Young Adulthood to Late Life

1. Young Adulthood to Late Life Emotional Development **Levenson’s seasons of life** ** Vaillant: intimacy & career consolidation

2. Birth Death 20 25 35 30 What experiences do you expect to have in in your 20s & 30s?

3. Birth Death 40 45 55 50 What experiences do you expect to have in in your 40s and 50? Retirement! Lived more, than have left to live

5. 65+ 30-65 21-30 12-21 6-12 3-6 18m-3y 0-18mo Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development Develop intimate relationship… or risk isolation.

6. 65+ 30-65 21-30 12-21 6-12 3-6 18m-3y 0-18mo Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development Be generative beyond one’s self If not, become self-centered - stagnant

7. Loyola Generativity Scale Methods: self-report & **life stories** Instructions. For each of the following statements, please indicate how often the statement applies to you: • "0" = statement never applies to you. • "1" = statement occasionally or seldom applies to you. • "2" = statement applies to you fairly often. • "3" = statement applies to you very often or nearly always.---------------------------------------------------------------------------- • I try to pass along the knowledge I have gained through my experiences. • I feel as though I have made a difference to many people. • I do not volunteer to work for a charity. • I have made and created things that have had an impact on other people. • I think that I will be remembered for a long time after I die. • I have made many commitments to many different kinds of people, groups, and activities in my life. • I have a responsibility to improve the neighborhood in which I live. • People come to me for advice.

8. How does your score compare? Does generativity increase with age? Related to time perspective, & environmental demands

9. Midlife Crisis? • Pressure to find satisfying life path… before it’s too late! • 25% of people (= men & women) report “midlife crisis”… • ½ were no more than stressful life events • Occurred before 39 and after age 50 • For many, there is a positive transition What are the “symptoms”? ** self-acceptance, autonomy, & environmental master**

10. 65+ 30-65 21-30 12-21 6-12 3-6 18m-3y 0-18mo Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development Feel as sense of integrity with their life Despair over life choices

11. Personality • How would you describe your personality? • Will your personality be the same or different when you are 45? • What about 65? • Why?

12. In-Class Assignment 9 Purpose of this assignment is to understand methods for assessing personality in adulthood, and be able to identify examples of the 5-factors of personality.

13. Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae) Which traits show stability or change with age? Openness to experience 5, 10, 35 Conscientiousness 8, 13, 28 Extraversion 1, 16, 31 Agreeableness 2, 17, 42 Neuroticism 9, 19, 39

14. Focus on ResearchSmall, Hertzog, Hultsch, & Dixon (2003) • Aim: examine if personality changes or remains the same as people age • Participants: Victoria Longitudinal Study • 223 adults: 35 to 85 years old • 60% female & ethnically diverse • M education = 13 years • Measure • self-reported personality: given twice, 6 years apart

15. Results 1: examine if mean-level on trait changes Mean-level findings suggest personality stability with age, and mostly positive changes.

16. Results 2: stability of rank-order within a group • examine correlation between times of testing High positive rank-order correlations suggest stability of personality with age

17. Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae) Openness to experience 5, 10, 35 Conscientiousness 8, 13, 28 Extraversion 1, 16, 31 Agreeableness 2, 17, 42 Neuroticism 9, 19, 39

18. Five Factor Model of Personality (Costa & McCrae) Openness to experience 5, 10, 35 Conscientiousness 8, 13, 28 Extraversion 1, 16, 31 Agreeableness 2, 17, 42 Neuroticism 9, 19, 39 Personality is “set in plaster” after the age of 30!