ADULTHOOD
DEVELOPMENT IS LIFE-LONG. THERE IS NO
ESCAPE!
SOCIAL CLOCK
 DEF: a person’s notion of a developmental schedule
that specifies what he or she should have
accomplished by certain points
 Expectations may lead to stress
PERSONALITY STABILITY
 Personality does change over the years
 Still, it is very durable
 Personality in early adulthood is a strong indicator of
personality in late adulthood
 Stability of personality strengthens with age
MIDLIFE CRISIS
 DEF: a difficult, turbulent period of doubts and
reappraisal of one’s life
 Not typical; only 2-5%
 More women tend to experience midlife crisis, but on
a healthier level
ERIKSON’S VIEW OF ADULTHOOD
 Adulthood divided into 3 stages
 Intimacy vs. Isolation: early adulthood; empathy
and openness; sharing intimacy w/others
 Generativity vs. Self-Absorption: middle adulthood;
acquire concern for younger generations; guide the
young
 Integrity vs. Despair: retirement years; find
meaning and satisfaction with one’s life
ERIKSON’S VIEWS
 Theory fairly solid
 Generative concerns in middle adulthood are assoc.
with higher life satisfaction
 Higher generativity adults are more open to new
experiences
TRANSITIONS IN FAMILY LIFE
 Family life cycle: sequence of stages that families
tend to progress through
 Family dynamics have changed considerably in the
last 2 decades
 Typically: most people start their own families
ADJUSTING TO MARRIAGE
 Marital role expectations differ btwn men and
women
 Satisfaction in marriage seems to be highest at the
beginning and end of family life cycle
ADJUSTING TO PARENTHOOD
 Women are vulnerable to postpartum depression
 Marital quality associated with satisfaction with
parenting
 Don’t underestimate cost of child rearing
 Parent-child conflict affects the mother the most
ADJUSTING TO EMPTY NEST
 Seen as a difficult period
 Parents now have more attention to give one another
 Currently, mothers see empty nest as a liberation
TYPICAL PATTERNS OF CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
 Donald Super’s vocational life cycle (4 stages)
 Exploration Stage: finishing school, finding first job
 Establishment Stage: guided by a mentor in career
 Maintenance Stage: concerns shift to family or
leisure
 Decline Stage: retirement looms; anxiety about
occupation of time and financial survival
WOMEN’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT
 Studies focused on men until mid 1970s
 Women’s dev. less predictable
 More interruptions than men
 Gender discrimination also plays a role
AGE AND PHYSICAL CHANGES
 Physical changes have little functional importance
 Number of active neurons in brain declines
 Dementia: abnormal condition marked by multiple
cognitive deficits that include memory impairment
 Dementia effects about 15% of people over age 65
AGE AND PHYSICAL CHANGES CONTINUED
 Hearing and vision decline
 Hearing losses requiring correction exist in about
75% of people over 75
 Hormonal changes: women experience menopause
(c. age 50)
AGING AND COGNITIVE CHANGES
 Fluid Intelligence: basic info-processing skills
 Crystallized Intelligence: application of accumulated
knowledge
 Fluid is more likely to decline with age
 Memory effect is moderate; not universal
 Mental speed does decline