Lifespan Development — Unit 4

Social status

Is adulthood considered a lifestage or a social status?

Senescence

• a pattern of gradual age related declines in physical functioning that begin around age 30

  • organs/body systems peak from emerging adulthood into early adulthood

Breakdown of connective tissue

What causes changes in skin

Reproductive changes for women

• changes in quality of ova and rate of ovulation

• chromosomal abnormalities accumulate as egg cells age (higher risk for pregnancy loss/miscarriage

• irregular ovulation can be influenced by drug/alcohol abuse, environmental toxins, obesity, etc

Reproductive changes for men

• retain reproductive capacity into older adulthood

• number and quality of sperm decline

• sperm can be affected by anything that interferes with bodily function such as fever, stress, drug abuse, alcoholism, radiation, and environmental toxins

Medical model

• diagnosis or impairment for an individual

• individual-level problem

• needs a “cure” or “solution”

• associated with negative attitudes 

Social model

• moves beyond medical model

• natural variation in the human experience

• barriers are disabling 

• associated with more positive attitudes

Epistemic cognition

• the ways in which individuals understand the nature of knowledge and how they arrive at ideas, beliefs, and conclusions 

Post formal reasoning

• integrates abstract reasoning with practical considerations, recognizing that most problems have multiple causes and solutions

Dualistic thinking

• at the start of college

  • believing that phenomena are right or wrong and there is no in between

  • hard for students to grasp that contradictory arguments can each have supporting evidence

Relativistic thinking

• think becomes for flexible

  • knowledge is viewed as relative and dependent of the situation

  • sometimes goes too far where people believe that all possible solutions are equally correct 

Relative judgment

• final stage

  • carefully evaluate options and choose the most adequate solution

Pragmatic thought

• reflective judgment in real world context

Positives for college

• attending college is associated with advances in moral reasoning, identity development, social development 

• positive impact for all institutions 

• influenced by student activity in campus life

Challenges for first generation

• higher risk for dropout 

• less academically prepared/active on campus

• economic circumstances

• cultural mismatch

• influenced by the college environment 

Strengths of non-traditional students

• readiness to learn, problem centered orientation toward learning, clearer goals

Challenges for non-traditional students

• practical details (limitation to class times, not designed for non traditional students)

Investigative personality

• enjoys working with ideas; likely to select a scientific career

Social personality

• enjoys interacting with people; likely to select a human services career

Realistic personality

• enjoys working with objects and real-world problems; likely to select mechanical career

Artistic personality

• enjoys individual expression; likely to select a career in the arts, including writing and performing arts

Conventional personality

• prefers well-structured tasks, values social status; likely to select a career in business

Enterprising personality

• enjoys leading and persuading others, values adventure; likely to select a career in sales, politics 

Identity vs role confusion

One of Erikson stages where aspects of identity begin to emerge

• political, religious views, gender and sexual identity, and ethnic identity

Intimacy vs isolation

One of Eriksons stages where the problem during this stage is: developing the capacity for intimacy and making a permanent commitment to a romantic partner 

moratorium

• if someone is still in the _________ stage, then they are less likely to form intimate relationships

Social clock

A timetable based on social norms for age-related life events such as occupational entry, marriage, parenthood, and retirement

Men

____ prefer younger mates who are attractive and have domestic skills 

_______ prefer earning potential, intelligence, height, and moral frequency, same age or slightly older

Intimacy

One of Sternbergs Three Components: emotional engagement, warm communication, closeness, connectedness, and caring for the other person’s well-being

Reasons to have a child

• experiencing the parent-child bond; growth, learning, and fun experiences that come with raising a child; and the desire to help someone grow into a productive adult

Passion

One of Sternbergs Three Components: happiness that accompanies intense physical attraction, physiological arousal, and cognitive preoccupation

Commitment

One of Sternbergs Three Components: grows as people spend more time together, create shared goals, and solve problems together

Disadvantages of having a child

• loss of freedom, costs a lot of money,decline in marital satisfaction

Paid family leave

• can help ease this burden by alleviating career and financial stress from the equation, but not all countries support this, including the United States