Exam 3: Adulthood Ch. 14, 16, 18, 19

At around the age of 35, women have also traditionally become more aware that their

"biological clocks" is ticking

We rarely hear cohabitation referred to as

"living in sin" as we once did

People today are more likely to refer to cohabitation with value-free expressions such as

"living together"

Persons who marry late or who remarry tend not to select partners so close in age because they are

"out in the world" - rather than in school or fresh out of school—and tend to work with or otherwise meet people from different age groups

It is also useful if one partner is the workaholic and the other partner is the

"people person" or social butterfly -They each then have their domains of expertise and are unlikely to clash

While some theorists present portraits of middle-aged people suddenly focusing on tragedy, loss, or doom, others find people to be in or entering the

"prime of life"

Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation

Ego transcendence means preparing in some way to go beyond the physical limitations of one's own life span. As death comes nearer, some prepare to transcend death by helping secure the futures of their children or grandchildren. Others work more broadly to benefit a church, synagogue, or mosque, or to leave planet Earth in "better shape" than they found it

Generativity versus Stagnation

Erikson's seventh stage of psychosocial development, in which the life crisis is the dichotomy between generativity (as in rearing children or contributing to society) and stagnation (a state characterized by lack of development, growth, or advancement).

With whom will I share my retirement years?

If life partners are not in agreement about retirement activities and residences, the stresses of an unwanted living situation can provide a continuous source of stress.

How accurate is the disengagement theory?

Probably not very. It seems that well-being among older adults generally increases when they pursue goals rather than withdraw from society. -Goals might have to be adjusted so that they are consistent with the person's physical and cognitive abilities, but disengagement does not appear to be the path to adjustment. Moreover, relationships between children and parents change as parents travel the years of late adulthood, but children—who are now middle-aged—often maintain close, supportive ties with aging parents, and despite some diminished capacities, aging parents may become founts of wisdom.

Intimacy vs. Isolation​

Sternberg's triangular theory of love: intimacy, passion, & commitment​

Administered a battery of psychological tests to nearly 200 middle-aged adults, many of whom were identified as high in generativity and many of whom were identified as high in stagnation:

The more generative group scored significantly higher in the personality variable of conscientiousness, and the more stagnating group scored significantly higher on the personality variable of neuroticism.

How will I decide?

There are many phases of retirement decision making: imagining the possibility of retirement, deciding whether and when it is time to let go of a long-held job, and when and how to put concrete plans to retire into action

Broadly speaking, many people in the United States today want to get married because they believe that they will

be happier -The National Marriage Project suggests that most of them are correct, even if the percentages of those reporting that their marriages are "very happy" have declined since the 1970s

And many women do become pregnant in their late 30s and early 40s. However, more careful monitoring of the fetus is usually recommended for women who

become pregnant at 35 or later

Although the overall percentage of American households made up of married couples has been decreasing, the great majority of women and men aged 30 to 44 have

been married

Adolescents strive for independence and, as they mature and gain experience, parents generally

begin to share control with them

Romantic love

a form of love fueled by passion and feelings of intimacy

Polygamy

a person has more than one spouse and is permitted sexual access to each of them

Midlife transition

a psychological shift into middle adulthood that is theorized to occur between the ages of 40 and 45 as people begin to believe they have more to look back upon than forward to.

In the long term, however, both men and women may seek to invest in

a relationship, feelings of love, companionship, and a sharing of resources

Midlife Crisis

a time of dramatic self-doubt and anxiety during which people sense the passing of their youth and become concerned with their own aging and mortality

Midlife crisis

a time of dramatic self-doubt and anxiety during which people sense the passing of their youth and become concerned with their own aging and mortality.

Most of the research on gay men and lesbians has focused on

adolescents and young adults

Once beset by the crisis, there may be attempts to deny aging, such as

an extramarital affair to prove that we remain attractive, buying a sports car (red, of course), or shifting careers.

Studies find that women of ______ weight with a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 to 0.8 are rated as most attractive and desirable for relationships

average -Neither gaunt nor obese women are found to be as attractive

In-depth interviews with the church-goers found several reasons for their relative longevity, including

avoidance of negative coping methods such as aggressive behavior and drinking alcohol, success in evading victimization by violence, a sense of hopefulness, and social support.

"Big Five" personality traits

basic personality traits derived from contemporary statistical methods: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism (emotional instability), and openness to experience

A study of more than 5,000 German, British, Spanish, Czech, and Turkish people suggests that the factors are related to people's

basic temperaments, which are largely inborn

Leisure and informal social activities contribute to life

satisfaction among retired people

Sharing power in the relationship and dividing household tasks contributed to

satisfaction in the relationships

The second and third groups were not as

satisfied with retirement -They were in poorer health, less likely to be married, and lower in socioeconomic status then the first group -Another way to look at this data is to suggest that retirement per se didn't change these people's lives in major ways.

Generativity not only contributes to future generations, it also enhances one's

self-esteem and sense of meaning in life

Levinson and his colleagues also found that the later 30s are often characterized by

settling down or planting roots -At this time, many people feel a need to make a financial and emotional investment in their homes. -Their concerns become focused on promotion or tenure, career advancement, mortgages, and, in many or most cases, raising their own families

For traditionalists, marriage legitimizes _____ relations

sexual

it is widely believed that reddish skin tones are a

sexual signal that attracts mates

It is more often the man who is unwilling to make a commitment, because men are typically more interested in

sexual variety, at least in the short term

Gay men in long-term partnerships are less likely to incur

sexually transmitted infections

"Being in love" can refer to states of passion or infatuation, whereas friendship is usually based on

shared interests, liking, and respect

Most adult sibling relationships are close, but they tend to reflect the nature of

sibling relationships in childhood -Then, too, sisters tend to have more intimate relationships than brothers

One of the purposes of arranged marriage is to make certain that the bride and groom share

similar backgrounds so that they will carry on family traditions

Researchers have found that people who are involved in committed relationships are most likely to be

similar to their partners in their attitudes and cultural attributes

Some women bearing children late have considered their options and chosen to have and raise their children as

single parents

Single, never-married—and noncohabiting—adults without children make up a

small minority of the adult American population

People also rate the attractiveness of faces higher when they are

smiling than when they are not smiling

Siblings (and children) of the widowed tend to ramp up their

social contacts and emotional support

In order to regulate their emotional lives as they grow older, people limit their

social contacts to a few individuals who are of major importance to them

Height plays a key role in choice of a mate because it suggests

social dominance, status, access to resources, protection, and a positive heritable trait

Yet the involuntary nature of being widowed is much more likely to lead to

social isolation than marital separation -The reasons for isolation are physical, cognitive, and emotional

Family and social relationships provide some of the most obvious—and most important—elements in the

social lives of older adults

Parents also seem to be more likely than people without children to have the sort of

social network that permits them to avoid nursing homes or other residential care upon physical decline

Therefore, religion and religious activities provide older adults a vast arena for

social networking

Women were relatively more likely to desire men who had a

steady income (74% versus 97%) and made a lot of money (47% versus 69%)

When two people in close quarters each want a task completed in her or his own way, there is likely to be _______

conflict

Researchers attribute children's problems following divorce not only to the divorce itself but also to a

consequent decline in the quality of parenting.

Romantic love may burn brightly and then flicker out. Or it may develop into a more complete love, called

consummate love, in which all 3 components flower

Butler (2002) also argues that health-care professionals rely far too much on ______ to ease the discomforts of older adults

drugs

Thus young married or cohabiting adults with children more often than not areu

dual-earner families

Caring for children was connected with declines in well-being for dual-earner women, but, ironically, with increases in well-being for

dual-earner men -Perhaps the men were relieved of much stress by the second income.

Adolescents are often parts of cliques and crowds, and young adults often have large numbers of friends. In middle adulthood, the number of friends tends to

dwindle, and couples and individuals tend to place more value on the friends they keep

The nature of romantic relationships and the satisfaction of the partners strongly affect the well-being of

each member of the couple at various stages throughout adulthood

When a household splits, the resources often cannot maintain the

earlier standard of living for each partner.

But age homogamy reflects the tendency to marry in

early adulthood

But bearing children in developed nations is generally seen as something that ideally occurs in

early adulthood, although a few hundred thousand teenage girls bear children in the United States each year

Frequency of contact and emotional closeness declined from

early to middle adulthood but increased again in late adulthood (mean age = 71.5 years)

Young adults may decide to cohabit because of the

economic advantages of sharing household expenses

More women today have the _____ ____ of breaking away from a troubled marriage

economic means -Also, today more people consider marriage an alterable condition than in prior generations.

On the other hand, the fact that their mothers work did encourage the adolescents—female and male—to say they believed in gender

egalitarianism

As a perennial optimist, Erikson believed that people who achieved positive outcomes to earlier life crises—for example, generativity rather than stagnation in middle adulthood—would be more likely to obtain

ego integrity than despair in late adulthood

Erikson labeled his eighth or final stage of life the stage of

ego integrity versus despair

Many people become more aware of their bodies and their bodies' limitations as they age, which, for some, may lead to

ego transcendence

Women aged 22 to 49 were most likely to reject jobs because they conflicted with

family life or because of work conditions

Supporters of arranged marriage also argue that it is wiser to follow

family wisdom than one's own heart, especially since the attraction couples feel is often infatuation and not a deep, abiding love -Proponents also claim a lower divorce rate for arranged marriages than for "self-arranged marriages" (but it must be noted that couples who enter arranged marriages are generally more traditional to begin with) -In Hong Kong, for example, as arranged marriage declines and couples marry whom they wish, the divorce rate is increasing

Within the samples of unemployed middle-aged adults, those for whom work was more important, who had fewer financial resources and less social support, and who tended to blame themselves for losing their jobs

fare worst -Those who had emotional and financial resources and social support, who could structure their time, and who had realistic strategies for job hunting or finding substitutes for jobs fare best

Interestingly, women tend to dress and ornament themselves in more appealing ways when they are in the ______ phase of their ovulatory cycle

fertile

In late adulthood stage, couple report less disagreement over

finances, household chores, and parenting (or grandparenting), but may have concerns about emotional expression and companionship

Divorce is usually connected with _______ and ______ problems

financial and emotional

Remember, however, that these samples are of college-educated women, so they may be less likely than the general population to incur certain

financial and health problems in late adulthood

In this patriarchal society, the son's priorities often run like this:

first, his own children; second, his parents; third, his wife

Men who are widowed are more likely than women to remarry, or at least to

form new relationships with people of the other gender

Grandparents and adult grandchildren often act as

friends and confidants -As they experience life events together, their relationships can seem precious and capable of being cut short at any time.

Generativity is the ability to

generate or produce

A study found particular benefits for life satisfaction in activities involving the next

generation, the visual and performing arts, and spiritual and religious matters -However, there was also value in independent activities in the home

Erikson and others also note that grandparenthood provides additional opportunities for

generativity

Erikson believed that the major psychological challenge of the middle years is

generativity versus stagnation

It doesn't address the fact that some grandparents hardly get to see—or never get to see—their grandchildren because of geographical

geographical separation or because of harsh feelings following family conflict.

Middle-aged adults are more likely to be settled

geographically and vocationally, although midlife career changes and relocation are certainly possibilities

Cohabiting individuals who receive public assistance risk losing support if they

get married

Romantic partners may have deep feelings for each other but are not ready to

get married

These findings are all consistent with evolutionary theory: women are relatively more concerned with a partner's ability to

help provide an environment conducive to successful child rearing

Pilot programs suggest that therapists may be able to relieve depression and other psychological problems in older adults by

helping them reminisce about their lives

Physical characteristics associated with a woman's youthfulness, such as smooth skin, firm muscle tone, and lustrous hair, may thus have become more closely linked to

her appeal

Erikson suggested that in our society, which values compatibility in relationships, an absent or fluctuating ego identity is connected with the

high divorce rate in teenage marriages -Once passion fades a bit, conflicting ways of looking at the world may be too abrasive to bear.

Attraction-similarity hypothesis

holds that people tend to develop romantic relationships with people who are similar to themselves in attractiveness and other traits

When older people can no longer manage living on their own, they may consider utilizing the services of

home health aides and visiting nurses to help them remain in the home -More affluent older people can afford to hire live-in help -Others may move in with adult children

The concept of "like marrying like" is termed _______

homogamy

The dominant culture also prefers the ______ figure

hourglass

Many middle-aged workers feel threatened by changes in the workplace brought about by

increased automation and outsourcing

The Van Hiel group also found, with a group of 457 middle-aged adults, that generativity and stagnation are

independent dimensions rather than opposites -In other words, middle-aged people can be low in generativity and also be low in stagnation

It has become more acceptable and widespread for women to lead

independent, single lives, for as long as they wish

People who live alone may do their retirement planning as

individuals

People in late adulthood focus more on their ____ lives, preparing for the inevitable.

inner

Social psychologists Ellen Berscheid and Elaine Hatfield define romantic love in terms of a state of

intense physiological arousal and the cognitive appraisal of that arousal as love

Job satisfaction is also associated with such factors as

interesting work, some autonomy, and the availability of child-care facilities

Research for many decades has shown—and keeps on showing—that physical attractiveness is a major determinant of

interpersonal and sexual attraction

Sometimes a love relationship has both passion and commitment but lacks ______

intimacy -this is called fatuous (foolish love)

Erikson saw the establishment of _______ relationships as the key "crisis" of early adulthood

intimate

Although they are less likely than younger cohabiters to marry their partners, older cohabiters report being in more

intimate and stable relationships

Another is that women, more so than men, make use of the web of

kinship relations and close friendships available to them

Of these reasons, having children to care for one in one's old age ("social security") looms

large

The couples were assessed during pregnancy and from infancy through toddlerhood—at 3, 12, and 30 months after birth. When the parents generally agreed on their beliefs about parenting, and who should do what, their postnatal adjustment was

largely solid and remained stable

One common change in middle adulthood takes place when the

last child leaves home

Sibling relationships continue into ____ adulthood for most adults in the United States

late

We saw that the existence of the midlife crisis is in dispute; however, no one can argue that people in late adulthood have more to

look back on than forward to

People who experience physical suffering in this world are advised to

look forward to relief in the next

Older adults may be reluctant to relocate to nursing homes because nursing homes signify the

loss of independence

Attraction can lead to feelings of ______

love

According to the model, various combinations of the building blocks of love characterize different types of

love relationships -Ex: infatuation (passionate love) is typified by sexual desire but not by intimacy and commitment.

The women aged 50-62 were most likely to accept jobs ____ ____ ____, as long as they liked the work

low in pay

Cohabitation has become largely accepted as a

mainstream style of life

Dual-earner women with flexible work schedules encountered less stress than women with fixed schedules, apparently because they were more capable of

managing their role overload

The very concept of retirement, or of a period of retirement, is rather new to the human condition. -Historically speaking, people worked until they became physically or mentally incapable of doing so. -But the industrial revolution, company and government pensions, and extended life expectancies have worked together to create a situation in which

many or most people expect that they will spend their "golden years" tucked safely away from the demands of the workplace, perhaps in some sort of idyllic setting involving sunshine and pleasant leisure activities

Shared leisure activities also contribute to the satisfaction of

marital and other intimate partners and to family well-being -they reduce stress and help retirees avert boredom

Another study found that intimacy, which is fueled by trust, honesty, and the sharing of innermost feelings, is strongly connected with

marital satisfaction -So is the psychological support of one's spouse

Satisfaction with one's career is positively correlated with

marital satisfaction, and both of them are related to general life satisfaction

The great majority of career women in sizeable American cities simply would not care what anyone thinks about their

marital status or living arrangements

It is actually unlikely that having a child will save a

marriage -Numerous studies show that with the added stress of caring for a new baby, the quality of a couple's adjustment often declines significantly throughout the year following delivery

Young adults who have evolved a firm sense of identity during adolescence may now be ready to "fuse" their identities with those of other people through

marriage and abiding friendships

Willingness to cohabit is related to less traditional views of

marriage and gender roles

In some traditional societies, young adults do not usually leave the home of origin until they are

married or some other key event takes place

The researchers interpret the results to suggest that our personalities tend to

mature rather than be shaped by environmental conditions, although the expression of personality traits is certainly affected by culture -For example, a person who is "basically" open to new experience is likely to behave less openly in a traditional, fundamentalist society than in an open society

The basic challenge in the crisis of ego integrity versus despair is to maintain the belief that life is

meaningful and worthwhile despite physical decline and the inevitability of death

Butler believes that older people engage in life reviews to attempt to make life

meaningful, to move on with new relationships as contemporaries pass on, and to help them find ego integrity and accept the end of life

Some stressed people resort to a host of

medicines, both prescribed and over-the-counter

By middle adulthood, the partners' concerns appear to shift toward

meeting shared and individual responsibilities -The partnership needs to handle tasks such as finances, household chores, and parenting

Divorced women outnumber divorced men, in part because

men are more likely to get remarry

When middle-aged people switch jobs voluntarily and obtain better working conditions or benefits, there tend to be corresponding positive changes in their

mental health

People tend to have greater responsibilities in ________ adulthood and to have become more "entrenched" in their pursuits

middle -they may also question whether they still have the time and ability to start over

As sources of stress, negative life events, including physical illness and depression, have been shown to be harmful to people's health in

middle adulthood

As suggested by Erikson and Levinson, many workers are at their peak in

middle adulthood -They have had years to "learn the ropes," and many have advanced into the highest ranks of their trades or professions. -One's work can continue to provide social benefits, a sense of identity, and self-esteem.

A study of more than 2,000 university employees found that job satisfaction increased steadily throughout

middle adulthood -the gains were greater for men, and especially for men who were white-collar workers, for example, professors

Yet now and then siblings who were antagonistic or competitive in childhood or adolescence grow closer in

middle adulthood if the siblings cooperate in caring for a disabled parent

Openness to experience declines strongly from young adulthood but then, like other traits, remains reasonably stable though

middle adulthood until it falls of precipitously during the later years

Neuroticism - emotional instability - increases slightly and gradually during

middle adulthood, but then levels off and declines somewhat in later adulthood

The years from 40 to 45 comprise a _______ transition

midlife

Similarity in personality is less of a contributor to conflict than it is in

midlife (when older) -consistent with the finding that similarity in conscientiousness and extraversion is no longer strongly associated with marital dissatisfaction

Retirement planning may include regularly putting

money aside in plans such as IRAs, Keoghs, and various pension plans in the workplace; investing in stocks, bonds, or a second home; and, perhaps, investigating the kinds of health care and cultural activities that are available in other geographic areas of interest. -People who are thinking of another area will also be interested in learning about the weather (including effects on allergies) and crime statistics.

Among male and female couples, we have two types of marriage:

monogamy and polygamy

As people undergo physical decline, religion asks them to focus, instead, on

moral conduct and spiritual "substance" such as the soul.

Generally speaking, taller men are considered to be

more attractive by women

In developed nations the decision not to have children or to have only one child is becoming

more common

It is better for the relationship if one partner is detail-oriented while the other is

more easygoing

A life-span developmental study of twin relationships found that, compared with other sibling relationships, the twin relationships were

more intense in terms of frequency of contacts, intimacy, conflict, and emotional support

Middle-aged adults, especially professionals, are also often earning

more money than young adults

The greater fund of child-rearing experience of grandparents often allows them to relate to their grandchildren in a

more relaxed way than parents can

Despite increasing concern with aging, personal distress was lower among older women, suggesting, perhaps, that older women are

more settled

Daniel Levinson theorized that one aspect of the "midlife crisis" was that people realized they had

more to look back on than forward to

Physical activity is associated with a lower ______ rate in late adulthood

mortality

Older people have often narrowed their friendships to friends who are

most like them and enjoy the same kinds of activities

Grandchildren are also more relatively more involved with their

mother's parents than their father's -the gender of the grandchild has little effect on these overall findings

Generativity was higher in the 40s than in the 20s, but the generativity of the cohort in their 60s was

much the same as for those in their 40s

Religion involves beliefs and practices centered on claims about the

nature of reality and moral behavior, usually codified as rituals, religious laws, and prayers

Parents in some traditional societies assume that their adult children will live

nearby; moving to another part of the country is not only painful but also something of an embarrassment for them among their extended family and community

In fact, many individuals and couples in contemporary developed nations no longer think of parenthood as a

necessary part of marriage or a relationship

Children of divorce also benefit when their parents avoid saying

negative things about each other in the children's presence

Although there are physical standards for beauty in our culture, ______ traits also affect our perceptions

nonphysical -Ex: the attractiveness of a partner is likely to be enhanced by traits such as familiarity, liking, respect, and sharing of values and goals

The financial realities of contemporary life, and the women's movement, have made the move of women into the workplace the

norm in American society

Reminiscence was once considered a symptom of dementia, but contemporary researchers consider it to be a

normal aspect of aging

The average woman needs to have 2.11 children for a couple to be at "replacement level," because some children will

not survive to reproduce

On the other hand, the physical aspects of aging and the death of companions can force changes in the choice of

of activities and diminish the level of satisfaction gotten from them

Older people no longer have children in the schools or—most crucially—sufficient income to pay the increased taxes, and so they

often sell their homes

Activity theory places many of the barriers to such activity in social attitudes such as beliefs that

older people should "take it easy," and in structural matters such as forced retirement, without regard to the desires of the individual

One reason is simply that women tend to outlive men, so there are more

older women who are available

Unless one has signed a prenuptial agreement to the contrary, marriage permits the orderly transmission of wealth from

one family to another and one generation to another

The majority of people in middle adulthood have at least

one living brother or sister

Monogamy

one person is married to one other person

The most dramatic changes appear to be in ______ to ______, which would appear to be in the province of the young

openness to experience

Partners can become jealous, for example, when

others show sexual interest in their partners or when their partners show interest in others

Friendship and passionate love do not necessarily ____

overlap

Evolutionary psychologists note that it would make sense for males and females to be more attracted to one another when the woman is

ovulating: that is, capable of conceiving a child

Cross-cultural studies also find gender differences in grandchildren's relationships with their grandparents that tend to

parallel their relationships with their parents

Because of increasing life expectancy, more than half of the middle-aged people in developed nations have at least one living

parent, and they frequently go on to experience late adulthood together

College students may cohabit secretly to maintain _______ support that they might lose if they were to reveal their living arrangements

parental

Just as people are getting married in their later 20s in the United States today, so are they delaying

parenthood

Children's adjustment is enhanced when both parents maintain

parenting responsibilities and set aside their differences long enough to agree on child-rearing practices

Infants are completely dependent on their

parents -children are also dependent

We discuss religion as part of the social context in which older adults (and others) dwell, because religion often involves

participating in the social, educational, and charitable activities of a congregation, as well as worshiping

In companionate love, intimacy and commitment are strong, but _______ is lacking.

passion

Romantic love has both

passion and intimacy but lacks commitment

In Sternberg's model, couples are well matched if they possess corresponding levels of

passion, intimacy, and commitment

Women who viewed videos of prospective dates found men who acted out-going and self-expressive more appealing than men who were ______

passive

So the first question we might ask is whether some people stagnate "because of" less generative behavior or whether their lower generativity is related to

personality traits such as neuroticism

It would be likely that women might act somewhat differently or that men would pick up on certain cues—perhaps unconsciously—that would communicate a woman's

phase of the menstrual cycle

Another study followed 172 newlywed couples over four years and found that _______ _______ preceded sharp declines in marital satisfaction

physical aggression

Divorced and separated people have the highest rates of

physical and mental illness -They also have high rates of suicide

In turn, the quality of the marital relationship appeared to positively affect individuals'

physical and psychological health

Research shows that people who are involuntarily unemployed have lower

physical and psychological well-being than employed subjects, and unemployed middle-aged subjects have lower well-being than unemployed young adults

The power of Tinder—in which people express interest in others on the basis of their photo alone—also testifies to the importance of

physical appearance in consideration of partners for dates, sex, and long-term relationships

We might like to think of ourselves as so sophisticated that physical attractiveness does not move us. We might like to claim that sensitivity, warmth, and intelligence are more important to us. However, we may never learn about other people's personalities if they do not meet our minimal standards for

physical attractiveness

Young adults tend to marry people who are similar in

physical attractiveness, attitudes, background, and interests

People can develop certain illnesses at almost any time of life, most people in middle adulthood suffer little loss of

physical prowess

One of the keys to a successful retirement is ______

planning

Although fathers in such cases may give lip service to helping with the baby and do a few things to help out here and there, the mother is almost always the

primary caregiver and thus encounters role overload

The notion of grandparents enjoying the best of the grandchild while escaping responsibility also ignores the fact that in thousands of cases grandparents bear the

primary responsibility of rearing grandchildren

Erikson (Erikson & Erikson, 1981) saw psycho-social generativity as based in an instinctual drive toward

procreativity- that is bearing and rearing children

But many in middle adulthood are at the height of their

productivity and resilience, despite the challenges

Intellectually, moreover, there is little if any loss in fluid intelligence in middle adulthood, and crystallized intelligence is growing— especially among

professional who are still developing skills in their fields

A man's reproductive value, however, may depend more on how well he can

provide for his family than on his age or physical appeal

Children are often the biggest losers when parents get a divorce, yet chronic marital conflict is also connected with

psychological distress in children

Midlife transition

psychological shift into middle adulthood that is often accompanied by a crisis during which people fear they have more to look back upon than forward to

Sternberg's model recognizes that the intimacy we find in true friendships and the passion we find in love are blended in two forms of love:

romantic love and consummate love -These love types differ along the dimension of commitment, however

Western culture has a long tradition of idealizing the concept of

romantic love, as represented, for instance, by romantic fairy tales that have been passed down through the generations

Studied a sample of people over the age of 80, without dementia, and found that leisure activities were associated with

superior perceptual speed -The researchers also used a form of brain imaging and found that leisure activities delayed declines in white matter microstructure (myelin)

Marriage provides an institution in which children can be

supported and socialized

Indeed, divorce may permit personal growth and renewal and the opportunity to

take stock of oneself and establish a new, more rewarding life

An interesting pattern has emerged in which gay men or lesbians sometimes form long-term intimate relationships with

straight people of the other gender -These relationships do not involve sexual activity, but the couples consider themselves to be "family" and are confidants

In more traditional societies people report having children to

strengthen marital bonds, provide security, assist with labor (as in having more farmhands), provide social status, maintain the family name and lineage, secure property rights and inheritance, and in some places, improve the odds of—yes—reincarnation

Widowhood is also associated with increased levels of

stress hormones, leading to a decline in physical and mental health, including increased mortality and deterioration in memory functioning

European and American studies find that the mothers in dual-earner families encounter more

stress than the fathers do

Married people appear to be better able to cope with the

stresses and strains of life, perhaps because they can lend each other emotional support

Yet a longitudinal study of 45 couples expecting their first child showed that family life does not have to be this

stressful

Regardless of the rea-sons that grandparents—usually grandmothers—assume the responsibility for parenting grandchildren, becoming a parent, again, in middle adult-hood, can be

stressful as well as rewarding

Middle-aged people's situations—such as having understanding and helpful family members or friends—and attitudes can have moderating effects on

stressors

Yet when older partners do remarry, as when they decide to cohabit, they usually make a

strong commitment to one another and form a stable relationship

Some studies report that middle-aged workers are more likely than younger workers to have a

strong work ethic and to see work as central in their lives -other studies find no generational difference in work ethic

Erikson did recognize that some people could not have children of their own or that social or interpersonal conditions made it difficult for some people to bear children. -Under such circumstances,

substitutes might work for the individual

though reciprocity can contribute to feelings of attraction, some research also suggests that women are sometimes more attracted to men whose feelings toward them are ______

uncertain

A meta-analysis of gender differences in marital satisfaction found that wives were more likely than husbands to report that their marriages were

unhappy and that they had considered divorce, but the difference was not large

Part of the reason that women are bearing children at a later age is the drop off in

unwanted pregnancies and births among teenagers, due to sex education and to the use of long-acting methods of contraception, such as hormonal implants and IUDs.

Research has consistently shown that older adults who are best adjusted to retirement are highly involved in a

variety of activities, such as community activities and organizations

Sternberg's model is triangular in that

various kinds of love can be conceptualized in terms of a triangle in which each vertex represents one of the building blocks

For college women, it does appear that 30 is the new 20, as they strive to establish themselves in careers and create some financial stability before they

venture into parenthood

Social support helps older people cope with their concerns about ______

victimization -For example, if they are victimized, social support helps them avoid some of the problems that characterize post-traumatic stress disorder, such as intrusive thoughts and nightmares

Ironically, people aged 80 and older are significantly less likely to be

victimized than people in other age groups

Perhaps general tendencies toward happiness (or depression) manifest themselves in various walks of life, including one's

vocational life and one's romantic relationships

Fatuous love is associated with

whirlwind court-ships that burn brightly but briefly as the partners realize that they are not well matched

We spend most of our lives accumulating things and relationships, and Erikson also argues that adjustment in the later years requires the

wisdom to let go

Nearly 90% of older people who cohabit have been married, and they are less likely than younger people to

wish to remarry

Many studies show that grandparents have less influence when they live

with couples and their grandchildren; under these circumstances, they are less likely to contribute to the adjustment of the family -Rather than "filling a hole," they frequently become a source of discord between their son or daughter and their son- or daughter-in-law

During middle adulthood stage, similarity in personality may work against the couple,

with each partner competing to handle or avoid the same task -Ex: in a study of the "big five" personality factors in middle-aged and older adults and marital satisfaction, difference rather than similarity in conscientiousness and extraversion predicts marital satisfaction in the decade of the 40s, whereas similarity does just as well in the decade of the 60s

Yet men who viewed videos in the Riggio and Woll study were put off by outgoing, self-expressive behavior in

women

Age and health may be relatively more important to a ________'s appeal, because

women's, these characteristics tend to be associated with her reproductive capacity (the "biological clock" limits her reproductive potential)

Because of problems balancing work and family life, it is usually the mother and not the father who cuts back on

work or drops out of the workforce altogether when dual-earner families can no longer afford to have a parent out of the home

Some complained that supervisors treated them with disrespect and failed to ask them how to improve

working conditions and productivity -These feelings are particularly painful for middle-aged workers when their supervisors are younger than they are

Women are often balancing the demands of the

workplace and a family, and they may still experience a "glass ceiling" on the job -They may be sought out in the hiring process but find it difficult to advance. Still, most women and blue-collar workers also reported more satisfaction on the job throughout middle age—just not as much as white-collar men

Most retirees report that their well-being has increased a _____ after they have retired, and that much of the stress they felt before retiring has diminished

year

Most people who change their careers do so in ______ adulthood

young

The majority of the third group retire at a

young age and tended to be male

Parents spend a higher proportion of their time

taking care of their children, whereas grandparents spend relatively more time in recreational and educational activities -We are speaking, of course, of situations in which the grandparents do not live in the same household with the grandchildren

Disengagement theory

the view that older adults and society withdraw from one another as older adults approach death

Socioemotional selectivity theory

the view that we place increasing emphasis on emotional experience as we age but limit our social contacts to regulate our emotions As a result, we are more focused on emotionally fulfilling experiences

Levinson (1996) found that women undergo somewhat similar developments, but experience more social constraints, both from

their families of origin and society in general -Thus, it may take women longer to leave home, and there may be more pressure on them to go from one home (their parents') to another (their husbands')

Americans today also want more from marriage than did

their grandparents -They expect marriage to be personally fulfilling as well as an institution for family life and rearing children.

Still other older people may move into assisted living residences, in which they have

their own apartments, community dining rooms, 24-hour nursing aid, and on-call physician care

Conscientious people want to get things done, but by middle adulthood they have

their own way of doing things

Older Americans consistently report that they prefer to remain in their homes as long as

their physical and mental conditions allow them to do so

Only a small minority of men (7%) and women (10%) said that it was very important to them that their partner or spouse share

their racial or ethnic backgroound

In midlife, people become less willing to spend their time with "just anybody"; therefore,

their remaining friends are more likely to be "close matches" in terms of interests, activities, and, often, years of mutual experience -For this reason, the loss of a friend is felt more deeply

Successful agers also tend to be optimistic. Such an out-look may be derived from

transcendence of the ego, from spirituality, or sometimes from one's genetic heritage (yes, there is a genetic component to happiness)

Levinson labeled the ages of 28 to 33 the age-30 _______

transition

Personality​

-Costa & McCrae: Big 5 personality trait​ -Relatively stable in adulthood​: -More agreeable and conscientious​ -Slight decline in openness to new experience​ -Less neurotic​

Robert Peck's 3 Developmental Tasks that people face in late adulthood (Stage of ego integrity):

-Ego differentiation versus work-role preoccupation -Body transcendence versus body preoccupation -Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation

Leisure activities for retiree's around the age of 72 fell into 3 factors:

-Factor I included athletic, competitive, and outdoor activities. -Factor II involved artistic, cultural, and self-expressive activities. -Partying was the sole activity that defined Factor III. Partying isn't just for youngsters.

When the children of middle-aged adults take partners or get married, new challenges can emerge:

-First of all, it may seem that nobody can be "good enough" for their child, but, sometimes, their child does apparently make a poor choice—or at least a poor match -The parents must then deal with the issues of whether, and how, they express their feelings about it -Regardless of the partner or spouse chosen by their child, there are also in-laws and the extended family of the in-laws -Sometimes there is a good match between the families of both partners, but more often the families would not have chosen each other as friends. -Still, for the sake of the children, the parents may try to act friendly when they get together. -But the new relationships can be another source of stress. -And then the children may have children

Marriage:

-Happiest at the beginning (and then ups & downs)​ -Men are happier than women (in heterosexual marriages)​ -Spending too much time together after retirement​ -Divorce​: -prevalent in the US (~50% married couples break up)​ -4 major reasons: criticism, defensiveness, contempt, & stonewalling ​

Self & identity in adulthood​

-Now adding autobiographical information & experience, but remains stable​ -Subjective evaluation of age​: -Women have more youthful self-concept & identity​ -Androgyny​

Parenthood​:

-Parenthood nowadays is delayed (recall: emerging adulthood)​ -People mostly choose to be parents​ -but it does not make childrearing less stressful​ -what matters? Shared understanding and support​ -Middle adulthood & raising teens: issue of individuation & autonomy​ -Empty nest​

Generativity vs. stagnation​

-Sandwich generation​ -Parenting: A burden?​ -Career development​

Why the increase in divorce?

-Until the mid-1960s, adultery was the only legal grounds for divorce in most states. -But no-fault divorce laws have been enacted in nearly every state, allowing a divorce to be granted without a finding of marital misconduct

Abigail Stewart, Joan Ostrove, and Ravenna Helson developed scales to assess a number of personality themes among women:

-identity certainty (knowing who one is and what one stands for) -confident power (self-confidence) -concern with aging -generativity -personal distress.

3 Phases of Retirement Decision Making:

1. Imagining the possibility of retirement 2. Deciding when to let go of one's job 3. Deciding how and when to put concrete retirement plans into action

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love: Includes 3 building blocks of loving experiences

1. Intimacy: the experience of warmth toward another person that arises from feelings of closeness and connectedness, and the desire to share one's innermost thoughts 2. Passion: Intense romantic or sexual desire, accompanied by physiological arousal 3. Commitment: Commitment to maintain the relationship through good times and bad

The perception that one has fallen in love is thus derived from:

1. a state of intense arousal that is connected with an appropriate love object (i.e., a person, not an event like a rock concert) 2. a cultural setting that idealizes romantic love 3. the attribution of the arousal to feelings of love for the person

Some ___% were unemployed, but others were unhappy with their pay, recognition, or health or retirement benefits

10%

Older African Americans who attend services more than once a week live _____ years longer, on average, than their counterparts who never attend church

13.7

The average American woman is having about

2 children to day, down from between 3 and 4 50 years ago

The age at which women bear their first children has been generally rising in the United States, from

21 in 1972 to 26.3 today

In a study of married women in four age groups, women up to age 21 spent more time trying to find employment than did women aged

22 to 35, 36 to 49, or 50 to 62

The average age at first birth for unmarried women was _____, for married women _____, and for women with a college degree or higher (married or single), _____.

23.1, 28.8, 30.3

The median age for a woman's first birth is

26.3

There is a 58% probability that a cohabiting American woman will marry her partner if the couple cohabit for

3 years

However, marriage remains the most common lifestyle among adults aged ___ to ___

30 to 44 -These are young adults and adults on the entry point to middle adulthood -They are mature enough to have completed graduate school or to have established careers. -They are also young enough not to have suffered becoming a widow or widower, generally

With people now more likely to live into their late 70s and 80s, 40 has become a much more realistic half-way point, or turning point, than

35

Undergraduate men, on the average, prefer women who are about ____ to ____ inches shorter

4 to 5

It turns out, for example, that the sperm count and "swimming ability" of sperm begin to decline markedly at age

40

Some ____% to ____% of the marriages in the United States end in divorce

40% to 50%

The 50s are often more relaxed and productive than the

40s -Yet many people in their 50s need to adjust to the children leaving home (the "empty nest"), the effects of aging, and competition from younger workers. -On the other hand, the last child's leaving home is often seen as a positive event.

Scores on three of the scales (identity certainty, confident power, and concern about aging) were higher for women in their

40s than women in their 20s, and then higher again for women in their 60s

Conference Board (2010) survey of some 5,000 households found that only ___% of American workers are satisfied with their jobs.

45%

Only ____% of adults now say that people and society at large will be better off if marriage and children are a priority in people's lives

46%

A somewhat higher percentage (____%) say that society will be just as well off if people have other priorities

50%

Undergraduate women prefer their dates to be about ____ inches taller than they are

6

Moreover, with medical advances, that person is more and more likely to be robust. Therefore, many people, especially professionals, are working well beyond the age of

65

The majority of people aged ____ and older consider themselves to be in good or excellent health compared to other people of their age.

65

The average person has nearly two decades of life in front of him or her at the age of

65 -That number has been increasing and is likely to continue to increase

The quest for economic security showed the greatest gender difference, with ____% of women respondents saying that it was very important to them that a spouse or partner be holding a steady job, as compared to ____% of men who held the same view.

78%, 46%

How will I afford it retirement?

Adequate finances are strongly related to satisfaction with retirement. -Most people plan—or attempt—to save for retirement, by putting money away, building equity in a home, and so on. They expect, or hope, that with pensions and government support (e.g., Social Security) kicking in, they will be all right. -In recent years, pensions have been shrinking, layoffs have been looming, and property values have been falling, so many older employees have had to postpone their plans for retirement.

Ego differentiation versus work-role preoccupation

After retirement, people need to find new ways of defining their self-worth outside of their achievements in the workplace, perhaps in terms of roles in the community, activities with friends and family, or spiritual undertakings

Body transcendence versus body preoccupation

At some point in late adulthood, people face inevitable physical decline, and it is in their best interests to come to terms with it by placing more value on cognitive activities and social relationships. Some people, of course, run into chronic illnesses or disabilities years earlier and must face the need to transcend body preoccupation prior to late adulthood

ego integrity versus despair

Erikson's eighth life crisis, defined by maintenance of the belief that life is meaningful and worthwhile despite physical decline and the inevitability of death versus depression and hopelessness.

Erikson focused on one central conflict for each stage of life, and the core conflict he identified for early adulthood was

Intimacy versus Isolation

Nearly half the people in the world identify with one of the "Abrahamic" religions:

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -These religions, and many others, teach that there is a life after death, and that moral living will enable one to experience the benefits of the afterlife

Why is the color red associated with feelings of attraction?

Many nonhuman female primates, including baboons, chimpanzees, gorillas, and rhesus monkeys, show reddened genital regions and sometimes reddened chests and faces when they are nearing ovulation - the time of the month when they are fertile

POSSLQ stands for

People of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters and applies to unmarried heterosexual couples who live together (i.e. cohabit) and have sexual relationships -Yet, cohabiting couples may also be of the same sex

_____ has been the most popular lipstick color since the hot days that saw the construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt

Red -Red is similarly the most popular color for women's lingerie

Integrity vs. despair​

Reminiscence​

Yet, some studies suggest that the likelihood of divorce within ten years of marriage is nearly twice as great among married couples who cohabited before marriage. Why?

Selection factors—the factors that led some couples to cohabit and others not to cohabit—may explain the results -Ex: cohabitors tend to be less traditional and less religious than noncohabitors, and thus tend to be less committed to the values and interests traditionally associated with the institution of marriage. -Therefore, the attitudes of cohabitors and not necessarily cohabitation itself are likely to be responsible for their higher rates of divorce

Where will I live after I retire?

The great majority of retirees stay put. They don't sell their homes or hop to the Sunbelt. However, as time goes on and they become less physically independent, many live in assisted facilities or with children.

Some young adults—including college students—play jealousy games:

They let their partners know that they are attracted to other people. They flirt openly or manufacture tales to make their partners pay more attention to them, to test the relationship, to inflict pain, or to take revenge for a partner's disloyalty

Far Eastern nations such as China, Japan, and Korea, older parents tend to live with their children and their grandchildren, but not so in the

United States

Consummate love is an ideal toward which many

Westerners strive

194 adolescents from dual-earner families generally expected that they (if they were female) or their partners (if they were male) would be the ones to cut back or quit work in the future, at least temporarily, if the couple had

a child

Most middle-aged women are in the workforce and find life satisfaction in

activities other than child rearing and homemaking

Life dream

according to Daniel Levinson and his colleagues, the drive to become someone, to leave one's mark on history, which serves as a tentative blueprint for the young adult

It is in late adulthood when one's grandchildren also typically reach _______

adulthood

Extraversion shows a mild gradual decline across the years of

adulthood -Agreeableness tends to increase during the later years

Reciprocity is based on

affection

Jealousy can lead to loss of feelings of

affection, feelings of insecurity and rejection, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, and feelings of mistrust

As compared with couples in midlife, older couples show more

affectionate behavior when they discuss conflicts, and they disagree with one another less in general

Engaging in leisure activities is especially helpful with the cognitive aspects of

aging

Some workers—particularly blue-collar workers—reported feelings of

alienation and dissatisfaction

Conversely, a sibling relationship that had been close can grow distant if one sibling allows another to do

all the work in caring for a parent

Men appear to be more responsive to visual stimuli than women, although women are

also clearly attuned to appealing eyefuls

Whereas younger cohabiters often see their lifestyle as a prelude to marriage, older cohabiters are more likely to see their relationship as

an alternative lifestyle -They cite reasons for avoiding remarriage such as concern about ramifications for pensions and disapproval of adult children, who may be concerned about their inheritance

Marriage (theoretically) restricts sexual relations so that a man can be assured—or assume—that his wife's children

are his

Young adults tend to marry others from the same

area and social class

Do not despair if you are less than exquisite in appearance, along with most of us mere mortals. You may be saved from permanently blending in with the wallpaper by the effects of the _________ hypothesis

attraction-similarity hypothesis

Both females and males find slenderness (though not anorexic thinness) _______

attractive

Gender-role expectations may affect perceptions of _______

attractiveness -Ex: women are more likely to be attracted to socially dominant men than men are to be attracted to socially dominant women

The generation of removal that grandparents had from their grandchildren in middle adulthood continues to provide a perspective on the

behavior and achievements of their grandchildren that they might not have had with their own children

Women, however, did not rate photos of other women as

being more attractive when they were bordered in red

Both men (62%) and women (70%) found it very important that the couple share similar

beliefs about having and rearing children

Today, of course, we could say that 40 or 45 is the new 30 or 35, and that most women at 35 can still safely use

birth control pills

Physical features such as cleanliness, good complexion, clear eyes, good teeth, good hair, firm muscle tone, and a steady gait are universally appealing to

both females and males -perhaps they are markers of reproductive potential

That is, the mother suffers from playing roles as both primary caregiver and, in our demanding economy, one of two primary

breadwinners

Parents are usually satisfied with their children living apart if they

call or email regularly and drop by (or allow the parents to drop by) with some sort of reasonable frequency

For many people today, the so-called midlife crisis is imposed from the outside in the form of a

career crash resulting from corporate and government downsizing—the thinning of the ranks of employees.

Although the selection of a mate is (officially) free in our society, factors such as race, social class, and religion often determine the

categories of people within which we seek mates

Although physical appeal is important in sexual attraction, other factors matter and may even

challenge the equation that good looks = sexual attractiveness -Ex: there is the issue of whether or not it seems that an individual would be able to provide a high-quality relationship. And because men are somewhat more attuned to the visual than women, we would expect women to be somewhat more flexible in mate choice in that they may be more willing to trade (some) good looks for a good relationship

The life-events approach to middle age focuses on the particular

challenges and changes that people are likely to face at this time rather than on phases or stages of life

The notions of crises or turning points in emotional development also suggest that people undergo rather sudden

changes or shifts in personality

Divorced mothers often face the combined stress of the sole responsibility for

child rearing and the need to increase their incomes.

You might think that most aging American parents move to Sunbelt locations such as Florida and Arizona, but it isn't so. Nearly two-thirds of them have a residence near a

child, and there are frequent visits and phone calls

The value of men as reproducers, there-fore, is more intertwined with factors that contribute to a stable environment for

childrearing—such as economic status and reliability

At least one out of three households with never-married cohabiting couples also has ______

children

Nearly half of divorced people who are cohabiting with new partners have

children in the household

Young adulthood is the time of life when most of those who will bear ______ do so, and middle adulthood is the time of life when most of us who will become _______ begin that role

children, grandparents

I mention the age of 35 because it is the age at which women who become pregnant are often advised to check for

chromosomal abnormalities in their fetuses

Single older adults also tend to maintain

close relationships with siblings and longtime friends

Older people are increasingly likely to ______ today, making up about 4% of the unmarried population

cohabit

Divorced people are more likely than people who have never been married to ______

cohabit -Perhaps the experience of divorce leaves some people more willing to share their lives than their bank accounts

POSSLQ is the unromantic abbreviation used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to refer to

cohabitation

24% of never-married adults aged 25 to 29 are currently ________

cohabiting

More than half a million additional households consist of

cohabiting same-sex couples

However, couples—including married and cohabiting heterosexuals and gay and lesbian couples—usually make their retirement plans

collaboratively

Erikson's clinical experience led him to believe that young adults who had not achieved ego identity—a firm sense of who they are and what they stand for—may not be ready to

commit themselves to others -They may not be able to gauge the extent to which their developing values may conflict with those of a potential intimate partner

Adults go through certain periods of life, which Levinson dubbed seasons, in which their progress and psychological well-being are shaped by

common social and physical demands and crises- the development of relationships, rearing children, establishing and developing a career, and coming to terms with successes and failures.

The most common reasons given for a divorce today are problems in

communication and a lack of understanding -Key complaints include a husband's criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling—not lack of financial support -A British study notes that violence, infidelity, and lack of commitment to a specific partner also play prominent roles in divorce

In the case of community activities, the experience and devotion of retirees renders their participation an important asset for the

community, and the activities promote the adjustment of older adults into retirement.

More than half of today's high-school seniors believe that it is a good idea for couples to live together before getting married to test their _______

compatibility -Even so, about 40% of these couples get divorced later on, so "trial marriages" may not provide couples with accurate information

Women who have not pursued a career may have to struggle to

compete with younger, more experienced workers.

(In midlife) But as in earlier years, there are gender differences. Male friends are more likely to be

competitive and less likely to be intimate than female friends

In working with healthy older volunteers as individuals and in groups, Robert Butler (2002) found that life reviews can be

complex and nuanced, incoherent and self-contradictory, or even replete with irony, tragedy, and comedy

Ego transcendence is characterized by a

concern for the well-being of humankind in general, not only for the self and close loved ones

A majority of people retiring these days plan some sort of "bridge employment," in which they

continue to work for the same employer with a reduced workload or obtain new employment, possibly part-time. -About half plan to do volunteer work. -Most expect to devote more time to hobbies or special interests. -Most people in one way or another maintain—or strive to maintain—their identities and self-concepts. -They see retirement as an opportunity to continue the desired aspects of their lifestyle and essential social relationships.

A sense of _____ has been shown to mitigate the effects of stress and foster feelings of well-being among midlife adults

control

Study found that in married couples, husbands more often than wives tended to be in

control of the retirement plans, although control was related to the partner's workload and income level

In many suburban communities, for example, property taxes have been skyrocketing to keep pace with the

costs of public education

More than half of today's marriages are preceded by the

couple living together

Some social scientists see cohabitation as a new stage of ______

courtship

Levinson believed that marker events such as menopause, the death of a parent or a friend, or a child's leaving "the nest" could trigger the

crisis

The view that young adults who choose to remain celibate or single are not developing normally has been roundly

criticized in recent years

The experience of romantic love, as opposed to attachment or sexual arousal, occurs within a

cultural context in which the concept is idealized

At times, it may seem that some older people live in the past, possibly in denial of

current decline and the approach of death

If the aging parents require assistance, in the United States and Canada the task usually falls to a middle-aged

daughter, who then becomes what is dubbed part of the sandwich generation -She is "sandwiched" between several generations, caring for or contributing to the support of her own children at the same time she is caring for one or two parents -She may also be helping out with grandchildren. If she is fortunate, there is a sibling living in the vicinity to share the task. Given that she is also likely to be in the workforce, her role overload is multiplied

In contrast, middle-aged widowers are relatively more capable of

dealing with their loss

The most stressful life events of middle adulthood include the

death of a spouse or a child; the death of a parent or a sibling; marital divorce or separation, or separation from a cohabitant; hospitalization or change in the health status of oneself, one's child, one's parent, or sibling; the need to care for one's parents; a change in the relationship with one's children; financial difficulties; concern about one's appearance, weight, or aging; moving; change or loss of employment; a change in a relationship with an important friend; or a change in responsibilities at work

While approximately half the marriages in the United States end in divorce, it is important to note that 20% to 25% of them last half a century or more, ending only with the

death of one of the spouses

If this fertility rate were to remain the same and there were no immigration, the population of the United States would _______

decline

When one marital partner is a heavy drinker and the other is not, marital satisfaction

declines over time -It doesn't matter which one is the heavy drinker, the man or the woman; in either case, satisfaction declines

The percentage of Americans who are married has been _______ sharply

decreasing

Companionate love typifies long-term relationships and marriages in which passion has ebbed but a

deep and abiding friendship remains

Just as people are getting married in their later 20s in the United States today, so are they

delaying parenthood

Married older men without children appear to be especially

dependent on their spouses

In a survey of 1,421 Detroit men ranging in age from 20 to 93, they found that men without close social ties were significantly more

depressed then men with relationships

Some research has focused on the effects of newborns entering the lives of working-class families, especially when the mother must return to work shortly after the birth. In such cases, the parents are frequently

depressed, and conflict often emerges

Loss of a spouse also heightens the risks of

depression and suicide among older adults, and more so among men than women

In extreme cases jealousy can cause

depression or give rise to spouse abuse, suicide, or, as with Othello, murder

Society is changing, and although traditional families and views remain on the scene and are often strong and healthful, the trend appears to be in the direction of tolerance of

diverse points of view and life styles

Conflicts may easily arise over a

division of labor unless the couple can divide the tasks readily

Because of fear of loss of assets, family disruption, and relocation, older adults do not undertake

divorce lightly -When they do, it is often because one of the partners has taken up a relationship with an outsider

The increased economic independence of women has also contributed to the

divorce rate

Men in same-gender couples are more likely than women in same-gender couples to do retirement planning, but women who do such planning are more likely to

do it collaboratively

By the time older adults reach their 80s, they are likely to have whittled their social networks

down to a few family members and friends -This does not mean that older adults are antisocial, it means they see themselves as having less time to waste and that they are more risk averse, that is, they don't want to involve themselves in painful social interactions

Successful agers form _______ goals that bring them satisfaction

emotional -They may no longer compete in certain athletic or business activities. Instead, they focus on matters that allow them to maintain a sense of control over their own lives. -Retaining social contacts and building new ones also contributes to a positive outlook, as does continuing with one's athletic activities, when possible, and one's artistic and cultural activities

Neuroticism, as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory, is defined as

emotional instability -an enduring tendency to experience negative feelings such as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depression

Older sibling pairs tend to shore each other up with

emotional support -This is especially true among sisters (as women are more likely than men to talk about feelings) who are close in age and geographically near one another

The third group had a spotty _______ record

employment

The older women in the study were more likely to experience declines in their well-being following the loss of

employment -On the other hand, the older women were least likely to suffer financial strain

It was once assumed that women without children in the home would experience a painful

empty nest syndrome -but this transition is often a positive event

Religion also has a special allure as people approach the

end of life

However, a growing body of information about older gay men and lesbians has shown that, as with heterosexuals, gay men and lesbians in long-term partnerships tend to

enjoy higher self-esteem, less depression, fewer suicidal urges, and less alcohol and drug abuse

A different view of successful aging is being advanced by researchers who focus on the processes by which individuals attempt to provide better person-

environment fits to the changing physical, cognitive, and social circumstances of late adulthood

Research has shown that engaging in leisure activities is

essential for retirees' physical and psychological health

Reddening of the skin is caused by elevated

estrogen levels (relative to progesterone), which increases the flow of blood under the surface of the skin

Despite the difficulties in adjustment, most divorced people

eventually bounce back -most remarry

Researchers have also found that love is a complex concept, involving many areas of ______

experience

Older people who live in urban areas (especially inner cities) are often highly concerned about

exposure to crime, particularly crimes of violence.

Jealousy, therefore, can be one reason that relationships _____

fail

Divorce can also prompt feelings of

failure as a spouse and parent, loneliness and uncertainty about the future, and depression

Moreover, some children fail to leave home by 18 or 21, or—in a syndrome that has been referred to as

failure to launch -even by age 30

In fact, our exposure to the concept of romantic love may begin with hearing those

fairy tales, and later, perhaps, continue to blossom through exposure to romantic novels, television and film scripts, and the heady tales of friends and relatives

Daniel Levinson and his colleagues considered the transition to midlife at about the age of 40 to be a "crisis," a "midlife crisis," characterized by recognition that one has

fallen short of one's dream or dreams -ex: The once promising ballerina has never danced The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, etc. -Thus, Becker argues, many people who did not need psychotherapy earlier in life seek it now

Erikson argued that people who do not engage in generative behavior risk stagnating and

falling into routines that can strip their lives of meaning and purpose -this particular point remains murky

One of the "hyped" advantages of being a grandparent is that one is able to play with one's grandchildren but then

go home, leaving the "work" to the children's parents -In many cases, however, this mind-set assumes plentiful sources of money and leisure time -It hardly addresses all the complications of family separations or divorce, or loss of identity as a family unit, which are so common today

If each member of the couple believed they should share caregiving equally and they lived up to it, their adjustment was _____

good -Consistency between their expressed beliefs and their behavior predicted adjustment

There is nothing that prevents people in love from becoming

good friends, however - perhaps even the best of friends

Researchers who study successful aging focus on factors such as overall

good physical health, including the absence or control of chronic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes, engaging in physical activity, social networking, and the absence of serious cognitive impairment and depression -Sexual activity remains desirable, even if some aspects of performance are not what they were

In a survey of 22,815 U.S. adults, it was found that men and women both said that it is desirable or essential for potential partners to be

good-looking (92% of men and 84% of women) and slender (80% of men and 58% of women)

Among Native Hawaiians, it is customary for grandparents to rear the ______

grandchildren

In some cases grandparents are the sole caregivers of their

grandchildren -These arrangements typically begin when the grandchild has a single parent -Now and then that single parent dies

Despite the greater involvement with grandmothers, grandchildren say they value their

grandfather just as highly

Studies in the United States, Poland, Greece, Germany, and China all find that grandchildren through adolescence spend more time in activities with their

grandmothers than their grandfathers

Even male grandchildren, who would toss the football back and forth with the grandfather and not the grandmother, tend to generally gravitate more toward contacts with

grandmothers then with grandfathers

In most cases, one or two biological parents determine the course of childrearing of grandchildren, but sometimes

grandparents play a major role - or the major role -Ex: Israeli study of immigrants from Ethiopia and Eastern European countries found that grandparents who lived with single parents and their grandchildren had a strong influence on their grandchildren and contributed to the overall adjustment of the family

As a way of regulating their emotions, older people tend to avoid "friends" with whom they have

had conflict over the years

Yet the power of reciprocity has apparently enabled many couples to become

happy with one another and reasonably well adjusted

Occasionally, cases of elder abuse occur, with staff acting

harshly toward residents, sometimes in response to cognitively impaired residents acting aggressively toward the staff

In midlife, men are more likely than women not to

have friends or other close social relationships, and that social isolation is connected with poorer physical and psychological health and with mortality

With men as with women, red coloration can also be an indicator of

health, because highly oxygenated blood levels can be maintained only by organisms in good health

Young adults are more often than not similar to their mates in

height, weight, personality traits, intelligence, educational level, religion, and even in use of alcohol and tobacco

Leisure takes on special importance after retirement and may become central to the retiree's

identity and self-acceptance

Life structure

in Levinson's theory, the underlying pattern of a person's life at a given stage, as defined by relationships, career, race, religion, economic status, and the like

Activity theory

in contrast to disengagement theory, older adults are better adjusted when they are more active and involved in physical and social activities

Surveys indicate that older adults are relatively more willing to enter nursing homes when they perceive themselves to be

in poor health and when one or more close family members live near the nursing home

Cohabiting couples may believe that cohabitation will strengthen eventual marriage by helping them

iron out the kinks in their relationship

Erikson argued that young adults who do not reach out to develop intimate relationships risk retreating into

isolation and loneliness

The majority of the second group retired at a

later age and tended to be female

Some couples prefer cohabitation because it provides an abiding relationship without the

legal entanglement of marriage -The couple may also be testing the compatibility and endurance of the relationship prior to tying the knot

Once people retire, they have the opportunity to fill most of their days with

leisure activities

Retirees could be broken down into three groups, according to their satisfaction with retirement and various other factors. The first group: was most satisfied with retirement maintained

leisure and other nonwork-related activities as sources of life satisfaction, or replaced work with more satisfying activities. -They retired at a typical retirement age and had a wealth of resources to compensate for the loss of work: They were married, in good health, and of high socioeconomic status.

The following factors impeded adjustment to retirement:

lengthy attachment to work, lack of control over the transition to retirement (e.g., forced retirement at age 65), worrying prior to retirement about what retirement would bring, and lack of self-confidence

Family members expect ____ from older people

less

Therefore, it is not surprising that studies find that religious involvement in late adulthood is usually associated with

less depression and more life satisfaction

Today, because more people believe that premarital sex is acceptable between two people who feel affectionate toward each other, the desire for sex is

less likely to motivate marriage

The term middle adulthood is a convenient way of describing people whose ages

lie between young adulthood and late adulthood -In terms of their family relationships, their generation is in the middle in another way—often, as we will see, "sandwiched" in between their own children (and grandchildren) and their parents.

However, professionals who rely on peak performance, such as athletes and dancers, will find the loss compelling enough to shuttle them in new

life directions

Successful aging focuses on maximizing one's

life experiences at any age

At any given moment, the underlying pattern of a person's life is his or her _____ _____

life structure

One's religion, race, and socioeconomic status also influence his or her

life structure and life satisfaction

Older people's perceived limitation on future time increases their appreciation for

life, which brings about positive emotions

Ego integrity derives from wisdom, as well as from the acceptance of one's

lifespan being limited and occurring at a certain point in the sweep of history

Given the mobility young adults have in the United States today, many choose not to

live in places where people would frown upon their styles of life

Once their children become emerging adults or young adults, most parents in the United States are content to "launch" their children to

live on their own or with roommates -In many cases, the children remain at least partly financially dependent, sometimes for several years -If they have been close to their parents, they may also remain somewhat emotionally dependent once they are out on their own as well—or at the very least, it may hurt when their parents disapprove of their personal choices

Cohabitation, like marriage, is an alternative to

living alone

People do not age within a vacuum, but within social and communal contexts, including their

living arrangements, facilities and services within their communities, religious affiliations, and family and social relationships

Cohabitation

living together with a romantic partner without being married

Divorced fathers may find it difficult to

pay alimony and child support while establishing a new lifestyle

When someone confesses his or her feelings of attraction, the recipient of the feelings is certainly likely to

pay more attention to the other person

Because of retirement, government or industry now supports them through ______ or _______ rather than vice versa

pensions or charity

The "big five" personality traits is to try to measure whether

people change in personality or whether they remain the same

Marriage meets many

personal and cultural needs

Some middle-aged people change careers following a ______ _______such as a divorce, conflict with coworkers, or being fired

personal crisis -In such cases, middle-aged people may pick up whatever work they can to sustain themselves—and pay a price in psychological well-being

In developed nations, most couples report that they choose to have children for

personal happiness or well-being

Becoming a parent is a major life event that requires changes in nearly every sphere of life:

personal, social, and financial

A study of adults with an average age of 72 reported that nearly three in four (73%) engaged in leisure activities; of these, 23% engaged in "active leisure" (sailing, walking); 18%, "passive leisure" (listening to music, watching television); 24%, social activities; 20%, hobbies; and 15%, other activities. -The key motives for leisure activity were

pleasure and relaxation

Divorce hits women in the _______ harder than men

pocketbook

Or perhaps doing very well in one arena can cast a

positive glow on other parts of life

Advanced-age (mean age = 93) mothers and women who have not had children report equally

positive levels of well-being

Although there is great variation in grandparent-adult grandchild relationships, research suggests that both cohorts view each other in a

positive light and see their ties as deep and meaningful

Consistent with stereotypical gender roles, tall women are not viewed so

positively as tall men are

Intense physiological arousal may be experienced as a

pounding heart, sweaty palms, and butterflies in the stomach when one is in the presence of, or thinking about, one's love interest

A two-year longitudinal study found that the adjustment of older retirees was affected by their

pre-retirement work identities

Other adult children, because of financial problems or just for convenience, are in and out of their parents' home in what has been dubbed the

revolving-door syndrome

Older people may also avoid conflict to avoid

pushing people away and as another way to avert painful emotions

An Italian study of married couples found that the partners' confidence in their abilities to influence their relationship for the better contributed to the

quality of the marriage

Past assistance from one's spouse in a time of need also affected the

quality of the marriage and life satisfaction for both partners in the relationship

Our partners tend to be like us in

race and ethnicity, age, level of education, and religion

Nearly 95% of marriages and 80% to 90% of cohabiting unions were between partners of the same

race at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census

It has also been widely assumed that adult life events such as getting married, working one's way up in a vocation, and having and rearing children would deeply affect people's personality. -However, at least by middle adulthood, and during middle adulthood, research finds that the "big five" personality traits remain

reasonably stable

For men and women, he found that the late 20s and early 30s are commonly characterized by

reassessment: "Where is my life going?" "Why am I doing this?"

As you can see, one of the most challenging jobs of the newly minted grandparent is to navigate carefully between the treacherous rocks of

reckless interference and painful neglect

Most children whose parents have divorced also bounce back, although

recovery may take a year or two

The study also found that grandparents, like parents, participated in the care of grandchildren and in their

recreational and educational activities -but the balance differs for parents

Andrew Elliot and Daniela Niesta ran a series of experiments in which men did, indeed, rate the same woman as more attractive when her photograph was shown against a

red background compared with a variety of other background colors, including white

But women rate photos of men as being more attractive when the photos are bordered in

red of the men are wearing red clothing

Research has found that male primates are in fact especially attracted to females when they display

red, as shown by attempts at sexual relations

Most career changes in midlife involve shifts into

related fields

Tradition aside, many cohabitants are simply less committed to their

relationships than married people are

Cohabitants are also less likely than noncohabitants to say that

religion is very important to them

Women who begin parenting in their 30s (or later) are less likely to be

religious and conservative but more likely to have liberal attitudes, sharing breadwinning and childcare responsibilities more equally with their partners. -But not all have partners

Older people with plentiful financial resources, large amounts of equity in their homes, and strong ties to their communities are more likely to

remain in their homes

One of the complaints younger people sometimes level at older relatives is that they too often engage in

reminiscence, that is, relating stories from the distant past

But some evolutionary psychologists believe that evolutionary forces favor the continuation of gender differences in preferences for mates because they may provide

reproductive advantages

Evolutionary theory proposes that women on some level recognize that they are more likely than men to be

reproductively successful if they can rear their children in high-quality relationships

Selective optimization with compensation

reshaping of one's life to concentrate on what one finds to be important and meaningful in the face of physical decline and possible cognitive impairment -older people manage to maximize their gains while minimizing their losses

Successful agers tend to seek emotional fulfillment by

reshaping their lives to concentrate on what they find to be important and meaningful

Conversely, older people with declining health conditions, changes in their family composition, and significant increases in property taxes and costs of utilities are likely to need to consider

residing elsewhere

Men in their 70s seem to have the most difficulty coping when their wives die, especially when they have

retired and have been expecting to spend more time with their wives during the coming years

If the retiree's health remains robust, leisure activities tend to carry over from working days and may ease the transition to

retirement

By and large, the closer the relationship, the more likely partners are to make

retirements jointly

Or, as part of the boomerang generation, they

return home for prolonged periods

When we feel admired and complimented, we tend to

return these feelings and behaviors. This is called reciprocity

Yet many people view the years from age 45 onward as a

second adulthood, filled with opportunities for new directions and fulfillment.

But marriage provides a sense of

security and opportunities to share feelings, experiences, and ideas with someone with whom one forms a special attachment

Having worked out most of the problems in their relationships and having learned to live with those that remain, older adults are less likely than younger adults to

seek divorce

Core issues in early adulthood are the

selection of a partner, the development of a shared life, and emotional intimacy -Given these needs, similarity in personality may foster feelings of attachment and intimacy and provide a sense of equity in contributing to the relationship

Men may also be less adept than women at various aspects of

self and household care, and therefore seek that help from a new partner

It is stressful for parents when adolescents do not exert

self-control, and when parents must direct them in many areas of life—getting them up for school, urging them to maintain personal hygiene, fighting with them over their choice of clothing, and coaxing them to complete their homework

Contributing to civic activities or volunteering at hospitals and the like also enhances retirees'

self-esteem and fosters feelings of self-efficacy

When older adults relocate to residences for the elderly, whether or not they have facilities for assisted living, existing ____ ____ tend to be disrupted and they are challenged to find new friends and create new networks

social networks -It is valuable for such residences to have communal dining facilities and organized activities, including transportation to nearby shopping and entertainment -Residents typically take time in engaging other people socially and are selective in forming new relationships

Friends serve many functions in the lives of older adults, including providing

social networks, acting as confidants, and offering emotional closeness and support, especially when a family member or another friend dies

Middle-aged adults by now may have built systems of

social support, be involved in enduring romantic and social relationships, and have children -The flip side of all this may be overwhelming responsibility, such as caring for children, a spouse, aging parents, and remaining in the work-place all at once—quite a juggling act!

Single older adults without children are just as likely as people who have had children—married or not—to be

socially active and involved in volunteer work

Having grandchildren was viewed as an overwhelmingly positive event in each culture and that it was beneficial to grandparents both

socially and psychologically

Cognitive appraisal of the arousal means attributing the arousal to

some cause, such as fear or love

But many people retire "on schedule," and most people retire at

some time

In other societies, such as that of Hong Kong in China, however, where aging parents usually live with a son's family, it is more often than not the

son who assumes the major responsibility for caring for his parents, emotionally and financially

When couples reach their 60s, many midlife responsibilities such as childrearing and work have declined, allowing the partners to

spend more time together, and intimacy becomes a central issue once more

Most young adults agree that marriage is important for people who plan to

spend the rest of their lives together

A widowed person's sibling, especially a sister, often takes the place of the

spouse as a confidant

Research shows that marriages between people from similar backgrounds tend to be more ______

stable -perhaps because partners are more likely to share values and attitudes

Regardless of whether or not middle adulthood is the "prime of life," it may well be the most

stable period of life

Married people face very different life tasks as young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults, and the qualities in relationships that help them fulfill these tasks may also vary from

stage to stage

To Erikson, the negative counterpart of generativity meant rejection or suppression of this natural drive and would lead to

stagnation

Once widowed, men and women both need to engage in the activities of daily living by

taking care of their personal hygiene, assuming the responsibilities that had been handled by their spouse, and remaining connected to the larger social community, whether that community mostly involves kin, friends, or people at a place of worship

For example, a person or couple without children (or even with children) might contribute to the

teaching or welfare of other people's children, or might make things of lasting values such as objects or art, or might contribute to charity or to civic works

Reciprocity

tendency to respond in kind when we feel admired and complimented

The numbers of households consisting of cohabiting male-female couples in the United States has increased more than

tenfold since 1960, from fewer than half a million couples to around 8 million couples today

What happens in the workplace doesn't necessarily stay in the workplace. A study of 113 dual-earner couples found that problems in the workplace contributed to

tension in the couples, health problems, and dissatisfaction with the relationship

The relationships between middle-aged and older parents can grow quite close, especially as

tensions and expectations from earlier years tend to slip into history

Elder abuse

the abuse or neglect of senior citizens, particularly in nursing homes

Frequent churchgoing has also been shown to be associated with fewer problems in

the activities of daily living among older people

The proportion of emotional material recalled increased with the age group, showing a greater emotional response by

the older people

Homogamy

the practice of people getting married to people who are similar to them

Sandwich generation

the term given to middle-aged people who need to meet the demands of their own children and of aging parents

Also, in days when it was assumed that work was by definition mind-numbing, it was assumed that people retired as soon as

they could afford to do so, usually at age 65

On the other hand, so-called helicopter parents may be controlling and intrusive, interfering with students' adjustment to

to college and decreasing the overall quality of family life

Most people also tend to follow age homogamy -

to select a partner who falls in their own age range, with husbands two to five years older than wives

Women are also sometimes advised to discontinue using birth control pills after age 35,

to switch pills, or to use "the pill" under greater supervision

Older couples may complain that they spend

too much time together, especially women whose husbands have just retired -If similarity in personality is a problem in this stage of life, perhaps it is because highly similar spouses are getting bored with one another

Issues of caregiving continue, and sometimes they move in two directions—

toward children and grandchildren, and also toward aging parents

Religions also usually encompass

traditions and myths, faith, spiritual experience, and communal as well as private worship