Chapter 13 – Early Adulthood

Emerging Adulthood
Period of development spanning the ages of 18 to 25
- Young people ini developed nations engage in extended role explorations.
- Help from affluent parents or government for higher education.

Stages of Emerging Childhood

Age of identity exploration
- People aged 18 to 25 explore their romantic and career choices.
Age of instability
- Change in jobs, romantic partners, and living arrangements.
Age of self – focus
- People are exceptionally self – focused as they are free to take decisions.
Age of feeling in – between
- Emerging adults are in transit.
Age of possibilities
- Emerging adults have the feeling that they have the opportunity to make dramatic changes in
their lives.

Physical Development
- Peaks in early adulthood.
- Sensory sharpness peaks in early 20s
Gradual decline in middle adulthood.
- Aging affects the cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune systems.
- Fertility declines by the end pf early adulthood.
- Hair starts thinning and graying.

Tabel 13.1 Leading Causes of Death for 15 to 44 Years Old

15-24 25-44
Accidents Accidents
Suicide Suicide
Homicide Homicide
Cancer Cancer
Heart disease Heart disease
Congenital problems Liver disease
Influenza & pneumonia Diabetes
Diabetes HIV/AIDS
Respiratory disease Stroke
Stroke Influenza & pneumonia
Diet and Weight
Overweight and obese young women are more likely than young men to report dieting.
Causes of obesity :
- Heredity
- Adaptive thermogenesis : Process where body converts food energy to heat at lower rate when
a person eats less.
- Negative emotions and binge eating.

Exercise
Adults above 18 need 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week
- Breaking exercise into smaller segments is beneficial.
Reduces risks of :
- Cardiovaskular disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Certain cancers

Stress and Health

One – third of Americans report living with extreme stress.
Stress negatively affects :
- Psychological and physical health
Younger adults respond to stress in unhealthy ways :
- Skipping meals, lying awake at night, smoking more.

Sexuality
Rape
Sex with a nonconsenting person by the use of force or the threat of force.
Types :
- Acquaintance rape :
Accounts for 90% of rapes
Less likely to be reported to the police
- Date Rape :
Form of acquaintance rape
Likely to occur when the couple has too much to drink

Rape – Social Attitudes, Myths, and Cultural Factors

.> Myths
- Women say no when they mean yes.
- Women dress in a way that encourages rape.
- Women want to be overpowered and forced into sex by men.
> Cultural Factors
Men are brought up to be aggressive and devoid of feminine traits
- Makes the aversive to tenderness and emphaty.
Sexual Harassment
Deliberate or repeated unwanted comments, gestures, or physical contact.
Charges of sexual harassment are often trivialized at workplace.
- Stressful as the victim is ultimately blamed.
Abuse of power more than sexual desire.
- Especially true in traditional male fields.
Employers are accountable if harassment creates a hostile work environment.

Cognitive Development
People are at the height of cognitive ability during early adulthood.
- Memory declines as people age, while verbal skills are retained.
Crystallized Intelligence : One’s intellectual attainments
Fluid Intelligence : Ability to process information rapidly.

Cognition Across Age Groups and Gender

According to Schaie’s study, late adolescents have broad knowledge of the sciences.
William Perry’s theory of epistemic cognition:
- Epistemic Cognition : Thought processes directed at considering how one arrives at beliefs,
facts, and ideas (How do you know the facts you know are true?)
- Dualistic Thinking : Dividing the cognitive world into opposites.
Right vs. wrong., Good vs. bad., Us vs. them.,
Students move from dualistic thinking to a more relativistic thinking as they mature.
- Relativistic Thinking : Recognizes that judgments made are not absolute, but they have
religious or cultural context.
> Early : You believe _____, who am I to say that’s wrong.
> Later : You may think that ____, is right. But really, you only think that because your
(religion, culture, etc).

Labouvie-Vief’s Theory of Paragmatic Thought

- Paragmatic Thought : Decision making characterized by willingness to accept reality and
compromise.
- Cognitive – Affective Complexity :
Part of pragmatic thought.
Mature from of thinking that permits people to harbor positive and negative feelings about their
career choices and other matters.
Adults function best when they can accept reality.
- “I may never be rich, but I love what I will love what I do.”
Postformal Thinking
Young adults :
- Well-informed with specialized education and skills.
- Less egocentric than adolescents.
- More relativistic, but ideally capable of making commitments in their relativistic world.
Lack of consensus on the existence of a stage beyong Piaget’s formal operations.

College and Cognitive Development

Varied experiences about the world and life shaped during college and university life.
More men enter STEM fields even though women perform equally better at math.
- More males score higher in the SAT tests than females.
- Math-proficient women are more likely than math-proficient men to :
- Prefer careers that do not require math skills.
- Have verbal competence, giving them other career choices.

Ways to Benefit From Diversity on Campus

- Recognize that one’s way of looking at the world is not universal.
- Embrace opportunities to meet different people.
- Learn how initial reactions to a new culture maybe defensive.
- Understand what makes other people’s cultural traits valuable to them.
- Listen to other’s decriptions and concerns.
- Immerse in a different culture.
- Commit to understand a given situation from a different point of view.

Career Development
Reasons people work
- To earn a living and ensure future security.
- For fringe benefits.
Extrinsic Motives
- Paycheck and financial security.
Intrinsic Motives
- Work ethic, self-identity, self-fulfillment, self-worth, socialization, and public roles.

Super’s Stages of Career Development

- Fantasy stage
Involves child’s unrealistic conception of self-potential and of the world of work.
Dominates until age 11.
- Tentative Choice Stage
From age 11 to high school, choices are based on interests, abilities, limitations, and glamour.
- Realistic Choice Stage
Choices become narrow after age 17 as student weighs job requirements and reward against
interests, abilities, and values.
Educational plans are directed to obtain the knowledge and skills needed to enter the intended
occuptions.
“Fall into careers”
- Maintenance Stage
Person settles into career role, which occurs in the mid-30s.
Divergence from the traditional style of Career development.
Loyalty to employers reduces.
Vocational interests remain stable.
- Rentirement Stage
Individual leaves the workplace and becomes restless.