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Key Concepts – Chapter 13 (Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood)

Module 1

Senescence
  • Definition: The natural physical decline brought about by aging.
  • Explanation: This process involves a gradual deterioration of biological functions and structures over time, impacting overall health and physical capabilities.
Stress
  • Definition: The physical and emotional response to events that threaten or challenge us.
  • Details: Stress can arise from various sources, including work, relationships, and health concerns. It can affect mental well-being and lead to physical health issues.
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
  • Definition: The study of the relationship among the brain, the immune system, and psychological factors.
  • Implications: This field explores how psychological factors like stress and emotion can influence immune responses and overall health.
Primary Appraisal
  • Definition: The assessment of an event to determine whether its implications are positive, negative, or neutral.
  • Details: This initial evaluation helps individuals understand how an event might impact them, influencing their emotional and behavioral responses.
Secondary Appraisal
  • Definition: The assessment of whether one’s coping abilities and resources are adequate to overcome the harm, threat, or challenge posed by the potential stressor.
  • Explanation: This stage evaluates the means available for coping and influences the strategies employed to deal with stress.
Psychosomatic Disorders
  • Definition: Medical problems caused by the interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties.
  • Examples: Conditions like asthma or hypertension that may worsen due to stress or mental health issues.
Coping
  • Definition: The effort to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress.
  • Types of Coping: Can vary widely, including problem-focused coping aimed at addressing the source of stress vs. emotion-focused coping aimed at managing emotional distress.
Defensive Coping
  • Definition: Coping strategies that involve unconscious methods to distort or deny the true nature of a situation.
  • Details: May lead to avoidance behaviors, which can temporarily reduce stress but do not resolve underlying issues.
Hardiness
  • Definition: A personality characteristic associated with a lower rate of stress-related illness.
  • Components: Typically includes commitment, control, and challenges, contributing to resilience in the face of stress.

Module 2

Postformal Thought
  • Definition: Thinking that acknowledges that adult predicaments must sometimes be solved in relativistic terms.
  • Characteristics: This kind of thinking recognizes that not all problems have clear answers and solutions may depend on context.
Acquisitive Stage
  • Definition: According to Schaie, the first stage of cognitive development encompassing all of childhood and adolescence, wherein the main developmental task is to acquire information.
Achieving Stage
  • Definition: The point reached by young adults where intelligence is applied to specific situations involving the attainment of long-term goals regarding careers, family, and societal contributions.
Responsible Stage
  • Definition: The stage in which the major concerns of middle-aged adults relate to their personal situations, including protecting and nourishing their spouses, families, and careers.
Executive Stage
  • Definition: The period in middle adulthood when individuals take a broader perspective than earlier, including concerns about the world.
  • Implications: This includes understanding complex societal issues and often leads to leadership roles in communities.
Reintegrative Stage
  • Definition: The period of late adulthood focusing on tasks that have personal meaning.
  • Characteristics: Involves reflecting on life, often prioritizing activities that bring satisfaction and fulfillment.
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
  • Definition: Sternberg’s theory that intelligence is made up of three major components: componential, experiential, and contextual.
  • Components:
    • Componential: Analytical abilities, problem-solving skills.
    • Experiential: Creative aspects, the ability to formulate new ideas.
    • Contextual: Practical intelligence, adapting to everyday environments.
Practical Intelligence
  • Definition: Intelligence that is learned primarily by observing others and modeling their behavior.
Emotional Intelligence
  • Definition: The set of skills that underlie the accurate assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions.
  • Significance: Important in personal and professional relationships; affects how one manages behavior and navigates social complexities.
Creativity
  • Definition: The combination of responses or ideas in novel ways.
  • Examples: Includes both artistic expression and problem-solving in innovative contexts.

Module 3

First-Year Adjustment Reaction
  • Definition: A cluster of psychological symptoms, including loneliness, anxiety, withdrawal, and depression, relating to the college experience suffered by first-year college students.
  • Implications: Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for developing support systems and interventions to help students transition successfully into college life.