PSY 213 1st Edition Lecture 26 Outline of Last Lecture I Cognitive Development II Careers Work and Leisure III Religion and Meaning in Life IV Personality Theories and Development Outline of Current Lecture I Personality Theories and Development II Stability and Change III Close Relationships IV Longevity Biological Aging and Physical Development Current Lecture I Personality Theories and Development The life events approach a Drawbacks i Life events approach places too much emphasis on change ii It may not be life s major events that are the primary sources of stress 1 Daily experiences Stress and personal control in midlife b Middle aged adults experience more overload stressors that involve juggling too many activities at once These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute c Developmental changes in perceived personal control i Some aspects of personal control increase with age while others decrease d Stress and gender i Fight or flight when men are stressed 1 Angry drink withdrawal e Tend and befriend when women are stressed i Seek social alliances 1 Contexts of midlife development f Historical contexts Cohort effects i Social clock Timetable according to which individuals are expected to accomplish life s tasks II Stability and Change Longitudinal studies a Costa and McCrae s Baltimore Study Focused on the big five factors of personality b Berkeley Longitudinal Studies i Intellectual orientation self confidence and openness to new experience were the more stable traits ii Characteristics that changed the most 1 Extent to which individuals were nurturant or hostile 2 Whether or not they had good self control c George Vaillant s studies i Conducted 1 Sample of 268 socially advantaged Harvard graduates born about 1920 2 Sample of 456 socially disadvantaged inner city men born about 1930 3 Sample of 90 middle SES intellectually gifted women born about 1910 Conclusions d Personality traits continue to change during the adult years into late adulthood e Cumulative personality model With time and age people i Become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that 1 Promote the stability of personality III Close Relationships The empty nest and its refilling a Empty nest syndrome decreases in marital satisfaction after children leave the home i Parents derive considerable satisfaction from their children b Refilling of empty nest is a common occurrence i Loss of privacy Love and marriage at midlife c Security loyalty and marital emotional interest are more important in middle adulthood d most married individuals are satisfied with their marriages during midlife Grandparenting e Grandparent roles and styles i Three prominent meanings f The changing profile of grandparents i Most common reasons are divorce adolescent pregnancies and parental drug use ii Full time grandparenting has been linked to health problems depression and stress Intergenerational relationships g Middle aged adults express responsibility between generations h Midlife adults play important roles in the lives of the young and the old i Relationships between aging parents and their children i Characterized by ambivalence IV Longevity Biological Aging and Physical Development Longevity a Life span and life expectancy i Life span Maximum number of years an individual can live 1 Between 120 125 years b Life expectancy Number of years that the average person born in a particular year will probably live i Average is 78 3 years Since 1900 we have added 30 years to the average life expectancy c Differences in life expectancy i Female life expectancy 80 8 years males 75 7 years ii Beginning in the mid thirties women outnumber men because of 1 Social factors such as a Health attitudes b Habits c Lifestyles d Occupation men are more likely to be in occupations that are more dangerous e Biological factors Centenarians people who live to be 100 or more d Genes play an important role in surviving to an extreme old age along with i Family history ii Health weight diet smoking and exercise iii Education iv Personality v Lifestyle