 Historically viewed as a time of stress  Rebelliousness, emotional upheaval  In reality:  No greater psychological problems than in adulthood  But… its true that there is  More depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicide than in childhood

 Emotional moodiness does increase  Linked to negative events  More moody that children or adults  Teens are happiest with friends  Least happy in adult structured events  Moods level off by 10th grade

 Growth Spurts  Females:  Starts by age 10  Ends by age 16  Males:  Starts by 12.5  Ends by 17.5

 Lasts from 7 to 11 years of age  Characterized by slow physical growth  Important cognitive changes occur  Conservation and reversibility ▪ Child decenters – allows conservation problems to be solved; learns some matter changes shape but not volume

 Emotional and social development  Child enters with close ties to parents  Peer relationships become increasingly important ▪ Friendships more important, last longer ▪ Cliques or groups formed, mostly same sex ▪ Terms boyfriend and girlfriend have little meaning at this stage

 Adolescence  Physical changes of puberty  Adolescent growth spurt  Heightened sexual and romantic interest  Peers become more important than parents  Cognitively – capable of abstract reasoning ▪ Ponders abstract issues like justice or equality  No clear cut end to adolescence in society

 Cognitive development  Formal operations stage entered ▪ Ability to use abstract concepts ▪ Shift to stage varies among individuals; some never reach this stage, others reach it in early adulthood  Piaget’s classic experiment with weights

CD AB 7-yr-old4-yr-old 10 kg 5 kg 8 kg 5 kg 2 kg 5 kg 14-yr-old 10-yr-old Piaget’s Balance Test - task: make the weight times the distance equal on both sides of center

 Adolescent egocentrism  Imaginary audience – everyone is watching  Personal fable – belief that s/he is unique  Hypocrisy – okay for one to do it but not another  Pseudostupidity – use of oversimplified logic  Social development  Time of drifting or breaking away from family

 Emotional development  G. Stanley Hall – time of storm and stress  Most adolescents are happy, well-adjusted  Areas of problems ▪ Parent-child conflicts ▪ Mood changes - self-conscious, awkward, lonely, ignored ▪ Risky behavior - aggression, unprotected sex, suicide, use of substances or alcohol

 Young adulthood through older adulthood  Developmental changes continue throughout adulthood: not a single phase of life  Taking on adult responsibilities in work and social relationships  Challenges: love, work, play continue changing

 Physical development  Growth and strength in early adulthood, then slow process of decline afterwards ▪ Speed and endurance ▪ Vision and ability to see in weak lighting ▪ Hearing and detection of tones ▪ Taste – intact until later in life; men tend to lose hearing and taste earlier than women  Decline affected by health and lifestyles

 Cognitive development  Continues throughout adulthood; some abilities improve while others decline ▪ Fluid intelligence peaks in 20s, declines therafter ▪ Crystallized intelligence improves until 30s; then declines slowly afterwards ▪ Overall, individual rates vary depending on lifestyle and health

 Emotional and social development  Many aspects of personality are fairly stable over time, and changes are predictable ▪ On average, adults become ▪ less anxious and emotional, socially outgoing, and creative ▪ People become more dependable, agreeable, and accepting of life’s hardships ▪ Gender differences lessen over time

 Emotional and social development  Much disagreement about when and how changes occur during aging – differences between stages of infant/child development and adult development ▪ Not all adults go through every stage ▪ Order of stages can vary for individuals ▪ Timing of stages not controlled by biological maturation

 Early adulthood  Erikson ▪ Intimacy versus isolation (17 to 45 years)  Levinson - Early adulthood has three stages ▪ Entry into early adulthood (17-28) ▪ Age 30 transition (28-33) ▪ Culmination of early adulthood (to age 40)  Challenges of career, marriage, and parenthood

 Erikson –  Generativity versus stagnation (40-65 years) ▪ Taking stock of what one has, who s/he is ▪ Some are happy, some are disappointed ▪ Generativity – reaching out, not self-centered

 Levinson – four brief stages  Midlife transition (early 40s)  Entry to middle adulthood stage (45 to 50)  Age 50 transition  Culmination of middle adulthood  Climactic –  Female sexual ability to reproduce declines  Not all adult development timed by social clock rather than biological clock

 Levinson – four brief stages  Midlife transition (early 40s)  Entry to middle adulthood stage (45 to 50)  Age 50 transition  Culmination of middle adulthood  Climactic –  Female sexual ability to reproduce declines  Not all adult development timed by social clock rather than biological clock

 Biological – human body deteriorates  Psychological  Happy or unhappy aging  Social activity and slowed intellectual decline or disengagement and isolation  Maintain healthy or unhealthy lifestyle  Optimism linked to happier, healthier, longer life

 Kübler-Ross – five stages  Denial  Anger  Bargaining  Depression  Acceptance