Transcript Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood

Chapter 14
Physical and
Cognitive
Development in Early
Adulthood
Physical and Cognitive Development
in Early Adulthood
The Transition
from
Adolescence
to Adulthood
Physical
Development
Sexuality
Cognitive
Development
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Careers
and
Work
2
The Transition From
Adolescence to Adulthood
The Criteria
for Becoming
an Adult
The Transition
from High School
to College
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The Criteria for
Becoming an Adult
• The most widely recognized marker of entry into
adulthood is when an individual first takes a
permanent, full-time job.
• Economic independence may be considered a
criterion for adulthood.
• More than 70% of college students reported that
being an adult means accepting responsibility for
the consequences of one’s actions, deciding one’s
own beliefs and values, and establishing a
relationship with parents as an equal adult.
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The Transition from High
School to College
• Parallels transitions to middle and high schools.
• Involves movement to a larger, more impersonal
school structure.
• Peers are from a more diverse ethnic and
geographical background.
• Increased focus on achievement and its assessment.
• Students are more likely to feel grown up, have
more subjects to choose from, have more time to
spend with peers, and have the opportunity to
explore different lifestyles.
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Today’s College Kids
• Today’s college students experience more
stress and are more depressed than in the past.
• The pressure to succeed in college, get a great job,
and make lots of money were found to be
pervasive concerns of students.
• There has been a dramatic increase in the number
of individuals who attend community college
rather than four-year colleges.
• An increasing number of today’s college students
are “returning students,” those who either did not
go to college right out of high school or went to
college, dropped out, and have returned.
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Physical Development
The Peak and
Slowdown in
Physical Performance
Eating
and
Weight
Exercise
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Substance
Abuse
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The Peak and Slowdown in
Physical Performance
• Most of us reach our peak physical performance
and are the healthiest between ages 19 and 26.
• Few young adults have chronic health problems.
• Hidden danger of peak performance and health is
that young adults can push their bodies too far
and bounce back quickly, leading to health
problems later in life.
• Muscle tone and strength usually begin to
show signs of decline around the age of 30.
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Eating and Weight
• Obesity
• Dieting
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Obesity
•
•
•
•
•
Pervasiveness and Costs
Heredity
Set Point and Metabolism
Environmental Factors
Dieting
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Pervasiveness and Costs
of Obesity
• The prevalence of obesity has risen 8% in the
1990s.
• Approximately one-third of the American
population is overweight enough to be at increased
health risk.
• Obesity is associated with increased risk of
hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
• Obesity becomes more common with increased
age, especially among women.
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Heredity and Obesity
• Estimates of the variance in body mass that
can be explained by heredity range from 2570%.
• Identical human twins have similar weights,
even when they are reared apart.
• Research has also found that animals can be
inbred to have a propensity for obesity.
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Set Point and Metabolism
• Set point - the weight maintained when no effort is
made to gain or lose weight.
• Fat is stored in adipose cells which, when filled,
prevent hunger.
• When people gain weight, the number of their fat
cells increases, possibly for good.
• Basal metabolism rate (BMR) - minimal amount
of energy an individual uses in a resting state.
• BMR varies with age and sex: it is slightly higher
for males and it declines with age.
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Environmental Factors
and Obesity
• Strong evidence of the environment’s
influence on weight is the doubling of the rate of
obesity in the U.S. since 1900.
• This increase is likely due to greater availability of
food (particularly food high in fat), energy saving
devices, and declining physical activity.
• Obesity is six times more prevalent among women
with low incomes than women with high incomes.
• Americans are more obese than Europeans and
people in many other areas of the world.
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Dieting
•
•
•
•
•
The Diet Scene
Restrained Eating
Do Diets Work?
Exercise
Dieting: Harm or Benefit?
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The Diet Scene
• Many divergent interests are involved in the topic
of dieting:
– the public
– health professionals
– policy makers
– the media
– the diet industry
– the food industry
• Societal norms promote a lean aesthetic body.
• This ideal is supported by $30 million annual sales
of books, videos, food, and pills.
• Health professionals are frustrated by high relapse
rates and the obsession with excessive thinness.
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Restrained Eating
• Restrained eaters are individuals who chronically
restrict their food intake to control their weight.
• They are often on diets, are very conscious of
what they eat, and tend to feel guilty after
splurging on sweets.
• When they stop dieting, they tend to binge—eat
large quantities of food in a short time.
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Do Diets Work?
• Few people are successful at keeping
weight off long-term.
• Some critics argue that all diets fail.
• The majority of evidence indicates that some
people who go on diets do lose weight and
maintain the loss.
• The frequency to which this occurs, and whether
or not some diets are better than others, is still
open to question.
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Exercise and Dieting
• What is known about losing weight is that the
most effective programs include an exercise
component.
• Exercise burns up calories and continues to
elevate a person’s metabolic rate for several hours
after the exercise.
• Exercise lowers a person’s set point for
weight.
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Dieting: Harm or Benefit?
• Many people who are on diets should not be.
• Even when diets produce weight loss, they can
place the dieter at risk for other health problems.
• Researchers have found a link between frequent
changes in weight and chronic disease.
• Liquid diets and other very low-calorie strategies
are related to gall bladder damage.
• When overweight people diet successfully,
however, they become less depressed and reduce
their risk for many health problems.
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Regular Exercise
• Research suggests that both moderate and
intense activities produce important physical
and psychological gains.
• Aerobic exercise is sustained exercise that
stimulates heart and lung activity.
• The main focus of exercise’s effects on health has
involved preventing heart disease.
• In addition to physical benefits, exercise improves
self-concept and reduces anxiety and depression.
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Substance Abuse
• Alcohol
• Cigarette Smoking
• Addiction
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Alcohol
• Almost half of U.S. college students say they
drink heavily.
• Another recent study showed that 40% of
students surveyed engaged in binge drinking.
• Problems reported by almost half of binge
drinkers included:
– missing classes
– physical injuries
– troubles with policy
– having unprotected sex
• By the time individuals reach their mid twenties,
many have reduced their use of alcohol and drugs.
• Living arrangements and marital status are key
factors in alcohol and drug use in the twenties.
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Cigarette Smoking
• Smoking is linked to 30% of cancer deaths, 21%
of heart disease deaths, and 82% of chronic
pulmonary disease deaths.
• Second hand smoke is implicated in as many as
9,000 lung cancer deaths a year.
• Children of smokers are at special risk for
respiratory and middle-ear diseases.
• More than 50 million Americans smoke cigarettes.
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Addiction
• Addiction is a pattern of behavior characterized by
an overwhelming involvement with using a drug
and securing its supply.
• This can occur despite adverse consequences
associated with the use of the drug.
• There is a strong tendency to relapse after quitting
or withdrawal.
• Withdrawal symptoms consist of significant
changes in physical functioning and behavior.
• Controversy continues about whether
addictions are diseases.
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The Disease Model
of Addiction
• Describes addictions as biologically based,
lifelong diseases that involve a loss of control over
behavior and require medical and/or spiritual
treatment for recovery.
• Addiction is either inherited or bred into a person
early in life.
• Current or recent problems in life are not believed
to be causes of the disease.
• Once involved in the disease, you can never
completely rid yourself of it.
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The Life-Process Model
of Addiction
• In the life-process model of addiction,
addiction is not a disease but rather a
habitual response and a source of
gratification or security that can be
understood only in the context of social
relationships and experiences.
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Recovery from Alcoholism
• About one-third of alcoholics recover whether
they are in a treatment program or not.
• A positive outcome and recovery from alcoholism
are predicted by:
– a strong negative experience related to drinking
– finding a substitute dependency
– having new social supports
– joining an inspirational group
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Sexuality
Sexual
Orientation
Sexually
Transmitted
Diseases
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Forcible Sexual
Behavior and
Harassment
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Sexual Orientation
• Heterosexual Attitudes and Behavior
• Homosexual Attitudes and Behavior
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Heterosexual Attitudes
and Behavior
• A large 1994 survey showed that Americans’ sexual
lives are more conservative than previously
believed.
• Sexual behavior is ruled by marriage and
monogamy for most Americans.
• Married couples have sex the most.
• Adultery is the exception rather than the rule.
• Most Americans do not engage in kinky sexual acts.
• Men think about sex far more than women do.
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Homosexual Attitudes
and Behavior
• Today, it is more accepted to view sexual
orientation along a continuum from exclusive
heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality rather
than an either/or proposition.
• Researchers have found no differences between
homosexuals and heterosexuals in a wide range of
attitudes, behaviors, and adjustments.
• An individual’s sexual orientation is most likely
determined by genetic, hormonal, cognitive, and
environmental factors.
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Adapting to Being
Homosexual
• Gays and lesbians experience life as a minority in
a dominant, majority culture.
• For homosexuals, developing a bicultural identity
creates new ways of defining themselves.
• Gays and lesbians are believed to adapt best when
they don’t define themselves in polarities, such as
trying to live in an encapsulated gay world
completely divorced from the
majority culture.
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gonorrhea
Syphilis
Chlamydia
Genital Herpes
HPV
AIDS
Protecting against STDs
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Gonorrhea
• An STD commonly called the “drip” or the “clap.”
• It is reported to be one of the most common STDs
in the U.S. and is caused by a bacterium from the
gonococcus family.
• The bacterium thrives in the moist mucous
membranes lining the mouth, throat, vagina,
cervix, urethra, and anal tract.
• It is spread by contact between the infected
membranes of one individual and those of another.
• Gonorrhea can be treated with antibiotics.
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Syphilis
• An STD caused by the bacterium Treponema
pallidum, a member of the spirochete family.
• Syphilis is transmitted by penile-vaginal, oralgenital, or anal contact.
• It can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to
her fetus after the fourth month of pregnancy.
• In its early stages it can be treated with antibiotics.
• In its advanced stages, syphilis can cause paralysis
or even death.
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Chlamydia
• The most common of all STDs.
• It is named for Chlamydia trachomitis, an
organism that spreads by sexual contact and
infects the genital organs of both sexes.
• Its incidence is much higher than that of gonorrhea
and syphilis.
• Ten percent of all college students have
chlamydia.
• Women run a 70% chance of contracting it in a
single sexual encounter.
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Problems with Chlamydia
• Males have noticeable symptoms in the general
region, and are able to get treatment.
• Females are asymptomatic.
• If left untreated, chlamydia spreads to the upper
reproductive tract.
• This can result in pelvis inflammatory disease
(PID) and the resultant scar tissue in the fallopian
tubes can result in infertility or in ectopic
pregnancies.
• One fourth of females with PID become infertile.
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Genital Herpes
• An STD caused by a large family of viruses with
many different strains.
• The virus can be transmitted through nonlatex
condoms and foams.
• Three to five days after contact, itching and tingling
can occur, followed by eruption of sores and blisters.
• Although certain drugs can alleviate symptoms, there
is no known cure for herpes.
• People infected with herpes often experience severe
emotional distress along with the physical discomfort.
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HPV
• HPV is a virus (human papillomavirus) that causes
warts on people.
• A few types of the virus cause warts on the
genitals.
• The most common way to contract HPV is by
having sex with or touching the genitals of
someone who already has the virus.
• Women with HPV are at a higher risk for cervical
cancer.
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AIDS
• An STD caused by the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV).
• This virus destroys the body’s immune system.
• A person with HIV is vulnerable to germs that a
normal immune system could destroy.
• Due to education and the development of more
effective drug treatments, deaths due to AIDS
have begun to decline in the U.S.
• AIDS is increasing in some parts of the world.
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Who Has AIDS?
• Of the AIDS cases reported through the end of
1999 in the U.S., 82% were men.
• 18% were women.
• 47% were gay men.
• 25% were injection drug users.
• 10% were people infected heterosexually.
• 2% were people infected through blood or blood
products.
• In the U.S., a total of 733,000 cases of AIDS has
been reported to the CDC.
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Contracting AIDS
• Experts say that AIDS can only be transmitted by:
– sexual contact
– blood transfusion
– sharing hypodermic needles
– other direct contact of cuts or
mucous membranes
• Anyone who is sexually active or uses IV drugs is
at risk for contracting AIDS.
• No one is immune.
• Once an individual is infected, the prognosis is
illness and death.
• The only safe behavior is abstinence from sex.
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Can You Be Sure
Safe?
You’re
• In one study, 34% of men and 10% of women said
they had lied so that their partner would have sex.
• 47% of the men and 60% of the women said they
had been lied to by a potential sexual partner.
• 40% of the men and women said they would lie
about the number of previous sexual partners
(lessening it) to a potential partner.
• 20% of the men and 4% of the women said they
would lie about their results from an AIDS test.
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Protecting against STDs
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•
•
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Know Your and Your Partner’s Risk Status
Obtain Medical Examinations
Have Protected, Not Unprotected Sex
Don’t Have Sex with Multiple Partners
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Forcible Sexual Behavior
and Harassment
• Rape
• Sexual Harassment
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Rape
• Forcible sexual intercourse with a person who
does not give consent.
• Legal definitions differ from state to state.
• Nearly 200,000 rapes are reported each year in the
U.S.
• Date or acquaintance rape is coercive sexual
activity directed at someone with whom the
individual is at least casually acquainted.
• As many as two-thirds of colleges males admit to
fondling females against their will and one-half
admit to forced sexual activity.
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Characteristics of Rapists
• Males are socialized in our culture to be sexually
aggressive, to regard women as inferior beings,
and to view their own pleasure as the most
important objective.
• Aggression enhances the offender’s sense of
power or masculinity.
• Rapists are angry at women generally.
• They want to hurt and humiliate the victim.
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Victims of Rape
• Most victims of rape are women, but male rape
does occur.
• Rape is equally as traumatic for male and female
victims.
• Victims initially feel shock and numbness and are
acutely disorganized.
• As they begin to get life back to normal, they
often experience:
– depression
– sexual dysfunctions
– fear
– anxiety
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Sexual Harassment
• Sexual harassment is a manifestation of power and
domination of one person over another.
• Sexual harassment can range from sexist remarks
and covert physical contact to blatant propositions
and sexual assaults.
• Millions of women experience sexual harassment
each year in work and educational settings.
• It can result in serious psychological consequences
for the victim.
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Cognitive Development
Cognitive
Stages
Creativity
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Cognitive Stages
•
•
•
•
Piaget’s View
Realistic and Pragmatic Thinking
Reflective and Relativistic Thinking
Is There a Fifth, Post-Formal Stage?
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Piaget’s View
• Piaget believed that young adults are more
quantitatively advanced in their thinking in the
sense that they have more knowledge than
adolescents.
• He also believed that adults especially increase
their knowledge in a specific area.
• Whereas adolescents may begin to plan and
hypothesize about intellectual problems, adults are
more systematic and sophisticated about it.
• However, many adults do not think at the formal
operational level.
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Realistic and Pragmatic
Thinking
• Other developmentalists believe that the idealism
that Piaget described as part of formal operational
thinking decreases in early adulthood.
• This especially occurs as young adults move into
the world of work and face constraints of reality.
• K. Warner Schaie concluded that it is unlikely that
adults go beyond the powerful methods of
scientific thinking characteristic of the formal
operational stage.
• He does believe that adults progress beyond
adolescents in their use of intellect.
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Reflective and Relativistic
Thinking
• William Perry proposed various cognitive changes
that take place in early adulthood.
• He believed that adolescents view the world in
polarities: right/wrong, good/bad, we/they.
• As they move into adulthood, this absolute,
dualistic thinking gives way to reflective,
relativistic thinking of adulthood.
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Is There a Fifth,
Post-Formal Stage?
• Post-formal thought is qualitatively different than
Piaget’s formal operational thought.
• Post-formal thought involves understanding that:
– the correct answer to a problem requires reflective
thinking
– may vary from one situation to another
– the search for truth is an ongoing, never-ending process
– solutions to problems need to be realistic
• There also exists the understanding that emotion
and subjective factors can influence thinking.
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Creativity
• Adult Developmental Changes
• Csikszentmihalyi’s Ideas
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Adult Developmental Changes
• Research has found that creativity peaks in
adulthood, usually in the forties.
• A decline in creative contributions is often found
in the fifties and later, however, it is not as great as
commonly thought.
• Qualifying any conclusions about age and creative
accomplishments are:
– the magnitude of the decline in productivity
– contrasts across creative domains
– individual differences in lifetime output
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Flow
• Flow is a heightened state of pleasure we
experience when we are engaged in mental and
physical challenges that absorb us.
• Mihaly Csikzsentmihalyi proposed the concept of
flow after interviewing 90 leading figures in art,
business, government, education, and science.
• He believes everyone is capable of achieving flow.
• The first step toward a more creative life is
cultivating your curiosity and interest.
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Csikszentmihalyi’s Ideas
• Try to be surprised by something every day.
• Try to surprise at least one person every day.
• Write down each day what has surprised you and
how you surprised others.
• When something sparks your interest, follow it.
• Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to
look forward to.
• Take charge of your schedule.
• Spend time in settings that stimulate your
creativity.
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Careers and
Work
Developmental
Changes
The Skills
Employers
Want
Personality
Types
Finding the
Right Career
Values and
Careers
Work
Monitoring the
Occupational
Handbook
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Developmental Changes
• Children have idealistic fantasies about what they
want to be when they grow up.
• In high school, students begin to think about
careers on a somewhat less idealistic basis.
• In the late teens, early twenties, career decision
making has turned more serious.
• From the mid twenties through the remainder of
early adulthood, individuals often seek to establish
their emerging career.
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Personality Types
• Personality type theory is John Holland’s view that it
is important for individuals to select a career that
matches up well with their personality type.
• He believes that this will more likely result in their
enjoyment of work and longevity at a job.
• Holland acknowledges that individuals are rarely
pure types, most are a combination of two or three.
• Holland’s personality types are incorporated into the
Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory.
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Holland’s Six Types
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•
•
•
•
•
Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional
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Values and Careers
• An important aspect of choosing a career is
that it also match up with your values.
• When people know what they value most,
they can refine their career choice more
effectively.
• Some values are reflected in
Holland’s personality types.
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Monitoring the Occupational
Handbook
• The Occupational Outlook Handbook is revised every 2
years.
• It contains the occupational outlook with information such
as:
– The top four occupations with the fastest projected
growth.
– The growth rate for jobs based on various levels of
education.
– The industries that will account for the most new jobs.
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The Skills Employers Want
•
•
•
•
•
•
Oral and written communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Analytical skills
Computer skills
Leadership skills and experience
Involvement in campus organizations and
extracurricular activities
• Relevant experiences in internships, part-time
work, or co-ops
• Good grades
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Finding the Right Career
• It is best to have several careers in mind rather
than just one.
• It is a good idea to develop skills that are
important in a variety of jobs and careers, such as
communication and computer skills.
• See a career counselor.
• Engage in personal networking.
• Scope out Internet networks and resources.
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Work
• Work defines individuals in fundamental ways.
• Most individuals spend about one-third of their
adult lives at work.
• When unable to work, many individuals
experience emotional distress and low self-esteem.
• Some aspects of work create stress.
• New issues have arisen with the increasing career
commitment on the part of women.
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