Chapter 13- part 2: Early Adulthood

Discovering the Lifespan - Robert S. Feldman

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Chapter 13- part 2:Early Adulthood

Module 6Cognitive Development

in Early Adulthood



COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT



Intellectual Growth in Early Adulthood

Physical development slows down during early adulthood, but does cognitive?

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What did Piaget propose?

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Postformal Thought

• Giesela Labouvie-Vief• Adult predicaments are sometimes solved

by relativistic thinking rather than pure logic• Postformal thought acknowledges that world

sometimes lacks purely right and wrong solutions so adults must draw upon prior experiences to solve problems

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K. Warner Schaie• ACQUISITIVE STAGE

• ACHIEVING STAGE

• RESPONSIBLE STAGE

• EXECUTIVE STAGE

• REINTEGRATIVE STAGE

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How Information Is Used: Schaie’s Stages

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Review and Apply

REVIEW• Cognitive development continues into young adulthood

with the emergence of postformal thought, which goes beyond logic to encompass interpretive and subjective thinking.

• Perry suggests that people move from dualistic thinking to relativistic thought during early adulthood.

• According to Schaie, people pass through five stages in the way they use information: acquisitive, achieving, responsible, executive, and reintegrative.

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Review and Apply

APPLY• Can you think of situations that you would

deal with differently as an adult than as an adolescent? Do the differences reflect postformal thinking?

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Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood?

• Sternberg - TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE

• Intelligence is made up of three major components:• Componential aspects (analytical)• Experiential components (creative)• Contextual factors (practical)

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Expanding on Sternberg’s Theory…

• Psychologist Seymour Epstein – Constructive thinking

• Form of practical intelligence• Underlies success in such areas as social

relationships and physical and emotional health

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Creativity: Novel Thought in Early Adulthood

• CREATIVITY

• Early adulthood– Peak of creativity– Many of professional

problems are novel

– Willing to take risks

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Life Events and Cognitive Development

• Major life events may lead to cognitive growth– Think about the world in novel, more complex,

sophisticated, and often less rigid ways– Apply postformal thought (Labouvie-Vief)

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Review and Apply

REVIEW• New views of intelligence encompass the triarchic

theory, Practical intelligence, and emotional intelligence.

• Creativity seems to peak during early adulthood, with young adults viewing even longstanding problems as novel situations.

• Major life events contribute to cognitive growth by providing opportunities and incentives to rethink one’s self and one’s world.

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COLLEGE: PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION



Higher Education

College is period of developmental growth that encompasses mastery not

just of particular bodies of knowledge, but of ways of understanding world.

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College: Pursuing Higher Education

• Nationwide, a minority of high school graduates enter college

• Only about 40% of those who start graduate from college in 4 years

• Influenced by race and gender variables

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Who goes to college?• 40% of college students today are 25 years of

age or older• Average age of a community college student is

31• College degree is becoming increasingly

important in obtaining and keeping job• Absolute number of minority students enrolled

in college has increased BUT overall proportion of minority population has decreased over past decade

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Why is there a gender gap in college attendance?

Will it continue?

• Men have more opportunities to earn money when they graduate

• More women enrolled in college

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The Changing College Student: Never Too Late to Go to College? • According to Sherry Willis, adults return

to college for several reasons:– To understand their own aging– To keep up with rapid technological and

cultural advances– To combat obsolescence on the job– To acquire new vocational skills – To broaden their intellectual skills

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College Adjustment: Reacting to the Demands of College Life

• First year adjustment reaction– Particularly affects unusually successful

students in high school – Passes for most as friends made and

integration into college life occurs– Serious psychological consequences for few

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The Informed Consumer of Development

When Do College Students Need Professional Help with Their Problems?

• Psychological distress that lingers and interferes with a person’s sense of well-being and ability to function

• Feelings that one is unable to cope effectively with the stress

• Hopeless or depressed feelings• Inability to build close relationships with others• Physical symptoms

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Depression in College Students

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Why do differences exist in gender distribution in

classes and attrition rates?



Gender and College Performance

• Prejudice and discrimination– Hostile sexism– Benevolent sexist

• Differences exist in gender distribution in classes and attrition rates

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Stereotype Threat and Disidentification with School

African Americans don’t do well in academic pursuits.

Women lack ability in math and science.

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Review and Apply

REVIEW• Rates of college enrollment differ across racial and

ethnic lines.

• The average age of college students is steadily increasing as more adults return to college.

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Review and Apply

REVIEW• The phenomena of academic

disidentification and stereotype threat help explain the lower performance of women and African Americans in certain academic domains.

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Review and Apply

APPLY• How would you educate college professors who behave

differently toward male and female students? What factors contribute to this phenomenon? Can this situation be changed?

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Documents

Chapter 13- part 2: Early Adulthood