PSYCH: Middle adulthood

Lecture 19: Middle adulthood

Middle adulthood are years:

40-45 to 60-65

Middle adulthood includes: Declining physical skills:

Awareness of the young old polarity

Middle adulthood includes: Increasing responsibility:

Work + Family, Reach and maintaining career satisfaction

Middle adulthood includes: Restructuring of time and reassessment of priorities:

Transmitting something meaningful to the next generation

What is Andropause?

Period characterized by a drop in testosterone levels in older men which results in reduced sexual desire and erections and muscle mass

What is Menopause?

A women’s menstrual periods cease and the production of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone drops

What is Climacteric

The mid-life transition in which fertility declines

What is Perimenopause

Gradual changes for women over a 10 year period: productions of estrogen drops, menstrual cycles shorten and become more irregular

What is Menopause

Cessation of menstruation and of reproductive capacity, typically In late 40s and early 50s

More on Menopause and the feelings it may bring

Physical symptoms often reported as minor. The experience doesn’t have to be negative, instead 75% of women were either relieved or had neutral feelings. Perspectives on menopause can depend on personal and cultural attitudes and expectations. Many consider this as an emergence of freedom.

When is fertility ideal

During twenties and decline with age

Decline in Fertility in women

Problems increase steeply by age 40 because of reduced number and quality of ova

Deline in Fertility in Men

Problems gradual, starting at age 35, decreased sperm volume, motility, increased percentage of abnormal sperm

Fluid intelligence is

Cognitive ability to process information in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. Includes thinking logically, identifying patterns and solving novel problems quickly and effectively

Crystallized intelligence is:

Cognitive ability that depend critically on knowledge, experience and acquired skills

Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence

Since infancy fluid intelligence is that a lower point then crystallized but it remains in a similar run up until early adulthood that there is a decline in Fluid intelligence reaching the lowest rate in Late adulthood but crystallized intelligence remains high

Longitudinal study of intelligence: Conducted by and purpose

The Seattle longitudinal study by Warner Schaie: Study of intellectual abilities in adulthood years

Longitudinal study of intelligence: Measures

Adults measured cross-sectionally (7 years apart) and then longitudinally. Measures of multiple cognitive abilities

Longitudinal study of intelligence: Results

Peak performance on vocab, verbal ability, inductive reasoning and spatial orientation was attained in middle age. Decline in numerical ability and perceptual speed

Expertise development:

becoming a specialist in an area, requires extensive practice, selection to specialize critical

Expertise Expert cognition

Intuitive, automatic, strategic, flexible

Intuition

Novices require explicit rules to follow, experts can rely on past experiences and “act without thinking”. Think of cooking when you have been cooking all your life it all becomes intuition.

Automaticity

Expert actions are automatic, less thinking and effort is requires, better performance under pressure. Again think go cooking, driving and being specialist

Strategic

Experts have better strategies especially when problems are unexpected. This can be show through note taking

Flexible

Experts deliberately experiment and enjoy challenges when the unexpected occurs

Erikson’s stage of Generativity:

Adults desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation

Erikson’s stage of Stagnation:

Develops when individuals sense that they have done noting for the next generation believing in the idea: I am what I can produce

Generativity can be achieved through

Biological: Conceive & giving birth

Parental: nurturing children

Work: Skills passed onto others (mentorship)

Cultural: Creative output politics

Midlife crisis?

Crisis of identity and self confidence while realizing declining youthfulness, aging, and assessing accomplishments

Research findings on Midlife crisis

Little evidence that 40’s is a period of exceptional stress

Estimates vary 10-20% of adults experience a midlife crisis

Crisis is not a universal experience

Sandwich generation

Middle age adults taking care of young children and aging parents

During midlife relationships become closer than other periods

Children: Fulfillment and completion

Parents: Caring of aging parents

Kin-keepers: keeping track of family members & manages relationships

Friends: Long term friendships