Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood PowerPoints developed by Jenni Fauchier, Metropolitan Community College

1. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter 12 Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood PowerPoints developed by Jenni Fauchier, Metropolitan Community College -- Omaha

2. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Integrating Emotional Experiences into Enjoyable Relationships Temperament -- individual’s behavioral style and characteristic emotional responses fewer mood swings than in adolescence more responsible and engage in less risk-taking behavior Researchers find links between some dimensions of childhood temperament and adult personality (Thompson & Goodvin, 2005) (Caspi, 1998)

3. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Childhood Temperament Linked to Adult Personality Easy and difficult temperaments children with easy temperament at age 3 - 5 are likely to be well-adjusted as young adults and vice versa Inhibition Individuals who had an inhibited temperament in childhood are less likely than other adults to be assertive  (Chess & Thomas, 1987) (Kagan, 2000, 2002, 2003) (Wachs, 2000)

4. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ability to control one's emotions (a dimension in Mary Rothbart and John Bates' analysis of temperament) when 3-year-old children showed good control of their emotions and were resilient in the face of stress, they were likely to continue to handle emotions effectively as adults when 3-year-olds had low emotional control and were not very resilient, they were likely to show problems in these areas as young adults (Block, 1993)

5. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Attachment Like temperament, attachment plays an important part in socioemotional development securely attached infants -- those who use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment adults may count on their romantic partners to be a secure base to which they can return and obtain comfort and security when stressed

6. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Conceptualizing and Measuring Adult Attachment Attachment-related anxiety -- the extent to which individuals feel secure or insecure about whether a partner will be available, responsive, and attentive Attachment-related avoidance -- degree to which individuals feel secure or insecure in relying on others, opening up to them, and being intimate with them (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998)

7. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Attraction: Familiarity and Similarity   Familiarity is a necessary condition for a close relationship to develop Consensual validation -- our own attitudes and values are supported when someone else’s attitudes and values validate ours (Brehm, 2002)

8. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Attraction: Physical Attractiveness   Force of similarity also operates at a physical level Matching hypothesis -- although we may prefer a more attractive person in the abstract, in the real world we end up choosing someone who is close to our own level of attractiveness Psychologists have determined that heterosexual men and women differ on the importance of good looks  (Kalick & Hamilton, 1986)

9. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Love Love -- vast and complex territory of human behavior, spanning a range of relationships that includes friendship, romantic love, and affectionate love intimacy -- self-disclosure and the sharing of private thoughts an inability to develop meaningful relationships with others can harm an individual’s personality It may lead individuals to repudiate, ignore, or attack those who frustrate them (Berscheid, 1988)  

10. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Erikson’s Stage: Intimacy Versus Isolation   After individuals are well on their way to establishing stable and successful identities, they enter the sixth developmental stage, which is intimacy versus isolation If a person fails to develop an intimate relationship in early adulthood, according to Erikson, isolation results

11. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Intimacy and Independence Development in early adulthood often involves balancing intimacy and commitment with independence and freedom Intimacy and commitment, and independence and freedom are important themes of development that are worked and reworked throughout the adult years

12. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Friendship   Friendship plays an important role in development throughout the human life span functions of friendship: companionship, intimacy/affection, support, source of self-esteem friends can provide a better buffer from stress and be a better source of emotional support than family members adult friends usually come from the same age group  (Dow & Wood, 2006; Monsour, 2006)

13. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Differences in Friendships There are gender differences in adult friendship Women have more close friends more self-disclosure and exchange of mutual support Men want practical solutions to their problems rather than sympathy adult male friendships are more competitive (Dow & Wood, 2006) (Gouldner & Strong, 1987) (Tannen, 1990) (Wood, 2001)

14. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Friendships Between Women and Men   Cross-gender friendships are more common among adults but not as common as same-gender friendships Provide both opportunities and problems opportunities involve learning more about common feelings, interests and shared characteristics, acquiring knowledge and understanding problems arise because of different expectations (Fehr, 2000)

15. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Romantic Love Some friendships evolve into romantic love also called passionate love, or eros Romantic love has strong components of sexuality and infatuation often predominates in the early part of a love relationship (Aron & others, 2005; Brown, 2005)

16. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Affectionate Love Affectionate love -- type of love that occurs when someone desires to have the other person near and has a deep, caring affection for the person also called companionate love As love matures, passion tends to give way to affection  (Berscheid & Reis, 1998; Harvey & Weber, 2002)

17. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Sternberg proposed a triarchic theory of love in which love can be thought of as a triangle with three main dimensions—passion, intimacy, and commitment Passion is physical and sexual attraction to another Intimacy relates to the emotional feelings of warmth, closeness, and sharing in a relationship Commitment is the cognitive appraisal of the relationship and the intent to maintain the relationship (Sternberg, 1988) (Rusbult & others, 2001)

18. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Falling Out of Love Collapse of a close relationship may feel tragic Being in love when love is not returned can lead to depression, obsessive thoughts, sexual dysfunction, inability to work effectively, difficulty in making new friends, and self-condemnation Some people get taken advantage of in relationships

19. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Adult Lifestyles: Single or Cohabiting More adults are remaining single longer today often are stereotyped ranging from the “swinging single” to the “desperately lonely, suicidal” single Cohabitation -- living together in a sexual relationship without being married cohabitation has changed many couples view their cohabitation as an ongoing lifestyle (DePaulo & Morris, 2005) (Poponoe & Whitehead, 2006; Smock, Manning, & Porter, 2005)

20. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cohabitation Relationships between cohabiting men and women tend to be more equal than those between husbands and wives Disadvantages disapproval by parents difficulty owning property jointly legal rights on the dissolution of the relationship are less certain (Wineberg, 1994)

21. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Marriage Changing norm of male-female equality means marriages are more fragile and intense More than 90 percent of U.S. women still marry at some point in their lives; projections indicate that in the future this rate will drop into 80 - 90 % range Average duration of a marriage in the U.S. is currently just over nine years Aspects of marriage vary across cultures (Bradbury, Fincham, & Beach, 2000) (Poponoe & Whitehead, 2005)

22. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

23. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Happy versus Unhappy Marriages Individuals who are happily married live longer, healthier lives than either divorced individuals or those who are unhappily married People in unhappy marriages may experience numerous physical ailments, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse (Cotten, 1999)

24. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Divorce Increases in divorce are correlated with youthful marriage, low educational level, low income, not having a religious affiliation, divorced parents, having a baby before marriage Both divorced women and men complain of loneliness, diminished self-esteem, anxiety about the unknowns in their lives, and difficulty in forming satisfactory new intimate relationships (Amato, 2006; Hetherington, 2006; Wallerstein & Lewis, 2005) (Poponoe & Whitehead, 2005; Rodriques, Hall, & Fincham, 2005)

25. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

26. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Remarriage Divorced adults remarry within four years after their divorce men remarrying sooner than women stepfamilies come in many sizes and forms Parents who remarry may have residential children from prior marriages and a large network of grandparents and other relatives

27. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gay Male and Lesbian Adults The legal and social context of marriage creates barriers to breaking up But in other ways, researchers have found that gay and lesbian relationships are similar to heterosexual relationships in their satisfactions, loves, joys, and conflict Contrary to stereotypes, one partner is masculine and the other feminine in only a small percentage of gay male and lesbian couples (Hyde & DeLamater, 2006; Oswald & Clausell; Peplau & Beals, 2004)

28. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Marriage Work Gottman found seven main principles determining whether a marriage will work: Establishing love maps Nurturing fondness and admiration Turning toward each other instead of away Letting your partner influence you Solving solvable conflicts Overcoming gridlock Creating shared meaning (Gottman, 1994; Gottman & Notarius, 2000; Gottman & Silver, 1999; Gottman & others, 1998)

29. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. For Remarried Couples Strategies for coping with the stress of living in a stepfamily include: Having realistic expectations Developing new positive relationships within the family  (Visher & Visher, 1989)

30. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Parenting Myths and Reality The birth of a child will save a failing marriage Having a child gives the parents a “second chance” to achieve what they should have achieved Parenting is an instinct and requires no training

31. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Trends in Childbearing By giving birth to fewer children, women free up time for other endeavors Working women invest less actual time in the child’s development Men are apt to invest a greater amount of time in fathering Parental care is often supplemented by institutional care The balance between caring/achieving, nurturing/working can be achieved (Lorensen & others, 2004)

32. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. After Divorce In E. Mavis Hetherington’s research, men and women took six common pathways in exiting divorce the enhancers the good-enoughs the seekers the libertines the competent loners the defeated (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002)

33. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Strategies for Divorced Adults Hetherington recommends these: Think of divorce as a chance to grow personally and to develop more positive relationships Make decisions carefully Focus more on the future than the past Use your strengths and resources to cope with difficulties Don’t expect to be successful and happy in everything you do Remember that “you are never trapped by one pathway” (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002)

34. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender and Communication Tannen distinguishes two ways of communications: rapport talk -- language of conversation; a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships report talk -- talk that is designed to give information; includes public speaking women enjoy rapport talk more than report talk; men’s lack of interest in rapport talk bothers many women men prefer to engage in report talk (Tannen, 1990)

35. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Women’s Development A large part of women’s lives are spent in active participation in the development of others Competent relationships are those in which the separate “I-ness” of both persons can be appreciated and enhanced relationship orientation should be prized as a skill in our culture (Harriet Lerner, 1989) (Dindia, 2006; Hyde, 2005, 2007)

36. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Men’s Development Role-strain view -- male roles are contradictory and inconsistent Areas where men’s roles can cause strain health male-female relationships male-male relationships (Joseph Pleck, 1995) (Levant, 2002; Levant & Brooks, 1997)

37. (c) 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reconstructing Masculinity Every man should: reexamine his beliefs about manhood separate out the valuable aspects of the male role get rid of those parts of the masculine role that are destructive Become more emotionally intelligent -- more emotionally self-aware, managing emotions more effectively, reading emotions better (Levant, 2002)