Chapter 5 , Social Roles

communal qualities

such as being sympathetic, nurturing, and intuitive (female stereotypes)

a way in which adult development is studied

by examining the succession of social roles that adults typically occupy over the years

social role theory

gender roles are the result of young children observing the division of labor within their culture, thus learning what society expects of them as men and women, and then following these expectations

John Williams and Deborah Best

investigated gender stereotypes in 25 countries.

cohabitation

living together without marriage (11% of americans)

marital crisis effect

married people are healthier because they have not endured the crisis of being divorced or widowed. In other words, it's not that marriage provides good health per se, but that the trauma of being divorced or widowed brings poor health

the older adult

may lose some roles as friends and family members die, but the remaining roles increase in richness and the satisfaction they provide

the post parental age

middle age

gender stereotypes

refer to sets of shared beliefs or generalizations about what men and women in a society have in common, often extending to what members of each gender ought to do and how they should behave

role transitions

roles are neither gained nor lost; they change as the life circumstances of the individual change

distal causes

factors that were present in the past

grandfamilies

A substantial number of grandparents have taken their grandchildren into their homes and assumed parental responsibility for them

the young adult

makes the transition from being a spouse to being a new parent

who lives longer( in order)

married couples, cohabiting and unmarried people, cohabiting gay people, single people

the cross over of gender roles occurs here

midlife . According to this theory, women take on more and more of the traditionally masculine qualities or role responsibilities, becoming more assertive, whereas men become more passive

social roles in young adulthood

more social roles at this time than in any other period of life because they are searching for right paths of life but their roles are still slight modifications to their adolescent roles. leaving the role of a student and starting the role of a worker, becoming independent of parents or becoming committed to a spouse.

the middle-aged adult

moves from being the parent of a dependent teenager to the parent of an independent adult

the emerging adult

moves from the constraints of being a high-school student to the relative freedom of a college student's role

emerging adulthood

roughly between the ages 18 and 25

lifelong singles

situations—young people who have not found a partner yet, older people who are divorced or widowed and whose children are grown, or individuals who have chosen living alone as their preferred lifestyle

economic exchange theory

which says that men and women function as a couple to exchange goods and services. Women bring to the relationship the ability to bear children and in exchange, men take over the financial responsibility of paid work

parental investment theory

women and men evolved different gender role behaviors and interests because they differ in how much time and resources they invest in each child

biosocial perspective

considers that a bias for masculine roles and feminine roles evolved over the course of human evolution, based on biological differences (distal causes), and interacts with current social and cultural influences (proximal causes) to produce gender roles that reflect the individual's biology, developmental experiences, and social position

low child birth rate in 20s and 30s ( increased in rate after 40 yrs of age)

declines in teen pregnancy, abortions, and fetal loss rates, and is probably due to the strong pregnancy prevention messages directed at young people and the increased use of contraception .. also become parents without become married first.

gender roles

describe what men and women actually do in a given culture during a given historical era

marital resource effect

effect—being married gives people more advantages in terms of financial resources, social support, and healthier lifestyles

proximal causes

factors that are present in the immediate environment

reasons people continue to live at home with their parents

hight unemployment rate, the result of recession, todays jobs require more education, parents are more affluent and able to support their children,

by how many years has the average age in which people married increased in the last 3 decades

3 years

alternative to marriage prelude to marriage alterative to being single

1.They live together for an extended period of time with no plans to marry 2.couples living together for a period of time and then marrying. 3.These relationships do not last very long and do not result in marriage

who lives in US households

About 10% are single mothers or fathers with children. About 34% are men and women living alone. Six percent are opposite-sex partners, and 1% are same-sex partners. And 7% are people living in nonromantic relationships with other adult roommates

empty nest stage

Folklore would have it that this empty-nest stage is a particularly sad and stressful period, especially for women. Research shows, to the contrary, that the results of this role transition are more positive than negative for most. Marriages are happier than they have been since before the children were born, and many couples report experiencing this phase of their marriage as a second honeymoon. Marriages are happier than they have been since before the children were born, and many couples report experiencing this phase of their marriage as a second honeymoon

what makes emerging adulthood different from adolescence and adulthood

It is (a) the age of identity explorations, (b) the age of instability, (c) the self-focused age, (d) the age of feeling in-between, and (e) the age of possibilities (Jeffrey Arnett, 2007).

the childless

One concern is that they will have no one to take care of them when they are old.seem to have a strong social network of siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews and may also receive support from children of neighbors and close friends. Many have raised stepchildren.

transition to adulthood

Some people complete high school, go to college or enter some type of career training, establish themselves economically, and move out of the parental home. Others complete high school, move out of their parents' homes, take a series of entry-level jobs around the country for a few years, and then move back with their parents, ready to begin college. A few marry immediately after high school, but many leave the parental home to enter cohabiting relationships as they make this transition. So there are clearly a variety of options ( a period where people are able to turn their lives around)

reasons people delay marriage

Some of the answers are that couples want to enjoy a higher standard of living in their marriages than couples in the past, and there is not as much pressure as in the past for a couple to marry to have a sexual relationship (or even children)

conclusion from work in Chile and Brazil that was done by Eagly and her colleges

although gender roles are part of our evolutionary legacy, they are moderated by conditions we experience during our lifetimes, and these changes are reflected in the gender stereotypes of our contemporary culture. It also shows me that gender roles (and stereotypes) are dynamic; they change as our culture changes. Our job is to examine the stereotypes we hold in our minds (and hearts) to make sure they reflect current conditions for men and women, not try to make men and women reflect stereotypes that may be out of date

instrumental qualities

being competitive, adventurous, and physically strong (male stereotypes)

marital selection effect

people in poor mental and physical health are not as likely to marry as those who are better off

social roles

refers to the expected behaviors and attitudes that come with one's position in society.

learning schema-theory

states that children are taught to view the world and themselves through gender-polarized lenses that make artificial or exaggerated distinctions between what is masculine and what is feminine

evolutionary psychology

traces the origins of gender roles to solutions our primitive ancestors evolved in response to problems they faced millions of years ago. It explains that females and males are genetically predisposed to behave in different ways. The genes for these behaviors are present in us today because throughout human history they have allowed men and women in our species to survive and to select mates who help them produce and protect children who, in turn, pass the genes along to the next generation