhood
b. Reflects the culture in which the child is raised
c. Complex concept that is only gradually acquired
d. Understanding group differences and what it means to be a member of the group requires social cognition that only comes with cognitive development
4. Popularity within the peer group
a. Popular children are likely to have good emotional control
b. They can cooperate and share
c. Academic performance and athletic ability become important in determining popularity
d. Children who are overly aggressive, timid, or different are less popular
e. Unpopular children can be encouraged to change behaviors that are objected to
IV. Family Influences in Middle Childhood
A. Parent child interactions and relationships
1. SELF REGULATED BEHAVIOR – behavior that is controlled and directed by the child rather than by parents, teachers, or other external forces
2. COREGULATION – the development or a sense of shared responsibility between parents and their children
3. Parents need to effectively monitor their children’s activities and behavior
4. Less stress economically, socially, and emotionally can make parenting easier
B. The changing nature of the family
1. Families and stress
a. When stress is chronic and extreme, children and adults may develop symptoms, such as nightmares, fearfulness, depression, anxiety, trouble with concentration, aggressive behavior, or blunted emotions
b. Stress is better dealt with when events do not pile up
c. When family and social support is available stress becomes more manageable
d. Some children are more resilient and are better able than others to deal with stress
e. RESILIENT CHIDREN – children who are able to overcome difficult environments to lead socially competent lives
2. Stress and single parenting
a. Single parents are especially vulnerable to stress because of lack of social support and economic resources
b. When stressed, they use less effective parenting techniques
c. The development of their children is more susceptible to harm
d. Social support and clear rules and expectations for children can help them deal more effectively
3. Children of divorce
a. Half of all marriages in the US end in divorce
b. Divorce is more traumatic for children when parents are hostile
c. Children are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties, anxiety, depression, and low self esteem when parents divorce
d. RECONSITITUTED CHILDREN – also known as stepfamily; a family where a mother or a father with children has remarried to produce a new family
Lecture Notes/Chapter Outine Chapter 8: Middle Childhood
Chapter Eight
Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development
I. Physical and Motor Development
A. Physical growth and change
1. Not all children mature at the same rate
2. Girls tend to be shorter and lighter than boys until age 9
3. Boys and girls are equally strong during middle adulthood
4. There are substantial individual differences in body size and proportion
B. Internal changes
1. Brain development
a. Neural plasticity remains high
b. Surface area of frontal lobes increases slightly
c. Lateralization of the brain becomes more pronounced during school years
d. Corpus callosum become mature in both structure and function
2. Skeletal maturation
a. Periods of rapid growth may produce growing pains – episodes of stiffness and aching that are particularly common at night
b. Overly stringent physical training can cause injuries
C. Motor skills development
1. Gross motor skills
a. Locomotor skills are well in place and expanded upon
b. Children grow stronger and are more capable
c. Boys are more athletic than girls
2. Fine motor skills
a. Also develop rapidly during middle childhood
b. Complex skills like writing and hand/eye coordination improve with practice
c. Developing mastery over their bodies can help children gain feelings of competence and self worth
D. Health, fitness, accidents
1. Physical fitness
a. Defined as the optimal functioning of the heart, lungs, muscles, and blood vessels
b. Classes in school should aim to not only increase the children’s skill and overall level of physical activity, but also aim to establish healthy active patterns or behavior that will carry through into adulthood
2. Obesity
a. Obesity is associated with serious social and psychological consequences
b. Peers may reject or stereotype overweight children
c. This can result in a negative self image
3. Accidents and injuries
a. Motor vehicle accidents cause more child deaths than the six other major causes of death combined
b. Half of all childhood deaths result from injuries and accidents
c. As children grow, they engage in increasingly dangerous activities
II. Cognitive Development
A. Piaget and concrete operational thinking
1. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL PERIOD – for Piaget, the third stage of cognitive development; begins at age 5 to 7 and allows the child to perform mental operations, such as conservation, decentration, and reversibility, on objects that are concrete and that can be directly experienced
2. Comparing preoperational and concrete operational thinking
a. preoperational
i. From age 2 to 5 or 7
ii. Thinking style is rigid and static, irreversible, focused on the here and now, centered on one dimension, egocentric, and focused on perceptual evidence
b. concrete operational
i. From age 5 to 7 to age 12
ii. Thinking style is reversible, flexible, not limited to the here and now, multidimensional, less egocentric, marked by the use of logical inferences, and marked by the search for cause and effect relationships
3. Piaget and education
a. Children’s learning can be accelerated through instruction, but Piaget believed that children are better off when they learn at their own pace
b. He also thought learning is best when children are intrinsically motivated rather than explicitly rewarded for success
B. Memory and metacognition
1. CONTROL PROCESSES – strategies and techniques that enhance memory
2. METACOGNITION – the intellectual process that enables people to monitor their thinking and memory; thinking about thinking
C. Language and literacy development
1. Language
a. Language learning is not complete
b. School assists and structures some of the child’s language development
c. Language used at schools more formal
d. Children’s habits of thinking and speaking are applied more generally to other areas of their daily life
2. Literacy
a. Skills in reading and writing
b. Natural outgrowths of the child’s growing language skills
c. The skills associated with oral and written language develop in infancy and improve over the years
D. Individual differences in intelligence
1. Measuring intelligence
a. STANFORD BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALE – the revised version of Binet’s original intelligence test that is widely used in the United States today
b. INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT – an individual’s mental age divided by chronological age, which is multiplied by 100 to eliminate the decimal point
c. DEVIATION IQ – the approach used today that assigns an IQ score by comparing an individual’s test score with the scores of the other people in the same age range
2. The nature of intelligence
a. Gardner’s eight types of intelligence
i. Linguistic – sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and meaning of words and the function of language
ii. Logical mathematical – facility for logical and numerical operations and complex reasoning
iii. Spatial – ability to perceive the visual spatial world accurately and to manipulate those perceptions
iv. Bodily kinesthetic – ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully
v. Musical – ability to produce and appreciate the characteristics of music, such as rhythm, pitch and timbre
vi. Interpersonal – ability to correctly interpret and appropriately respond to the moods, temperament, and motivations of the other people
vii. Intrapersonal – ability to correctly understand one’s own feelings and moods and to appreciate one’s own strengths, weaknesses, desires, and intelligence
viii. Naturalist – ability to classify plants, animals, and features of the natural environment and to make appropriate responses to each
b. Elements of Sternberg’s successful intelligence
i. Definition as the ability to achieve success in life according to one’s personal standards within one’s sociocultural context
ii. Types of processing skills contributing to successful intelligence
· Analytical
· Creative
· Practical
iii. Uses of processing skills for successful intelligence
· Adaptation to environments
· Shaping of environments
· Selection of environments
iv. Mechanisms for utilization of processing skills in successful intelligence
· Capitalization on strengths
· Correction of weaknesses
· Compensation for weaknesses
3. Cultural issues in intelligence testing
a. Minority groups tend to score lower on traditional intelligence tests
b. When children move to environments with more opportunity and when families emphasize school success, children’s academic performance generally improves
III. Learning and Thinking in School
A. New demands and expectations
1. The greater the gap between what is expected at home and what is expected in the classroom, the more difficult the child’s adjustment will be
2. Success depends on their family background, the school environment, and their own individuality
3. Children are expected to learn the complex social rules that govern the social life of the classroom
4. Teachers spend time on the following activities
a. Teaching facts or concepts
b. Giving direction for a particular lesson
c. Stating general rules of behavior
d. Correcting, disciplining, and praising children
e. Miscellaneous activities
B. Developing competent learners and critical thinkers
1. Greater emphasis on teaching learning and thinking skills
2. Remembering – recalling a fact, idea, or concept
3. Repeating – following a model or procedure
4. Reasoning – applying a specific instance to a general principle or concept
5. Reorganizing – extending knowledge to new contexts and devising original solutions to problems
6. Relating – connecting newly acquired knowledge with past or personal experience
7. Reflecting – exploring the though itself and how it occurred
C. Success in school
1. ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION – an internalized need to persist toward success and excellence
2. Gender differences and school success
a. Girls tend to outperform boys in verbal skills and boys do better in quantitative and spatial tasks
b. Could be due to brain development
c. Social expectations influence their behavior
d. Mathematics and science have been traditionally viewed as male subjects while literature and language as female subjects
3. Parental influences on school success
a. Parents who provide support and guidance while emphasizing their expectations produce academically successful children
b. Children raised in overcrowded or unstable, conflict laden homes are at special risk for school failure
IV. Developmental disorders
A. MENTAL RETARDATION – disorder that is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning and self help skills, with onset prior to age 18
B. LEARNING DISORDERS – disorders that are associated with difficulty in acquiring some specific academic skills but not others despite normal intelligence and the absence of sensory or motor disabilities, may occur in areas such as reading, writing, or math
1. A reading disorder: dyslexia
a. Involves incorrectly perceiving letters and words
b. Children with dyslexia remain stuck in the early stages of reading
2. Helping children with learning disorders
a. More effective if it begins early in life
b. Includes carefully sequenced tutorial instruction
c. Improvement of the child’s confidence is necessary
C. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
1. ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER – disorder that involves the inability to keep focused on something long enough to learn it, which often is accompanied by poor impulse control
2. Treating children with ADHD
a. Respond to stimulant drugs
b. Also respond to modification of the environment to make it less confusing
c. Programs applied consistently by loving, concerned, responsible caregivers generally produce better outcomes
Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development
I. Physical and Motor Development
A. Physical growth and change
1. Not all children mature at the same rate
2. Girls tend to be shorter and lighter than boys until age 9
3. Boys and girls are equally strong during middle adulthood
4. There are substantial individual differences in body size and proportion
B. Internal changes
1. Brain development
a. Neural plasticity remains high
b. Surface area of frontal lobes increases slightly
c. Lateralization of the brain becomes more pronounced during school years
d. Corpus callosum become mature in both structure and function
2. Skeletal maturation
a. Periods of rapid growth may produce growing pains – episodes of stiffness and aching that are particularly common at night
b. Overly stringent physical training can cause injuries
C. Motor skills development
1. Gross motor skills
a. Locomotor skills are well in place and expanded upon
b. Children grow stronger and are more capable
c. Boys are more athletic than girls
2. Fine motor skills
a. Also develop rapidly during middle childhood
b. Complex skills like writing and hand/eye coordination improve with practice
c. Developing mastery over their bodies can help children gain feelings of competence and self worth
D. Health, fitness, accidents
1. Physical fitness
a. Defined as the optimal functioning of the heart, lungs, muscles, and blood vessels
b. Classes in school should aim to not only increase the children’s skill and overall level of physical activity, but also aim to establish healthy active patterns or behavior that will carry through into adulthood
2. Obesity
a. Obesity is associated with serious social and psychological consequences
b. Peers may reject or stereotype overweight children
c. This can result in a negative self image
3. Accidents and injuries
a. Motor vehicle accidents cause more child deaths than the six other major causes of death combined
b. Half of all childhood deaths result from injuries and accidents
c. As children grow, they engage in increasingly dangerous activities
II. Cognitive Development
A. Piaget and concrete operational thinking
1. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL PERIOD – for Piaget, the third stage of cognitive development; begins at age 5 to 7 and allows the child to perform mental operations, such as conservation, decentration, and reversibility, on objects that are concrete and that can be directly experienced
2. Comparing preoperational and concrete operational thinking
a. preoperational
i. From age 2 to 5 or 7
ii. Thinking style is rigid and static, irreversible, focused on the here and now, centered on one dimension, egocentric, and focused on perceptual evidence
b. concrete operational
i. From age 5 to 7 to age 12
ii. Thinking style is reversible, flexible, not limited to the here and now, multidimensional, less egocentric, marked by the use of logical inferences, and marked by the search for cause and effect relationships
3. Piaget and education
a. Children’s learning can be accelerated through instruction, but Piaget believed that children are better off when they learn at their own pace
b. He also thought learning is best when children are intrinsically motivated rather than explicitly rewarded for success
B. Memory and metacognition
1. CONTROL PROCESSES – strategies and techniques that enhance memory
2. METACOGNITION – the intellectual process that enables people to monitor their thinking and memory; thinking about thinking
C. Language and literacy development
1. Language
a. Language learning is not complete
b. School assists and structures some of the child’s language development
c. Language used at schools more formal
d. Children’s habits of thinking and speaking are applied more generally to other areas of their daily life
2. Literacy
a. Skills in reading and writing
b. Natural outgrowths of the child’s growing language skills
c. The skills associated with oral and written language develop in infancy and improve over the years
D. Individual differences in intelligence
1. Measuring intelligence
a. STANFORD BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALE – the revised version of Binet’s original intelligence test that is widely used in the United States today
b. INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT – an individual’s mental age divided by chronological age, which is multiplied by 100 to eliminate the decimal point
c. DEVIATION IQ – the approach used today that assigns an IQ score by comparing an individual’s test score with the scores of the other people in the same age range
2. The nature of intelligence
a. Gardner’s eight types of intelligence
i. Linguistic – sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and meaning of words and the function of language
ii. Logical mathematical – facility for logical and numerical operations and complex reasoning
iii. Spatial – ability to perceive the visual spatial world accurately and to manipulate those perceptions
iv. Bodily kinesthetic – ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully
v. Musical – ability to produce and appreciate the characteristics of music, such as rhythm, pitch and timbre
vi. Interpersonal – ability to correctly interpret and appropriately respond to the moods, temperament, and motivations of the other people
vii. Intrapersonal – ability to correctly understand one’s own feelings and moods and to appreciate one’s own strengths, weaknesses, desires, and intelligence
viii. Naturalist – ability to classify plants, animals, and features of the natural environment and to make appropriate responses to each
b. Elements of Sternberg’s successful intelligence
i. Definition as the ability to achieve success in life according to one’s personal standards within one’s sociocultural context
ii. Types of processing skills contributing to successful intelligence
· Analytical
· Creative
· Practical
iii. Uses of processing skills for successful intelligence
· Adaptation to environments
· Shaping of environments
· Selection of environments
iv. Mechanisms for utilization of processing skills in successful intelligence
· Capitalization on strengths
· Correction of weaknesses
· Compensation for weaknesses
3. Cultural issues in intelligence testing
a. Minority groups tend to score lower on traditional intelligence tests
b. When children move to environments with more opportunity and when families emphasize school success, children’s academic performance generally improves
III. Learning and Thinking in School
A. New demands and expectations
1. The greater the gap between what is expected at home and what is expected in the classroom, the more difficult the child’s adjustment will be
2. Success depends on their family background, the school environment, and their own individuality
3. Children are expected to learn the complex social rules that govern the social life of the classroom
4. Teachers spend time on the following activities
a. Teaching facts or concepts
b. Giving direction for a particular lesson
c. Stating general rules of behavior
d. Correcting, disciplining, and praising children
e. Miscellaneous activities
B. Developing competent learners and critical thinkers
1. Greater emphasis on teaching learning and thinking skills
2. Remembering – recalling a fact, idea, or concept
3. Repeating – following a model or procedure
4. Reasoning – applying a specific instance to a general principle or concept
5. Reorganizing – extending knowledge to new contexts and devising original solutions to problems
6. Relating – connecting newly acquired knowledge with past or personal experience
7. Reflecting – exploring the though itself and how it occurred
C. Success in school
1. ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION – an internalized need to persist toward success and excellence
2. Gender differences and school success
a. Girls tend to outperform boys in verbal skills and boys do better in quantitative and spatial tasks
b. Could be due to brain development
c. Social expectations influence their behavior
d. Mathematics and science have been traditionally viewed as male subjects while literature and language as female subjects
3. Parental influences on school success
a. Parents who provide support and guidance while emphasizing their expectations produce academically successful children
b. Children raised in overcrowded or unstable, conflict laden homes are at special risk for school failure
IV. Developmental disorders
A. MENTAL RETARDATION – disorder that is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning and self help skills, with onset prior to age 18
B. LEARNING DISORDERS – disorders that are associated with difficulty in acquiring some specific academic skills but not others despite normal intelligence and the absence of sensory or motor disabilities, may occur in areas such as reading, writing, or math
1. A reading disorder: dyslexia
a. Involves incorrectly perceiving letters and words
b. Children with dyslexia remain stuck in the early stages of reading
2. Helping children with learning disorders
a. More effective if it begins early in life
b. Includes carefully sequenced tutorial instruction
c. Improvement of the child’s confidence is necessary
C. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
1. ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER – disorder that involves the inability to keep focused on something long enough to learn it, which often is accompanied by poor impulse control
2. Treating children with ADHD
a. Respond to stimulant drugs
b. Also respond to modification of the environment to make it less confusing
c. Programs applied consistently by loving, concerned, responsible caregivers generally produce better outcomes