Chapter 6: Early Adulthood Module 6.2 Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Intellectual Growth in Early Adulthood Physical development slows down during early adulthood, but does cognitive? ~ What did Piaget propose? Physical development slows down during early adulthood, but does cognitive? Piaget and others argued that by time the teen years were finished, thinking stabilized. BUT increasing evidence suggests that this part of Piaget’s theory was incorrect! 329

Postformal Thought Giesela Labouvie-Vief Adult predicaments are sometimes solved by relativistic thinking rather than pure logic Postformal thought acknowledges that world sometimes lacks purely right and wrong solutions so adults must draw upon prior experiences to solve problems Developmentalist Giesela Labouvie-Vief suggests that nature of thinking changes qualitatively during early adulthood. Adults exhibit POSTFORMAL THOUGHT, thinking that goes beyond Piaget's formal operations. Adult predicaments are sometimes solved by relativistic thinking rather than pure logic. Postformal thought acknowledges that world sometimes lacks purely right and wrong solutions and adults must draw upon prior experiences to solve problems. 329

K. Warner Schaie ACQUISITIVE STAGE ACHIEVING STAGE RESPONSIBLE STAGE EXECUTIVE STAGE REINTEGRATIVE STAGE K. Warner Schaie suggests that adults' thinking follows set pattern of stages. The ACQUISITIVE STAGE, which encompasses all of childhood and adolescence, in which main developmental task is to acquire information. The ACHIEVING STAGE is point reached by young adults in which intelligence is applied to specific situations involving attainment of long-term goals regarding careers, family, and societal contributions. The RESPONSIBLE STAGE is stage where the major concerns of middle-aged adults relate to their personal situations, including protecting and nourishing their spouses, families, and careers. The EXECUTIVE STAGE is period in middle adulthood when people take broader perspective than earlier, including concerns about world. The REINTEGRATIVE STAGE is period of late adulthood during which the focus is on tasks that have personal meaning. 331

How Information Is Used: Schaie’s Stages 331

Review and Apply REVIEW Cognitive development continues into young adulthood with the emergence of postformal thought, which goes beyond logic to encompass interpretive and subjective thinking. Perry suggests that people move from dualistic thinking to relativistic thought during early adulthood. According to Schaie, people pass through five stages in the way they use information: acquisitive, achieving, responsible, executive, and reintegrative. 332

Review and Apply APPLY Can you think of situations that you would deal with differently as an adult than as an adolescent? Do the differences reflect postformal thinking? 332

Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood? Sternberg - TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE Intelligence is made up of three major components: Componential aspects (analytical) Experiential components (creative) Contextual factors (practical) “How do you meet your goals?”-- The way adults answer has a lot to do with their future success according to psychologist Robert Sternberg. Robert Sternberg, in his TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE suggests that intelligence is made up of three major components: Componential aspects Experiential components Contextual factors Componential intelligence relates to the mental components involved in analyzing data, and in solving problems, especially problems involving rational behavior. (traditional IQ tests focus on this aspect) Experiential intelligence refers to the relationship between intelligence, people's prior experience, and their ability to cope with new situations. Contextual intelligence involves the degree of success people demonstrate in facing the demands of their everyday, real-world environments. ~~ Sternberg contends that success in a career necessitates this type of intelligence (contextual), also called PRACTICAL INTELLIGENCE, intelligence that is learned primarily by observing others and modeling their behavior. 332

Expanding on Sternberg’s Theory… Psychologist Seymour Epstein Constructive thinking Form of practical intelligence Underlies success in such areas as social relationships and physical and emotional health 333

Creativity: Novel Thought in Early Adulthood Peak of creativity Many of professional problems are novel Willing to take risks CREATIVITY, combining responses or ideas in creative ways, is at its peak for many individuals during early adulthood. People in early adulthood may be at peak of their creativity because many of problems they encounter on professional level are novel. Creative people are willing to take risks. Creative people develop and endorse ideas that are unfashionable or regarded as "wrong". Not all people reach their creative peak in early adulthood. 335

Life Events and Cognitive Development Major life events may lead to cognitive growth Think about the world in novel, more complex, sophisticated, and often less rigid ways Apply postformal thought (Labouvie-Vief) 336

Review and Apply REVIEW New views of intelligence encompass the triarchic theory, Practical intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Creativity seems to peak during early adulthood, with young adults viewing even longstanding problems as novel situations. Major life events contribute to cognitive growth by providing opportunities and incentives to rethink one’s self and one’s world. 336

COLLEGE: PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION Explain: Although you may believe that college attendance is commonplace, this is not case at all: Nationwide, high school graduates who enter college are actually in minority.

Higher Education College is period of developmental growth that encompasses mastery not just of particular bodies of knowledge, but of ways of understanding world. 336

College: Pursuing Higher Education Nationwide, a minority of high school graduates enter college Only about 40% of those who start graduate from college in 4 years Influenced by race and gender variables Nationwide, a minority of high school graduates enter college. 40% of White Americans enter college. 29% of African-Americans enter college. 31% of Hispanic high school graduates enter college. Only about 40% of those who start will graduate from college in 4 years. ½ will eventually finish. 70% of African-Americans drop out of college. Minority students are an increasingly larger proportion of college population. African-American students have increased by 13%. Hispanic students have increased by 22%. White students have increased by 6%. These changes reflect differences in the racial and ethnic composition of U.S. and growing realization that higher education improves economic well-being. There are now more women than men enrolled in college, and by year 2007, women's enrollment is expected to increase 30% from 1995 compared to an increase of only 13% for men. 336

Who goes to college? 40% of college students today are 25 years of age or older Average age of a community college student is 31 College degree is becoming increasingly important in obtaining and keeping job Absolute number of minority students enrolled in college has increased BUT overall proportion of minority population has decreased over past decade 40% of college students today are 25 years of age or older. Average age of a community college student is 31. College degree is becoming increasingly important in obtaining a job. Many employers require and encourage their workers to update their skills. Although nearly 69 percent of white high school graduates enter college, only 61% of African American and 47% of Hispanic graduates do so. Even more striking, although absolute number of minority students enrolled in college has increased, the overall proportion of the minority population that does enter college has decreased over the past decade—a decline that most education experts attribute to changes in the availability of financial aid. 337

Why is there a gender gap in college attendance? Will it continue? Men have more opportunities to earn money when they graduate More women enrolled in college More women than men attend college and the proportion of women, relative to men, is increasing. There already are more women than men enrolled in college, with women receiving 133 bachelor’s degrees for every 100 men receive. The gender gap is even more evident for minority students, with 166 African-American women attending college for every 100 African-American men. Women often have better high school academic records may be admitted to college at greater rates. 337

The Changing College Student: Never Too Late to Go to College? According to Sherry Willis, adults return to college for several reasons: To understand their own aging To keep up with rapid technological and cultural advances To combat obsolescence on the job To acquire new vocational skills To broaden their intellectual skills 337

College Adjustment: Reacting to the Demands of College Life First year adjustment reaction Particularly affects unusually successful students in high school Passes for most as friends made and integration into college life occurs Serious psychological consequences for few First-year adjustment reaction is a cluster of psychological symptoms, including loneliness, anxiety, and depression, relating to the college experience. 339

The Informed Consumer of Development When Do College Students Need Professional Help with Their Problems? Psychological distress that lingers and interferes with a person’s sense of well-being and ability to function Feelings that one is unable to cope effectively with the stress Hopeless or depressed feelings Inability to build close relationships with others Physical symptoms Psychological distress that lingers and interferes with a person’s sense of well-being and ability to function (such as depression so great that someone has trouble completing his or her work). Feelings that one is unable to cope effectively with the stress. Hopeless or depressed feelings, with no apparent reason. Inability to build close relationships with others. Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach cramps, skin rashes that have no apparent underlying cause. 340

Depression in College Students Surveys find that almost half of college students report having at least one significant psychological issue. Other research finds that more than 40 percent of students who visited a college counseling center, reported being depressed. These figures include only those students who sought help from the counseling center and not those that did not seek treatment. Figures are not representative of the entire college population. 340

Why do differences exist in gender distribution in classes and attrition rates?

Gender and College Performance Prejudice and discrimination Hostile sexism Benevolent sexist Differences exist in gender distribution in classes and attrition rates Prejudice and discrimination directed at women is still a fact of college life. Hostile sexism (overtly harmful treatment). Benevolent sexism (a form of sexism in which women are placed in stereotyped & restrictive roles that may appear positive. Complimenting a student on appearance. Offering an easier research project so a student won’t have to work so hard. Message may be that the woman is not taken seriously, and competence is undermined. Differences exist in gender distribution in classes and attrition rates. Classes in engineering, the physical sciences, and mathematics tend to have more men than women. Women earn just 22% of the bachelor degrees in science and 13% of the doctorates. Women are more likely to drop out of math, engineering, and physical science classes. 341

Stereotype Threat and Disidentification with School African Americans don’t do well in academic pursuits. Women lack ability in math and science. So say erroneous, damaging, and yet persistent stereotypes about African Americans and women. And in the real world these stereotypes play out in vicious ways. When African Americans start elementary school, their standardized test scores are only slightly lower than those of Caucasian students, and yet a 2-year gap emerges by the sixth grade. Even though more African American high school graduates are enrolling in college, the increase has not been as large as for other groups. Even though boys and girls perform virtually identically on standardized math tests in elementary school and middle school, this changes when they reach high school. At that level, and even more so in college, men tend to do better in math than women. In fact, when women take college math, science, and engineering courses, they are more likely to do poorly than men who enter college with the same level of preparation and identical SAT scores. 341

Review and Apply REVIEW Rates of college enrollment differ across racial and ethnic lines. The average age of college students is steadily increasing as more adults return to college. 344

Review and Apply REVIEW The phenomena of academic disidentification and stereotype threat help explain the lower performance of women and African Americans in certain academic domains. 344

Review and Apply APPLY How would you educate college professors who behave differently toward male and female students? What factors contribute to this phenomenon? Can this situation be changed? 344