chapter 16 socioemotional development in middle adulthood

generativity versus stagnation

Generativity -encompasses adults' desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation stagnation- (sometimes called "self-absorption") develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation. Adult stage theories have been plentiful, and they have contributed to the view that midlife brings a crisis in development. Two prominent theories that define stages of adult development are Erik Erikson's life-span view and Daniel Levinson's seasons of a man's life. Erikson (1968) proposed that middle-aged adults face a significant issue—generativity versus stagnation, which is the name Erikson gave to the seventh stage in his life-span theory. Generativity encompasses adults' desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation

Helson's Mills College Study

Helson's Mills College Study Another longitudinal investigation of adult personality development was conducted by Ravenna Helson and her colleagues (George, Helson, & John, 2011; Helson, 1997; Helson & Wink, 1992; Stewart, Ostrove, & Helson, 2001). They initially studied 132 women who were seniors at Mills College in California in the late 1950s and then studied them again when they were in their thirties, forties, and fifties. Helson and her colleagues distinguished three main groups among the Mills women: family-oriented, career-oriented (whether or not they also wanted families), and those who followed neither path (women without children who pursued only low-level work).

Levinson's Seasons of a Man's Life

In The Seasons of a Man's Life (1978), clinical psychologist Daniel Levinson reported the results of extensive interviews with 40 middle-aged men. The interviews were conducted with hourly workers, business executives, academic biologists, and novelists. Levinson bolstered his conclusions with information from the biographies of famous men and the development of memorable characters in literature. Although Levinson's major interest focused on midlife change, he described a number of stages and transitions during the period from 17 to 65 years of age, as shown in Figure 2. Levinson emphasizes that developmental tasks must be mastered at each stage.

contemporary life-events approach,

Approach emphasizing that how a life event influences the individual's development depends not only on the life event but also on mediating factors, the individual's adaptation to the life event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context.

Berkeley Longitudinal Studies

Berkeley Longitudinal Studies In the Berkeley Longitudinal Studies, more than 500 children and their parents were initially studied in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The book Present and Past in Middle Life (Eichorn & others, 1981) profiles these individuals as they became middle-aged. The results from early adolescence through a portion of midlife did not support either extreme in the debate over whether personality is characterized by stability or change. Some characteristics were more stable than others, however. The most stable characteristics were the degree to which individuals were intellectually oriented, self-confident, and open to new experiences. The characteristics that changed the most included the extent to which the individuals were nurturant or hostile and whether or not they had good self-control.

George Vaillant's Studies

Vaillant (2002) has conducted three longitudinal studies of adult development and aging: (1) a sample of 268 socially advantaged Harvard graduates born about 1920 (called the Grant Study); (2) a sample of 456 socially disadvantaged inner-city men born about 1930; and (3) a sample of 90 middle-SES, intellectually gifted women born about 1910. These individuals have been assessed numerous times (in most cases, every two years), beginning Page 497in the 1920s to 1940s and continuing today for those still living. The main assessments involve extensive interviews with the participants, their parents, and teachers.

fight-or-flight manner

When men face stress, they are more likely to respond in a fight-or-flight manner, to become aggressive, withdraw from social contact, or drink alcohol

stagnation

stagnation (sometimes called "self-absorption") develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation.

social clock

the timetable on which individuals are expected to accomplish life's tasks, such as getting married, having children, or establishing themselves in a career. Social clocks provide guides for our lives; individuals whose lives are not synchronized with these social clocks find life to be more stressful than those who are on schedule, says Neugarten.

tend-and-befriend

when women experience stress, they are more likely to engage in a tend-and-befriend pattern, seeking social alliances with others, especially friends. Taylor argues that when women experience stress an influx of the hormone oxytocin, which is linked to nurturing in animals, is released.

Big Five factors of personality,

which are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (emotional stability -being conducted by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae

empty nest syndrome,

which includes a decline in marital satisfaction after children leave the home.