Chapter Ten

Module 10.1

Adolescence

Puberty

• Girls

– Increased estrogen triggers puberty

• Menarche, menstruation

• Breast development

• Hips become rounded

• Uterus grows

• End of female growth spurt

Puberty

• Boys

– Testes enlarge, produce testosterone, triggering puberty

• Growth and development of reproductive organs

– Penis, testes, semen

• First ejaculation

• Secondary sex characteristics

• Effects of timing of puberty

– Boys

• Advantage for earlier maturation

• Difficulties with later maturation

– Girls

• Difficulties for earlier maturation

• Advantage with later maturation

• Puberty rites

Cognitive Development in Adolescence

• Continuation of Piaget’s formal operations

– Developments

• Thinking abstractly

• Creating hypothetical situations

• Metaphors, figures of speech

• Form argument against own views

• Deductive reasoning

Limits in Cognitive Development

• Egocentric thinking persists

– Imaginary audience

• Self-conscious

• Perceive self as center of attention

– Personal fable

• Exaggerated sense of uniqueness, invulnerability

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s stages

– Preconventional level

• Obedience and punishment orientation

• Instrumental purpose orientation

– Conventional level

• Good boy–good girl orientation

• Authority or law-and-order orientation

– Postconventional level

• Social contract orientation

• Universal ethical principles

Critiques to Kohlberg’s Model

• Potentially biased

• Cultural bias

– Emphasis on Western ideals: justice, individual rights

– Not emphasis on interpersonal responsibilities

• Gender bias

– Studies were done with only men

– Women’s values should be included

• Care orientation versus justice orientation

Psychosocial Development: Parental Relationships

• Adolescent-parent relationships

– Conflict over autonomy, decision making

– Distancing from family begins

– Generally love and respect parents

– Parental closeness promotes

• Independence

• Self-reliance

• Positive adjustment

Psychosocial Development: Erikson’s Stages

• Erikson’s stages from childhood (review)

– Trust versus mistrust

• 0-1 year old

– Autonomy versus shame and doubt

• 1-3 years old

– Initiative versus guilt

• 4-5 years old

– Industry versus inferiority

• 6-12 years old

Psychosocial Development: Erikson’s Stages (cont’d)

– Ego identity versus role diffusion

• Occurs during adolescence

• Identity crisis

– Who am I?

– Where am I headed?

– What career?

– Beliefs, values?

Psychosocial Development: Peer Relationships

• “Fitting in” important for

– Self-esteem

– Emotional adjustment

• Peer pressure

– Tobacco, alcohol, marijuana use

– Sexual activity

Psychosocial Development:
Adolescent Sexuality

• Overview

– Physical maturity but lacking awareness of consequences

– Issues of sexual orientation and gender identity

• Many teens are sexually active

– Issue of teen pregnancy, unwed mothers

– Factors related to sexual activity

Module 10.2

Early and Middle Adulthood

Cognitive Development in
Adulthood

• Declines in mental flexibility, fluid intelligence

– Solving problems quickly

– Perceiving relationships among patterns

– Reasoning abstractly and rapidly

• Crystallized intelligence, stable or improves

– Accumulated knowledge

– Vocabulary

– Numerical ability

– Applying acquired knowledge

Physical Development in Adulthood

• Physical changes

– Loss of lean body tissue (especially muscle)

– Increase in fat

– Importance of exercise and diet

– Women experience menopause

– Men experience gradual changes

Psychosocial Development in Adulthood

• Continuing Erikson’s stages

– Intimacy versus isolation

• Early adulthood

– Generativity versus stagnation

• Middle adulthood

• Midlife crisis

• Empty nest syndrome

Lifestyles in Adulthood

• Marriage

• Singlehood

• Cohabitation

• Divorce

Marriage

• Most adults are married

• Universal societal institution

• Meets personal and social needs

– Sexual relations

– Family structure for children

– Transmission of wealth

– Sense of security

• Tendency toward homogamy

Singlehood

• Common in early twenties

• Why are people single?

– Pursue educational, career goals

– Choosing cohabitation over marriage

– Widowhood

• Diversity among singles

• Serial monogamy

Cohabitation

• Reasons for cohabitation

– Not ready for marriage

– Lack of legal, economic entanglements

– Trial marriage

• Numbers have risen rapidly

– Possibly accepted by mainstream society

– Four in ten eventually marry

Divorce

• 40% of first marriages

• 65% of second marriages

• Influences

– Changes in divorce law

– Economic independence of women

– Changing attitudes

Impact of Divorce

• Financial problems

– More for women than men

• Emotional problems

– Depression

– Loneliness

– Fears

– Feeling of failure

Children and Divorce

• Adjustment depends on many factors

• Children fare best when parents

– Try to agree how to handle children

– Help each other maintain roles with children

– Refrain from criticizing each other

Module 10.3

Late Adulthood

Physical Development in
Late Adulthood

• Decline in

– Sensory and motor abilities

– Immune system

• Lose bone density, muscle mass

• Changes in skin

Gender Differences in
Life Expectancy

• Women outlive men

– Average of seven years

• Possible reasons

– Estrogen: protection from heart disease

– Men more likely to die from

• Violence, accidents, suicide

• Cirrhosis of liver, AIDS, most cancers

Ethnic Differences in Life Expectancy

• White European Americans tend to live longer than other groups

• Possible reasons

– Socioeconomic level

– Poverty associated with lower life span

• Less access to health care

• Smoking

• High-fat diets

• Less exercise

Aging and Sexuality

• Stereotype and ageism

• Normal continued sexual activity

• Some physical age-related changes

• Sexual satisfaction remains high

Cognitive Development in
Late Adulthood

• Fluid intelligence declines in old age

– Need more time to solve problems

– Difficulties with new memories, working memory

• Crystallized intelligence maintained

• Most people maintain bulk of cognitive abilities

Cognitive Difficulties in
Late Adulthood

• Dementia

– Sharp decline in mental abilities

• Decline in memory and routine activities

– Not a normal consequence of aging

– Brain disease

Cognitive Difficulties in
Late Adulthood

• Alzheimer’s disease

– Changes in cognition and personality

• Memory

• Daily functioning

• Depression, agitation, aggression

– Physical changes to brain

• Plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, apolipoprotein E

• Low acetylcholine levels

Psychosocial Development in
Late Adulthood

• Erikson’s last stage

• Ego integrity versus despair

– Struggle to maintain meaning and satisfaction

– Accept totality of life’s experiences

Depression in Late Adulthood

• Depression

– Most common emotional problem of older adults

– Prevalence of suicide

– Contributing factors

• Death of friends, relatives

• Caring for declining spouse

• Retirement, loss of identity

– Benefit from treatments for depression

Successful Aging

• Selective optimization and compensation

• Optimism

• Self-challenge

Death and Dying

• Kübler-Ross: Stages of dying

– Denial

– Anger

– Bargaining

– Depression

– Final acceptance

• Bereavement and mourning

Module 10.4

Application: Living Longer,

Healthier Lives

Healthy Habits

• Exercise and nutrition

• Staying involved

• Avoiding harmful substances

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Managing stress

• Exercising the mind

• Preventing osteoporosis