Early Adulthood

A Look at the 20s and 30s

Physical Development

A Look at Physical Development

During the 20s and 30s
Physical Endurance
 Physiological peak
during the early 20s
 30s: slow, gradual
decline
 Lose lung reserve
capacity
 Due to lack of
exercise
Sexual Responsive
 Men are most
sexually responsive
in their late teens
and early 20s
 Women become
more sexually
responsive in their
late 30s on
Sexual Reproduction
 10% of reproductive population: infertility
 Males-low sperm count or unhealthy sperm
 Females-failure to ovulate; pelvic
inflammatory disease
 One-third of couples conceive without
treatment
 Half with treatment still don’t conceive
Fertility Treatments
 85-90% fertility drugs
 In vitro fertilization (5% cases)
 5-30% success rate
 GIFT (gamete intra-fallopian transfer)
 Sperm and ova into fallopian tube
 ZIFT (zygote intra-fallopian transfer)
Problems Which Peak
During Early Adulthood
 Drug Abuse
 Peaks between 19-22
 Impairs judgment
 Associated with acquaintance rape
 Sexually transmitted infections
 Violent Death in males
Cognitive Development

A Look at Adult Thinking

Postformal Thinking
 What’s the difference between a 14
year old and a 34 year old in terms of
thinking?
 Experience
 Practicality and realism
 Postformal Thinking is both abstract,
realistic, and personal
Dialectical Thought
 Adolescents: dichotomous thinkers
 Adults: Dialectical thought
 Education promotes this
 Leads to greater tolerance
Educational Concerns
 What is the relationship between higher
education and the workplace?
 Bok: the two should be more closely
aligned
 Global awareness
 Communicative skills
 Moral reasoning
 Lack of rigor in higher education?
Psychosocial Development

A Look At the Social World of

People in Their 20s and 30s
Developmental Tasks of
Early Adulthood
 Independence
 Identity
 Emotional Stability
 Career
 Intimacy
 Community
 Residence
 Parenting
Developmental Tasks of
Early Adulthood
 Future focus
 Emphasis on age/experience
 Decision-making based on what others
think
 Goal is to be seen as an adult
Theories of Early
Adulthood: Levinson
 Early adult transition
 Entering the adult world
 Age 30 transition
 Settling down
 Midlife transition
Theories of Early
Adulthood: Erikson

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Friendships As A Source of
Intimacy

 Opposite sexed friendships

 Friendships between males
 Friendships between females
Partners As A Source of
Intimacy: Cohabitation
 How many cohabiting couples?
 7.5 million; 800,000 same-sex couples
 How long?
 Half end within a year; longer in Europe
 Shorter for younger partners
 Rates are changing in the United States
Why Cohabit?
 Premarital cohabitation
 Dating cohabitation
 Trial marriage
 Testing ‘marriage’ not a partner
 Substitute marriage
 40% of these last 5-7 years
Same-Sex Couples
 Marriage legal in Spain, Canada,
Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Iceland,
the Netherlands, South Africa, and
Denmark
 Couple issues no different
 Greater equality between partners
 Break-up and continued contact
Mate Selection
 Median Age of 1st Marriage: 25 females; 27
males
 Social Exchange Theory: The Marriage Market
and social currency
 A Fair Exchange
 The Principle of Least Interest
 Homogamy
 Endogamy, exogamy, propinquity
Sternberg’s Triangular
Approach to Love
Love has three elements:
 Intimacy is the emotional component
of a relationship.
 Passion is the motivational piece of the

relationship, (arousal and attraction).

 Commitment represents the cognitive
dimension of a relationship.
Sternberg’s Types of Love
 Liking
 Infatuation
 Empty Love
 Romantic Love
 Companionate Love
 Fatuous Love
 Consummate Love
Styles of Love

A Look at Several Type Theories

on Love
John Lee’s Six Styles of Love
 Pragma - down-to-earth (pragmatic)
style of love.
 Agape - altruistic, partners are
completely selfless, always giving
without expecting something in return.
 Mania - characterized as possessive
and obsessive; demanding, insecure,
volatile
John Lee’s Six Styles of Love
 Eros-overpowering, erotic love in which
a person feels consumed
 Ludus-carefree and nonpossessive;
more fun than commitment
 Storge-love that develops slowly over
time; begins as friendships; (if they
break up, they remain friends)
Frames of Relationships
 In this type of
relationship,
partners lean on
one another and
have little sense of
self
 Considered
dependent
 If one partner
changes, the other
will fall
Frames of Relationships
 In this type of
relationship,
partners lives are
parallel
 Considered
independent
 If one leaves, the
other might not
notice
Frames of Relationships
 In this type of
relationship,
partners have a
strong life as a
couple, but also are
able to stand alone
 Considered
interdependent
 If one leaves, the
other will hurt, but
can survive
Social Psychological Theories
 Reiss’s Wheel
Theory of Love
Self-
Rapport revelation

Mutual
Need dependency
fulfillment
Process of Disaffection:
Breaking Up
 Before: “Little Fictions”
 Beginning Phase: Psychological
Breakup
 Middle Phase: Disappointment
 End Phase: Hopelessness