Tâm lý học - Chapter 16: Socioemotional development in middle adulthood

Life-Span DevelopmentThirteenth EditionChapter 16: Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1Stages of AdulthoodErikson’s Generativity vs. StagnationGenerativity: adults’ desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generationBiological generativityParental generativityWork generativityCultural generativityStagnation: develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generationPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2Stages of AdulthoodLevinson’s Seasons of a Man’s LifeTeens – transition from dependence to independence20s are a novice phase of adult development30s are a time for focusing on family and career developmentBy the 40s, man has a stable career and now must look forward to the kind of life he will lead as a middle-aged adultPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3Stages of Adulthood Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life (continued)Transition to middle adulthood lasts about 5 years (ages 40 to 45) and requires that men come to grips with conflicts existing since adolescence:Being young vs. being oldBeing destructive vs. being constructiveBeing masculine vs. being feminineBeing attached to others vs. being separated from themPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4Levinson’s Periods of Adult Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Insert Figure 16.35Stages of Adulthood How Pervasive Are Midlife Crises? The 40s are a decade of reassessing and recording the truth about the adolescent and adult yearsOnly a minority of adults experience a midlife crisisPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6Stages of Adulthood©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 7Stages of Adulthood Individual VariationsStage theories do not adequately address individual variations in adult developmentSome individuals may experience a midlife crisis in some contexts of their lives but not othersIn 1/3 of cases where individuals report experiencing a midlife crisis, the crisis was triggered by life events such as job loss, financial problems, or illness Stages of Adulthood©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8The Life-Events ApproachContemporary Life-Events Approach: how life events influence the individual’s development depends on:The life event itselfMediating factorsThe individual’s adaptation to the life eventLife-stage contextSociohistorical contextPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9The Life-Events ApproachDrawbacksLife-events approach places too much emphasis on change, not adequately recognizing stabilityIt may not be life’s major events that are the primary sources of stress, but our daily experiencesPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 10Personality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Life-Events Approach11Stress and Personal Control Middle-aged adults experience more “overload” stressors that involve juggling too many activities at onceMiddle-aged adults feel they have a greater sense of control over their finances, work, and marriage than young adults but less control over their sex life and their childrenPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12Stress and Personal Control©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 13Contexts of Midlife Development Historical Contexts (Cohort Effects)Changing historical times and different social expectations influence how different cohorts move through the life spanSocial clock: the timetable according to which individuals are expected to accomplish life’s tasksGender Contexts:Stage theories have a male biasThe demands of balancing career and family are usually not experienced as intensely by menPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 14Contexts of Midlife Development Cultural ContextsThe concept of middle age is unclear or absent in many culturesDepending on the modernity of the culture and the culture’s view of gender roles, midlife often brings about great change for women in nonindustrialized societiesPersonality Theories and Development©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 15Longitudinal StudiesCosta and McCrae’s Baltimore StudyFocused on the Big Five Factors of PersonalityStability occurs in five personality factors: emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousnessStability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 16Longitudinal StudiesBerkeley Longitudinal StudiesIntellectual orientation, self-confidence, and openness to new experience were the more stable traitsAbility to nurture and self-control changed mostExtent to which individuals were nurturant or hostile and whether or not they had good self-control were characteristics that changedStability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 17Longitudinal StudiesHelson’s Mills College StudyThree main groups of womenFamily-orientedCareer-orientedNeither pathStability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18Longitudinal StudiesGeorge Vaillant’s StudiesUsed data collected from individuals at 50 years of age to predict whether they would be in “happy-well,” “sad-sick,” or “dead” category between 75 and 80 years of ageStability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 19Stability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Vaillant’s Study20ConclusionsPersonality traits continue to change during the adult years, even into late adulthoodCumulative personality model: with time and age, people become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote the stability of personalityStability and Change©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 21Love and Marriage at MidlifeSecurity, loyalty, and mutual emotional interest are more important in middle adulthoodMost married individuals are satisfied with their marriages during midlifeDivorce in midlife can be less intense than in early adulthoodClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 22The Empty Nest and Its RefillingEmpty Nest Syndrome: a decline in marital satisfaction after the children leave the homeFor most parents, marital satisfaction actually increases during the years after child rearingRefilling of empty nest is becoming a common occurrenceClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 23Sibling Relationships and Friendships Sibling relationships continue over the entire life spanThe majority of sibling relationships in adulthood are closeFriendships that have endured over the adult years tend to be deeper than those that have just been formed in middle adulthoodClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 24Grandparenting Many adults become grandparents during middle ageGrandparent Roles and StylesThree prominent meaningsSource of biological reward and continuitySource of emotional self-fulfillmentRemote roleThree Grandparenting Styles:Fun-seeking styleDistant-figure styleFormal styleClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 25Grandparenting The Changing Profile of GrandparentsAn increasing number of U.S. grandchildren live with their grandparents; 6.1 million in 2005Most common reasons are divorce, adolescent pregnancies, and parental drug useFull-time grandparenting has been linked to health problems, depression, and stressClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 26Intergenerational Relationships Middle-aged and older adults typically express a strong feeling of responsibility between generations in their familyMidlife adults play important roles in the lives of the young and the oldWhen conflicts arise, parents most often cite habits and lifestyle choices, while adult children cite communication and interaction stylesClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 27Intergenerational RelationshipsDifferences in gender:Mothers and daughters have closer relationships during their adult years than mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, and fathers and sonsMarried men are more involved with their wives’ families than with their ownMaternal aunts and grandmothers are cited as the most important or loved relative twice as often as their paternal counterpartsClose Relationships©2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 28