BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY:

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT WEEK
3 12 12
Middle Adulthood
(Physical Development, Cognitive Development, and Psycho Social Development) PART II

✓ Read course and unit objectives

✓ Read study guide prior to class attendance
✓ Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
✓ Proactively participate in classroom discussions
✓ Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
✓ Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. To be able to distinguish the features of middle age

2. To identify the gains and losses occurring of middle adulthood

Boyd, Denise. (2015). Lifespan development, 7th ed. Singapore: Pearson Educ. 155 B69 2015, c10
 In Western culture, middle-aged adults roles change considerably between the ages of
are exceedingly competent and proficient in 40 and 60.
assuming important family and occupational
roles. Furthermore, in most families, the middle-
aged cohort provides some degree of both
material and emotional support for both younger
and older family members. Still, most middle-
aged adults feel much less constricted by social
roles than in earlier periods, and, for most, these

According to Philipps (2011), the middle age mind can still preserve its youthful skills and even
develop new strengths. Decades of experience and learned behaviors are well assimilated by the brain
due to its capability to rewire it self despite the age. So, a middle age person can be calmer and less
neurotic in dealing with social situations and come up with better choices.

According to Erikson, the chief task of middle adulthood is the development of generativity through
guiding younger individuals. Middle-aged adults are in Erikson's generativity versus stagnation stage.
The developmental task is to acquire a sense of generativity, which involves an awareness in
establishing and guiding the next generation. It is not limited only to bearing and rearing one's own
children, but can be in symbolic ways like teaching, being as a mentor, or taking on leadership roles in
different organizations.
Psychosocial Development
According to psychiatrist George Vaillant proposed two additional stages to Erikson’s theory: career
consolidation and keeper of the meaning. In this stage, middle-aged adults concentrate on preserving
the institutions and values of their own culture that they believe will benefit future generations.

There is little empirical support for the popular

notion of a “midlife” crisis, as described by
Levinson. Levinson argued that each person
must confront a constellation of difficult tasks at
midlife: accepting of one’s own mortality,
acknowledging new physical limitations and
health risks, and adapting to major changes in
most roles. Dealing with all these tasks,
according to Levinson, is highly likely to exceed
an adult's ability to cope, thus creating a crisis.

Marital conflicts decline in middle age leading to

increased level of relationship satisfaction.
Improvement in marital satisfaction may also
derive from middle-aged adults’ increased
sense of control—a type of marital self-efficacy.

The middle-aged partners’ identification of successful problem-solving strategies contributes to the sense
that they have control over their relationship. a strategy called “skilled diplomacy,” an approach to
solving problems that involves confrontation of the spouse about an issue, followed by a period during
which the confronting spouse works to restore synchronization.

Multigenerational caregivers, sometimes referred to as the “sandwich generation.” Middle-aged adults

are “sandwiched” between younger and older cohorts. They aid and advice both up and down the
generational line. Those between ages 40 and 65 give more than they receive in both directions in the
family chain to adult children and aging parents. Most adults become grandparents sometime in the
middle adult years.
Cherlin and Furstenberg identified three basic styles of grandparenting namely:

1. Grandparents with remote relationships see their grandchildren relatively infrequently and have
little direct influence over their grandchildren's lives.
2. Grandparents with companionate relationships create very warm, pleasurable relationships
with their grandchildren.
3. Grandparents with involved relationships are those who are much more actively involved in the
rearing of their grandchildren.

For most, the role is a very rewarding one. A small proportion of middle-aged adults become primary
caregivers for their elderly parents. But there are reports of feelings burdened and depressed by this
kind of experience. Women are more likely to become primary caretakers for elders than are men.

The number of friendships an individual adult has declines in middle age, possibly narrowing the social
network to include only those friends to whom an adult feels secure and safe. The social network of
middle-aged adults is relatively small, although relationships are just as intimate as they were at earlier
ages. It may be that the social network narrows down as adults age because there is less need for it.
The Big Five personality traits are stable across middle adulthood. Openness, extraversion, and
neuroticism decline as adults age. Agreeableness increases, as does conscientiousness up until around
age 70 when it begins to show decline. However, some middle-aged adults exhibit “lowering” of negative
traits, such as neuroticism. Conscientiousness increases as people mature and become better at
managing their jobs and relationships, and agreeableness changes most in your 30s when you're raising
a family and need to be financially nurturing.

Job satisfaction peaks in middle age; however, work takes on a less important role in an adult’s overall
sense of well-being during these years. Most middle-aged adults continue to be highly productive in their
careers. Men and women cite the same sources of work dissatisfaction in middle age: time pressure,
difficult co-workers, boring tasks, and fear of losing one’s job.

Anxiety and depression sometimes accompany both involuntary and voluntary midlife career changes.
Preparation for retirement includes financial planning, as well as a decline in the number of hours a
middle-aged adult works each week.

Anxiety: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something
with an uncertain outcome.

Midlife Crisis: an emotional crisis of identity and self-confidence that can occur in early middle age.

Generativity versus Stagnation: refers to "making your mark" on the world through creating or
nurturing things that will outlast an individual.
Conscientiousness: the quality of wishing to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly.

Neuroticism: tendency to be in a negative or anxious emotional state .

Essentials of Life Span Development 5th Edition Santrock, John W. New York: MC Graw Hill (2018)
155.25 S5 2018 c2

Papalia, Diane E.. (2015). Experience human development 13th ed.. New Yor : McGraw-Hill . 155.25
P19 2015,c1

Ciccarelli, Saundra K.. (2015). Psychology, 4th ed.. Singapore : Pearson Education. 150.1 C48 2015,c2

Study Questions
1. Make a list of ways to express generativity other than by bringing up your own children and
helping them get a start in life.

2. Has your personality changed since you were younger? In what ways? How do you expect it to
change as you get older?

Boyd, Denise. (2015). Lifespan development, 7th ed. Singapore:

Pearson Educ. 155 B69 2015, c10

Essentials of Life Span Development 5th Edition Santrock, John W.

New York: MC Graw Hill (2018) 155.25 S5 2018 c2

Papalia, Diane E.. (2015). Experience human development 13th ed..

New Yor : McGraw-Hill . 155.25 P19 2015,c1

Ciccarelli, Saundra K.. (2015). Psychology, 4th ed. Singapore: Pearson

Education. 150.1 C48 2015,c2

American Psychological Association retrieved from,

www.apa.org/monitor/2011/04/mind-midlife

American Psychological Association retrieved from, July/August 2003, Vol 34, No. 7,
www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/personality