Adolescent/Adult Development Early Adulthood: Psychosocial Development - Ch. 19 Mar 29-Apr 5, 2010 Class #27-30

Theories of Adulthood Many theories describe, analyze, and predict the transformations that occur during adulthood Different theories about psychological needs reach similar conclusions

Two basic needs: affiliation and achievement or affection and instrumentality Maslow: hierarchy of needs Erikson: intimacy vs. isolation Love and Work

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”

The Social Clock Culturally set timetable that establishes when various events and endeavors in life are appropriate What are some of the appropriate timetables in the United States?

Choosing Young-Adult Friends Physical attractiveness Apparent availability (willingness to chat) Absence of exclusion criteria Frequent exposure to each other

Perspectives on Attraction We are attracted to others with whom a relationship is directly or indirectly rewarding All humans exhibit patterns of attraction and mate selection that favor the conception, birth, and survival of their offspring Evolutionary perspective

Familiarity: Being There Who are we most likely to become attracted to? Two basic and necessary factors in the attraction process: Proximity Exposure

The Proximity Effect The single best predictor of attraction is physical proximity, or nearness Where we live influences the friends we make College students tend to date those who live either nearby or in the same type of housing as they do

The Mere Exposure Effect Contrary to folk wisdom, familiarity does not breed contempt The more often we are exposed to a stimulus, the more we come to like that stimulus Familiarity can influence our self- evaluations

Physical Attractiveness We react more favorably to others who are physically attractive than to those who are not Bias for beauty is pervasive

Is Beauty an Objective Quality? Some argue that certain faces are inherently more attractive than others High levels of agreement for facial ratings across ages and cultures Physical features of the face are reliably associated with judgments of attractiveness Babies prefer faces considered attractive by adults

The Physical Attractiveness (beautiful- is-good) Stereotype People within a culture, assume that attractive people have the traits that are valued by that culture Adults and children are biased toward attractive people Even infants stare at attractive people longer than unattractive people! Lessons begin early – how many ugly heroes are there in children’s tales vs. the number of ugly villains?

The Benefits and Costs of Beauty Being good-looking does not guarantee health, happiness, or high self-esteem Attributional problems with being good- looking: Is the attention and praise one receives due to one’s talents or just one’s good looks?

Other Costs of Beauty Pressure to maintain one’s appearance In American society, pressures are particularly strong when it comes to the body Women are more likely than men to suffer from the “modern mania for slenderness” Overall, being beautiful is a mixed blessing Little relationship between appearance in youth and later happiness

This appears to be conflicting research… Simpson, Gangestad, & Lerma (1990) People involved in serious relationships rate beautiful models as less attractive Kendrick et al. (1989) Men viewing ravishing nude models in magazines gave lower ratings to average- looking women including their own wives Appears contrast effect is in place here

How important is intelligence? Men and women differ in this criterion for sexual partners But not for long-term partners

Kenrick, Sadalla, Groth, & Trost (1990) Kenrick, Groth, Trost & Sadalla (1993) Students in these series of studies were asked: Students in these series of studies were asked: What is the minimum percentile of intelligence you would accept in considering someone for: What is the minimum percentile of intelligence you would accept in considering someone for: A DATE A DATE A SEXUAL PARTNER A SEXUAL PARTNER A ONE NIGHT STAND A ONE NIGHT STAND A STEADY DATING PARTNER A STEADY DATING PARTNER A MARRIAGE PARTNER A MARRIAGE PARTNER

Women desire slightly above average for a single date Minimum Intelligence Desired DATE AVERAGE 50th%ile 

DATESEXMARRIAGE And want more with increasing commitment STEADY 50th%ile 

DATESEXMARRIAGE Men have similar criteria for dates STEADY 

DATESEX STEADY MARRIAGE And for long-term mates 

DATESEX STEADY MARRIAGE But men’s criteria are considerably lower for sexual partners 

DATESEX STEADY MARRIAGE The differences are even more pronounced for one- night stands 

First Encounters: Liking Others Who Are Similar We tend to associate with others who are similar to ourselves… Byrne (1971): We like people who we perceive as having similar attitudes to our own Rosenbaum (1986): Similarity does not spark attraction; rather dissimilarity triggers repulsion, the desire to avoid someone

The Evolutionary Perspective Revisited: Mate Selection Men and women by nature must differ in their optimal mating behaviors Women must be highly selective because they are biologically limited in the number of children they can bear and raise in a lifetime Men can father an unlimited number of children and ensure their reproductive success by inseminating many women

The Burger King Study Townsend & Levy (1990) Who would you prefer: a well-dressed unattractive person or a good-looking person in a Burger King outfit???

Burger King study: Townsend and Levy (1990) looked at the effects of male status and ornamentation. First, males were pre-rated into 2 groups: Handsome versus homely Each were put into 1 of 3 costumes: Armani suit with Rolex (high status), white t-shirt (medium status), or Burger King uniform (low status) They then did the same for females

The Factor of Age. Older males are significantly more likely to have achieved a sound economic and financial status than younger, inexperienced males. Buss (1989): In a cross-cultural survey female preference was for someone around 4 years older. Kenrick & Keefe (1992): Females consistently married males who were around 5 years older than themselves.

Preferred Age Differences Buss (2001)

Actual Age Differences at Marriage Kenrick & Keefe (1992)

A Not Uncommon Result

Ability and Willingness to Provide Protection Surveys consistently show that females prefer males who are socially dominant and have the respect of their peers. Forming a relationship with a socially dominant male would confer greater direct access to resources and also raise the social status of the female. Women pay close attention to how men interact with, and are treated by other men. Sadella et al. (1987) made video’s depicting males and females engaging in dominant or submissive behavior with another male or a female. Dominant behaviour increased the sexual attractiveness and dating desirability of the males, whilst female targets were unaffected.

Height Height is associated with power and status and confers economic and social advantages. Taller men are perceived as being more dominant and we would predict that females should choose taller over shorter males. Graziano et al. (1978) had women judge pictures of men who they believed to be short, medium or tall on attractiveness and dating desirability. Tall men were rated more positively than short men, though males of medium height were most preferred. In a sample of over 4000 Polish men Pawlowski et al. (2000) found that height was significantly associated with the likelihood of getting married and having children. Bachelors were significantly shorter than married men.

Facial Hair In humans the presence or absence of head and facial hair provide strong social/sexual signals. Facial hair is generated at puberty in the presence of testosterone and rate of beard growth is positively related to androgen levels. It has been suggested that facial hair may have evolved as a dominance signal as it increases the apparent size of the jaw, itself a male secondary sexual characteristic. Males with facial hair are rated as being more masculine, strong, potent, dominant and courageous, but also as lacking in self- control, dirty, aggressive and reckless (Reed & Blunk, 1990).

Facial Hair and Attractiveness? Women often state that they do not find male facial hair attractive. One study manipulated the extent of facial hair in Identi-kit pictures and found that attractiveness ratings increased as the quantity of facial hair increased (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986). There may be large cultural differences in this respect.

Cranial Hair Muscarella & Cunningham (1996) suggested that male pattern baldness evolved as a signal of aging and social maturity. This may signal a male with enhanced social status but reduced physical aggression. 6 male models with different levels of facial and cranial hair were rated on 32 social perception adjectives. Males with facial hair and those with bald or receding hair were rated as being older than those who were clean-shaven, or had a full head of hair. Beards and a full head of hair were also seen as being more aggressive and less socially mature, baldness was associated with less attractiveness and more social maturity.

Torso Horvarth (1979) found that shoulder width was a strong positive predictor of the attractiveness of male figures. Maisey et al., (1999) found that waist-chest ratio (WCR) was the principal determinant of attractiveness - males with an inverted triangle torso (narrow waist with broad chest and shoulders) were rated as being more attractive. More recently, Hughes & Gallup (2003) showed that males with a high shoulder-to-hip ratio reported having sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, and more extrapair copulations. A protruding stomach is seen as an exceptionally unattractive trait in men.

You Choose!

What do you find attractive in guys?

What do you find attractive in women?

Athleticism Physical competition is widespread in human societies and these ritualised encounters enable males to demonstrate speed, endurance, and strength. Sporting achievement is an honest signal of physical condition, motivation and competitiveness. Faurie et al., (2004) predicted that: Sports competitors should have more sexual partners than other people. Number of partners should increase with performance level. This should be particularly pronounced in males. The predictions were confirmed in French students.

Facial Asymmetry and Health Shackelford & Larsen (1998) measured the degree of facial asymmetry in students. Greater asymmetry was related to self-reported depression, neuroses, inferiority, more physical health problems. High FA males were also rated as being less attractive, less emotionally-stable, and less intelligent. However, this link between facial symmetry and health is not always reported (Kalick et al., 1998).

Facial Symmetry and Attractiveness Buss, 1999 p 119

Influence of the Menstrual Cycle. Penton-Voak et al., (1999): found that females preferred masculine-looking faces at ovulation, but less-masculine faces when non-fertile. However, Koehler et al., (2002) asked non- pill-using females to rate the attractiveness of male faces varying in symmetry during menses and just before ovulation. Females did have an overall preference for symmetry but this was irrespective of menstrual cycle phase.

Genetic Compatibility Body odour serves as a cue for immunological health, Gangstead & Thornhill (1998) examined whether female olfactory preferences for male odour would favour the scent of more symmetrical men during ovulation. For contraceptive pill users and females not ovulating, there was no relationship. However, non pill-users when ovulating consistently preferred the scent of symmetrical men. Herz & Inzlicht (2002) asked males and females to rank various physical characteristics in a potential partner. While males where primarily concerned with physical attractiveness, females considered a man's smell to be more important than 'looks', 'money' or 'ambition'.

Ability and Willingness to Engage in Parenting La Cerra (1994) presented pictures of males in several different conditions with children. The picture of the male engaging in positive interactions with a small child yielded the most positive reactions. The picture showing a male ignoring a child in distress led to the most negative ratings. Women highly value characteristics such as ‘dependability’, ‘maturity’ and ‘emotional stability’. They may indicate that the male is willing to provide resources and continue his investment. Expressions of love may be a signal of regular commitment and the majority of women require love for a long-term relationship.

To attract a female as a long-term mating partner, a male should.. 1. Show evidence of ambition, hard work, and intelligence. 2. Be generous (buy gifts, give to charity etc). 3. Dress well. 4. Be confident and assertive (around other males). 5. Be taller than the woman in question. 6. Be clean shaven and have a full head of hair. 7. Have broad shoulders, be moderately hunky and have no beer belly. 8. Be facially and physically symmetrical, and show good health. 9. Be athletic and sporty. 10. Smell ‘right’. 11. Be nice to babies and children.

And if you can’t manage any of these? Be absolutely filthy stinking rich.

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 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

Defining Features of Love Beverly Fehr (1988) asked Canadian students to list as many features of love as they could in 3 minutes. Lets do this…

Sternberg (1986): This researcher believes that the long list presented earlier could be reduced to three essential components: physiological arousal, longing to be with willing to define as love, commitment to long term close bond, sharing, support PASSION INTIMACY COMMITMENT

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

Throughout history marriages commonly arranged still common today in many nations and certain cultures Typical U.S. pattern today—initiated and sustained by the two people involved duration and seriousness increase until, couples marry, typically 10 years after their first love affair Courtship follows predicable pattern—from passion to intimacy Contact and Courtship

Would You Marry Someone if You Were Not in Love?

Cultural Variations in Willingness to Marry Without Love

Living Together 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 years have cohabited

Living Together Cohabitation does not necessarily benefit the participants Stack and Eshleman (1998) Found people who cohabitate much less happy and healthy, and less satisfied with financial status than are married couples Maydol et al. (1998) Cohabiting relationships were 3 times as likely to be abusive than marriages Horwitz and White (1998) Compared to single adults, cohabitants are likelier to have alcohol problems

Marriage: Not like it used to be? Proportion of unmarried adults is higher than at any time in the past century 10 percent of brides are virgins Nearly one-half of all births are to single mothers who are increasingly unlikely to marry the fathers of their babies

Marriage: Not like it used to be? 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 (Bachu, 1999; Zavodny, 1999)

Marriage: Still the same? Marriage, still most enduring evidence of couple commitment, is celebrated in every culture in the world by a wedding hoped-for-results: a love that deepens over the years, as bond cemented by birth of children weathering economic and emotional turbulence surviving serious illness or other setbacks sharing social and financial commitments

Marriage: Still the same? Worldwide research says married people are happier, healthier, and richer

How Do Intimate Relationships Change? Most researchers reject idea that intimate relationships progress through a fixed sequence of stages For reward theories of love, quantity counts There are qualitative differences between liking and loving, as well as different forms of love

The Intimate Marketplace: Social Exchange Theory People are motivated to maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with others Relationships that provide more rewards and fewer costs will be more satisfying and endure longer The development of an intimate relationship is associated with the overall level of rewards

Social Exchange Theory Most content with a relationship when the ratio between the benefits and contributions is similar for both partners… In modern marriages, what matters most is perception of fairness, not absolute equality

Long-term homosexual partnerships are more common and open today 2-5 percent of all U.S.adults spend some part of adulthood in such relationships Homosexuals generally have same relationship issues as heterosexuals Same-Sex Partners

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

Marital Satisfaction over Time Kurdek (1999)

Do Relationships Change Our Personalities? Caspi & Herbener (1990) People married to dissimilar partners change their personalities more over the years

Violence in intimate relationships has multiple causes social pressures that create stress, cultural values, personality pathologies, and drug and alcohol addiction common couple violence—1 or both partners engage in verbal and physical attack intimate terrorism—1 partner systematically isolates, degrades, and punishes the other Domestic Violence

Intimate terrorism less prevalent than common couple violence Perpetrator usually anti-social and violent in many ways Leads to battered-wife syndrome, with woman not simply physically beaten but broken socially and psychologically Domestic Violence

Similarities Between 2 Types of Domestic Violence Jealous male partner doesn’t want female partner to talk to other men Male partner tries to limit female partner’s contact with family and friends Male partner insists on knowing who female partner is with and where she is at all times Difference Between 2 Types of Domestic Violence But in intimate terrorism, partner seeks to exert violent control over the other

Defined as the motivation to achieve or the drive to be generative Generativity

Importance of Work Develops and uses personal skills and talents Provides structure for daily life Work can help a person to develop and use personal skills express unique creative energy aid and advise coworkers, as a mentor or friend contribute to larger community via product or service

Parenthood Adult Development having children, nurturing them, and launching them into the world has a major impact on the parent’s development birth of a child brings conflict and challenges and begins the lifelong process of interdependence

Benefits and Problems role overload – multiple obligations of being for example wife, mother, and executive role buffering – achievement in one of the above roles can sometimes offset disappointment in another Logistics in Everyday Life Planning is essential now maybe more than ever to prevent overload Employed Parents

Credits evostudies.org/Modules/neave-lects/06-fmp.ppt