Adulthood

1. Adulthood From about 20-80+ years Old

2. Emerging Adulthood Emerging adulthood spans ages 18-25. During this time, young adults may live with their parents and attend college or work. On average, emerging adults marry in their mid-twenties. Ariel Skelley/ Corbis

3. Adulthood Although adulthood begins sometime after a person’s mid-twenties, defining adulthood into stages is more difficult than defining stages during childhood or adolescence. Rick Doyle/ Corbis

4. Developing Through the Life Span Adulthood (continued) • Cognitive Development • Social Development Reflections on Two Major Developmental Issues • Continuity and Stages • Stability and Change

5. Gender Development • Gender Identity • Gender Stereotyping • Social Learning theory (learned through reward & punishment) • Gender Schema Theory (culturally dependent)

6. Early Adulthood Issues • No true Signal of Onset of Adulthood • Beginning/ Training for a career • Marriage & Family • Cohabitation & Divorce • Developing the ability for intimate love,seeking to form long lasting relationships, & trusting one’s mate.

7. Physical Development The peak of physical performance occurs around 20 years of age, after which it declines imperceptibly for most of us. In Contrast, We as humans do not reach Cognitive maturity until the age of 25.

8. Middle Adulthood Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory abilities and cardiac output begin to decline after the mid-twenties. Around age 50, women go through menopause, and men experience decreased levels of hormones and fertility. Bettman/ Corbis Willie Mays batting performance.

9. Issues of Middle Adulthood • Adjusting to physical change - menopause • Reaching& maintaining Job satisfaction • Adjusting to caring for aging parents • Helping teens to become responsible adults • Achieving Adult Civic Responsibilities • Relating to One’s Spouse • Developing Leisure-time Activities

10. Adulthood’s Commitments Love and work are defining themes in adult life. Evolutionary psychologists believe that commitment has survival value. Parents that stay together are likely to leave a viable future generation. JLP/ Jose Pelaez/ zefa/ Corbis

11. Adulthood’s Commitments Happiness stems from working in a job that fits your interests and provides you with a sense of competence and accomplishment. Charles Harbutt/ Actuality

12. Adulthood’s Ages and Stages Psychologists doubt that adults pass through an orderly sequence of age-bound stages. Mid-life crises at 40 are less likely to occur than crises triggered by major events (divorce, new marriage). Neuroticism scores, 10,000 subjects (McCrae & Costa, 1996).

13. Well-Being Across the Life Span Well-being and people’s feelings of satisfaction are stable across the life span.

14. Old Age: Life Expectancy Life expectancy at birth increased from 49% in 1950 to 67% in 2004 and to 80% in developed countries. Women outlive men and outnumber them at most ages. Gorges Gobet/ AP Photo

15. Studying the Aged • Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health care of the elderly. It aims to promote health and to prevent and treat diseases and disabilities in older adults. • The term geriatrics differs from gerontology. This is the study of the aging process itself.

16. Late Adulthood Issues • Hospice Care • Widowhood / Dying w/ Integrity • Ageism • Physical Changes • Cognitive changes • Retirement • Leaving Home / Assisted Living

17. Why Do We Age? • Programmed Theories -Bio Clocks are up! • Cellular Damage - Malfunction triggered from the environment • Free Radicals - Unstable Molecules in the body cause UV rays, poisons,or pollution. • Cross-Linking - Proteins in the body bond; causing tissue stiffness, leading to bodily breakdown.

18. Old Age: Sensory Abilities After age 70, hearing, distance perception, and the sense of smell diminish, as do muscle strength, reaction time, and stamina. After 80, neural processes slow down, especially for complex tasks. Michael Newman/ PhotoEdit

19. Old Age: Motor Abilities At age 70, our motor abilities also decline. A 70-year-old is no match for a 20-year-old individual. Fatal accidents also increase around this age.

20. Old Age: Dementia With increasing age, the risk of dementia also increases. Dementia is not a normal part of growing old. Alan Oddie/ PhotoEdit

21. Old Age: Alzheimer’s Disease The risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease also increases with age. Individuals who are in the early stages of this disease show more MRI activity in the brain than do normal individuals of the same age. Susan Bookheimer At risk Alzheimer Normal

22. Cognitive Development Do cognitive abilities like memory, creativity, and intelligence decline with age the same way physical abilities do?

23. Aging and Memory As we age, we remember some things well. These include recent past events and events that happened a decade or two back. However, recalling names becomes increasingly difficult.

24. Aging and Memory Recognition memory does not decline with age, and material that is meaningful is recalled better than meaningless material. The same is true for prospective memory (remember to …). David Myers

25. Aging and Intelligence Longitudinalstudies suggest that intelligence remains relative as we age. It is believed today that fluid intelligence (ability to reason speedily) declines with age, but crystalline intelligence (accumulated knowledge and skills) does not.

26. Mental Changes in LateAdulthood • Fluid Intelligence • Crystalized Intelligence • Senile Dementia - slow loss of cognitive function including memory & speech • Alzheimer’s Disease- deterioration of cells in the Hippocampus - Memory Loss - over 65 - not normal loss of function • The Basic Idea - “Use It or Lose It!”

27. Aging and Other Abilities A number of cognitive abilities decline with age. However, vocabulary and general knowledge increase with age.

28. Social Development Many differences between the young and old are not simply based on physical and cognitive abilities, but may instead be based on life events associated with family, relationships, and work.

29. How to Successfully Age • Reshape One’s Life • Keep a Positive Outlook • Don’t Fear Self-Change • Keeping Active (even if at a different pace)

30. Successful Aging

31. Death and Dying Thanatology is the academic, and often scientific, study of death among human beings. It investigates the circumstances surrounding a person's death, the grief experienced by the deceased's loved ones, and larger social attitudes towards death such as ritual and memorialization.

32. Death and Dying There is no “normal” reaction or series of grief stages after the death of a loved one. Grief is more sudden if death occurs unexpectedly. People who reach a sense of integrity in life (in Erikson’s terms) see life as meaningful and worthwhile. Chris Steele-Perkins/ Magnum Photos

33. Issue during Dying • Hospice: Homelike place where dying people and families go to cope with a terminal illness. • Euthanasia: Mercy Killing (Controversial) (i.e. Dr. Kevorkian Case) • The Living Will: A legal document expressing your final wishes. (i.e. life support issues, organ donation, cremation vs. burial, etc.) (i.e. Terri Schiavo Case)

34. Death & Dying • KÜBLER ROSS 5 Stages of Dying • 1) Denial • 2) Anger • 3) Bargaining • 4) Depression • 5) Acceptance

35. The Funeral • Funerals are a way to acknowledge that someone has died. • The provide a framework of behavior for the grieving process. • Culturally dependent, but the funeral is a transition period that allows for mourning, expressing grief, and finally letting go.

36. The Funeral • FUNERALS ARE NOT FOR THE DEAD… THEY ARE FOR THE LIVING! …SO THEY CAN GRIEVE AND SAY GOOD BYE.