Adulthood andaging

module 16

Learning goals:

Early Adulthood Transitions and the Social Clock

Physical Changes and Transitions

Cognitive Changes and Transitions

Social Changes and Transitions

Emerging into adulthood: Age identity exploration: deciding who you are Age of instability: the time when you change

from place to place and from job to job. Age of self focus: deciding who to be with,

where to go and what to do. Age of feeling between: you still don’t feel like

an adult. Age of possibilities: full of optimism and hopes

Social clock The concept of the social clock

describes societal expectations for the time at which people are expected to marry, have children, and accomplish other life tasks.

The social clock differs for each culture; it usually deals with significant changes in life that most people experience-

Social clock in other cultures For example, 40% of brides in Jordan are in their teens

while they only constitute 3% of brides in Hong Kong. Another example is the age for retirement; the following

is the percentage of men over 65 in the work force--Western Europe, 10%, U.S., 16%, Japan, 36%, and Mexico, 69%.

Another difference may be the time to leave home; the U.S., most people leave home after graduation from high school or college, but in Korea, most people live in their parents' homes until they get married (some still don't leave after that).

Midlife Crisis This term is

usually connected to age-linked stages such the "midlife crisis". The strange thing is that events associated with the term "midlife crisis" do not happen in "midlife".

Stereotype of midlife crisis in men

The stereotype of a man with a midlife crisis is getting a young girlfriend or a sports car.

Statistics: For example, divorce occurs mostly to

couples in their twenties while suicide is committed by people in their seventies and eighties.

However, a survey taken by 10,000 men and women between the ages of 33 and 54 shows that men experience an emotional crisis around the age of 36 and 42 while women do not experience a significant change except a small emotional instability in their early 50s.

Early adulthood physical changes

Early adulthood is the period between the ages of 20-35 years. .

Physical Functioning Peak of strength, energy, and endurance Body functions are fully developed by mid

twenties Senses are sharpest Health Most have no chronic conditions or impairments Most medical visits are for injuries and

pregnancy

Early adulthood changes cont.

Death Rates Men are more apt to die from accidents than

women African-Americans have twice the death rate

of Caucasians. U.S rate = 21.9 per 100,000 men Japanese rate = 0.5 murders per 100,000

men

Physical changes during middle adulthood:

Middle adulthood is the period between the ages of 36-64 years.

Sensory and Motor Functioning Sexual and Reproductive Functioning Hearing loss for high-pitched sounds Men have twice loss rate as women Ability to focus declines Loss of near vision Decline in visual acuity-sharpness of vision Need more brightness

Middle adulthood physical changes cont.

Motor Functioning Strength and coordination decline Due to loss of muscle mass, replaced by fat Reaction time slows, especially for motor

responses Experience makes up for physical changes Decline of reproductive capacity Women: ability to bear children ends Men: can father children, but have reduced

fertility Both experience decline in sex hormones

Women in middle adulthood: Menopause Cessation of ovulation and

menstruation Occurs one year after last menstrual

period Less production of estrogen Periods become irregular Hot flashes due to expansion and

contraction of blood vessels

Men in middle adulthood Changes begin 10 yrs later than women Enlargement of prostrate gland Causes problems with urination Testosterone levels decline gradually Sperm count declines, slower motility of sperm Less frequent erections & less powerful

ejaculations, takes longer to recover Minority experience erectile dysfunction

(impotence) Multiple causes due to illness, stress, health

habits

Late adulthood Physical changes

Late adulthood is the period between the age 65 and older.

mental illness is less common among older adults than younger adult   

Dementia: physiologically based cognitive and behavioral deterioration

Increases with age, but has many possible causes 80% of dementia caused by disease, not reversible Hypertension, strokes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s  Alzheimer’s is fatal disease with no cure Progressive, degenerative brain disorder

Cognitive changes Fluid intelligence peaks during early adulthood and

then declines Ability to apply mental powers to new problems Perceiving relationships, forming concepts, drawing

inferences Decline probably due to changes in brain crystallized intelligence improves through middle age

and on Ability to remember and use information acquired

over a lifetime Depends on education and culture Uses stored information and automatic processing

Intelligence with age: Fluid intelligence: Is our ability to reason speedily and

abstractly we use this type of intelligence to solve logic problems like sudoku.

This kind of intelligence tends to decrease during late adulthood.

Crystallized intelligence: Is our accumulated knowledge and verbal

skills and it tends to increase with age.

Social Changes and transitions

You have to choose a career and then a job . Intimate attachment is vital to a happy

adulthood. Love last longer when you have Shared emotional support(empathy when things

go wrong and material support) intimate self-disclosure ( sharing

embarrassing moments or deep secrets) Similar interests (leisure activities and values.)

Dying and death Many terminal ill patients end up in

hospice care instead of impersonal hospital care.

When death is sudden and unexpected, grief and subsequent depression can be particularly hard to handle for the relatives

The grief of women is five times greater than men’s grieve.

Bibliography

http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/Spectrum/Bibliography/the-life-cycle.htm

http://theneuron.wetpaint.com/page/Psych+M.D.+-+Social+Clock

http://blue.utb.edu/ecantu/Psyc%202314/Feldman3Notes/MiddleAdultPhysCogFeldman3Notes.htm

http://blue.utb.edu/ecantu/Psyc%202314/Feldman3Notes/EarlyAdultPhysCogFeldman3Notes.htm

http://blue.utb.edu/ecantu/psyc%202314/notes/feldmannotes17.htm