week 15 - adolescence, emerging adulthood, aging

crowds

Adolescent peer groups characterized by shared reputations or images.

deviant peer contagion

Genetic factors that make individuals more or less responsive to environmental experiences.

what are erikson’s four stages of identity formation?

foreclosure: occurs when an individual commits to an identity without exploring options.

identity diffusion: occurs when adolescents neither explore nor commit to any identities. 

moratorium: a state in which adolescents are actively exploring options but have not yet made commitments.

identity achievement: occurs when individuals have explored different options and then made identity commitments.

homophily

Adolescents tend to associate with peers who are similar to themselves.

psychological control

Parents’ manipulation of and intrusion into adolescents’ emotional and cognitive world through invalidating adolescents’ feelings and pressuring them to think in particular ways.

collectvisim

Belief system that emphasizes the duties and obligations that each person has toward others.

emerging adultdhood

A new life stage extending from approximately ages 18 to 25, during which the foundation of an adult life is gradually constructed in love and work. Primary features include identity explorations, instability, focus on self-development, feeling incompletely adult, and a broad sense of possibilities.

individulalism

Belief system that exalts freedom, independence, and individual choice as high values.

Presently, in the US, the average person has how many jobs between ages 20 and 29?

7

Darius is a college senior who is thinking about what might come next for him after graduation. He feels there are many options available and that he will achieve want he wants in his life, despite the fact that he has yet to hold a full-time position. What part of emerging adulthood best describes what Darius is experiencing?

the age of possibilities

age identity

How old or young people feel compared to their chronological age; after early adulthood, most people feel younger than their chronological age.

autobiographical narratives

A qualitative research method used to understand characteristics and life themes that an individual considers to uniquely distinguish him- or herself from others.

cohort

Group of people typically born in the same year or historical period, who share common experiences over time; sometimes called a generation (e.g., Baby Boom Generation).

convoy model of social relations

Theory that proposes that the frequency, types, and reciprocity of social exchanges change with age. These social exchanges impact the health and well-being of the givers and receivers in the convoy.

cross-sectional studies

Research method that provides information about age group differences; age differences are confounded with cohort differences and effects related to history and time of study.

crystallized intelligence vs. fluid intelligence

Type of intellectual ability that relies on the application of knowledge, experience, and learned information.

vs. Type of intelligence that relies on the ability to use information processing resources to reason logically and solve novel problems.

global subjectuve well-being

Individuals’ perceptions of and satisfaction with their lives as a whole.

hedonic well-being

Component of well-being that refers to emotional experiences, often including measures of positive (e.g., happiness, contentment) and negative affect (e.g., stress, sadness).

heterogeneity

Inter-individual and subgroup differences in level and rate of change over time.

inhibitory functioning

Ability to focus on a subset of information while suppressing attention to less relevant information.

intra- and inter-indivudal differences

Different patterns of development observed within an individual (intra-) or between individuals (inter-).

life course vs. life span theories

Theory of development that highlights the effects of social expectations of age-related life events and social roles; additionally considers the lifelong cumulative effects of membership in specific cohorts and sociocultural subgroups and exposure to historical events.

vs. Theory of development that emphasizes the patterning of lifelong within- and between-person differences in the shape, level, and rate of change trajectories.

processing speed

The time it takes individuals to perform cognitive operations (e.g., process information, react to a signal, switch attention from one task to another, find a specific target object in a complex picture).

psychometric spparoach

Approach to studying intelligence that examines performance on tests of intellectual functioning.

recall vs. recognition

Type of memory task where individuals are asked to remember previously learned information without the help of external cues.

vs. Type of memory task where individuals are asked to remember previously learned information with the assistance of cues.

self-perception of aging

An individual’s perceptions of their own aging process; positive perceptions of aging have been shown to be associated with greater longevity and health.

social network

Network of people with whom an individual is closely connected; social networks provide emotional, informational, and material support and offer opportunities for social engagement.

socioemotional selectivity theory

Theory proposed to explain the reduction of social partners in older adulthood; posits that older adults focus on meeting emotional over information-gathering goals, and adaptively select social partners who meet this need.

subjectve age

A multidimensional construct that indicates how old (or young) a person feels and into which age group a person categorizes him- or herself

sueccessful aging

Includes three components: avoiding disease, maintaining high levels of cognitive and physical functioning, and having an actively engaged lifestyle.

working memory

Memory system that allows for information to be simultaneously stored and utilized or manipulated.

Declines in ______ have been well-established by research, and help explain age differences in a variety of cognitive abilities.

• volitional motivation

  .

• pain threshold

  .

• crystallized intelligence

  .

• hearing and vision

  .

• social networks

hearing and vision

There are many factors that contribute to the increased life expectancy in the 20th century. Evidence from twin studies finds that about ______ percent of the variance in life spans is accounted for by genes.

• 75

  .

• 100

  .

• 50

  .

• 5

  .

• 25

25

Rowe and Kahn (1997) defined three criteria for successful aging. They included which of the following?

• having a solid sense of religious direction

  .

• reconciliation related to past conflicts

  .

• active engagement in social and productive activities

  .

• successful parenting and/or grandparenting experiences

  .

• financial stability in the retirement years

active engagement in social and productive activities