Psychology 203 Human Development

1. Psychology 203 Human Development Psychosocial Development In Young Adulthood Chapter 14 Part taken from Human Development 9e

2. Young AdulthoodPersonality Development • Four Views • Normative-stage models • Typical sequence of age-related development that continues throughout adult life span • Timing-of-events models • Expected or unexpected occurrence and timing of important life events (not age) • Trait models • Mental, emotional, temperamental, and behavioral traits (cheerfulness, irritability) • Typological models • Identify broader personality types, or styles that represent how traits are organized within individuals Part taken from Human Development 9e

3. Young AdulthoodPersonality Development • Normative-stage models • Erikson • Personality changes throughout life • Intimacy versus Isolation • Vaillant (1977) • Adaptive mechanisms • Mature (using humor or helping others) • Immature (developing aches and pains with no physical basis) • Psychotic (distorting reality) • Neurotic (repressing anxiety or developing irrational fears) • Levinson (1986) • Evolving life structure: People shape their life structures during overlapping eras of about 20 to 25 years each. • Validity of studies is questionable • Based on research using mostly men • Based on small groups of all white middle-class to upper-middle-class men • Most important message is adults continue to change, develop and grow Part taken from Human Development 9e

4. Young AdulthoodPersonality Development • Timing-of-Events • Course of development depends on when certain events occur in people’s lives. • Normative Life Events are commonly expected life experiences that occur at customary times • Marriage • Parenthood • Grandparenthood • Retirement • Events are normative when they are “on time” • People are aware of their won “social clock” • Crises may result, not from reaching a certain age but from the unexpected occurrence and timing of life events. • Model is limited because model only fits when cultures and historical periods in which norms of behavior are stable and widespread Part taken from Human Development 9e

5. Young AdulthoodTrait Models (Costa and McCrae’s five Factors) Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Part taken from Human Development 9e

6. Young AdulthoodCosta and McCrae’s • Continuity of personality • Analysis is cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential from large sample sizes • Critics of model • Statistical and methodological problems • Based largely on subjective ratings • Model looks at only individual differences in trait groupings • No theoretical framework for understanding how personality works within the person Part taken from Human Development 9e

7. Young AdulthoodTypological Models • Typological Models • Personality as functioning whole that affects and reflects attitudes, values, behavior, and social interactions • Ego-resilient • Adaptability under stress • Well adjusted self-confident, independent, articulate, attentive, helpful, cooperative, and task-focused • Overcontrolled • Shy, quiet, anxious, dependable, withdraw from conflict • Undercontrolled • Active, energetic, impulsive, stubborn, and easily distracted • Traits established in childhood may predict trajectories (long term patterns) Part taken from Human Development 9e

8. Young AdulthoodIntegrating Approaches Part taken from Human Development 9e

9. Young AdulthoodFoundations of Intimate Relationships • Resolve conflicts with parents in wholesome way or may reenact similar conflicts in new relationships with friends, colleagues, and partners • Seek emotional and physical intimacy in relationship with peers and romantic partners • Gain skills in • Self-awareness • Empathy • Communicate emotions • Sexual decision making • Conflict resolution • Sustain commitments Part taken from Human Development 9e

10. Young AdulthoodFoundations of Intimate Relationships • Intimate relationships are crucial task of young adulthood (Erikson) • Shared disclosures (self-disclosure) • Responsiveness to one another’s needs • Mutual acceptance • Respect • Intimacy includes a sense of belonging • Form strong, stable, close, caring relationships is powerful motivator of human behavior Part taken from Human Development 9e

11. Young AdulthoodFriendship • Friendships center on • Work • Parenting activities • Sharing of confidences and advice • Young singles rely on friendships to fulfill social needs • Women have more intimate friendships then men • Women find friendships with other women more satisfying than those with men • Men share information and activities, not confidences Part taken from Human Development 9e

12. Young AdulthoodLove • Sternberg and Barnes elements • Intimacy • Self-disclosure leads to connection, warmth, and trust • Passion • Inner drives that translate physiological arousal into sexual desire • Commitment • Cognitive decision to love and to stay with the beloved Part taken from Human Development 9e

13. Young AdulthoodNonmarital and Marital lifestyles • Rules of acceptable behavior are more elastic then during the first half 20th century • Norms no longer dictate • People must get married • Stay married • Have children • At what age Part taken from Human Development 9e

14. Young AdulthoodNonmarital and Marital lifestyles • Single Life • 45% of 25-29 year olds had never married • Black, White, and Latina single women in LA have difficulty finding eligible men with similar educational and social backgrounds Part taken from Human Development 9e

15. Young AdulthoodGay and Lesbian Relationships • 3% of US men and 1½% women call themselves homesual or bisexual • Ingredients of long-term satisfaction are very similar in homosexual and heterosexual relationships Part taken from Human Development 9e

16. Young AdulthoodCohabitation • Consensual or informal union • In US was against the law in 1970 • Substitute for marriage or “trial marriage” • Relationship tend to be less satisfying than marriages • Half US couples who marry have lived together first • Tend to have unconventional attitudes about family life • Likely to have divorced parents • Stepchildren • Liberal attitudes toward divorce Part taken from Human Development 9e

17. Young AdulthoodMarriage • Meets fundamental needs • Intimacy • Commitment • Friendship • Affection • Sexual fulfillment • Companionship • Emotional growth • Identity and self-esteem Part taken from Human Development 9e

18. Young AdulthoodEntering Matrimony • Most common way of selecting a mate has been through arrangement • Free choose of mates norm in western world • Transition to married major changes in • Sexual functioning • Living arrangements • Rights and responsibility • Attachments • Loyalties Part taken from Human Development 9e

19. Young AdulthoodSexual Activity After Marriage • Only one-third have intercourse two or more times a week • More emotional satisfaction from sex then single or cohabiting couples • Drops sharply after the early months and then declines as time goes on • May seek sexual intimacy outside the marriage after few years Part taken from Human Development 9e

20. Young AdulthoodFactors in Marital success or failure • One of the most important factors is sense of commitment • Success closely associated with • Communication • Making decisions • Dealing with conflict • Good marriage • Arguing and openly expressing anger • Trouble marriage • Whining • Defensiveness • Stubbornness • withdrawal Part taken from Human Development 9e

21. Young AdulthoodFactors in Marital success or failure • Major predictors of success • Age - 20-30 better then teens • Education - College grads better then non grads • Cohabitation before marriage and having divorced parents are predictive of divorce • No children better then pregnant or bearing children before marriage Part taken from Human Development 9e

22. Domestic Violence • Physical, sexual, or psychological maltreatment of a spouse, a former spouse, or an intimate partner so as to gain or maintain power or control • Nine out of ten victims in US are women • Men profile • Less than a high school education • Unemployed or intermittently employed • Low incomes • Alcohol or drug problems • Former or estranged husband or former boyfriends • Men seeking control or dominance • Boys taught by example to prevail though aggression and physical force Part taken from Human Development 9e

23. Becoming Parents • Preindustrial farming societies • Large families were a necessity • Helped with family work • Care for aging parents • Death rate in childhood was high • Having lots of children many more would reach maturity Part taken from Human Development 9e

24. ParenthoodDevelopmental Experience • First baby marks a major transition in parents’ lives • Baby changes individuals and changes relationships • As baby develop, so must parents • Fathers today are more involved in children’s lives, and childcare and housework than ever before. Part taken from Human Development 9e

25. ParenthoodDevelopmental Experience • Men with children living with them • Less involved in outside social activities • More likely to participate in • School-related activities • Church Groups • Community services Part taken from Human Development 9e

26. ParenthoodMarital Satisfaction • Satisfaction declines during the childraising years • Both husbands and wives report sharp decline during the first four years Part taken from Human Development 9e

27. Dual-Earner Families • Two out of three US families with married couple and children under 18 years • Positive outcomes • Raises some families from poverty to middle-income • Women more independent and share of economic power • Reduces pressure on men to be providers • Equal relationship between husband and wife • Better health for both • Greater self-esteem for the women • Closer relationship between fathers and children Part taken from Human Development 9e

28. Dual-Earner Families • Downside • Working couples face extra demands on them and energy • Conflicts between work and family • Rivalry between spouses • Anxiety and guilt about meeting children’s needs Part taken from Human Development 9e

29. Division of Domestic Work • Almost all known societies women have primary responsibility for housework and child raising • Psychological effects very based on how breadwinning and household work are divided • Effects depend on how the husband and wife view their roles Part taken from Human Development 9e

30. Division of Domestic Work • Perception of unfairness contributes most to marital instability • Fairness depend on the size of the wife’s financial contribution • Co-provider • Supplementing husband’s income • Meaning and importance wife or husband place on wife’s work Part taken from Human Development 9e

31. When Marriage Ends • Average marriage ends in seven to eight years • 43% of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years • 90% of separated couples go on to divorce within 5 years Part taken from Human Development 9e

32. When Marriage EndsWhy the increase? • Possible causes • More liberal divorce laws • No-fault laws • More women financially independent • Greater damage to children if they stay together • More childless couples • Young couples expect too much from marriage • Take place of their parents • Take place of their friends • Both confidantes and lovers • Conflicts between what men want and what women want Part taken from Human Development 9e

33. When Marriage EndsAdjusting to Divorce • Divorce is a process not a single event. • Some people adjust rather quickly but may tend to reduce long-term well-being • Reasons • Disruption of parent-child relationships • Discord with a former spouse • Economic hardship • Loss of emotional support • Moving out of family home • Feelings of • Failure • Blame • Hostility • Self-recrimination • Depression • Illness • Most important factor is emotional detachment from the former spouse (average time is three years) Part taken from Human Development 9e

34. Remarriage and Stepparenthood • Remarriages are more likely than first marriages to end in divorce • Greatest during the first five years and stepchildren • Stepparent more challenging for women then men • The more recent the current marriage and the older the stepchildren, the harder stepparenting seems • Less able to separate feelings about the marriage from feelings about success as stepparents Part taken from Human Development 9e