1. Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (5th Ed)
Chapter 4
Adolescence and
Adulthood
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University
Worth Publishers

2. Adolescence and Adulthood
the transition period from childhood to adulthood
extending from puberty to independence
Puberty
the period of sexual maturation
when one first becomes capable of reproduction

3. Adolescence and Adulthood
Primary Sex Characteristics
body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
ovaries- female
testes- male
external genitalia
Secondary Sex Characteristics
nonreproductive sexual characteristics
female- enlarged breast, hips
male- voice quality, body hair
Menarche (meh-NAR-key)
first menstrual period

4. Adolescence and Adulthood
In the 1890’s the average interval between a woman’s menarche and marriage was about 7 years; now it is nearly 12 years.
1890, Women
7.2 Year Interval 10 20
Age
1988, Women
11.8 Year Interval 10 20
Age

5. Adolescence and Adulthood
Height in
centimeters
Throughout childhood, boys and girls are similar in height. At puberty, girls surge ahead briefly, but then boys overtake them at about age 14.
190
170
150
130
110 90 70 50 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Age in years
Boys
Girls

6. Adolescence and Adulthood-Erikson
Identity
one’s sense of self
the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
Intimacy
the ability to form close, loving relationships
a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

7. Adolescence and Adulthood
Percentage
of teens
100
High school seniors’ attitudes appear to be in much closer agreement with those of their parents than many might suppose (Bachman et al., 1987). 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
What values
are most
important in
your life
Religion
How you
spend
your
money
What you
should do
in your
leisure time
With ideas similar to parents’
With ideas different from parents’

8. Adolescence and Adulthood
Percentage
of births to
unwed
mothers
The percentage of babies born to unmarried British, Canadian and American women (1/3 of whom were teens) has more than quintupled since 1960. 30
Canada 25
United States 20 15
Britain 10 5
Japan
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Year

9. Adulthood- Physical Changes
Percentage
of function
remaining
The slow decline of the body’s physical capacities during adulthood (adapted from Insel & Roth, ).
Heart capacity
Resting energy
expenditure
100 90 80 70
Maximum energy
expenditure 60 50
Lung volume 40 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Age in years

10. Adulthood- Physical Changes
Menopause
the time of natural cessation of menstruation
also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
Alzheimer’s Disease
a progressive and irreversible brain disorder
characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally, physical functioning

11. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses
1.00
0.75
Proportion of normal
(20/20) vision when
identifying letters on
an eye chart
0.50
0.25 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

12. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses 90
Percent correct when
Identifying smells 70 50 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

13. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses 90
Percent correct when
identifying spoken
words 70 50 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

14. Adulthood- Physical Changes
Fatal
accident
rate
Slowing reactions contribute to increased accident risks among those 75 and older. 12 10
Fatal accidents
per 100 million miles 8
Fatal accidents
per 10,000 drivers 6 4 2 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
75 and
over
Age

15. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
100
Older age groups have
poorer performance
Recalling new names introduced once, twice or three times is easier for younger adults than for older ones (Crook & West, 1990).
Percent
of names
recalled 90 80
After three
introductions 70 60 50
After two
introductions 40 30 20
After one
introductions 10 18 40 50 60 70
Age group

16. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Number
Of words
remembered
In a study by Schonfield & Robertson (1966), the ability to recall new information declined during early and middle adulthood, but the ability to recognize new information did not. 24 20
Number of words
recognized is
stable with age 16 12 8
Number of words
recalled declines
with age 4 20 30 40 50 60 70
Age in years

17. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Reasoning
ability
score
Cross-Sectional method suggests decline
Longitudinal method suggests more stability
Cross-sectional method
suggests decline 60 55 50
Longitudinal method
suggests more stability 45 40 35 25 32 39 46 53 60 67 74 81
Age in years
Cross-sectional method
Longitudinal method

18. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Crystallized Intelligence
one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills
tends to increase with age
Fluid Intelligence
ones ability to reason speedily and abstractly
tends to decrease during late adulthood

19. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Intelligence
(IQ) score
Verbal intelligence scores hold steady with age, while nonverbal intelligence scores decline (adapted from Kaufman & others, 1989).
Verbal scores are
stable with age
105
100 95 90
Nonverbal scores
decline with age 85 80 75 20 25 35 45 55 65 70
Verbal scores
Nonverbal scores
Age group

20. Adulthood- Social Changes
Social Clock
the culturally preferred timing of social events
marriage
parenthood
retirement
Hospice
an organization whose largely volunteer staff provides support for dying people and their families either in special facilities or in people’s own homes

21. Adulthood- Social Changes
Multinational surveys show that age differences in life satisfaction are trivial (Inglehart, 1990).
Percentage
“satisfied”
with life
as a whole 80 60 40 20 15 25 35 45 55
65+
Age group

22. Adulthood- Social Changes
Kubler-Ross (1969) proposed that the terminally ill pass through a sequence of five stages
denial of the terminal condition
anger and resentment (Why me?)
bargaining (with God or physicians) for more time
depression stemming from impending loss
acceptance of one’s fate

23. Adulthood- Stability of Agressiveness
Index of aggression
against wife as
reported by wife
in 1981 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Low
scores
Medium
High
Boys’ 1960 aggression score
Aggressive boys
more often
become wife
abusers

24. Adulthood- Stability of Agressiveness
Average number
of criminal
convictions as
of 1981
0.8
Aggressive boys
more often
become convicts
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
Low
scores
Medium
scores
High
scores
Boys’ 1960 aggression score