Chapter 4
Becoming an Adult
The Pace of Development
• Difficult to define when an
individual is considered an
adult
• Inconsistency among legal,
social and economic statuses
reflects the changing pattern of
becoming an adult
• Progress from one stage of life to another is
dependent on many factors
- Age of majority
- Adult size and strength
- New mental processes - Rights of passage
Developmental Theorists and
Theories
• Erik Erikson
• Jane Loevinger
• Daniel Levinson
• Family Life Cycle
• Klaus Riegel
• Leonard Pearlins
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Erik Erikson
•
8 Stages of human development:
Each stage presents a dilemma, in which
the person is challenged by new
situations and circumstances in life
1. Infancy: Birth to 18 Months
Ego Development Outcome: Trust vs. Mistrust
Basic strength: Drive and Hope
5. Adolescence: 12 to 18 Years
Ego Development Outcome: Identity vs. Role
Confusion
Basic Strengths: Devotion and Fidelity
2. Early Childhood: 18 Months to 3 Years
Ego Development Outcome: Autonomy vs.
Shame
Basic Strengths: Self-control, Courage, and Will
6. Young adulthood: 18 to 35
Ego Development Outcome: Intimacy and
Solidarity vs. Isolation
Basic Strengths: Affiliation and Love
3. Play Age: 3 to 5 Years
Ego Development Outcome: Initiative vs. Guilt
Basic Strength: Purpose
7. Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55 or 65
Ego Development Outcome: Generativity vs. Self
absorption or Stagnation
Basic Strengths: Production and Care
4. School Age: 6 to 12 Years
Ego Development Outcome: Industry vs.
Inferiority
Basic Strengths: Method and Competence
8. Late Adulthood: 55 or 65 to Death
Ego Development Outcome: Integrity vs. Despair
Basic Strengths: Wisdom
Adolescence: 12 to 18 Years
Identity vs. Role Confusion
- Define who you are, who you will be
- Dilemma – role confusion
- Resolution – strength in fidelity
(able to make choices for oneself, and later, for others)
Young adulthood: 18 to 35
Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation
- Merging yourself with someone else, without losing
yourself
- Dilemma – loneliness
- Resolution – love, generosity
* suggested women determine identity through relationships
Middle Adulthood: 35 to 55 or 65
Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation
- Generativity is defined as a process whereby we learn to
follow our deeper interests and longings and bring about
change.
- Individual contribution to society
- Dilemma - at a stand still
- Resolution – care
In summary, the tasks of early adulthood are to determine first
who you want to be and what you want to do so that you are
true to yourself, and then who you want to be with so that you
can share yourself with others.
Jane Loevinger’s Theory of Ego
Development
•
Search for an understanding of the self as the centre of human
development
The understanding of self = EGO
Development begins in infancy (individual separate from mother)
•
Full ego development = autonomous self [self-reliant person who accepts
oneself and others as multi-faceted (all rounded) and unique]; rarely
achieved but strived towards.
•
Adolescents are at the conformist stage – black and white, stereotypical
ways, see where they belong in society
Young adults are at the self-aware level – understand and accept
individual differences and distinguish variations in feelings and opinions that
make us unique
Conscientious stage – appreciate others as individuals in reciprocal
relationships
•
•
•
**** individuals require a clear sense of self before forming intimate
relationships (like ERIKSON). However, most people spend a lifetime
developing this ability
Daniel Levinson’s Theory of the Season’s of Life
Developmental Periods in the Eras of Early and
Middle Adulthood
Ages 022
Ages
17-45
Ages
40-65
Ages
60-?
Era of preadulthood
Era of early
adulthood
Era of middle
adulthood
Era of late
adulthood
• 17-22: Early adulthood transition
• 22-28: Entry to life structure
• 28-33: Age 30 transition
• 33-40: Culminating life structure
• 40-45: Midlife transition
• 45-50: Entry to life structure
• 50-55: Age 50 transition
• 55-60: Culminating life structure
Daniel Levinson’s Theory of the
Season’s of Life
•
Early adulthood lasts
25yrs (age 17-early
40’s)
•
Early adult transition
(17-22), leave
adolescent life and
prepare for LIFE
STRUCTURE (design
of one’s life).
•
Separation from family
(similar to FLC);
change in attachment
necessary (not simply
physical separation)
Entering the adult world (22-28)
– test preliminary lifte
structure (create and
commit to life structure that
supports their Dream)
4 Major Tasks:
1) Forming a Dream and giving it
a place in the life structure
2) forming mentor relationships
3) forming an occupation
4) forming love relationships,
marriage and family
•
Age 30 transition – reevaluate life structure
(chance to modify, exclude,
add; time to “get real”
before “settling down”
The Family Life Cycle
• Describes stages where individuals are launched from their families of
origin (must separate from one another  accept emotional
responsibility for themselves)
Master 3 tasks (enable adults to become self-sufficient
adults)
1) form an identity separate from family of origin
[individuation]
2) develop new intimate relationships with peers (social and
emotional support)
3) make tentative commitment to career or workplace role
Family and parents especially plays important role in
development of adult
Relationship must become less hierarchical and more
tolerant
Development involves change in response to a crisis
so that family can move onto a different (not better)
stage
Klaus Riegel’s Interpretation of
Development
4 Interrelated Dimensions of Development:
• 1) individual psychological dimension (emotional maturity,
independence and maturity of mental processes)
• 2) individual biological dimension (physical and sexual maturity)
• 3) cultural-sociological dimension (expectations and opportunities
that each society defines for individuals)
• 4) environmental dimension (physical, economic, and political
environment in which individual lives)
• Development does not occur in predictable stages
• Development occurs when change in one dimension
requires an adjustment in one or more of the other
dimensions (reflects systems theory)
ex: marriage; post-secondary education
Leonard Pearlin’s Theory of
Psychological Distress
•
•
Tried to rationalize how development can be unique yet appear to occur in a common
pattern
Suggests that adulthood is a lifetime of continuous change where individuals might
experience occasional periods of stability
4 elements determine the path that individual lives will take:
1) individual characteristics – race, gender, intelligence, background
2) range of skills to cope with stress or change
(stress = leaving school, starting work, marriage)
3) availability of social support networks
4) nature and timing of stress that requires response
•
•
•
•
Early adulthood might be the time for acting on dreams; can change life structure at
any time.
Similar in life flow b/c individuals change in response to similar external
circumstances and stresses that affect their lives.
Anticipate role changes; societies support by socializing for scheduled events
Pearlins suggest that patterns observed are a cohort effect, changes in behaviour
result from socialized responses to a common social clock rather than from agelinked inner changes
Socialization for Adulthood
• Becoming an adult requires that individuals alter
their behavior as they take on new roles in life
• Re-socialization enables the individual to
change his/her behavior in order to appropriately
participate in society
• Anticipatory Socialization = allows people to
learn and practice role behavior before actually
taking on a new role.
– > if transitions anticipated, changes can be seen in a
positive way, options are likely to be considered and
necessary strategies to manage lives can be considered
Forming an Identity
• Includes 3 aspects:
– Consistent sense of self
– Realistic perception of the world
– Sense of control over one’s own life
• Individuals form a sense of themselves based on their
interpretation of how others act towards them (symbolic
interactionism)
• Charles Cooley – “Looking-glass self” (p.110)
• Identity develops as a result of personal and symbolic
interpretation of their performance
Forming an Identity cont’d
• How do individuals achieve a sense of self?
– Assessing accomplishments
– Sense of self-control
• Aware of personal resources and be able to asses their situation realistically
• Develop skills necessary for making choices and having opportunities to
make decisions for themselves
• What 3 factors influence socialization and resocialization of individuals?
– Family background
– School experiences
– Social networks
Socialization within the Family
• First environment for socialization to occur
• Acquire personal qualities and identity (a sense of who
they are, what they can do, and what they believe)
• Family background can act as a filter that selects which
environmental factors will influence the individual
• Includes primary role models (parents provide feedback
concerning their behavior)
• Support + encouragement = sense of control and selfesteem
• Family system must adjust to allow the young adult to
become independent (withdraw financial support, establish
residential boundaries, make decisions independently)
The Role of the Family
• Provide the inherited intellectual potential and
social and cultural attitudes and skills that enable
young people to succeed
• The Sloan Study – parent’s work experience
determines the values and attitudes they teach
their children about work
• Finding work rewarding is an attitude that is
essential to success and satisfaction in adulthood
– 75% - enjoy the type of work they do
– 71% - their work challenging and interesting
*pay is not a factor for satisfaction for most working
people (experience intrinsic rewards)
The Role of the Family cont’d
• Young people learn self-reliance and
responsibility from authoritative parents
- encourage exploration
- tolerate mistakes
- set high expectations
- encourage decision making
The Role of School in Socialization
• Challenge individuals to develop
competence (the know-how; a sense of being capable of
doing things that are worthwhile) through acquiring
knowledge, developing skills and providing
feedback
• Teachers
- transmit knowledge and skills
- provide feedback
• Peers – exerts stronger influence
The Role of School
• Assumed major responsibility for socializing
young people for occupational choices
• Provide opportunities for anticipatory
socialization through developing conditions to
perform and hone skills such as:
- Concentration
- Adjust social behavior and
communication skills
- Teamwork and management skills
Career planning courses encourage
students to explore a variety of
occupations and investigate the
preparation required for those
occupations
Preparing for an Occupation
• Expected to prepare for an adult life that
includes a job as its major component
• Work: an economic necessity for those
who wish to pursue their dreams and/or
become independent
• Work: feel a sense of accomplishment
– 88% of women and 91% of men identified
work as a major contributor to their selfesteem
Preparing for an Occupation cont’d
*Work contributes to self-esteem, a
satisfying job is important part of a life
structure
*Satisfaction in the workplace is linked
to better health, lower stress levels,
and ability to balance home and work.
Then – until the last century, young
people would follow their parent’s
footsteps
Now- the transition depends on several
factors
The Role of Part-Time Work
• Motivated by extrinsic
value: money
• Additional responsibility
• Develop skills
• Save for post-secondary
education
• Anticipatory socialization