Developmental Psychology- Chapter 11 Study Guide

The Parental Role

1. Although the nuclear family (parents and children) is the most common form of family in Western societies, the most common form around the world is the extended family (parents, children, grandparents, and other relatives). 2. Deciding whether to have children a) Although having children is stressful and very expensive, most people do it anyway. 3. The timing of parenthood is important in understanding how involved parents are in their families versus their careers. a) Older parents are generally more at ease being parents, spend more time with their babies, and are more affectionate, sensitive, and supportive to them. b) Fathers in their 30s generally spend more time with their children, but mothers are still doing the majority of child rearing. c) Women perform most of the child rearing tasks. 4. Ethnic background makes a difference in terms of family structure and the parent-child relationship. a) Latino and Asian American families both value Familism (the idea that the well-being of the family takes precedence over the concerns of individual family members) and have strong extended families.

Violence in Relationships

1. An abusive relationship is defined as a relationship that becomes violent or in which one person becomes aggressive toward a partner. a) National rates of sexual assault are declining. (1) Acquaintance rape, or date rape, is still a major problem. (2) College women are more likely to be victims of sexual assault. 2. There is a continuum of aggressive behaviors toward a partner, which progresses from verbal aggression to physically aggressive behavior to severe physically aggressive behaviors to murder. 3. People of any gender can be victims of violence from intimate partners. a) Women are not as violent as men in heterosexual relationships. b) All victims need to be supported. 4. Culture is also an important contextual factor. a) Violence against women worldwide reflects cultural traditions, beliefs, and values of patriarchal societies. b) International data indicate that rates of abuse are higher in cultures that emphasize female purity, male status, and family honor. c) Cultures that emphasize honor and portray females as passive, nurturing supporters of men's activities and that emphasize loyalty and sacrifice for the family may contribute to tolerating abuse. 5. Although many communities have established shelters for battered women and their children, and programs that treat abusive men, many localities are not set up to deal with domestic violence.

Relationships with Young Children

1. Because most mothers obtain custody of the children, it puts a very high financial burden on divorced mothers. 2. Divorced fathers pay a psychological price because it is difficult to remain involved in their children's lives. 3. Collaborative divorce is a voluntary, contractually-based alternative dispute resolution process for couples who want to negotiate a resolution of the situation rather than have a ruling imposed on them by a court or an arbitrator. a) Less conflict between couples b) Greater father involvement c) Better outcomes for children

Cohabitation

1. Cohabitation is when two people in a committed, intimate, sexual relationship live together but are not married. 2. In the United States, young adults usually cohabit as a step toward marriage. In some European countries, cohabitation is much more common. 3. Couples cohabitate part-time as a step toward marriage, and/or to replace marriage. 4. There are cross-cultural differences in cohabitation rates (much higher in Scandinavian countries). 5. Couples who cohabitated first have a higher divorce rate, and tend to be less happy.

Who Gets Divorced and Why?

1. Currently, odds are about 50-50 that a new marriage will end in divorce. Several factors, such as ethnicity and social norms, contribute to this high divorce rate. a) Asian Americans have the lowest rates of divorce b) African Americans have the highest rates 2. Reasons for divorce a) Infidelity, incompatibility, drinking/drug use, and growing apart are the most common reasons.

Effects of Divorce on the Couple

1. Divorced people sometimes find the transition difficult (divorce hangover). 2. Forgiving the ex-spouse is also important for eventual adjustment post-divorce. 3. Women have a harder time in the long run, often for financial reasons.

Singlehood

1. Ethnic differences in singlehood reflect differences in both age at marriage and social factors. a) In young adulthood, African Americans are twice as likely to be single compared to European Americans. 2. Millennials are remaining single longer and more likely to forgo marriage and cohabitate. 3. The transition to permanent singlehood is a gradual one.

Men's, women's, and cross-sex friendships

1. Men's and women's friendships tend to differ in adulthood, reflecting continuity in learned behaviors from childhood. 2. Women tend to have more close friendships than men, and base their friendships on communion and self- disclosure. 3. Men tend to base friendships on shared activities or interests. 4. Gender differences in same-sex friendship patterns may explain difficulties men and women have forming cross-gender friendships.

Gottman and Levenson (2000) developed two models that predict divorce early and later:

1. Negative emotions displayed during conflict between the couple predict early divorce but not later divorce. 2. The lack of positive emotions in a discussion of events of the day and during conflict predicts later divorce but not early divorce.

Love relationships

1. Passion, intimacy, and commitment are the key components of love according to Sternberg. These can be used to understand how relationships develop. A true love relationship has all three components. 2. Love Through Adulthood a) Early in romantic relationships, passion is usually high, but intimacy and commitment tend to be low. Infatuation is an intense, physically-based relationship in which the two people have a high risk of misunderstanding and jealousy. It is generally short-lived. b) "Love at first sight" relationships are more likely to end in divorce. c) As the length of the relationship increases, intimacy and passion decrease but commitment increases.

Diverse Family Forms

1. Single parents are faced with many unique problems, especially if they are women and divorced. The main problem is significantly reduced financial resources. a) Single mothers are the hardest-hit financially. b) Dating is a concern for many divorced single parents.

Friendships

1. The role and influence of friends for young adults is of major importance from the late teens to the mid- 20s, and continues to be a source of support throughout adulthood. 2. Levinson proposed the ABCDE model of friendship, a series of stages friendship go through: acquaintanceship, buildup, continuation, deterioration, and ending. 3. Friendships change from adolescence through young adulthood. a) People tend to have more friendships during young adulthood than during any other period. b) Friendships are especially important for maintaining life satisfaction across adulthood. 4. Three themes underlie adult friendships: (1) an affective or emotional basis, (2) a shared or communal nature, and (3) s ociability and compatibility. 5. With online friendships, trust is an important factor. a) Reputation b) Performance, or what users do online c) Precommitment gained through self-disclosure d) Situational factors

Remarriage

1. The trauma of divorce does not deter people from beginning new relationships, as most remarry. Women are less likely to remarry than men. 2. Second marriages are especially vulnerable to stress if spouses must adjust to having stepchildren.

Developmental Forces and Love Relationships

a) Adult relationships are complex. b) Psychologically, intimacy is an important developmental issue. (1) The kinds of relationships you saw and experienced as a child affect how you define and act in relationships you develop as an adult. (2) Sociocultural forces shape the characteristics you find desirable in a mate and determine whether you are likely to encounter resistance. (3) Life-cycle forces play a role as well.

Marriage Terms

a) Marital success is an umbrella term referring to any marital outcome (such as divorce rate) b) Marital quality, which is a subjective evaluation of the couple's relationship on a number of different dimensions c) Marital adjustment , the degree to which a husband and wife accommodate to each other over a certain period of time d) Marital satisfaction , which is a global assessment of one's marriage.

The Early Years of Marriage

a) Marriages are most intense in their early days: (1) Shared activities (2) Open to new experiences (3) Stress over finances require open and honest communication (4) Couples who focus on the good and not the annoyances are happier (5) Having children and increased stress lowers levels of marital happiness

Do Married Couples Stay Happy?

a) Overall marital satisfaction is highest at the beginning of marriage. b) For couples with children, marital satisfaction tends to decline until the children leave home. c) Balance in the level to which spouses depend on each other leads to strong and close marriages d) Karney and Bradbury (1995) proposed a vulnerability-stress-adaptation model of marriage, which sees marital quality as a dynamic process resulting from the couple's ability to handle stressful events in the context of their particular vulnerabilities and resources.

Falling in Love

a) The best explanation of the process of how people fall in love is explained by the theory of assortative mating , which states that people select mates based on their similarity to each other. b) Online dating provides a way for adults who have social or dating anxiety to meet people. (1) One in five couples in the United States meet online (2) Difficulties exist in the accuracy of personal descriptions (3) Attractiveness strongly influences initial selections online (4) Over one-third of couples who marry first met online c) Emerging hookup culture is increasing (1) Both men and women are interested in having hookup sex (2) Both men and women prefer a more romantic relationship (3) Three-fourths of men and women eventually expressed some level of regret at having hookup sex

Research shows that men and women in various cultures display unique orderings of their preferences concerning the ideal characteristics of a mate. Two main dimensions emerged:

a) The characteristics of a desirable mate have changed because of cultural values. (1) Traditional cultures emphasize chastity and homemaking in women and ambition, industry, and financial prospects in men. (2) Western cultures value these qualities to a much lesser extent. (3) Nearly all cultures place importance on love and attraction. b) The relative importance of education, intelligence, and social refinement in choosing a mate.

key predictors of future success in marriages:

a) The relative maturity of the two partners at the time they are married. b) Homogamy or the similarity of values and interests a couple shares. c) A feeling that the relationship is equal. According to the exchange theory , a marriage is based on each partner contributing something to the relationship that the other would be hard-pressed to provide.

Keeping Marriages Happy

a) To keep a marriage happy, couples must be flexible, adaptable, and communicate well with each other. (1) Make time for your relationship (2) Express your love to your spouse (3) Be there in times of need (4) Communicate constructively and positively (5) Be interested in your spouse (6) Confide in your spouse (7) Forgive minor offenses and try to understand major ones

The most important factors in creating stable marriages are:

reating a stable sense of identity as a foundation for intimacy, similarity of values and interests, and contributions of unique skills by each partner.

Successful vs Unsuccessful Marriage Factors

trust, consulting each other, honesty, joint decision making, and commitment