Physical Development and the Senses
• Physical development and maturation complete
• Peak of physical capabilities• Brain wave patterns show more mature
patterns• Senses are peak • Most professional athletes at peak during
early adulthood
443
Physical Fitness
• Superior physical capabilities require exercise and diet
• No more than 10% Americans exercise enough to keep themselves in good physical shape
• Less than 20% participate in moderate exercise on regular basis
443
Benefits of Exercise
• Cardiovascular fitness increase• Lung capacity increases, raising endurance• Stronger muscles and greater flexibility• Greater range of movement• More elasticity in muscles, tendons, and ligaments• Reduction in osteoporosis• Optimization of immune response • Decreased stress level • Increased sense of control over their bodies and
feeling of accomplishment
444
Health
• Leading causes of death among young adults (ages 25-34) are:
– Accidents – AIDS – Cancer – Heart disease – Suicide– Murder
• Gender and SES differences444
Secondary Aging
• Lifestyle decisions, including the use—or abuse—of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs or engaging in unprotected sex, can hasten secondary aging
• This can also increase a young adult’s risk of dying
445
Developmental Diversity
Influence of Cultural Beliefs• Cultural health beliefs, along with demographic
and psychological barriers, reduce people’s use of physicians and medical care
• Latinos are the least likely of any Western ethnic group to seek the help from physicians
• Lower socioeconomic status reduces ability to pay for traditional medical care
446
Eating, Nutrition, and Obesity
• Most young adults know which foods are healthy, but ignore good nutrition– Physical growth begins to decline – Calorie reduction necessary
447
Physical Disabilities in Young Adulthood: Coping With Physical Challenge
• Some 50+ million Americans are physically challenged
– Fewer than 10% of people with major handicaps have finished high school
• Fewer than 25% of disabled men and 15% of disabled women work full time
– Adults with handicaps are often unemployed, or stuck in routine, low-paying jobs
449
Barriers: Discrimination and Prejudice
• Despite Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), many older buildings are inaccessible to wheelchairs
• Prejudice and discrimination affect way disabled people think of themselves
– Pity, avoidance – Treating adults as children– Seeing disabled person as a category
rather than individual
449
Stress and Coping in Early Adulthood
• STRESS: Response to events that threaten or challenge an individual
• Pleasant events and unpleasant events
• Long-term, continuous exposure may result in a reduction of body's ability to deal with stress
449
Lazarus and Folkman
• People move through series of stages that determine whether or not they will experience stress
– PRIMARY APPRAISAL – SECONDARY APPRAISAL
450
Steps in the Perception of Stress
Way individual evaluates a potential stressor determines whether
individual will experience stress
450
Predicting Stressful Event (Shelly Taylor, 1991)
• Negative emotions are more likely to produce stress
• Uncontrollable or unpredictable situations are more likely to produce stress
• Ambiguous and confusing situations produce more stress
• Simultaneously tasks demands are more likely to experience stress
451
Styles of Coping
• Problem-focused coping• Emotion-focused coping • Social support coping • Defense coping involves
452
Hardiness, Resilience, and Coping
• Hardiness is a personality characteristic associated with lower rate of stress-related illness
• Resilience is ability to withstand, overcome, and actually thrive following profound adversity
453
The Informed Consumer of Development
Coping with Stress: General Guidelines• Seek control over the situation producing the
stress• Redefine “threat” as “challenge” • Find social support• Use relaxation techniques
454
Intellectual Growth in Early Adulthood
Physical development slows down during early adulthood, but does cognitive?
~
What did Piaget propose?
456
Postformal Thought
• Giesela Labouvie-Vief• Adult predicaments are sometimes solved
by relativistic thinking rather than pure logic• Postformal thought acknowledges that world
sometimes lacks purely right and wrong solutions so adults must draw upon prior experiences to solve problems
456
K. Warner Schaie• ACQUISITIVE STAGE
• ACHIEVING STAGE
• RESPONSIBLE STAGE
• EXECUTIVE STAGE
• REINTEGRATIVE STAGE
457
Intelligence: What Matters in Early Adulthood?
• Sternberg- TRIARCHIC THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE
• Intelligence is made up of three major components:• Componential aspects• Experiential components• Contextual factors
459
Expanding on Sternberg’s Theory…
• Psychologist Seymour Epstein – Constructive thinking
• Form of practical intelligence• Underlies success in such areas as social
relationships and physical and emotional health
459
Creativity: Novel Thought in Early Adulthood
• CREATIVITY
• Early adulthood– Peak of creativity– Many of professional
problems are novel
– Willing to take risks
460
Life Events and Cognitive Development
• Major life events may lead to cognitive growth
– Think about the world in novel, more complex, sophisticated, and often less rigid ways
– Apply postformal thought (Labouvie-Vief)
462
Higher Education
College is period of developmental growth that encompasses mastery not
just of particular bodies of knowledge, but of ways of understanding world.
463
College: Pursuing Higher Education
• Nationwide, a minority of high school graduates enter college
• Only about 40% of those who start graduate from college in 4 years
• Influenced by race and gender variables
463
Who goes to college?• 40% of college students today are 25 years of
age or older• Average age of a community college student is
31• College degree is becoming increasingly
important in obtaining and keeping job• Absolute number of minority students enrolled
in college has increased BUT overall proportion of minority population has decreased over past decade
464
ConsequencesProportion of students who enter college but ultimately
never graduate is substantial!
465
From Research to Practice
Does a Racially Diverse College Campus Make for a Richer Learning
• Exposure to other students who represent range of cultures, ethnicities, and races has important consequences.
• Not only do students benefit socially in terms of increased multicultural understanding, but their cognitive development is also enhanced.
• Diversity leads to more critical thinking and other sorts of cognitive advances
466
Something to Consider…
Why might students perceive the contributions of an African American discussant to be more novel
and influential than the contributions of a white discussant, even when they say the same things?
Why is there a gender gap in college attendance?
Will it continue?
• Men have more opportunities to earn money when they graduate
• More women enrolled in college
468
The Changing College Student: Never Too Late to Go to College? • According to Sherry Willis, adults return
to college for several reasons:– To understand their own aging– To keep up with rapid technological and
cultural advances– To combat obsolescence on the job– To acquire new vocational skills – To broaden their intellectual skills
466
College Adjustment: Reacting to the Demands of College Life
• First year adjustment reaction– Particularly affects unusually successful
students in high school – Passes for most as friends made and
integration into college life occurs– Serious psychological consequences for few
467
The Informed Consumer of Development
When Do College Students Need Professional Help with Their Problems?
• Psychological distress that lingers and interferes with a person’s sense of well-being and ability to function
• Feelings that one is unable to cope effectively with the stress
• Hopeless or depressed feelings• Inability to build close relationships with others• Physical symptoms
468
Gender and College Performance
• Prejudice and discrimination– Hostile sexism– Benevolent sexist
• Differences exist in gender distribution in classes and attrition rates
468
Stereotype Threat and Disidentification with School
African Americans don’t do well in academic pursuits.
Women lack ability in math and science.
471
• Women and African Americans perform less well in college
• Academic disidentification
Steele Research
472
The Great Gender Divide
During 1st year of college, men are more likely to view themselves as above average in several
academic areas.470
Dropping Out of College
Half of all students drop out of college
• Marriage, children, or death of family member
• Academic difficulties • Financial difficulties• Time off to mature
473
As people move into young adulthood, the need to know when
to conform to social situations becomes important.
The simulations on the next few slides will provide a way for you to participate in a reenactment of a
famous conformity study.
Are you ready?