Chapter 10
Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood
Emerging adulthood -- transition from adolescence to adulthood
18–25 years of age
Five key features characterize emerging adulthood:
Identity exploration, especially in love and work
Instability
Self-focused
Feeling in-between
The age of possibilities when individuals have an opportunity to transform their lives
Markers of Becoming an Adult
Most widely recognized marker: holding a permanent, full-time job
Economic independence is often a long process
Taking responsibility for oneself
Developing emotional control
Physical Performance and Development
Most of us reach our peak physical performance before the age of 30, often between the ages of
19 and 26
During this age period we also begin to decline in physical performance
Signs of decline around age 30
Sagging chins and protruding abdomens
Lessening of physical abilities
Sensory systems show little change in early adulthood
Health
Emerging adults have more than twice the mortality rate of adolescents
Few chronic health problems
Fewer colds and respiratory problems than when they were children
Few stop to think about how their personal lifestyles will affect their health later
Obesity
Obesity -- having a body mass index of 30 or more
Obesity is linked to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease
Overweight and obesity are also associated with mental health problems
Dieting and Exercise
Dieting has become an obsession with many Americans
Few are successful in keeping weight off long-term
The most effective programs include exercise
Aerobic exercise -- sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity
Substance Abuse
By mid-twenties, many young adults have reduced their use of alcohol and drugs
Binge drinking
more common among college men than women
problems include missing classes, physical injuries, troubles with police, having
unprotected sex
Pregaming
Substance Abuse
By mid-twenties, many young adults have reduced their use of alcohol and drugs
Binge drinking
more common among college men than women
problems include missing classes, physical injuries, troubles with police, having
unprotected sex
Pregaming
Sexual Activity in Emerging Adulthood
Emerging adulthood is a time when most individuals are “both sexually active and unmarried”
Males have more casual sexual partners
Casual sex is more common in emerging adulthood than in young adulthood
Heterosexual Attitudes and Behavior
Americans tend to fall into three categories:
One-third have sex twice a week or more
One-third a few times a month
One-third a few times a year or not at all
Married and cohabiting couples have sex more often
Most Americans do not engage in kinky sexual acts
Adultery is the exception not the rule
Men think about sex more than women do
Sources of Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is likely a continuum from exclusive male-female relations to exclusive samesex relations
An individual’s sexual orientation—same-sex, heterosexual, or bisexual—is determined by a
combination of genetic, hormonal, cognitive, and environmental factors
Attitudes and Behavior of Lesbians and Gay Males
Many gender differences that appear in heterosexual relationships occur in same-sex
relationships
Brown believes that lesbians and gay males
Develop a bicultural identity to create new ways of defining themselves
Adapt best when they don’t define themselves in polarities
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) -- diseases that are primarily contracted through
intercourse and/or oral-genital and anal-genital sex
Most prevalent STIs
bacterial infections -- gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia
viruses -- genital herpes, genital warts, and HIV, which can lead to AIDS
(National Center for Health Statistics, 2010)
Protecting Yourself from STIs
Strategies for protecting against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections include:
Know your risk status as well as your partner’s
Obtain medical examinations
Have protected, not unprotected, sex
Avoid having sex with multiple partners
Forcible Sexual Behavior and Sexual Harassment
Sex often involves the exercise of power
Rape -- forcible sexual intercourse with a person who does not give consent
Male rapists share the following characteristics:
aggression enhances their sense of power or masculinity
they are angry at women in general
they want to hurt and humiliate their victims
Rape Victims
Rape is a traumatic experience
Victims initially feel shock and numbness and often are acutely disorganized
As victims strive to get their lives back to normal, they may experience depression, fear, anxiety,
and increased substance use and/or sexual dysfunctions for months or years
Date Rape
Date or acquaintance rape -- coercive sexual activity directed at someone with whom the victim
is at least casually acquainted
Two-thirds of college freshman women report having been date-raped or experienced
attempted date rape at least once
Two-thirds of college men admit that they fondle women against their will
Half admit to forcing sexual activity
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment -- manifestation of power of one person over another
ranges from inappropriate sexual remarks and physical contact to blatant propositions and
sexual assaults
may result in psychological consequences for the victim
Prevention -- to provide equal opportunities to develop a career and obtain education in a climate
free of sexual harassment
Cognitive Stages
Piaget concluded adolescents and adults think qualitatively in the same way
formal operational thought is the final stage in cognitive development; characterizes
adults as well as adolescents
Piaget believed that adults increased their knowledge in a specific area
Many adults do not think in formal operational ways at all
Realistic and Pragmatic Thinking
As young adults face the constraints of reality, which work promotes, their idealism decreases
Schaie proposed that in early adulthood individuals often switch from acquiring knowledge to
applying knowledge as they pursue success in their work
Reflective and Relativistic Thinking
In Perry’s view, the absolutist, dualistic thinking of adolescence gives way to the reflective,
relativistic thinking of adulthood
Others believe that reflective thinking is an important indicator of cognitive change in young
adults
Postformal Thought
Postformal thought -- understanding that the correct answer to a problem requires reflective
thinking and can vary situationally
includes the belief that solutions to problems need to be realistic and that emotion and
subjective factors can influence thinking
Creativity
Early adulthood is a time of great creativity for some people
Although a decline in creativity is often found in the fifties and later, the decline is not as great as
commonly thought
There is extensive individual variation in the lifetime output of creative individuals
Stimulating Adults’ Creativity
Steps toward a more creative life include cultivating your curiosity and interest
Try to be surprised by something every day
Try to surprise at least one person every day
Each day write what surprised you and how you surprised others; keep a journal
When something sparks your interest, follow it
Wake up in the morning with a specific goal
Spend time in settings that stimulate your creativity
Careers and Work
Important themes of early adulthood: earning a living, choosing an occupation, establishing a
career, and developing in a career
by mid-twenties, many individuals have completed their education or training and started
to enter a full-time occupation
through the remainder of early adulthood, individuals often seek to establish their
emerging career in a particular field and improve their financial standing
The Impact of Work
Work defines people in fundamental ways
Influences financial standing, housing, the way they spend their time, where they live,
their friendships, and their health
Work creates a structure and rhythm to life that is often missed when individuals do not
work for an extended period
Most individuals spend one-third of their lives at work
Unemployment
Unemployment produces stress regardless of whether the job loss is temporary, cyclical, or
permanent
Stress comes not only from a loss of income and the resulting financial hardships but also from
decreased self-esteem
Dual-Career Couples
Dual-career couples may have particular problems finding a balance between work and the rest
of life
division of responsibility for work and family has changed
husbands are taking increased responsibility and showing greater interest in
families and parenting
women are taking increased responsibility for breadwinning
Diversity in the Workplace
Ethnic and gender diversity is increasing in the workplace in nearly every developed country and
in many professions
Latinos are projected to constitute a larger percentage of the labor force than African
Americans by 2018
Glass ceiling -- invisible barrier to career advancement preventing women and ethnic
minorities from holding managerial or executive jobs
Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Changing Middle Age
Middle adulthood is the developmental period that begins at about age 40 and extends to about
60.
boundaries of middle age are being pushed upward.
Middle age is starting later and lasting longer.
Physical Changes
Noticeable Visible Changes
Usually the first outwardly visible signs of aging are apparent by the 40s or 50s.
.
Height and Weight
Individuals now lose height and many gain weight.
Strength, Joints, and Bones
Muscle strength decreases noticeably by the mid 40s, particularly in the back and legs.
After the late 30s there is progressive bone loss.
Women experience about twice the rate of bone loss as men.
Vision
The ability of the eyes to focus and maintain an image on the retina experiences its sharpest
decline between 40 and 59 years of age.
middle-aged individuals begin to have difficulty viewing close objects, causing many to wear
bifocal glasses.
Hearing
Hearing may start to decline by age 40.
Sensitivity to high pitches declines first, while the ability to distinguish low-pitched sounds
doesn’t seem to decline much in middle adulthood.
Men usually lose their sensitivity to high-pitched sounds sooner than women do.
Coronary arteries narrow.
Cholesterol level increases with age, and begins to accumulate on the artery walls by age 60.
Artery walls thicken, blood pressure increases, and chance of stroke or heart attack increases.
Sleep
The total number of hours slept usually remains the same as in early adulthood.
Beginning in the 40s, however, wakeful periods are more frequent and there is less of the deepest
type of sleep.
Health and Disease
The frequency of accidents now declines and people are less susceptible to colds and allergies.
Chronic disorders increase in middle adulthood.
Men have a higher incidence of fatal chronic conditions, while women have a higher incidence
of nonfatal ones.
Culture, Personality, Relationships, and Health
Type A/Type B Behavioral Patterns
Type A - a cluster of characteristics—excessive competitiveness, hard drivenness, impatience,
and hostility—thought to be related to the incidence of heart disease.
Type B - reflected in individuals who are relaxed and easy going.
Early research showed a profound link between type A behavior and coronary disease, which is
now thought of as not quite as strong.
Hostility is the characteristic most consistently associated with coronary problems.
Hardiness
Hardiness is a personality style characterized by a sense of commitment, control, and a
perception of problems as challenges.
Studies have shown individuals with a hardy personality are less likely to succumb to illness
when exposed to stressful situations.
Levels of illness dropped most dramatically when hardiness was combined with exercise and
social support in the face of stress.
Health and Social Relationships
Health in middle age is also related to the current quality of social relationships.
Mortality Rates
Heart disease is the leading cause of death.
Cancer and cerebrovascular disease are second and third respectively.
Men experience higher mortality rates than women for all of the leading causes of death.
Sexuality
Menopause
The time in middle age, usually late 40s or early 50s, when a woman’s menstrual periods cease.
Hormonal Changes in Middle-Aged Men
Men experience hormonal changes in their 50s and 60s, but nothing like the dramatic drop in
estrogen that women experience.
Sexual Attitudes and Behavior
The ability of men and women to function sexually shows little biological decline in middle
adulthood.
Intelligence
Fluid intelligence - one’s ability to reason abstractly, begins to decline in middle
adulthood.
Crystallized intelligence - an individual’s accumulated information and verbal skills, continues
to increase in middle adulthood.
Seattle Longitudinal Study
Schaie investigated the individual change and stability in intelligence across the life span.
K. Warner Schaie found that perceptual speed begins to decline in early adulthood and continues
to decline in middle adulthood.
Memory
In Schaie’s study, verbal memory peaked in the 50s.
In other studies, verbal memory has shown a decline, particularly when assessed
cross-
sectionally.
Expertise
Expertise involves having an extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of a
particular domain.
Developing expertise is usually the result of many years of experience, learning, and effort.
Because it takes so long to obtain, expertise often shows up more in middle adulthood than in
early adulthood.
Strategies of the Experts
Experts are more likely to rely on their accumulated experience to solve problems.
Experts often automatically process information and analyze it more efficiently when solving a
problem than a novice does.
Experts have better strategies and short-cuts to solving problems in their domain than novices do.
Experts are more creative and flexible in solving problems in their domain than novices are.
Practical Problem Solving
Nancy Denney observed problem solving abilities in adults as they dealt with such circumstances
as a bank error, and an irresponsible landlord.
She found that the ability to solve such practical problems increased through the 40s and 50s as
individuals accumulated practical experience.
Job Satisfaction
Work satisfaction increases steadily throughout the work life, from age 20 to 60.
Career Challenges and Changes
Globalization has replaced the traditional White male work force with employees of different
ethnic and national backgrounds.
The proliferation of computer technology compels middle-aged adults to become increasingly
computer literate to maintain their work competence.
Many companies are offering incentives to get middle-aged employees to retire early.
Some individuals decide that they don’t want to do the same work they’ve been doing, forever.
Leisure
Leisure refers to the pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue activities and
interests of their own choosing—hobbies, sports, reading.
Some developmentalists believe that middle age is a time of questioning how time should be
spent and of reassessing priorities.
For many, middle adulthood is the first time in their lives when they have the opportunity to
diversify their interests.
Religion and Adult Lives
In the recent McArthur Study of Midlife Development, more than 70% of the individuals said
they are religious and consider spirituality a major part of their lives.
About one-half said they attend religious services less than once a month or never.
Females have consistently shown a stronger interest in religion than males have.
Although many Americans show a strong interest in religion and believe in God, they also show
a declining faith in mainstream religious institutions.
Religion and Health
Several studies have documented that religious commitment had a protective influence on blood
pressure rates.
Possible reasons for these connections
Coping
Recently researchers have found that some styles of religious coping are associated with high
levels of personal initiative and competence.
Happiness
A number of researchers have found that religiously active individuals report greater happiness
than do those who are religiously inactive.
Meaning in Life
Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning emphasized each person’s uniqueness and the
finiteness of life.
Frankl said that the three most distinct human qualities are spirituality, freedom, and
responsibility.
Frankl proposed that people need to ask themselves such questions as why they exist, what they
want from life, and the meaning of their life.
Many individuals in middle age begin to ask these questions.
Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood
Longevity
Life span -- maximum number of years an individual can live
120–125 years; remains unchanged
Life expectancy -- number of years that the average person, born in a particular year, will
probably live
has increased 31 years since 1900
average U.S. life expectancy = 78 years
Differences in Life Expectancy
International differences due to health conditions, medical care, etc.
Sex differences
women outlive males an average of 5 years
due to health attitudes, habits, lifestyles, occupation
biological factors -- females outlive males across species
Centenarians
Increasing numbers
15,000 in 1980
55,000 in 2008
Genes play a role
Also family history, health, exercise, education, personality, and lifestyle
Biological Theories of Aging
Evolutionary Theory of Aging
Natural selection has not eliminated many harmful conditions and nonadaptive
characteristics in older adults
Natural selection is linked to reproductive fitness
Cellular Clock Theory
as we age, cells become less capable of dividing
telomeres -- DNA sequences that cap chromosomes
as cells divide, telomeres become shorter and eventually cells can no longer divide
Free Radical Theory -- people age because as cells metabolize energy, the by-products include
unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals
free radicals damage DNA
resulting damage can lead to range of disorders such as cancer and arthritis
Hormonal Stress Theory -- aging in the body’s hormone system can lower resistance to stress
and increase likelihood of disease
prolonged elevation of stress-related hormones associated with risk of chronic disease
The Nun study
Sexuality
Sexuality can be life-long
Aging changes sexual performance, especially in males
orgasm less frequent
erectile dysfunction
education may help deal with these issues
Health Problems
As we age, probability of illness increases
Arthritis and hypertension are most common chronic disorders
Low income is strongly related to health problems in late adulthood
Approximately three times as many poor as non-poor older adults report that chronic
disorders limit their activities
Causes of Death in Older Adults
Nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults aged 65–74 die of cancer or cardiovascular disease
In the 75–84 and 85-and-over age groups, cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of
death
Arthritis
Arthritis -- inflammation of the joints, accompanied by pain, stiffness, and movement problems
Incurable disorder that affects hips, knees, ankles, fingers, and vertebrae
Symptoms reduced by drugs, range-of-motion exercises, weight reduction, and joint replacement
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis -- extensive loss of bone tissue
Women are especially vulnerable; it is the leading cause of broken bones in women
More common in non-Latina White, thin, and small-framed women
Related to deficiencies in calcium, vitamin D, estrogen, and lack of exercise
Accidents
Accidents are the sixth-leading cause of death among older adults
Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths in those 65 and older
Participation in an exercise class once a week for three years reduced the fall risk and the number
of falling incidents
Exercise
Gerontologists recommend strength training in addition to aerobic activity for older adults
Weightlifting can preserve muscle mass
Exercise helps people maintain independence and prevents institutionalization
Increases longevity
Nutrition and Weight
Leaner adults live longer, healthier lives
Calorie restriction works to increase life span of animals but human connection is not
specifically known
Health Treatment
Quality of health treatment for older adults needs improvement
Geriatric nurses can be helpful
Quality of nursing homes varies and costs are escalating
Concerns focus on patient’s medical care, right to privacy, access to medical information, safety
and lifestyle freedom
Alternatives to Nursing
Home Care
Home health care
Day-care centers
Preventive medicine clinics
Alternatives are potentially less expensive and less likely to depersonalize the patient
Patients perform better cognitively
Wisdom
Wisdom -- expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment
about important matters
practical knowledge
development of coping skills
High levels of wisdom are rare
Factors other than age are critical for wisdom to develop
Training Cognitive Skills
Training can improve the cognitive skills of many older adults
There is some loss of plasticity in late adulthood, especially in those older than 85 years
Cognitive vitality can be improved with training
Cognitive neuroscience -- field of study that links brain and cognitive functioning
Changes in brain can influence cognitive functioning, and changes in cognitive functioning can
change brain
Lack of use of working memory may cause neural connections in prefrontal lobes to atrophy
Work
Older adults increasingly work part-time in retirement
Probability of employment also was positively correlated with educational attainment and being
married to a working wife
Older workers have a lower rate of absenteeism, fewer accidents, and increased job satisfaction
Adjustment to Retirement
Best adjustment for those who are
healthy
have adequate income
active
educated
have an extended social network
satisfied with life before retirement
Depression
Major depression -- mood disorder in which the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, selfderogatory, and bored
Predictors of depression: earlier symptoms, poor health, death of a spouse, and low social
support
Insomnia is a risk factor for depression in older adults
Depression is a treatable condition
Dementia
Dementia -- global term for any neurological disorder in which the primary symptoms involve a
deterioration of mental functioning
Loss of ability to care for themselves and recognize familiar surroundings and people
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease -- a progressive, irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual
deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually physical function
Early- (younger than 65) and late-onset (older than 65)
Formation of amyloid plaques -- deposits of protein accumulating in blood vessels
Neurofibrillary tangles -- twisted fibers that build up in neurons
Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
No certain scientific proof of causes
Age is a risk factor
Genetic links seem to exist
Lifestyle factors
Lack of exercise
Mild cognitive impairment represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of
normal aging and very early Alzheimer disease and dementias
Care for Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease
Family members and other care providers can become physically and emotionally drained
Need for respite care -- services that provide temporary relief to caregivers
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease -- a chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of
movement, and partial facial paralysis
Onset is triggered by degeneration of neurons that produce dopamine in the brain
Dopamine -- neurotransmitter necessary for normal brain functioning