1. ESSENTIALS OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT JOHN W. SANTROCK11
Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

2. Chapter Outline The transition from adolescence to adulthood
Physical development
Sexuality
Cognitive development
Careers and work

3. The Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood
Becoming an adult
The transition from high school to college

4. The Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood
Becoming an adult
Emerging adulthood: Transition from adolescence to adulthood
Occurs from approximately 18 to 25 years of age
Characterized by experimentation and exploration
Key features
Identity exploration, especially in love and work
Instability, self-focused, and feeling in-between
The age of possibilities, a time when individuals have an opportunity to transform their lives

5. The Transition From Adolescence to Adulthood
Markers of becoming an adult
Holding a full-time job
Economic independence
Taking responsibility for oneself
The transition from high school to college
Top-dog phenomenon
Movement to a larger school structure
Increased focus on achievement and assessment
Several positive features

6. Physical Development
Physical performance and development
Health

7. Physical Development Physical performance and development
Peak physical performance typically occurs between 19 and 26
Muscle tone and strength usually begin to show signs of decline around age 30

8. Physical Development Health
Emerging adults have twice the mortality rate of adolescents
Few chronic health problems
Increase in bad health habits
Eating and weight
Obesity - Linked to increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease
Dieting - Become an obsession with many Americans
Although obesity is on the rise

9. Physical Development Regular exercise Substance abuse
Helps prevent chronic disorders
Aerobic exercise: Sustained exercise that stimulates heart and lung activity
Exercise benefits both physical and mental health
Improves self-concept and reduces anxiety and depression
Substance abuse
Alcohol
Binge drinking - Increases in college
Pregaming - Drinking alcohol before going out common among college students

10. Sexuality Sexual activity in emerging adulthood
Sexual orientation and behavior
Sexually transmitted infections
Forcible sexual behavior and sexual harassment

11. Sexuality Sexual activity in emerging adulthood
Patterns of heterosexual behavior:
Males have more casual sexual partners, while females report being more selective
Casual sex is more common in emerging adulthood than in young adulthood

12. Sexuality Sexual orientation and behavior
Heterosexual attitudes and behavior
Americans fall into three categories:
1/3 have sex twice a week or more, 1/3 a few times a month, and 1/3 a few times a year or not at all
Married (and cohabiting) couples have sex more often than non-cohabiting couples
Most Americans do not engage in kinky sexual acts
Adultery is the exception rather than the rule
Men think about sex far more often than women do

13. Sexuality Sources of sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is a continuum from exclusive male–female relations to exclusive same-sex relations
Most likely a combination of genetic, hormonal, cognitive, and environmental factors

14. Sexuality Attitudes and behavior of lesbians and gay males
Many gender differences that appear in heterosexual relationships occur in same-sex relationships
Lesbians and gays experience life as a minority in a dominant, majority culture
Developing a bicultural identity creates new ways of defining themselves

15. Sexuality
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs): Diseases contracted primarily through sex
Effective strategies for protecting against HIV
Know your risk status and that of your partner
Obtain medical examinations
Have protected, not unprotected, sex
Do not have sex with multiple partners

16. Figure 11.6 - Sexually Transmitted Infections

17. Sexuality Forcible sexual behavior and sexual harassment
Rape: Forcible sexual intercourse with a person who does not consent to it
Characteristics of male rapists
Aggression enhances their sense of power or masculinity
Angry at women in general
Want to hurt and humiliate their victims
Date or acquaintance rape: Coercive sexual activity directed at someone with whom the perpetrator is at least casually acquainted

18. Sexuality
Sexual harassment - Manifestation of power of one person over another
Takes many forms

19. Cognitive Development
Cognitive stages
Creativity

20. Cognitive Development
Cognitive stages
Piaget’s view:
Adolescents and adults think qualitatively in the same way
Individuals consolidate their formal operational thinking during adulthood
Postformal thought:
Reflective, relativistic, and contextual
Provisional
Realistic
Recognized as being influenced by emotion

21. Cognitive Development
Creativity
Early adulthood is a time of great creativity for some people
Any consideration of decline in creativity with age requires consideration of the field of creativity involved

22. Careers and Work
Careers
Work

23. Careers Developmental changes Finding a path to a purpose
From mid-twenties on, individuals often seek to establish their emerging career in a particular field
Finding a path to a purpose
Only 20% of 12 – 22-year-olds had a clear vision of where they want to go in life
Students focus only on short-term goals
Don’t explore the big, long-term picture of what they want to do in life

24. Work The impact of work Work during college
Most spend 1/3 of their lives at work
Important consideration is how stressful the work is
Work during college
Working can pay or help offset some costs of schooling
But can also can restrict students’ opportunities to learn

25. Work Monitoring the occupational outlook Unemployment
Be knowledgeable about different fields and companies
Unemployment
Produces stress regardless of whether the job loss is temporary, cyclical, or permanent
Factors affecting employment
Physical problems, mental problems, marital difficulties, and homicide

26. Careers and Work Dual-earner couples Diversity in the workplace
Face special challenges finding a balance between work and family life
Diversity in the workplace
Women have increasingly entered the labor force
Ethnic diversity also increasing in the workplace in almost every developed country