Developmental Psychology Final Exam

Emerging Adulthood

A phase in which gradual transition from late teens until early twenties. Involves exploring education, work, values, and relationships. Few strict social expectation. Overall, attitudes and values broaden (more people in college)

Conception of Adulthood

Majority of individuals from 18-25 are still unsure if they can be considered adults, but from 28-35 more consider themselves adults; however a significant portion of individuals still are unsure

Early College Years

1. Unprecedented Exploration and Advances in Identity

2. During the college years, young people explore in breath and depth

Breadth

weighing multiple possibilities

Depth

Evaluating existing commitments

Emerging Adulthood & Cross Cultural

Emerging Adulthood period is really found in industrialized nations (have the resources/money to go to college) In developing nations, this period is only found in the privileged who have the money to go to college. Those that don't are trusted into adult responsibilities much earlier. Data is unknown for traditional, rural based nations

Intimacy

Making a permanent commitment to intimate partner, involves giving up some new independence, redefining identity, strong identity helps, and affects friendship & work

Isolation

Loneliness, self-absorption, hesitant to form close ties, fear of losing identity (tend to compete, reject differences, and are threatened by closeness)

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's Stage in which young adulthood's strugle to make intimate relations with others or fall to isolation

Identity and Intimacy

A secure identity fosters attainment of intimacy

Identity achievement (Good for fidelity and love)

Identity Moratorium (Bad for fidelity and low)

Gender Effects on Identity and Intimacy

Women are more likely to consider the impact of their personal goals on important relationships (hard time balancing work/career goals with relationship goals)

Men on the other hand can focus on career before thinking about a relationship (socially constructed for them to do so)

Levinson's Seasons of Life

Development as a sequence of qualitatively distinct eras (seasons/stages). Begins with a tradition, followed by the stable phase. Life structure is built so that there is peace between internal demands and societal demands. Stable phase lasts until the individual is forced to question current structure

Stable Period

This is the time when a person makes crucial choices in life that maintains "peace" in the current structure

Transitional Period

This is the end of a person's stage and the beginning of a new one. Life during these transitions can be either rocky or smooth, but the quality and significance of one's life commitments often change between the beginning and end of a period. (Questioning Phase)

Life Structure

the underlying design for a person's life, consisting of relationships with significant others - individuals, groups, and institutions

Early Adult Transition

Occurs between 17 - 22 years. Individuals dream about what they want to become and their ideals. Require mentors or someone to help you guide your ambitions.

Men in Early Adult Transition

Dream usually emphasizes an independent achiever in an occupational role. Men's mentors tend to be those in high-status career to acquire professional skills, values, and credentials

Women in Early Adult Transition

Career orientated women have split dreams (want career and a family). Women on the other hand tend to be primary caregivers and therefore career development extends into middle age

Social Clock

Age-graded expectations for life events. As a society, we have socially constructed times in which we believe certain milestones should be achieved (i.e. marriage). Today's generation the clock is less rigid/more flexible; however, following the social clock has been shown to lend confidence and social stability. Becomes distress if you fall behind/don't follow

Factors that Influence Mate Selection

Physical proximity, similarity to one another, and gender

Gender Differences in Mate Selection

Women tend to prefer intelligence, ambition, financial status, and morals in a man. Men tend to prefer attractiveness and domestic skills.

Secure Attachment

Leads to being comfortable with intimacy and unafraid of abandonment. Adult Relationships have trust, happiness, and friendship

Avoidant Attachment

Leads to stress independence, mistrust, and anxiety about closeness. Adult relationships reflect jealously, emotional distance, little physical pleasure and unrealistic beliefs

Resistant Attachment

Individuals seek quick love, complete merging with partner ("being one" with your partner). Adult relationships are characteristic of jealously, desperation, emotional highs and lows.

Women and Evolutionary Theory

Women assign greater importance to intelligence, ambition, financial status, and moral character. Partner is same-age or older. Want psychological intimacy before becoming physically intimate

Men and Evolutionary Theory

Men prefer younger partner and place more emphasis on physical attractiveness and domestic skills. Want relationship to move quickly toward physical intimacy.

Women & Red Color

Women are more likely to wear red if the the intent of the relationship is for casual sex, than if the intent of the relationship was actually serious.

Society's Use of Red

Associated with female sexuality; Symbol of passion, lust, valentine's Day, red-light districts, red lipsticks and blush.

Men's Perception of Red on Women

Examined the effect of the colors red and white n men's perception of woman's attractiveness. Overall men are likely to rate women are more attractive if they are wearing red. Same study was replicated using different colors than white

Women's Perception of Red on Women

Examined the effect of the colors red an white on women's perception of other women's attractiveness. No significant difference between colors. Women are not likely to rate other women as more attractive if they are wearing red.

Perceived Attractiveness

How attractive do you think this person is?

Perceived Likeability

How honest is this person? What would this person be like if you met them in person?

Red on Perceived Attractiveness & Perceived Likeability

Men weren't more likely to rate women high for perceived likeability if wearing red; they only tend to rate them for perceived sexual attractiveness more if they were wearing red.

Components of Beauty Perception

Perceived as more beautiful if the person has "averageness", symmetry, and sexual dimorphism

Averagness and Beauty

You don't necessarily think that being this is considered "attractive"; however, if you have too distinct characteristics from other people may indicate that you don't have ability to withstand stress. Being this means better disease resistance and optimal functioning

Sexual Dimorphism and Beauty

Traits that are typical for a man and woman because as we hit puberty, distinct features arise. GENERALLY, men tend to prefer more feminine features on women (smaller chin, higher cheekbones, fuller lips), women tend to prefer more masculine features on men (thick brows, thin lips, and square chins).

Menstrual Cycle & Sexual Dimorphism

Women's preferences shift toward relatively masculine faces during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. When they are not fertile, they tend to prefer the more trustworthy face (associated with feminine qualities)

Smell and Sexual Attractiveness

MHC (a protein involved in the immune system) plays a role in considering attractiveness. When rating the natural odor of men, women found men who had a completely different MHC as them more attractive than those men with the same MHC. Idea is that different MHC will allow for different immune system capabilities. Effects are not seen when women are on birth control (rather prefer the same MHC).

Triangular Theory of Love

Love involves three components intimacy, passion and commitment. Must have all 3 components to be in love

Intimacy

emotional component of love

Passion

physical & psychological arousal component of love.

Commitment

The cognitive component of love, leading partners to decide that they are in love and want to maintain love

Western Nations and Love

Passion and intimacy became the dominant basis for marriage in twentieth-century in these countries. Value of individual strengthened. Mature love is based on autonomy, apprecation of the parnter's unique qualitities, and intense emotion.

Eastern Nations and Love

Lifelong dependency is viewed positively because the self is defined through role of relationships with others. Affection is distributed across a broad social network rather than just one person.

Trends of Triangular Theory of Love

Intimacy tends to increase with age, and passion tends to decrease with age. Commitment should be stable?

Men chase, women choose

Men chase, women choose

Number of Eggs as a Function of Time

Women decrease exponentially the number of eggs they produce as they age; eventually they stop having eggs and become INFERTILE

Fertility in Men

Men continue to produce sperm at later ages, but the amount produced is reduced with age. Higher paternal age is associated with higher levels of birth defects like down syndrome, autism, and schizophrenia.

Parental Investment Theory

By Robert Triver. Parental expenditure (time, energy, etc) benefits offspring but costs parents fitness. Human babies require a lot of time and effort because as babies we are severely underdeveloped compared to other species. Not possible for us to have more developed children b/c they would not physically fit in the mother's womb. Need to spend the time/energy into raising the child, and therefore have something to pass on genetic material

Male and Investment

minimal time, impregnate and time to copulate. want to have more opportunities to pass on genetic material

Female and Investment

requires 9 months of pregnancy and delivery (risk of death), spend more time caring and raising children. Need to find males that are able to invest and who will actually invest

Casual Sex and Gender

Men ideally prefer 18 partners and Women would desire 4 to 5. More of a social stigma for women to have more (changing because of birth control). In the study with confederates, men all responded to yes for the bed, and those that didn't the excuse was they were taken. All women said no to go to bed with him.

Gender and Standards

Men and Women both have standards. But men's standards are much lower than women's standards. And the standards are significantly lower in the one-night stand category. Females are choosier about internal qualities and males are choosier for external qualities

Trends in Marriage

People are marrying later if at all (more people are staying in single, cohabiting, or just not remarrying). More same-sex marriage in some places and "mixed" marriages are more common

Gender and Housework

Females always have more housework than males in martial environment. Disparity is greatness in Japanese culture, and least apparent in Swedish culture

Traditional Marriages

Clear division of roles (Women cares for husband, children and home), while Men are the head of household and economic support

Egalitarian Marriages

Partners are treated as equals. They share authority and there is balance in attention to jobs, children, home and spouse.

Factors for Lasting Relationship

Intimacy, Autonomy, Equality, Constructive problem solving, and fewer barriers to leaving

Partners and Gay Couples

Groups that report greater levels of autonomy and fewer barriers

Parenthood and Childlessness

Post college age children living at home is distressful for the mother but not for the father. Sometimes being childlessness can lead to happier couples b/c there is more time for couple to spend for one another. However, it's different if there is a barrier to having children. If you can't conceive than childlessness would be bad for the couple

Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents

No significant difference in social competence, behavior problems, self-esteem, anxiety, school outcomes or delinquency. Do face anti-gay sentiments

Paternal Biological Clock

more miscarriages, lower apgar scores, increased genetic disorders like Down Syndrome, Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar, Dwarfism, achondroplasia, and apert syndrome. Pre-term birth.

Paternal Age and Intelligence

There is an ideal age for men to foster children with high levels of IQ (u-shaped curve)

Maternal Age and intelligence

If the mom is older and therefore has gone through more college and education, then the interaction she has with her child will be richer,more intellectual and the baby will have higher IQ

Sex Differences in Jealousy

Males tend to be more jealous imagining their partner is an intense sexual relationship with another partner, while females tend to be more jealous imagining their partner in an emotionally intimate relationship with another partner.

Stereotypes and Aging

American hold a negative stereotype with aging. On the other hand, other cultures such as the Deaf and Chinese have better view of elders (more as role models and wise leaders) As a result Deaf and Chinese elders do better on cognitive tasks (no stereotyping)

Disengagement Theory

Mutual withdrawl b/w elders & society and takes palce in anticipation of death. Beneficial for both the elders and society (elders can withdraw and die in piece, and their death is less tragic for society). Problems with this theory is that not every older adult disengages. Fails to acknowledge societal contribution

Activity Theory

Social barriers to engagement, not the desires of elders, cause declining rates of interaction (they lose certain roles in society and must compensate as a result). Theory fails to acknowledge psychological component

Continuity Theory

Strive to maintain a personal system 9different than activity theory) that promotes life satisfaction by ensuring consistency b/w their past and anticipation. Counter Strange situation w/ familiar methods

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

physical and psychological aspects of aging affect functions of social interaction (more selective in choosing their social partners) Allows for greater emotional stability.

Kubler-Ross's Theory

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. Involves the Shock and Testing Stage as well (Determines the course of action upon receiving news of imminent death)