Ch. 14 Social and Personality Development in Early Adulthood

intimacy versus isolation

Erikson’s early adulthood stage, in which an individual must find a life partner or supportive friends to avoid social isolation

intimacy

the capacity to engage in a supportive, affectionate relationship without losing one’s own sense of self

life structure

a key concept in the Levinson’s theory: the underlying pattern or design of a person’s life at a given time, which includes rolse, relationships, and behaviour patterns

emerging adulthood

the period from the late teens to early 20s when individuals explore options prior to commiting adult roles

parental investment theory

the theory that sex differences in mate preferences and mating behaviour are based on the different amounts of time and effort men and women must invest in child-rearing

social role theory

the idea that sex differences in mate preferences and mating behaviours are adaptations to gender roles

assortative mating (homogamy)

a sociologist’s term for the tendency to mate with someone who has traits similar to one’s own

validating couples

partners who express mutual respect, even in disagreements, and are good listeners

volatile couples

partners who argue a lot and don’t listen well, but still have more positive than negative interactions

avoidant couples

partners who agree to disagree and who minimize conflict by avoiding each other

hostile/engaged couples

partners who have frequent arguments and lack the balancing effect of humour and affection

hostile/detached couples

partners who fight regularly, rarely look at each other, and lack affection and support

living apart together

intimate partners who do not cohabitate

motherhood earnings gap

a measure showing how much the earnings of women with children are below those of women without children

kin-keeper

a family role, usually occupied by a woman, which includes responsibility for maintaining family and friendship relationships

career development

the process of adapting to the workplace, managing career transitions, and pursuing goals through employment

work-life balance

the balance between an employee’s work and nonwork roles

quality of work-life (QWL) movement

an approach to enhancing job satisfaction by basing job and workplace design on analyses of the quality of employee experience in an organization

postpartdum depression (PDD)

a type of depression that can occur after childbirth, characterized by severe mood swings, fatigue, and feelings of hopelessness