phys & cog dev adult

Physical and Cognitive Development in Young Adulthood Dr. Arra PSY 232

Young Adulthood (22 – 40) Piaget  Cognitive development beyond formal operational stage  Postformal thought  Acknowledged by Piaget

Young Adulthood Perry’s Cognitive Theory (1970, 1981)  Interviewed college students  Younger students engaged in dualistic thinking  Dualistic thinking: dividing information, values, and authority into right and wrong, good and bad, us and them, black and white

Young Adulthood PERRY’S COGNITIVE THEORY  Older students engaged in relativistic thinking  Relativistic thinking: viewing all knowledge as embedded in a framework of thought; absolute truths are abandoned and truths become multiple and contextualized; comfortable with the gray

Young Adulthood SCHAIE’S THEORY (1977, 1978)  Stage theory 1) Acquisition Stage (childhood & adolescence) stage devoted to acquiring knowledge 2) Achieving Stage (early adulthood) focus less on acquiring knowledge and more on applying it (e.g., job, marriage/family)

Young Adulthood SCHAIE’S THEORY 3) Responsibility Stage: (middle adulthood) responsibilities expand beyond job and family > to the community; cognition extends to situations involving social obligations 4) Reintegrative Stage: (late adulthood) as people retire they reintegrate their interests, attitudes, and values as a way of guiding the quality of their lifestyle; no need to acquire new knowledge or monitor long-term decisions; focus on daily activities

Young Adulthood Labouvie-Vief’s Theory (1980, 1985)  Adult thinking centers around pragmatic thought  Logic is the tool for solving real-world problems  Adults specialize in their job fields

Young Adulthood Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence  Experiential element: insightful or creative aspect of intelligence  Contextual element: practical intelligence  Componential element: analytic aspect of intelligence

Young Adulthood STERNBERG  An aspect of practical intelligence  Tacit knowledge – commonsense knowledge of how to get ahead; largely acquired on one’s own; can include selfmanagement skills, task management skills, and the ability to manage others

Young Adulthood Expertise – acquisition of extensive knowledge in a field or endeavor

Development of Expertise is supported by:  Selecting a college major; graduate school; job  Someone with expertise can reason and remember very quickly and efficiently

Young Adulthood PHYSICAL CHANGES  Senescence (biological aging) – genetically influenced declines in the functioning of organs and systems  Body structures reach maximum capacity and efficiency in the teens and twenties

Young Adulthood  Vision: 30> lens stiffens and thickens,

ability to focus on close objects declines  Cardiovascular (gradual) heart muscle becomes more rigid, maximum heart rate decreases; artery walls stiffen and accumulate plaque, blood flow to body cells is reduced  Respiratory (gradual) respiratory capacity decreases due to stiffening of connective tissue in the lungs

Young Adulthood  Skeletal 30> cartilage in joints thins and

cracks, leading bone ends beneath it to erode  Reproductive 35> fertility problems and risk of having a baby with a chromosomal disorder increase

Young Adulthood OBESITY  Defined as greater than 20% increase over average body weight  20% of young adults are obese  Risks: high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, heart attack, sleep disorders

Young Adulthood TREATMENT  Well-balanced diet  Exercise  Social support  Long-term treatment: (25-40 weeks) allow people time to develop new habits

Young Adulthood SELECTING A VOCATION  Individuals move through stages (Ginzberg, 1972; Super, 1980) 1) Fantasy period – early and middle childhood; children fantasize about glamorous and exciting careers 2) Tentative period – early and middle adolescence – evaluate vocational options in terms of interests and ability

Young Adulthood 3) Realistic Period (late adolescence and early adulthood) individuals start to narrow their options by focusing on a general vocational category; experimenting and then settling on a single occupation

Young Adulthood Factors influencing vocational choice  Personality  Family  Teachers/Mentors  Gender Stereotypes