Adult Development

1. Adult Development AP Psychology

2. Core Concept • Nature and nurture continue to produce changes throughout life, but in adulthood these chances include both growth and decline. • *The early and middle years of adulthood focus on needs for intimacy and “Generativity”

3. What is Generativity?

4. Adulthood Adulthood is when one becomes self sufficient and self supporting. There are 3 classifications: • Early Adulthood (20-39) • Middle Adulthood (40-59) • Late Adulthood (60-older)

5. Erikson’s Theory of Young Adulthood • Young adulthood posses the challenge of establishing close relationships with other adults. • The individual must face the challenge of wanting to have a secure, close, relationships to fearing vulnerability and the risks of being let down.

6. What Research Supports this?

7. Erikson’s Theory • “You must know who and what you are before you can begin to love someone else and share your life with that person.” • Do you agree? What can happen if not? .

8. But, today, life for young adults offers more choices and complications than in the generation that Erikson based his research on…In what ways has our culture changed that would affect relationships?

9. Young Adulthood • Most people take on adult responsibilities like careers, marriage, and children. • A sense of identity is gained through duties, and makes young adults more stable and less insecure than adolescents. • Then to be more emotionally invested in relationships and take responsibility seriously.

10. Marriage • Half of marriages end in divorce. • 90% of divorces, the mother receives custody and the father receives visitation rights. • Children can feel abandoned by fathers. • For marriages to work there must be a “mutual respect”.

11. Family Life • Women now face more life stressors than in the past. • Torn between having a career and having a family. • In early adulthood, men still focus mostly on their careers, but they are also more involved in their family lives than they used to be in the past. • Spend more time with children and their job doesn’t always come first.

12. Family Life • Young families experience high levels of stress trying to “do it all”. • Stress effects not only the family, but they job as well • Our society is somewhat hypocritical when it comes to parenting. • On one hand it supports parents being devoted to their kids and their jobs, but then the correct systems are not in place. • Work daycare

13. The Challenge of Midlife • During this stage of life, people broaden their focus beyond themselves and their partners and start to look at the legacy they are leaving behind. • Some, have positive midlife stages, joining community groups and clubs. Others can struggle with the choices they’ve made so far and be unsatisfied with their lives.

14. Midlife continued… • In the U.S. the age 40 signals the true beginning of “middle age”. • By late 30’s, early 40’s most people begin to reexamine their lives. • Look closely at the direction of their lives and where they want to be in their future. • In midlife, there is a sense of urgency involved. • People concentrate on how they look and how much longer they have life.

15. Midlife Crisis • What is a midlife crisis?

16. Aging Process • Aging in our country is a real challenge because as a culture we put a premium on youthfulness. • Older people are associated with injuries, diseases, loss of independence, and loneliness. • As we age, our body functions slow down. Problems with vision and hearing are likely to get worse and we are more prone to diseases and injuries. • Indications of why this occurs is because our body cells have internal “time clocks” that dictate how long each particular type of cell will continue to function and replace itself.

17. Last Developmental Stages • Two kinds of experiences occur during old age—gains and losses. • The individual will start to decline physically, but that does not mean there is consequently a mental decline.

18. Last Developmental Stages • What are some positives that arise during late adulthood?

19. Aging Process • Pg. 400-401

20. Death and Dying • Death has never happened to us before so it is difficult to fully describe its influence on us, because it is the ultimate unknown. • Studies have shown that those with terminal illness have made peace with dying. They have 3 basic fears: • 1. Loss of mastery over themselves • 2. Separation from loved ones • 3. Fear of being replaced

21. Stages of Dying • Elisabeth Kübler-Ross proposed that people who are terminally ill go through a series of stages as the approach death. • She created a double edge sword with these stages. On one hand her system does seem to be followed. But emotions of the patient tend to be ignored and not validated.

22. Stages of Dying • Denial- deny that they are going to die. • Anger- or resentment towards dying. • Bargain- they try to bargain with God for more time. • Depressed- extreme sadness about dying • Peaceful acceptance- come to an understanding and accept their position