PSY 330 Chapter 16: Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood – Flashcards
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Generativity
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encompasses adults' desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation. A way of achieving immortality.
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Stagnation
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(sometime called "self-absorption") develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation.
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4 different ways adults achieve generativity
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1)Biological/ via offspring 2)Parental/nuture and guiding of children 3)Work/passing down skills that they've developed 4)Cultural/conseving some aspect of culture that ultimately survives. Bob Ponders Ways (to) Continue(on)
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Erikson late adulthood stage is called
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integrity vs. despair
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What is the Seasons of a Mans Life
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Levinson's a clinical psychologist report on the results of an extensive interviews with 40 middle-aged men, in which his focus was on midlife changes and he described a number of stages and transitions during the period from 17 to 65 years of age.
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Identity
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Identity development is a key aspect of adolescents' and emerging adults' lives.
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Special List**Accessing Genertivity and Identity Certainty
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Generativity -feeling needed by people -a new level of productivity or effectiveness -having a wider pespective -interest in things beyond my family Identity Certainty -a sense of being my own person -feeling my life is moving well -felling secure and committed
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Levinson see the twenties as a novice phase
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a time of reasonably free experimentation and of testing the dream in the real world.
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Important Fact
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Levinson believes the period from 28 to 33, that a man goes through a transition period in which he must face the more serious question of determining his goals. Focus on family and career development. In the later years of this period , he enters a phase of Becoming One's Own Man or (BOOM) as he calls it.
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4 major conflicts that have existed since adolescents in 40 - 45 year old men.
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1) being young vs being old 2) being destructive vs being constructive 3)being masculine vs being feminine 4)being attached to others vs being separated from them. 80% of middle aged men asked about these conflicts showed psychologica pain and the transition to be tumultuous as many aspects of their lives came into question.
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How does Levinson view midlife?
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He views it as a crisis, arguing that the middle-aged adult is suspended between the past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life's continuity.
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How does George Vaillant view midlife?
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Vaillant's study calle the "Grant Study"- involved Harvard men in their 30's and late 40's who initially had been interviewed as undergraduates. He concludes that just as adolescence is a time for detecting parental flaws and discovering the truth about childhood, the forties are a decade of reassessing and recording the truth about the adolescent and adulthood years. Reports that most men do not experience a midlife crisis. (they just go with it haha)
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Levinson's Periods of Adult Development
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Early Adult Transition: Age 17 to 22 Entry life structure for early adulthood 22 to 28 Age 30 transition 28 to 33 Cluminating life structure for early adulthood 33 to 40 Middle Adult Transition: Age 40 to 45 Entry life structure for middle adulthood 45 to 50 Age 50 transition 50 to 55 Culminating life structure for middle adulthood 55 to 60 Late Adult Transition: Age 60 to 65 Era of late adulthood 60 to ? ( whats up with that question mark) :)
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Levinson's Periods of Adult Development
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According to Levinson, adulthood for men has three main stages, which are surrounded by transition periods. Specific tasks and challenges are associated with each stage.
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Emotional Instability
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No increase in emotional instability has been seen in middle aged people from 33 to 54.
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6 Dimensions of Well Being
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-personal growth -purpose in life -autonomy -self-acceptance -environmental mastery -positive relations (PAS) the (PEP)si
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Contemporary Life-events approach
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approach emphasizing that how a life event influences the individual's development depends not only on the life event, but also on mediating factors, the individuals adaptation to the life event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context.
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10 most frequent daily hassles and uplifts of middle-aged adults over a nine-month period.
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*in order from greatest to least of percentages of times checked* DAILY HASSLES Concerns about weight Health of family member rising prices of common goods home maintenance too many things to do misplacing or losing things yardwork/outside home maintenance property, investment, or taxes crime physical appearance DAILY UPLIFTS relating well with your spouse or lover relating well with friends completing a task feeling healthy getting enough sleep eating out meeting your responsibilities visiting, phoning, or writing someon spending time with family home (inside) pleasing to you
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Social Clock
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the timetable according to which individuals are expected to accomplish life's tasks, such as getting married, having children, or establishing themselves in a career. (remember the name Neugarten)
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Wow i got the chapter with all the lists. (Sigh) :(
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Individuals conceptions of the best age for major life events and achievements: Late 1950s and Late 1970s
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ummm..ya know what, just look at the top of page 509 cause I dont think it's gonna be on test, and its way to much to put in a flashcard. "ok" now lets move on. XD
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Big Five factors of personality
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emotional stability (neruoticism), extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
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Five Personality Factors
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OCEAN (glad I thought of that) Openness -imaginative or practical -interested in variety or routine -independent or conforming Conscientiousness -organized or disorganized -careful or carelss -disciplined or impulsive Extraversion -sociable or retiring -fun-loving or somber -affectionate or reserved Agreeableness -softhearted or ruthless -trusting or supicious -helpful or uncooperative Neuroticism (emotional stability) -calm or anxious -secure or insecure -self-satisfied or self-pitying
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What can be concluded about stability and change in personality development during the adult years?
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People show more stability in their personality when they reach midlife than when they were younger adults. These findings support what is called a cumulative personality model of personality development, which states that with time and age people becom emore adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote increased stability in personality.
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What are the main reasons the middle-aged and older adult women cited for their divorce?
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1)verbal, physical, or emotional abuse 23 % 2)alcohol or drug abuse 18% 3)Cheating 17%
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What are the main reasons the middle-aged and older adult men cited for divorce?
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1)no obvious problems, just fell out of love 17% 2)Cheating 14% 3)Different values, lifestyles 14%
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Empty Nest Syndrome
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a decrease in marital satisfaction after children leave home, because parents derive considerable satisfaction from their children.
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Those who leave home to work or start life but soon come running home to mommy.
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Boomerang Kids or B2B Back to Bedroom kids.
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Quick Fact
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Middle aged adults have been described as the "sandwich," "squeezed," or "overload" generation because of the responsibilites they have for their adolescent and young adult children on the one hand and their aging parents on the other.
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End of Chapter Review
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Stages of Adulthood
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Erikson says that the 7th stage of the human life span, generativity vs. stagnation, occurs in middle adulthood.
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Levinson's Theory
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developmental tasks must be mastered at different points in development, and changes in middle age focus on four conflicts. (discussed in earlier slides)
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Levinson Proposed
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the majority of Americans, mostly men, experience a midlife crisis. Research however, indicates that midlife crises are not pervasive. There is considerable individual variation in development during the middle adulthood years.
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The Life-Events Approach
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Early Versions-Life events produce taxing circumstances that create stress in people's lives. Contemporary Version-how they influence the individual's development depends not only on the life event but also on mediating factors, adaptation to the event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context.
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Stress and personal control in midlife
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young and middle > than older on averag, a sense of personal control decreases as adults become older-however, some aspects of personal control increase.
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Contexts of Midlife Dev
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Neugarten argues that the social enviroment of a particular cohort can alter its social clock. Critics say that the adult stage theories are male biased because they place too much emphasis on achievement and careers and do not adequately address women's concerns about relationships.
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Midlife
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Midlife is a heterogeneous period for women, as it is for men. for some women, midlife is the prime of their lives. Many cultures do not have a clear concept of middle age.
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Longitudinal Studies
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A recent meta-analysis of the Big Five personality factors found increases and declines of specific factors across the adult years, with the most change occurring in early adulthood.
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Berkeley Longitudinal Studies
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Stable-intellectual orientation, self-confidence and openness to new experiences. Changed-nurturance, hostility, and self-control.
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The Helson's Mills College Study of Women
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distinguished family-oriented and career -oriented women, and those who follwed neither path. In their 40's women experienced many of the concerns that Levinson described for men. However, rather than a midlife crisis, women experienced midlife consciousness.
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George Vaillant's research
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revealed links between a number of characteristics at age 50 and health and well-being at 75 to 80 years of age.
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Conclusions
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Change in personality traits occurs more in early adulthood than middle and late adulthood, but a number of aspects of personality do continue to change after early adulthood. Change in personality traits across adulthood occurs in a positive direction, reflecting social maturity.
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Conclusions
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At the individual level, changes in personality are often linked to life experiences related to a particular dev period. Some people change more than others.
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Love and Marriage at Midlife
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Affectionate love increases in midlife, especially in marriages that have endured many years. The majority of mniddle-aged adults who are married say that their marriage is very good or excellent. Divorce and perils can be easier in midlife than for young adults.
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The Empty Nest and Its Refilling
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Marital Satisfaction is increased by the empty nest. Some young adults do not leave home until their middle to late twenties because they are unable to financially support themselves.
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Sibling Relationships and Friendships
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Sibling relationships continue throughout life. Some are close; others are distnat. Friendships continue to be important in middle age.
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Grandparenting
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There are different granparent roles and styles. -Grandmothers spend more time with grandchildren than grandfathers, and the grandmother role involves greater expectations for maintaining ties across generations than the grandfather role.
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Grandparenting
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The profile of grandparenting is changing because of such factors as divorce and remarriage. An increasing number of U.S. grandchilfren live with their grandparents.
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Intergenerational Relationships
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Family members usually mainain contact across generations. Mothers and daughters have the closest relationships. The middle-aged generation, which has been called the "sandwhich" or squeezed generation, plays an important role in linking generations.
