Chapter 13 – “Adulthood: Psychosocial Development”

Personality Development in Adulthood

o A mixture of genes, experiences, and contexts results in personality, which includes a person’s unique actions and attitudes o Few people develop characteristics that are the opposite of their

childhood temperament o Personality can change, usually for the better

People overcome earlier adversity and confusion Theories of Adult Personality

Erikson and Malsow o Erikson- Eight steps of development – three after adolescence

“the only thinker who changed our minds about what it means to live as a person who has arrived at a chronologically mature position and yet continues to grow, to change, and to develop”

o Erikson stressed that adult stages do not occur in lockstep. Adults can be in 5th stage- identity versus role confusion Or can be in any of the three adult stages – intimacy versus

isolation, generativity vs stagnation, and integrity vs despair. o Erikson saw adulthood as the continuation of identity seeking via

exploration of intimacy and generativity Identity vs Role Confusion Identity combines values and traditions from

childhood with the current social context. Since contexts keep evolving , many adults reassess all four types of identity (sexual/gender, vocational/work, religious/spiritual, and political/ethical)

Intimacy vs Isolation Adults seek intimacy – a close, reciprocal connection with another human being. Intimacy is mutual, not self-absorbed, which means that adults need to devote time and energy to one another. This process beings in emerging adulthood and continues lifelong, Isolation is especially likely when divorce or death disrupts establish intimate relationships.

Generatitivity vs Stagnation

Adults need to care for the next generation, either by raising their own children or by mentoring, teaching and helping others. Erikson’s first description of this stage focuses on parenthood, but later he included other ways to achieve generativity. Adults extend the legacy of their culture and their generation with ongoing care, creativity, and sacrifice.

Integrity Vs Despair Erikson thought that each person’s entire life could

be directed toward connecting a personal journey with the historical and cultural purpose of human society, the ultimate achievement of integrity.

o Malsow refused to link chronological age and adult development

when he described a hierarchy of needs with five stages achieve in sequence

Completion of each stage allows a person to move ahead Ex: people who are in Maslow’s third level (love and belonging,

similar to Erikson’s intimacy vs isolation) seek to be loved and accepted by partners, family members, and friends.

Without affection, people might stay stuck, needing love but never feeling satisfied that they have enough of it.

Those who experience abundant love are able to move to the next level, success and esteem.

The Midlife Crisis o A supposed period of unusual anxiety, radical self re-examination, and

sudden transformation that was once widely associated with middle age but that actually had more to do with developmental history than with chronological age.

o No current theorist sets chronological boundaries for specific stages of adult development

o Middle age, if exists, can being at age 35-50 o Contradicts theory of the midlife crisis, thought to be at time of

anxiety and radical o Popularized by Gail Sheehy (1976), who called it “the age 40 crucible,”

and by Daniel Levionson (1978) who said men experienced struggles within the self and with the external world, and that every aspect of their lives comes into question.

o No large study over the past three decades has found any normative midlife crisis

o How could earlier observes have been so wrong? Levinson studied just 40 men, all from one cohort. The data

was then analyzed by men who were also middle-aged (not good science).

Sheehy is not a scientist; she summarized Levinson’s research then supplemented it by interviewing people she chose.

Neither Sheehy nor Levinson used replicating, multimethod, longitudinal research, now the bedrock of developmental science

o Middle-class men in the United States who reached afe 40 in about 1970 were affected by historic, upheavals in their own families.

Many began marriages and careers in the 1950s, expecting grateful children, wives, employers and coworkers.

When they reachd middle age, their wives where in the first wave of feminism (some called husbands “sexist pigs”) and their teenages thought their fathers were rigid and irrelevant (“Don’t trust anyone over 30”).

Their crsis was not caused by chronological age Most men who reach age 40 do not have a midlife crisis

Personality Traits

The Big Five o Researchers find substantial, even astonishing choherence in

personality throughout life Example: recent study found that temperament at age 3

predicted gambling problems at age 32 o Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and multicultural research has

identified five clusters of personality traits that appear in every culture and era, called the Big Five

Openness: imaginative, curious, artistic, creative, open to new experiences

Conscientiousness: organized, deliberate, conforming, self-disciplined

Extroversion: outgoing, assertive, active Agreeableness: kind, helpful, easygoing, generous Neuroticism: anxious, moody, self-punishing, critical

o Each person’s personality is somewhere between extremely high and extremely low on each of these five

The low end might be described, in the same order as above, with these five adjectives: closed, careless, introverted, hard to please, and placid.

o These fiver clusters affect an adult’s: Career choices Health habits Ecological niche1 Selecting vocations Hobbies Mates Neighbourhood Decision to retire The reaction to retirement.

o Factors linked to the Big Five are: Education – conscientious people have higher rates of college

graduation Marriage – extroverts are more likely to marry Divorce (more often for neurotics)

1 Ecological Niche: the particular lifestyle and social context that adults settle into because it is compatible with their individual personality needs and interests

Fertility (lower for women in recent cohorts who are more conscientious)

IQ (higher in people who are more open) Verbal Fluency (again, openness and extroversion) Political Views (conservatives are less open)

o Anyone might acid in uncharacteristic ways if circumstances are dramatically altered- perhaps by unexpected divorce, recovery from addiction, forced emigration, treated depression, a sudden disabling disease

o Events influence traits, although the specific impact is always affected by personality. Nature and nurture interact, each affecting the other.

New events sometimes bring out old personality patterns People might divorce and then remarry someone like the old

partner, or find a new job that reflects their personality rather than change their personality to fit the job.

o Happiness seems a matter of personality more than circumstances. Adults who experience things that temporarily make them overjoyed or depressed often revert to the level of happiness they had before that event

Personality trumps experience. Culture, Age, and Context

o People adapt to their culture, expressing personality traits differently. o Traits that are considered pathological in one place tend to be

modified as people mature within the community. Intimacy

Every adult experiences crisis Erikson called intimacy versus isolation, seeking to connect with other people.

Everyone is part of a social convoy, a group of people who “provide a protective layer of social relation to guide, encourage, and socialize individuals as they go through life”.

Friends and Acquaintances o Crucial members of social convoy because they are chosen o Usually about same age with similar experiences and values o Friendship & Human Development

Friendships improve with age Young adults consider a significant minority of their

friendships ambivalent or problematic By adulthood, most friendships are rated close, few are

ambivalent, and almost none problematic Friendships help with mental and physical health

Ex: depression, healthy eating, quitting smoking o Acquaintances

Provide information, support, social integration, and new ideas.

Consequential strangers: people who are not in a person’s closest friendship circle but nonetheless have an impact

Neighbors, coworkers, store clerks etc. May literally be a stranger: someone who gives you

directions or sits next to you etc. Differ from close friends and family in that they include people

of diverse religions, ethnic groups, ages, and political opinions that diversity is one of the reason they are

consequential regular acquaintances part of peripheral social network

decreases with age composition of social network varies by culture

Family Bonds o Family relationships crucial for many adults, especially as they age o Adult Children and Their Parents

Physical separation does not necessarily weaken family ties Intergenerational relationships becoming stronger as more

adult children live apart from their parents Relationship between parents and adult children tends to be

les affectionate if they live together o Siblings and Other Relatives

With adulthood often comes “marriage and childbearing, both of which have potential to enhance closeness in sibling relationships or exacerbate previous difficulties”

Usually leads to closer relationships – especially when nieces and nephews born

Parents want children to know their aunt, uncles, and cousins

When adult women close to their parents, they are also close to their siblings. However, with men, those distant from their parents tended to be closer than average to their siblings

o Mixed Emotions Whenever adult children have serious financial, legal, or

marital problems, parents try to help Economic recession had led to more 25-34 year olds living

with their parents Parents provide more financial and emotional support to their

adult children than vice versa Parental satisfaction is strongly affected by the adult lives of

their children, with the most troubled children having more impact on parental wellbeing than the happy, successful ones.

Close and affectionate family relations most likely when the government provides many services (ex: health care, senior residences)

Some adults stay distant from their blood relatives because they find them toxic

Some adult may become fictive kin2 in another family Rejected from family due to sexual orientation Far from home Changing habits (stopping an addiction)

Committed Partners o People in every nation take longer than previous generations did to

publicly commit to one long-term sexual partner o Adults everywhere seek long-term partners to help meet their needs

for intimacy as well as to raise children, share resources, and provide care when needed

o Adults marry later in life than earlier generations More a shift in timing and formality than a rejection of

partnership Less than 10% contemporary US adults will never make a

marriage-like commitment (ie: long lasting partnership) o Marriage and Happiness

Marriage is useful Adults thrive if another person is committed to their

well-being Children benefit when they have two parents who are

legally as well as emotionally dedicated to them Societies stronger if individual sort themselves into

families Married people are a little happier, healthier and richer than

never-married ones – but not by much Cohabitation and living apart together (LAT) also common

LAT: have separate residences, especially when partners are older than 30

Robert Sternberg said that love has three parts: passion, intimacy and commitment.

o Partnerships Over the Years Personal well-being is affected by the quality of the marriage Long-term relationship is affected by many factors, including

the childhood experience of both partners, economic instability, and the partners’ personalities

Domestic violence is more likely in the first years of a relationship

Partnerships tend to be less happy when the first child is born, and again when the children reach puberty

o

2 Fictive kin: someone who becomes accepted as part of a family to which he or she has no blood relation

Maritial Happiness Over the Years

Interval After Wedding Characterization

First 6 months Honeymoon period- happiest of all

6 months to 5 years Happiness dips; divorce is more common now than later in marriage

5 to 10 years Marriage holds steady

10 to 20 years Happiness dips as children reach puberty

20 to 30 years Happiness rises when children leave the nest

30 to 50 years Happiness is high and steady, barring serious health problems

o Gay and Lesbian Partners

Almost same things apply to gay and lesbian partners Many nations such as Canada and Spain, and nine US states

recognize same-sex marriage o Divorce and Separation

Divorce, separation, and the end of a cohabiting relationship are all affected by time and circumstances

Divorce occurs because at least one half of couples believes that he or she would be happier not married

More than one third of first marriages end in divorce and with each subsequent marriage the odds of divorce increase

Typically, people divorce because some aspects of their marriage have become difficult to endure, such as:

Reduced income, lost friendships etc Factors that make divorce more likely:

Before marriage Divorced parents, either partner under 21,

family opposed, cohabitation before marriage, previous divorce of either partner

During Marriage Different thoughts on childbearing and child

rearing, financial stress, substance abuse, communication difficulties, lack of time together, abuse, unsupportive relatives

In Culture: Weak religious values, laws that make

divorce easier, approval of remarriage, acceptance of single parenthood

o Repartnering Women with children less likely to remarry

about half of all US marriages are remarriages for at least one partner

divorced adults who do not plan to remarry often develop new sexual partnerships, often within 2 years of divorce

remarriage can bring new happiness and new problems (ex: step children not being accepting)

Generativity Stage of generativity versus stagnation, when adults seek to be

productive in a caring way Satisfy their need to be generative especially thought art, caregiving, and

employment. Parenthood

o Chief form of generativity is “establishing and guiding the next generation” usually through parenthood

o “having a child is perhaps the most stressful experience in a family’s life”

o problems and stress increase as family size does o grandparents believe their work includes helping their

grandchildren, especially if the middle generation is in crisis, such as divorce or illness.

o Foster children Adults who are not the birth parents face the dilemma of

“whether to love the children or maintain a cool, aloof position with minimal sensitive or responsive interactions”

A loving bond is better for both but if that forms, separation is painful to both

o Step-parenting Same challenges as above with additional problems because

children strongly connected to their biological parents o Adoption

Adoptive parents have several advantages to the previous two: they are legally connected to their child for life, and they desperately wanted the child.

Strong parent-child bonds often develop Caregiving

o Erikson wrote that a mature adult “needs to be needed” o Caregiving includes responding to the emotion of people who need

a confidant, cheerleader, counsellor, close friend. o Most extended families include a kinkeep: a caregiver who takes

responsibility for maintaining communication among family members

Generally a middle-aged or older mother All family members become more generative

o Caring for Aging Parents

Many middle aged adults are expected to help both the older and younger generations – the sandwich generation.

Beneficial because people feel useful when they help one another

Employment o Adults have many psychosocial needs that employment can fill

(generativity, success and esteem, instrumental, and achievement) o Work meets generativity needs by allowing people to do the

following: develop and use their personal skills express their creative energy aid and advise coworkers, as mentor or friend support the education and health of their families contribute to the community by providing goods or

services o extrinsic rewards of work: the tangible benefits, usually in the

form of compensation that one receives for doing a job o intrinsic rewards of work: intangible gratifications that come from

within oneself as result of doing a job o extrinsic rewards more important at first, when young people

enter work force, but then intrinsic become more important o one recent change in the labour market is that resignations, firings

and hirings occur more often o between the ages of 23 and 44, the average worker in the US has

seven different employers o people who frequently changed jobs by age 36 were three times

more likely to have various health problems by age 42 o As adults grow older, job changes become increasingly stressful,

for several reasons: Seniority brings higher salaries, more respect, and greater

expertise; workers who leave a job they have had for years lose these advantages

Many skills required for employment were not taught decades ago, and many employed are reluctant to hire and train older workers

Age discrimination is illegal, but workers are convinced that it is common, especially after age 50.

Relocation reduces both intimacy and generativity** (crucial)

o To find ideal balance between intimacy and generativity, at least three factors are helpful: adequate income, chosen schedules, and social support.

o Husbands and wives adjust to each other’s work, which helps them as a unit