Chapter 18 & 19 Early Adulthood: Cognitive Development Piaget’s & IP theory, & Factors influencing cognition Psychosocial Development Maslow’s, & Erikson, Types of intimate relationships, marriages and Divorces

Approaches to Cognition Postformal picks up where Piaget left off Information-processing studies the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information during lifetime (see Ch. 24)

Postformal Thought Adult thinking and adolescent thinking differ in 3 ways, with adult thinking more: practical flexible dialectical

A Fifth Stage of Cognitive Development? Postformal thought often viewed as fifth stage of Piaget’s theory In it, adults consider every aspect of a situation use intellectual skills for real life—work and relationships understand that conclusions and consequences matter

Subjectivity and Objectivity Arise from individual’s personal experiences and perceptions Traditional models devalued subjective thought Objective thought—abstract impersonal logic For adults combination of the two works best

Emotions and Logic Trying to combine both logic and emotions in dealing with an emotional issue is challenging but at each stage of adulthood, adults can achieve this balance in contrast to adolescents who believe in subjective or objective reasoning

Cognitive Flexibility Awareness that your perspective is not the only one Awareness that each problem has many potential solutions and knowledge is dynamic

Flexible Problem Solving Adult thought requires flexible adaptation, which allows adults to cope with unanticipated events come up with more than one solution to problem

Dialectical Thought Cognitive flexibility at its most advanced Every idea or truth(thesis) bears within it suggestion of the opposite idea or truth(antithesis)

Culture and Cognition There are notable differences between Eastern and Western thought more polar; right vs. wrong; black vs. white—Western thought more of a combination or compromise—Eastern thought

Culture and Cognition, cont. Developmentalists feel culture helps to shape thought Life-span perspective is multicontexual and multicultural, stressing adults change because of maturation experience

Adult Moral Reasoning Ethical issues often present themselves Taking responsibility for one’s own actions perceived by young adults of all ethnic groups as marker of adulthood

Cognitive Growth and Higher Education The relationship between college education and adult development healthier, wealthier, as well as deeper, more flexible thinkers

The Effects of College Education powerfully influences cognitive development improves verbal and quantitative skills, and specific subject knowledge while enhancing reasoning, reflection, and flexibility of thought

The Effects of College, cont. Educational influences, cont. year-by-year progression of students’ thinking end of college finds students have generally moved from simplistic either/or ideas to recognition of multiplicity of perspectives

Change in the Students The sheer numbers have increased greatly, worldwide In all nations, increased student diversity more women students more older students more culturally diverse students in United States more low-income students more working students

Theories of Development Maslow: hierarchy of needs Once the lower order needs are fulfilled we aspire for the higher order needs Erikson: intimacy vs. isolation

Ages and Stages Patterns of the Past by 20s: identity by 30s: intimacy by 40s: generativity Adult lives today “are less orderly and predictable than stage models suggest” Social Clock: Culturally set timetable that establishes when various events and endeavors in life are appropriate

Intimacy Two primary sources are close friendships and romantic partnerships Friendships are based on Physical attractiveness Apparent availability (willingness to chat) Absence of exclusion criteria Frequent exposure to each other

Gender Differences in Friendship Conversations and Expectations women  self-disclosure men  external matters—sports, politics, work female-female pattern may better reduce loneliness and self-absorption male-male pattern may be more effective and efficient, especially in work situations

Gender Differences in Friendship, cont. Friendships Between Men and Women cross-sex friendships allow learning about common humanity and let people help each other gain skills problems may arise when a platonic relationship is sexualized or there are conflicts of expectations Same sex friendships may be most effective and efficient especially in the workplace

Love and Living Arragments Sternberg’s Theory of love 1) passion 2) intimacy 3) commitment in West, consummate love— a combination of all three—is the ideal form difficult to achieve consummate love familiarity and security diminish passion

Cohabitation Cohabitation— a couple’s living together in a committed sexual relationship without being formally married increasingly common cohabitation not just for young adults slightly more than half of all women aged 25-40 years have cohabited

Cohabitation does not necessarily benefit the participants one study found people who cohabitate much less happy and healthy, and less satisfied with financial status than are married couples in another study, cohabiting relationships were 3 times as likely to be abusive than marriages in a third, compared to single adults, cohabitants are likely to have alcohol problems

Marriage proportion of unmarried adults is higher than at any time in the past century nearly one-half of all births are to single mothers who are increasingly unlikely to marry the fathers of their babies 20 percent of first births conceived before marriage divorce rate is 49 percent of marriage rate the rate of first marriages in young adulthood lowest in 50 years

Marriage, still most enduring evidence of couple commitment. Worldwide research says married people are happier, healthier, and richer. One developmental factor affecting success of marriage is maturity of the partners A second factor is degree of similarity, or homogamy—marriage within same group heterogamy—marriage outside of group social homogamy—similarity of couple’s interests and role preferences

Marital Equity social exchange theory in modern marriages, what matters most is perception of fairness, not absolute equality

Divorce Influenced by social and political context affects many lives for years United States has highest divorce rate almost 1 in 2 first marriages end in divorce Historically, an increase, but stabilizing one reason: lower marriage rate

The Role of Expectations People today expect more from marriage partners than in the past, but expectations are not always as well defined

The Developmental Impact of Divorce Initially worse than expected in health happiness self-esteem financial stability social interaction achievement