1. Chapter 18 & 19 Early Adulthood: Cognitive Development
Piaget’s & IP theory, & Factors influencing cognition
Psychosocial Development
Maslow’s, & Erikson, Types of intimate relationships, marriages and Divorces

2. Approaches to Cognition
Postformal picks up where Piaget left off
Information-processing studies the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information during lifetime (see Ch. 24)

3. Postformal Thought
Adult thinking and adolescent thinking differ in 3 ways, with adult thinking more:
practical
flexible
dialectical

4. A Fifth Stage of Cognitive Development?
Postformal thought often viewed as fifth stage of Piaget’s theory
In it, adults consider every aspect of a situation
use intellectual skills for real life—work and relationships
understand that conclusions and consequences matter

5. Subjectivity and Objectivity
Arise from individual’s personal experiences and perceptions
Traditional models devalued subjective thought
Objective thought—abstract impersonal logic
For adults combination of the two works best

6. Emotions and Logic
Trying to combine both logic and emotions in dealing with an emotional issue is challenging
but at each stage of adulthood, adults can achieve this balance in contrast to adolescents who believe in subjective or objective reasoning

7. Cognitive Flexibility
Awareness that your perspective is not the only one
Awareness that each problem has many potential solutions and knowledge is dynamic

8. Flexible Problem Solving
Adult thought requires flexible adaptation, which allows adults to
cope with unanticipated events
come up with more than one solution to problem

9. Dialectical Thought Cognitive flexibility at its most advanced
Every idea or truth(thesis) bears within it suggestion of the opposite idea or truth(antithesis)

10. Culture and Cognition
There are notable differences between Eastern and Western thought
more polar; right vs. wrong; black vs. white—Western thought
more of a combination or compromise—Eastern thought

11. Culture and Cognition, cont.
Developmentalists feel culture helps to shape thought
Life-span perspective is multicontexual and multicultural, stressing adults change because of
maturation
experience

12. Adult Moral Reasoning Ethical issues often present themselves
Taking responsibility for one’s own actions perceived by young adults of all ethnic groups as marker of adulthood

13. Cognitive Growth and Higher Education
The relationship between college education and adult development
healthier, wealthier, as well as deeper, more flexible thinkers

14. The Effects of College
Education powerfully influences cognitive development
improves verbal and quantitative skills, and specific subject knowledge while enhancing reasoning, reflection, and flexibility of thought

15. The Effects of College, cont.
Educational influences, cont.
year-by-year progression of students’ thinking
end of college finds students have generally moved from simplistic either/or ideas to recognition of multiplicity of perspectives

16. Change in the Students
The sheer numbers have increased greatly, worldwide
In all nations, increased student diversity
more women students
more older students
more culturally diverse students in United States
more low-income students
more working students

17. Theories of Development
Maslow: hierarchy of needs
Once the lower order needs are fulfilled we aspire for the higher order needs
Erikson: intimacy vs. isolation

19. 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”
Social Clock: Culturally set timetable that establishes when various events and endeavors in life are appropriate

20. Intimacy
Two primary sources are close friendships and romantic partnerships
Friendships are based on
Physical attractiveness
Apparent availability (willingness to chat)
Absence of exclusion criteria
Frequent exposure to each other

21. 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

22. Gender Differences in Friendship, cont.
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

23. Love and Living Arragments
Sternberg’s Theory of love
1) passion 2) intimacy 3) commitment
in West, consummate love— a combination of all three—is the ideal form
difficult to achieve consummate love
familiarity and security diminish passion

24. Cohabitation
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

25. Cohabitation does not necessarily benefit the participants
one study found people who cohabitate much less happy and healthy, and less satisfied with financial status than are married couples
in another study, cohabiting relationships were 3 times as likely to be abusive than marriages
in a third, compared to single adults, cohabitants are likely to have alcohol problems

26. Marriage
proportion of unmarried adults is higher than at any time in the past century
nearly one-half of all births are to single mothers who are increasingly unlikely to marry the fathers of their babies
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

27. Marriage, still most enduring evidence of couple commitment.
Worldwide research says married people are happier, healthier, and richer.
One developmental factor affecting success of marriage is maturity of the partners
A second factor is degree of similarity, or homogamy—marriage within same group
heterogamy—marriage outside of group
social homogamy—similarity of couple’s interests and role preferences

28. Marital Equity social exchange theory
in modern marriages, what matters most is perception of fairness, not absolute equality

29. 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

30. The Role of Expectations
People today expect more from marriage partners than in the past, but expectations are not always as well defined

31. The Developmental Impact of Divorce
Initially worse than expected in
health
happiness
self-esteem
financial stability
social interaction
achievement