1. The Adult in society
Chapter 7

2. Early and Middle Adulthood
The patterns of adult males and females in American society are somewhat different.
For women, they enter the labor force, take time out to have children, and then they may go back to work after the children are grown,
For men, they typically remain in the workforce for most of their adulthood.

3. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
Psychologist Daniel Levinson and his colleagues at Yale University did an intensive long-term study of the adult male developmental stages.
Levinson and his colleagues determined each man’s life structure.
They were able to distinguish a pattern for most men.
A life structure is the combination of statuses, roles, activities, goals, values, beliefs, and life circumstances that characterize an individual.

4. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
Levinson and his colleagues concluded that there are three basic eras of adulthood:
Early adulthood
Middle adulthood
Late adulthood
Each era begins with a transitional period followed by alternating stable and transitional periods.
Transitional periods last 4-5 years
Stable periods last 6-8

5. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
Levinson placed the greatest stress on the first five periods of adulthood:
Early adult transition
Entering the adult world
The age 30 transition
Settling down
Midlife transition

7. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
The Early Adult Transition
Early adulthood is the period between the ages of 17 – 22.
This period is the bridge between adolescence and adulthood.
The most important tasks of this period include:
Leaving home (physically and psychologically)
Going to college or getting a job
Moving out of the parent’s home
However some may remain living at home.

8. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
Entering the Adult World
The next stage in early adulthood is called entering the adult world.
The typically occurs between the ages of 23 – 27.
During this stage some individuals explore a variety of relationships and career opportunities.
Others during this stage become a responsible member of society and form a stable life structure

9. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
The Age 30 Transition
Form many people this occurs between the ages of 28 – 32.
This is often a difficult period.
People tend to look back at their life choices at this point.
Divorces are common during this period as individuals reevaluate their life and current commitments.
Sound choices during this time provide a firm foundation for future development, while poor choices have far reaching consequences.

10. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
Levinson referred to the first three periods of the early adulthood era as the novice phase.
This is the time where men prepare for entry into the adult world.
Their major task during this phase is to make a place for themselves in the adult world and to construct a life structure that fits them and works in the adult world.

11. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
The Settling Down Period
The last stage of early adulthood is the settling down period.
This typically occurs between the ages of 33 – 39.
During this period individuals form true commitments to things such as:
Work
Family
Leisure
Friendship
community.

12. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male;
The Settling Down Period cont’
Near the end of the settling down period, men come to realize how much they rely on others as role models for guidance.
Levinson says they begin efforts to establish their own identities
Levinson refers to this as Becoming Ones Own Man (B.O.O.M.)
The first step of this process typically involves separating oneself from a mentor.
A mentor is someone who fosters an individual’s development by believing in the person, sharing their dreams, and helping them achieve those dreams.

13. Early and Middle Adulthood
The Adult Male
The Midlife Transition
The first stage of the midlife transition is between 40 – 44.
The is a bridge between early and middle adulthood and is characterized by self-examination.
80% of Levinson’s subjects went through a period of “midlife crisis” due the pressure of unattainable dreams and the possibility of death becoming more real.
These men experienced conflict internally and with those around them.

15. Early and Middle Adulthood
Levinson did another study, but this time with women.
He determined men and women go through the same stages of adulthood, however men and women differ in their terms of their social roles and identities.

16. Early and Middle Adulthood
Irene Frieze and Esther Sales did a study to say argue that differences do exist in the male and female stages of adulthood.
They broke the female adulthood development into the following stages:
Leaving the family
Entering the adult world
Entering the adult world again

17. Early and Middle Adulthood
Adult Female Development
Leaving the Family
Like men, this involves physically breaking away from parents and developing a life plan.
However for many women the emphasis is more on marriage than it is a career.
Some consider both as part of their life plan
Many times the husband’s career takes priority over the woman’s and this is distinguishing factor of female adult development

18. Early and Middle Adulthood
Adult Female Development
Entering the Adult World
Age for a woman’s first marriage has risen a lot since the 1960’s.
Most women do marry and become mother’s in their 20’s.
Many women find balancing motherhood and working doable, but can put an added strain on women.
About 59% of new mothers return to the workforce before their children reach the age of 1
Job advancement possibilities become limited when women leave the workforce to have children

19. Early and Middle Adulthood
Adult Female Development
Entering the workforce again once children reach school age is the third phase of adult female development.
Fewer obligations at home make working a better possibility.

22. The World of Work
American workers often spend nearly 50 years in the labor force, making the world of work one of the most important components of adult life.
The composition of the labor force and the nature of work has changed greatly over the last 100 years.
According to opinion polls and social science research, most Americans report being satisfied with their jobs.

23. The World of Work
Work
Work involves performing all of the tasks necessary to produce goods and provide services that meet human needs.
The basis for the economy
Typical individual will spend about 50 years in the labor force

24. The World of Work Composition of Labor Force
Recent decades have seen increase in number of working women
Women hold just over half of professional jobs—high-status occupations that require specialized skills and knowledge obtained through formal education
Fastest growing minority group, Hispanics, are increasing in labor force, too

25. Occupations

26. The World of Work Unemployment
Unemployment occurs when a person does not have a job but is actively seeking employment
Unemployment rate is the percentage of the civilian labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment
Unemployment rate varies across social groups
Five percent unemployment considered acceptable in the United States

27. The World of Work In 1900: In 1950: 35 percent worked in agriculture
45 percent worked in manufacturing
20 percent worked in professions, management, office work, and sales
In 1950:
Manufacturing dominated

28. The World of Work Today: Globalization
13 percent work in agriculture and manufacturing
76 percent work in professions, management, office work, and sales
Globalization
New technology has changed the economy.
Many manufacturing jobs have been outsourced, or sent to countries where labor is less expensive.

30. The World of Work Job Satisfaction:
42 percent said they were “very satisfied” with their jobs.
38 percent said they were “somewhat satisfied.”

31. The World of Work Factors for satisfaction Factors for dissatisfaction
Interesting nature of their work
Salary
Working hours
Workplace safety
Relations with co-workers
Factors for dissatisfaction
On the job stress
Income
Lack of chance for promotion
Lack of benefits

32. The World of Work Job and career changes
Changing jobs and/or careers is a well-established pattern in the United States
Average worker changes companies nine times, careers five to six times

33. The Later Years The Later Years
Social development continues throughout adulthood and well into the final stages of life.
People age 65 and older make up the fastest growing segment of the world’s population.
Older Americans face many challenges, including physical and mental decline, dependency, and death.
For many aging Americans, retirement opens up a new world full of freedom and new opportunities for growth and change.

34. The Later Years Changes in Late Adulthood Statistics
Age 65 and older: 11 percent of U.S. population in 1980; over 12 percent in 2000; projected to be 20 percent by 2030

36. The Later Years Adjustment to Retirement
Retirement involves loss of role and status associated with a particular job as well as with being a working adult.
Some are greatly bothered by this loss; others rank it as low stress.
Factors such as income, health, social networks, and identity affect a person’s adjustment to retirement.
Loss of independence can have negative consequences.

37. The Later Years Physical and Mental Functioning
Aging involves the weakening and slowing of body processes.
Intellectual ability declines very little.
Alzheimer’s disease is a leading form of dementia.

39. The Later Years
Retirement is often accompanied by a feeling of freedom.
Free time to try new things, travel, attend college, pursue activities such as crafts, golf, or gardening, or become politically active
Begin second or volunteer career
Individuals who have planned for retirement have a better position to take advantage of the opportunities in this period of life.
Financial planning
Broadening one’s interests
Developing hobbies
Taking care of one’s health

40. The Later Years Challenging Stereotypes about the Aging
According to popular wisdom, as people grow older, they grow more rigid in their habits and more conservative in their social and political thinking. But is this true?
Stereotypes about older people becoming more conservative have been proven inaccurate by studies.
In fact, older people grow more liberal on many subjects.

41. The Later Years
One possible explanation is that as society has become less conservative about topics such as race relations or premarital sex, the difference is more noticeable in older respondents.
Results show that people’s attitudes grow and change throughout their lives.