Chapter 16 Middle Adulthood 41 65 years Psychosocial Development in Middle Adulthood also called middle aged Mid Life Crisis Carl Jung First to theorize about adult development Healthy midlife includes individuation o Balancing of the whole personality o Pulling together conflicting parts of the self o Healthy balance of everything in life Two difficult but necessary tasks of middle age o 1 Giving up image of youth Who you thought you were when you were young o 2 Acknowledging mortality Realizing there s not as much time left to accomplish things o If you don t achieve these two things it leads to not being able to achieve new goals ideas Erikson Generativity vs Stagnation Generativity o Concern for guiding the next generation How do we pass on good traits experience to younger generations o Virtue of care Caring for others o Increased desire for generativity when faced with death Stagnation o People who do not find an outlet for generativity become self indulgent or stagnant The whole point is that you have to stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about the people coming after you Forms of Generativity Teaching and mentorship Parenting and grand parenting o Having kids is included Productivity or creativity after you Self generation or self development o Whatever YOU do will help shape future generations Midlife Crisis New challenges to identity o Also called 2nd adolescence Triggered by o Art volunteering hoping to change the community etc All for a better future for the people o Review of one s life Looking to the past o Awareness of mortality Looking to the future Midlife Crisis the Myth Occurrence is rare o Video http www cbsnews com news the myth of the male mid life crisis 9 30 minutes but only watched first 3 mins in class o Some suffer turmoil others feel at their peak Actually only 10 of people go though a mid life crisis o Least likely among those with ego resiliency People who have a strong sense of identity less likely to have a midlife crisis Midlife is just one of many turning points Turning Points Psychological transitions that involve significant change in person s life Introspective review and reappraisal of values o Rethinking values May bring developmental deadlines o May be too old to do certain things like traveling kids marriage schooling bucket list type things marathons etc accumulating money career goals aka can longer be a rock star Response to Turning Points Piaget s Ideas Becoming a grandparent Don t like being a grandparent because it means you re old Men in Midlife Gender crossover o Move toward non traditional gender roles Men become move involved with the kids emotional Woman become more assertive goal oriented leaders In middle age many men become more interested in o Expression of feelings o Intimate relationships o Nurturing Women in Midlife In middle age many women become more o Assertive o Self confident o Achievement oriented Marriage Marital Satisfaction Measure of the quality of the relationship Personal perception Factors that influence marital satisfaction o Personal expectations o Life satisfaction o Economic resources o Nontraditional gender roles o Sex life Children and jobs are a big factor during marital satisfaction Benefits of Marriage Social support Easier to accumulate wealth Better physical and mental health Marital Capital Financial and emotional benefits of marriage o Becomes difficult to give up o Makes long standing marriages less likely to break up o Middle aged women tend to lose the most marital capital if they divorce Women struggle more financially during a divorce 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse Dr John Gottman o https www youtube com watch v 2 F3Zb Vh1Y index 7 list PL62C8B1A0C0B678C2 Taking defense during argument making excuses coming back with more criticism about the other person denying responsibility Multiple parts 7 minutes MUST WATCH very effective for explaining o Criticism o Defensiveness Attacking personality character o Contempt o Stonewalling Indicated a lack of respect liking Rolling eyes name calling Shutting down refusing to respond Too much to handle just not going to engage Gottman s Advice 1 Seek help early 2 Edit yourself 3 Soften your start up 4 Accept influence o Ease into the conversation don t startle them o Make changes to accommodate one another 5 Have high standards 6 Learn to repair and exit the argument o Talk about it deal with it end it 7 Focus on the bright side o Remind yourself about the good parts Chapter 17 Late Adulthood 65 Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood Aging Population Trends around the world Total population of world is growing at 1 Elderly 65 is growing higher at 2 5 US trends o High birth rates with less deaths and increased immigration during early mid 20th Century Why the Aging Population Then Now o Longer life span o Trends towards smaller families o Stricter immigration o Baby Boomers o Ratio of young vs old is changing Implications of an Aging Population Fewer workers to support growing number of retired aging o Social security The money out of our pay NOW is going to the elderly NOW it s a decreasing rate what happens when our generation is old and we don t have anyone making money for us We wont have social security o People taking care of aging parents while raising their own kids at the same time More sandwich generation individuals Declines in ageism o Stereotypes against the old As the elderly population increases we may think about them in a more positive way The larger the group the more influence on the way we think about them Increase in age of retirement o Needs to increase Greater provision of services People used to live 10 years after retirement now its about 20 years That s 20 years of living without bringing in an income o Many people can t live on their own after 70 or 80 years old they begin to need more services like healthcare and retirement homes and elderly daycare Longevity and Life Span What is Aging Primary Aging o Gradual inevitable process of aging body breaks down over time o Occurs throughout years despite efforts to slow it Secondary Aging o Depends on lifestyle choices you make o Results from disease abuse and disuse o Factors within a person s control Functional Age o How well a person functions physically and socially o If really healthy could be 25 but have body of an 18 yr old Definitions Life expectancy Longevity Life span o Actual length of life o Statistical likelihood of length o Takes into account age
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