Psychosocial Development
in Adulthood
Multiple Clocks
Old norms and beliefs about aging have become
outdated
People have children later, marry later, change
careers, etc…
Personality Throughout Adulthood
Circumstances Contributing to Personality
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Genes
Parental Practices
Culture
Adult Circumstances
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Of these four, genes are probably the most influential,
according to longitudinal studies.
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Since genes do not change from conception through death, it
is not surprising that every study finds
substantial continuity in personality.
Personality throughout Adulthood
The Big Five
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Outgoing, assertive, active
Agreeableness
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Organized, deliberate, conforming, self-disciplined
Extroversion
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Imaginative, curious, artistic, creative, open to new
experiences
Kind, helpful, easygoing, generous
Neuroticism
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Anxious, moody, self-punishing, critical
Major Developmental Theories of Adulthood
Erikson and Maslow
Erikson
Identity vs Role Confusion
Intimacy vs Isolation
Generativity vs Stagnation
Integrity vs Despair
Maslow
Hierarchy of Needs
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In his later years, Maslow reassessed his final level, self-actualization.
He suggested another level after that, called self-transcendence, not
attained till late in life.
Midlife Crisis Myth
Identity versus Role Confusion
 A supposed period of unusual anxiety, radical self-
reexamination, and sudden transformation
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Once widely associated with middle age but that actually had
more to do with developmental history.
Popularized by Gail Sheehy (1976) and Daniel Levinson (1978).
Intimacy versus Isolation
 Intimacy needs are lifelong.
 Adults meet their need for social
connection through their relationships
with relatives, friends, coworkers, and
romantic partners.
 Social convoy
 Collectively, the family members, friends,
acquaintances, and even strangers who move
through life with an individual.
Friends:
most crucial members of the social convoy
 Often able to provide practical help and useful
advice when serious problems—death of a family
member, personal illness, loss of a job—arise.
Family Bonds
Intimacy versus Isolation
Parents & Adult Children
 Over the years of adulthood, parents and adult children
typically increase in closeness, forgiveness, and pride as
both generations gain maturity.
Adult Siblings
• Adult siblings also often become mutually supportive in
adulthood.
Familism
The belief that family members should
support one another, sacrificing individual
freedom and success, if necessary, in order
to preserve family unity.
Family Bonds
Intimacy versus Isolation
 Family closeness can sometimes be destructive.
 Some adults wisely keep their distance from their
blood relatives.
 Fictive kin
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Someone who is accepted as part
of a family to which there is
no blood relation
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Adults need kin,
fictive or otherwise.
Committed Partners
Intimacy versus Isolation
 Adults everywhere seek committed sexual
partnerships to help meet their needs for intimacy
as well as to raise children, share resources, and
provide care when needed.
 Less than 15 percent of U.S. residents marry before
age 25, but by age 40, 85 percent have married.
 Married people are a little happier, healthier, and
richer than never-married ones—but not by much.
Empty Nest
Intimacy versus Isolation
Empty nest
 The time when parents are alone again after their
children have moved out and launched their own
lives
 Contrary to outdated impressions, often improves a
relationship.
 Most long-married people
stay together because they
love and trust each other,
not simply because they
are stuck.
Divorce and Separation
 Adults are affected (for better or for worse) by
divorce in ways they never anticipated.
 Generally, those in very distressed marriages
are happier after divorce, while those in merely
distant marriages (most U.S. divorces) are less happy
than they thought they would be.
 Divorce reduces income, severs friendships, and
weakens family ties.
Caregiving:
Generativity versus Stagnation
 Some caregiving involves meeting another person’s
physical needs—feeding, cleaning, and so on—but
much of it has to do with fulfilling another person’s
psychological needs.
 Kinkeeper
 A caregiver who takes responsibility for maintaining
communication among family members.
Caring for Nonbiological Children:
Generativity versus Stagnation
 Roughly one-third of all North American adults
become stepparents, adoptive parents, or foster
parents.
 Many adopted or foster children remain attached
to their birth parents.
 If children are not attached to anyone (ie. after
spending years in an institution), they are
mistrustful of all adults and fearful of becoming
too dependent.
Caring for Aging Parents:
Generativity versus Stagnation
Sandwich Generation
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The generation of middle-aged people who are supposedly
“squeezed” by the needs of the younger and older members of
their families.
In reality, some adults do feel pressured by these obligations,
but most are not burdened by them, either because they enjoy
fulfilling them or because they choose to take on only some of
them or none of them.
Working for More Than Money:
Generativity versus Stagnation
Work meets generativity needs by allowing
people to do the following:
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Develop and use their personal skills
Express their creative energy
Aid and advise coworkers,
as a mentor or friend
Support the education and health
of their families
Contribute to the community by
providing goods or services
Between ages 25 and 42, the average U.S. worker
has five separate employers.
Development
in Late Adulthood
Late Adulthood
Generally, older adults are quite active.
Though some cognitive
process slow-down, most
individual in late adulthood
find this phase of life a
time of hope, expansion,
and continued personal growth.
Late Adulthood: Cognition
The Aging Brain
Effects of senescence:
- Reduced production
of neurotransmitters
- Myelination thins
- Corpus Callosum reduced
- Cerebral blood circulates more slowly
Results:
- Overall brain slow down in reaction times,
talking, and thinking
Late Adulthood: Cognition
The Aging Brain
Older Adults use more parts of their
brains to solve problems.
1. Compensation
Using one part for complex
thinking is inadequate
2. Reduced Brain Reserves
Cognitive reserves combine for
relatively moderate cognitive tasks.
3. Wandering Mind
Using more parts of the brain can cause
wandering, intrusions, and irrelevant comments
Late Adulthood
The Aging Brain: Erikson & Maslow
Older adults tend to gain more
interest in the arts, children,
and in the human experience
as a whole.
Eriksons - Vital Involvement
Maslow – Self-Actualization
Characterized by aesthetic, creative,
philosophical, and spiritual understanding
Late Adulthood: Psychosocial
Erikson’s Final Stage:
Integrity versus Despair
Integrity as a feeling of being
whole (not scattered) and
comfortable with oneself.
Older adults seek to
integrate their unique
self with their
vision of community.
Stratification Theories
Focuses on the relationship between social
forces and the individual.
Specifically, the consequences of social forces
placing the older person in a category or role.
Categorization can limit people throughout their
lives.
Stratification by Age
Stratification by Gender
Stratification by Ethnicity
These accumulate throughout a person’s life.
Predjudice
Agism is the idea that age
determines who you are.
Stereotype threat can be
debilitating for older adults.
Agism can lead to
depression and illness.
Elderspeak…talking to older adults
as if they are children. Simple slow
speech & exaggerated phrases
Older Adults
Gerentologist distinguish between three groups of
older adults: Young-old, old-old, oldest-old
Young-old (Optimal Aging)
typically 60-75 healthy, active, financially
secure, independent
Make up the largest group
of older adults
Older Adults
Old-old (Usual Aging) age varies
suffer from some reductions in
physical or mental ability or in social
support, but they can still take care of
themselves
Oldest-old (Pathological
Aging)varies/over 85
Are infirm and at risk for illness and
injury