8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

1/41

1

CHAPTER1:

INTRODUCTION

AND

OVERVIEWOFADULTDEVELOPMENT

Hemera/Thinkstock

Thisisthestoryofyou.Itisastorythatbeginsbeforeyouwerebornandwontenduntilyoudie.Itisa

storythat

will

make

you

think

and

surprise

you,

make

you

laugh,

and

amaze

you.

Just

like

billions

of

otherhumanbeings,youareaneverchangingproductofyourstory.

Imaginestandingonapaththatforksinthewoods:Onepathleadstotheleft,theothertotheright.

Theoneyouchoosewillchangeyourlife.Afewhundredyardsalongisanotherforkinthepath,and

againyourlifewillchangeasyouchooseapath.Someofthosepathsleadtotheswamp,otherstonice

fields,sometoflowergardens,andafewtothemountaintops.Asyousitreadingthis,youarea

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

2/41

2

product,inpart,ofeverychoicethatyouhavemade:yourenvironment,career,education,thewaythat

youhaveusedyourbodyandyourmind,andmanyotherareas.Yourstoryisconstructedbythe

exclusivechoices

that

you

make,

by

factors

that

you

have

no

control

over,

like

the

genetic

makeup

your

parentsgaveyouandenvironmentalvariablesthatcombinepersonalchoiceandoutsideinfluence,like

whereyougotoschoolandthefoodsthatyoueat.Thisstoryiswhatwecalladultdevelopment.

Otherthancuriosityabouthowyougottobethepersonyouaretoday,whyshouldyoucareaboutthis

story?Becauseyouhavetherestofyourlifetofacechoicesasyoustandatforksinyourroad.

Understandingmoreaboutyourowndevelopmentandaboutthosearoundyouwillhelpyoumake

goodchoicestogettowhereyouwanttogoinlife.

Inthisbook,welllookathowyoudevelopasanadult.Chapter1introducesandgivesyouabroadlook

atthetopic;Chapter2takesacloserlookatthemajortheoriesofdevelopmentandthecontroversies

surroundingthem.

Chapters

35

take

you

through

three

periods

of

adult

development:

early,

middle,

andolderyears.Youllseehowthetheoriesfitintothecontextofactualadultdevelopmentandlearn

muchmoreaboutyourselfandwhatyoucanexpectasyourownlifedevelops.

Aswebeginthestoryofyou,firstexploretheRossmanAdultLearningInventory(RALI)

test:http://www.floridatechnet.org/inservice/abe/abestudent/rossman.pdf.

Thistrue/falsetesthelpsadultlearnersunderstandmoreaboutthemselvesandhasprovenveryhelpful

tomanystudentsinthisclass.Answerstothequestionscanbefound

atwww.drjimmirabella.com/resources/raliquest_answers.doc.THE HISTORY ANDDEFINITIONOFADULTDEVELOPMENT

Peoplehavealwaysbeeninterestedinhowtheygottobethewaythey

areandhowothersturnedoutastheydid.Onefactorthatspurreda

moreorganizedstudyofdevelopmentwastheIndustrialRevolution.

TheIndustrialRevolutionbeganinthelate1700sandchangedthe

structureofmanycountriesbythemidtolate1800sastheymoved

fromeconomiesbasedonhumanandanimalpowertothepowerof

machines.Forexample,cloththatwasoncewovenbywomenusing

handloomscouldbeturnedoutattentimesfasterusingmachines,thus

reducingcostsandmakingmoreprofit.

Factories,suchasthistextileone,

createdtheneedforskilledlaborers

duringtheIndustrialRevolutioninthe

UnitedStates.

AbleStock.com/Thinkstock

TheIndustrialRevolutiondidnotdoawaywiththeneedforallpeople.

Butitputanemphasisonsuchskillsasreading,writing,and

mathematicsthatlaborersintheformerworkforcedidnothave.As

companiesdemandedsuchskills,schoolsandresearchersfocusedmore

http://www.floridatechnet.org/inservice/abe/abestudent/rossman.pdfhttp://www.drjimmirabella.com/resources/raliquest_answers.dochttp://www.drjimmirabella.com/resources/raliquest_answers.dochttp://www.floridatechnet.org/inservice/abe/abestudent/rossman.pdf

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

3/41

3

rshas

d.Asaresult,manyuniversities

nowstudy

adult

development.

inchangesinattitudes,beliefs,planningandreasoningabilities,andpersonality,amongmanyothers.

ontheprocessoflearningandthedevelopmentofthemind.Thisfocusondevelopmentalfacto

gainedimportanceasthedemandforwelleducatedpeoplehasincrease

Adultdevelopmentfocusesonthescientificstudyoftheprocessbywhichhumansdevelopthroughout

adulthood.Althoughthephysicalandmentalchangesinhumanbeingsaremostobviousfrombirthto

earlyadulthood,changeisinfactlifelong.Understandingthechangespresentinadulthood,whichare

oftennotasobviousasphysicalgrowth,iscriticalforunderstandingyourself;duringadulthood,many

changestakeplaceinsidethemind.Thatiswherecognitiveandemotionalchangesoccur,whichresult

AREASOF ADULTDEVELOPMENT

Traditionally,lifespan

development

(the

study

of

development

from

before

birth

to

death)

has

be

dividedintothreecategories:physicaldevelopment,cognitivedevelopment,andsocioemotional

development,whichincludesthedevelopmentofouremotions,personality,andrelationshipswit

others.Eachcategoryshowsdistinctlydifferenttypesofdevelopmentanddifferentschedulesof

development;theyare,however,notseparate.Eachisinfluencedbytheothersinbothobviousand

subtleways.Forexample,howwethinkinfluenceswhetherweareacceptedinsocialgroupsandth

typeoffriendsthatwemake.Ourphysicaldevelopmentinfluencesourselfconceptandemoti

satisfactionwit

en

h

e

onal

hourbodies.Wewillusethesethreecategoriesaswestudyeachstageofour

development.

PHYSICALDEVELOPMENT

Physicaldevelopmentlooksatchangesinourbodiesoveralifetime,

includingchangesinheight,weight,haircolor,teeth,muscleandother

tissues,sexualdevelopment,eyesight,andmotorskills.Italsolooksat

developmentthatisnotaseasilyapparent,likebonegrowth,hear

organdevelopmentanddecline,chan

tand

gesinourbrains,hormonal

changes,andtheonsetofdiseases.

changeintheseareascontribute ephysicaldevelopmentofyour

body.

Sometimesthesechangesarestriking,suchasthehormonalchanges

thatcreate

the

developments

seen

in

puberty

or

the

physical

changes

createdbytheonsetofdiseasesoroldage.Othersaremoresubtle,

suchastheinfluenceofnutritiononthebody.Strikingornot,each

stoth

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

4/41

4

a

r

rationcontinuestoinfluencebodilydevelopmentintoouradolescentandadult

years,ourexperienceswiththeworldandthoseinitplayalargerroleinouroveralldevelopmentaswe

rualcycleinfemales.Normalvariation

ofphysicalchangesalsoleadstodifferencesincognitiveandsocioemotionaldevelopment.Inshort,

amajorrole,too.Inthenextchapter,wewill

belookingmorecloselyattheroleofbothgeneticsandtheenvironmentondevelopment.

Partofphysicaldevelopmentdependsonmaturation,theunfoldingof

setofphysical,cognitive,andpsychosocialfactorsbasedonnatural

changesprescribed

bygenes(genescontaintheblueprintsfor

development).Anindividualsparticulargeneticcode,createdfromacombinationofgenesofthefathe

andmother,controlsboththetiminganddegreeofdevelopment.Maturationalsogovernssomeofthe

changesinbehaviorthatareinfluencedbythephysicalchangesinourbody,includingourbrain.Thisis

animportantprocessbecauseitgovernswhenwearereadytomasternewskills,suchaswalkingand

talking.Althoughmatu

Walkingisamilestoneinababy's

physicaldevelopment.

BananaStock/Thinkstock

leavetheearlyyears.

Sexalsoplaysamajorroleinphysicaldevelopment,asboysandgirlsrapidlydivergeintheir

developmentalpathwaysduetogenes.Thisismostobviousduringpubertywhenphysicalchanges

rapidlyoccur,suchasthechangeinthevoiceofmales,thedevelopmentofbreastsinfemales,the

growthofbodyandfacialhairinmales,andthestartofthemenst

physicaldevelopmentoverlapseveryareaofadultdevelopment.

Developmentcontrolledbygeneticsisanimportantpartoftheoverallexplanationofhowwedevelop,

butitisnottheonlyexplanation.Theenvironmentplays

COGNITIVEDEVELOPMENT

Psychologistscallmentalactivitiescognition

Cognitionincludesthinking,remembering,

solvingproblems,language,andattention.

Cognitivedevelopmentthereforerefersto

developmentofthemind.Itisabroadtermthat

involveshowinformationistakenin,proce

andmanipulated.Psychologistsdividetheir

inquiryofcognitionintotwosections,the

inthebrainthatenablethatknowle

.

ssed,

contentof

human

knowledge

and

the

processes

dgetobe

lated

developmentofourbrainshelpsgovernwhenwecanspeakandourabilitytoprocessandstore

used(Corsini,1994,p.242).

Cognitivedevelopmentisatfirstcloselyre

tophysicaldevelopment.Thephysical

Genderrelatedchoices,suchaslearningthatmenare"supposedto

knowhowtousetools,arepartofachildscognitivedevelopment.

JackHollingsworth/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

5/41

5

s

and

learnlanguages.

These

skills

will

in

turn

influence

how

we

see

ourselves

and

how

others

see

us.

sexpectations,thingslikemoralandethicalcodes,sexualbehaviorandsexualidentity,

andeducation.

INTELLIGENCE

information,includinglanguagedevelopment.Themorethatphysicalconnectionsarebuiltinourbrain

amongthenervecells,thebetterourabilityisprocessinformation,think,reason,solveproblems,

Anotherwaythatcognitivedevelopmentislinkedtophysicaldevelopmentisintheareaof

genderrelatedchoices.Aschildrendiscovertheyareboysandgirls,theybegintoprocessthe

expectationsandrequirementsrelatedtotheirgenderhowtheydress,whattoystheyplaywith,the

gamesandactivitiestheyengagein,andthetypesofinteractiontheyhavewithothers.Later,children

willlearnsociety

Whatisintelligence?Somepsychologistslookatintelligenceasabroad

measureofanumberofdifferentabilities,whereasothersdefin

narrowlyasthatwhichanIQtestmeasures.Stillothershave

conceptualizedintelligencedifferently,focusingonacombinationof

specificaptitudes.Letsstartwiththemostfrequentlycitedintelligen

thatderivedfromatraditionalintelligencetest.Thesetestsgiveth

resultasanumber,yourIQ(orintelligencequotient).Thesetests

measureintelligencebycomparingthepersonsscorewiththemedian

scoreforadults.ThemedianIQscoreis100.Medianmeansthemiddle

eitmore

ce

e

numberinalistofnumbers(scores)arrangedfromlowesttohighest.

et

IQ

arts,

lintelligencedonot

playarole

in

the

most

commonly

used

IQ

tests.

nd

applicabilitytoadultsclickonthesetwoarticlesfromtheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation:

Mostcommonly,wedefineapersonsintelligenceastheirscoreon

eitherofthetwomostcommonlyusedIQtests,theStanfordBin

IntelligenceScale(SB5)ortheWecshlerAdultIntelligenceScale

(WAISIV).However,ascognitivepsychologistScottKaufman(2009)

cautions,Thereismoretolifesuccessthantheabilitytoscorehighon

tests.Peoplecanbesuccessfulbasedontheircreativity,streetsm

andpersonalityvariables.Manypsychologistshaverejectedthe

usefulnessofanoverall,globalIQmeasurement,especiallybecausesome

importanttypesofintelligenceincludingpractica

Howwouldyoudefine

"intelligence"?WhileAlbertEinste

wasconsideredintelligentforhis

TheoryofRelativity,doyouthinkhe

wouldbeasintelligentonthe

basketballcourtorwithaguitar?

ThePrintCollection/I

in

magestateRM/photolibrary

Nevertheless,IQtestsremainthemostcommonmeasureofgeneralintelligence.Theyhavebeenfou

toremainrelativelysteadyinadulthood,risingslightlyfromearlyadulthooduntiltheearly40s,then

remainingconstantuntilaboutage60whentheybeginafasterdecline(Schaie&Willis,1991).Ifyou

wouldliketoreadaquickhistoryofIQtestinganditscontroversyincludingitsfairness,validity,and

http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/creativityhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/personalityhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/personalityhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/creativity

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

6/41

6

http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec99/ss4.html

http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligent.html

HOWARDGARDNERSMULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

Ratherthanonekindofglobalintelligence,inFramesofMind:TheTheoryofMultipleIntelligences,HowardGardner(1993)arguesthatintelligenceismultifaceted,notlimitedtosimplyonenumber.IfOprahWinfreywas

terribleatmathormegarecordproducerQuincyJoneswasapoorEnglish

student,wouldyousaytheywereunintelligent?TraditionalIQtests

includebothmathandlinguisticskills.Indeed,poorperformanceinoneor

bothofthoseareaswouldstronglyimpactintelligence.Alternatively,

Gardnerfoundacaseforatleasteigh

ttypesofintelligences.Campbell,

Campbell,andDickinson(2004)elaborateonthisideabyshowingthe

mandoflanguage.Itallowsusto

clearlyandprecisely.Whilethisskillisimportantforeveryone,itis

ndane

a

s.

edto

ce.

ence.

physicalskills.Professionaldancers,

usic.Wesee

expressionsofitinthosewhoaregoodatcomposingorperformingmusic,aswellasthosewho

cananalyzethecompositionsofothers.

occupationalstrengthsofeachone:

Verballinguisticintelligenceisrepresentedbyagoodcomexpressourthoughts

especiallyimportantforauthors,journalists,andthosein

thebusinessworld.

Logicalmathematicalintelligenceincludessuchmutasksasdecidingifwereceivedtherightchangefrom

clerk,balancing

acheckbook,

or

paying

bills.

More

sophisticatedmathematicalskillsallowustobetter

understandourworldandhowitisputtogether;itis,in

fact,alanguagethatweusetoconveyimportantidea

Manyscientistsandthosewhoworkwithnumbersne

havedevelopedexcellentmathematicalintelligen

Spatialintelligencereferstotheabilitytothinkthreedimensionally,tobeabletotakeaflatpictureor

architecturaldrawingandmentallyvisualizeitsexist

Bodilykinestheticintelligenceisrelatedtomuscularmovementandspecific

athletes,craftspeople,andsurgeonshavethistypeof

intelligence.

Musicalintelligenceisrelatedtosensitivitytorhythm,melody,pitch,tone,andotheraspectsofm

Thisyoungrockclimbermighthavehigh

bodilykinestheticintelligence.ThinkstockImages/Comstock

http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligent.htmlhttp://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligent.html

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

7/41

7

Interpersonalintelligencereferstotheabilitytounderstandandinteracteffectivelywithothers.Suchintelligenceinvolvesnotonlytheabilitytounderstandtheobviousmeaningofwhatothers

saybut

recognizing

hidden

meaning

behind

words

and

nonverbalcommunication.Suchskillsareimportantfor

teachers,psychologists,businessprofessionals,parents,and

others.

Thisyoungviolinistprobablyhashigh

musicalintelligence.

DavidDeas/photolibrary

Intrapersonalintelligencereferstotheabilitytounderstandoneself,tobeabletoexplorethedepthsofthemindsand

emotions,drawingconclusionsandpersonalinsights.

NaturalisticintelligencewasproposedafterGardnersoriginalsevenintelligences.Peoplewhoarenaturesmart

excelatunderstandingthepatternsandmeaningofnature,

fromcloud

formations

and

wind

patterns

to

smells

and

the

feelofearth.Thistypeofintelligenceisimportantto

farmers,botanists,ranchers,andecologists.

Todiscoveryourownintellectualtendencies,takethefree

RogersIndicatorofMultipleIntelligences(RIMI),

athttp://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/MI/MIQuiz.htm.

Foraninformallookatyourpredispositions,youcanalsotakethe

briefMultipleIntelligencesquiz

athttp://acceleratedlearning.net/testyour.htm.

Whatcan

you

do

with

these

ideas?

First,

remember

that

every

type

of

intelligence

is

valuable,

not

just

thetypesthatwetypicallyassociatewithbrains.Also,everytypeofintelligenceishelpfulinachieving

successinsomefield.Itmaybeimportanttodiscoverthetypesofintelligencethatarepredominantfor

youandthendetermineiftheyofferanattractivecareerpathway.Iftheidentifiedcareerpathwaysare

notattractive,itdoesnotmeanthatyouareclosedofffromjobsthatrequiredifferenttypesof

intelligence.Historyisfullofexamplesofpeoplewhohadinnatetalentinoneareabutsucceededina

whollydifferentarea.Forexample,AlanGreenspan,afamouseconomistwhochairedtheFederal

ReserveBoard,hadsuchtremendousmusicaltalentasachildthathewasacceptedintothefamed

JulliardSchoolofMusic.However,helaterdevelopedthemathematicalintelligencethatheneededfor

acareerineconomics.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/MI/MIQuiz.htmhttp://accelerated-learning.net/testyour.htmhttp://accelerated-learning.net/testyour.htmhttp://accelerated-learning.net/testyour.htmhttp://accelerated-learning.net/testyour.htmhttp://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/MI/MIQuiz.htm

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

8/41

8

REFLECTON IT:INTELLIGENCE

We

all

have

a

different

mix

of

intelligences.

Whichoftheseintelligencesapplytoyou? Aretheassociatedoccupationstrueforyourlifesofar?Ifnot,areanyofthecareeroptions

appealingtoyou?

Thoughoursocietyputsapremiumonverbalintelligence,thevalueofothertypesofintelligencemay

beequallyimportantdependingononeseducationalgoalsorcareer.Asnotedabove,thevarioustypes

ofintelligenceareallsignificanttodifferentpathsinlife.Cognitivedevelopmenthasanenormous

influenceonthetypesofjobsthatwewillhold,withwhomwewillassociate,andthelivesthatwelead.

Thesecharacteristicswillinturninfluencehowweseeourselvesandhowothersseeus.Letslookat

thesefactorsnext.

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Thiscategoryincludeschangesinapersonsemotions,

relationswithothers,selfconcept,andpersonality,whichisa

stablewayofthinking,feeling,andbehaving.Weeachhavean

imageofwhoweare,ourselfconcept,oridentity.Itismade

upof

many

different

parts,

things

like

ethnicity,

intelligence,

skills,family,andsocioeconomicstatus.Descriptorsthatcome

afterthephraseIam...refertoyourselfconcept.Thus,it

isanoveralldescriptionofyourabilities,traits,andpersonality.Itisthetypeofpersonwhoyoubelieveyouare,whichmay

differfromthetypeofpersonwhoyouwanttobe.Asyou

develop,youridentityisconstantlybeingmodifiedby

experiencesandthoughts.

Howwouldyoureplytothequestion"whoamI?"

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

REFLECTON IT:IDENTITY

Howwouldyoudescribeyouridentity?Trytocompletethesentence:Iam_____________. Whatareasofyourlifedoyoufocusontodescribewhoyouare?Isityourplaceinafamily,a

jobtitle,yourcultureorbackground?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

9/41

9

Awelldocumentedwaytolearnabouthowpersonalityaffectscareerchoiceandworkingrelationships

isthewidelyusedMyersBriggsTypeIndicatortest.Whileitisimportanttomakecareerdecisionswith

thehelp

of

aprofessional

who

can

interpret

full

tests

about

your

interests

and

aptitude,

online

tests

can

sometimesofferimportantinsights.Ashort,funtestbasedontheMyersBriggsisfound

athttp://www.humanmetrics.com/cgiwin/JTypes2.asp.Besuretoreadtheanalysisofyourtypeafter

youcompletethetest.Youcanfindmanymorefreepersonalitytestsathttp://similarminds.com.

SELFESTEEM

Consciouslyorotherwise,peopleevaluatetheirownselfconcepts.Thatis,wemayormaynotlikehow

welookoract,ourethnicity,intelligence,skills,orsocioeconomicstatus.Thisevaluativeprocessis

calledselfesteem,ajudgmentaboutourselfconcept.Forinstance,ifyouidentifyyourselfasacaring

MexicanAmerican

father,

adedicated

student,

an

average

bike

rider,

and

abelow

average

soccer

player

andallofthatisokwithyou,thoseattributescontributetoapositiveselfesteem.Ontheotherhand,if

youarenotthefatheryouwouldliketobe,thinkofyourselfasalazystudent,andoftenareselfcritical

fornotbeingabetterathlete,thenyourselfesteemwouldbenegativelyaffected.

Althoughselfesteemisbasedoncognitive

evaluations,italsocontributestoother

areasofdevelopment.Forexample,

BurhansandDweck(1995)foundthatifa

childsselfesteemwerehigh,thechild

wouldbemotivatedtotryhardertoa

goals.Bycontrast,childrenwithlow

selfesteemtendtobelievefailuresarea

reflectionofwhotheyareandthatthey

cannotsucceedeveniftheytryharder.

Theygenerallyrepeatineffectivestrategies,

failagain,andthengiveupentirely(Erdley,

Cain,Loomis,&DumasHines,1997).

chieve

Itsclearthatgoodselfesteemcanbean

importantfactorinselfconceptandinbeingsuccessful,bothpersonallyandprofessionally.Howdoyou

buildself

esteem

in

your

children

or

in

yourself?

An

important

part

of

the

answer

lies

in

understanding

thatweshouldnotcriticizeourselvesforfailinginareasthatarenotrelevanttoourlivesorgoals.For

example,youmightrightlycriticizeyourselfformakingabigmistakeinafloorplanifyouareaninterior

designer,butyoushouldnotrequirethatsamehighstandardofyourselfinanirrelevantarea,suchasa

mistakeinarecipeyouaremaking.

Praiseforajobwelldoneimprovesselfesteem.JoseInc/FlirtCollection/photolibrary

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asphttp://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asphttp://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asphttp://similarminds.com/http://similarminds.com/http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

10/41

10

Itisnoshametofailinareasthatarenotyourfocusnobodyisgoodateverythingorevenmostthings!

Oneofthebestwaystobuildstrongselfesteemandconfidenceisthroughthefeelingof

accomplishmentthat

we

get

when

we

do

something

well,

especially

when

it

was

not

easy

to

do.

Whetherornotanyoneelserecognizestheaccomplishment,wedo,anditmakesusproudofthat

achievementandofourselves.

Asecondimportantwaytoboostselfesteemistoofferpraisewhenitisearned.Ifyoudosomething

well,congratulateyourself;youearnedapatonthebackevenifnooneelsegaveyouone.

Acknowledgingourownaccomplishmentsisagoodwaytobuildselfesteem.Weareoftenmoreready

tocriticizeourselvesandothersthantoofferpraise.Theeffectiscumulative,too.Themoreoftenthat

wearepraisedforsomethingorgiveourselvespraise,themoreconfidentwebecomeinourabilitiesto

dothatjob(notethatjobcanmeananything,personalorprofessional,notjustourwork).Praise

buildsconfidenceandapositiveselfconcept,andtheyinturnprovidethemotivationforcontinued

improvementinthatarea.

Mostalways,longtermsuccessrequiresmultiplestepstoachieveagoal.Ofteneachstepismastered

throughanapproximationofthedesiredbehavior,andthenagradualrefinementtakesplaceuntil

masteryisachieved.Similarly,yourultimateacademicgoalisprobablytoearnadegree.Thediploma

thatyoureceiveisreallytheproductofhundredsofsuccessfulsmallsteps.Eachtestthatyoupass,each

goodpaperthatyouwrite,eachcoursethatyoupass,andeveneachnightthatyoustudyuntilmidnight

deservepraise.

WhenyoureadaboutB.F.Skinnerandoperantconditioninginthenextchapter,youwillunderstand

thepsychology

of

why

praise

builds

self

esteem

and

the

necessity

of

small

rewards

that

lead

to

larger

goals.

REFLECTON IT:HOWYOUSEEYOURSELF

Althoughitisfinetothinkabouthowothersseeyou,whatreallycountsishowyouseeyourself.Be

honestwithyourself.Writedownsomespecificqualitiesthatyouthinkdescribeyou.Theseshouldbe

bothpositiveandnegativequalities(afterall,nooneisperfect).Whenyouredone,putitawayfora

daytogainalittledistanceandthenreaditoveragain.

Whatdoyoulikeandadmiremostaboutthepersonyoudescribed? Whatdoyoulikeleast? Whichofthesequalitieswillhelpyousucceedincollege?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

11/41

11

MAJORINFLUENCESONADULTDEVELOPMENT

Asdiscussed

previously,

lifespan

development

occurs

on

three

dimensions:

physical,

cognitive,

and

socioemotional.Avarietyofoutsideforceslikefamily,parentingskills,socialstrata,peers,gender,and

cultureinfluenceseachcategory.

FAMILY AND PARENTING

Forinfantsandtoddlers(birth2yearsofage),parentsorcaregiversarethemostimportantinfluences.

Theyareresponsibleforeveryaspectofcare,safety,andcomfortduringatimewhenhumansare

formingtheirfirstimpressionsoftheworld.Becauseparentsorcaregiversaresoimportant,thequality

(includingquantityoftimespent)oftherelationshiphasaheavyinfluenceonearlychildhood

development.

Inaclassicstudy,threeHarvardpsychologistsrated379mothersofkindergartnerson150different

childrearingpractices(Sears,Maccoby,&Levin,1957).Then25yearslater(thisiswhatwecalla

longitudinalresearchstudybecauseit

followsagroupofpeopleoveralongperiod

oftime),otherHarvardpsychologists

contactedthesechildrentoevaluatehow

theyturnedout.Surprisingly,the

psychologistsfoundthattheiradultthinking

andbehaviorwasnotinfluencedtoagreat

extentbythespecificchildrearingpractices

oftheirparents.Whatthestudyclearly

showed,however,wasthathowparentsfelt

abouttheirchildrenwasveryimportant.

Childrenwhofeltlovedandcaredforwere

happierandshowedgreatersocialand

moralmaturityasadultsthanthosewhofelt

rejected,neglected,orunwanted(McClelland,Constantian,Regalado,&Stone,1978,p.53).

Parentsandcaregiversarethemostsignificantinfluenceonachild'slife.

Jupiterimages/BrandXPictures/Thinkstock

Youaretheproductofthewayyouwereraised,aswellasyourgenetics.Andifyouareaparent,your

childrenwillbetheproductofhowyouraisethem.Parentingisnotanexactscience.Onesetof

instructionsortechniquesdoesnotproduceadesiredpersonalityinallchildren.Parentingisverymuch

anaccommodationbetweenparticularcaregiversandchildren,soeventhesametechniquesthat

helpedafirstbornchilddevelopadmirablymaynotworkwellwithalaterbornchild.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

12/41

12

Childrenfromabusivehouseholdsmaygrowupfeelingfearfulofrelationshipsandmaybeunableto

givethetrustneededtocreatelovingrelationshipswithotheradults.Depression,lowselfesteem,and

distrustof

intimate

relationships

are

often

seen.

However,

more

often

than

not,

individuals

manage

theirfeelingswithsocialsupportandprofessionalcounselingandgoontoestablishlovingrelationships

andhappyfamilies.

Parentingisnotanexactscience,butexpertsagreethatloveand

nurturancegoalongway.

SomosImages/photolibrary

Mostexpertsinparentingskillsalsoemphasizethe

importanceofteachingchildrenasetofvalues,

thenreinforcingtheirbehaviorswhentheyhonor

thosevalues(suchashonestyinreturningafound

wallettoitsowner),andpunishingthosebe

thatviolatethosevalues.Theyalsoemphasize

importanceofrespectingothers,whichisseenin

kindness,empathy,manners,andunselfish

behavior.Ofcourse,asnotedabove,creatinga

senseofselfesteemandselfconfide

childrenisalsocriticalfortheirfuture

development.

haviors

the

ncein

Therearemanygreatresourcesforparents,includingParentsMagazineandtheonlinesitesKidsHealth.organdBabyCenter.com.RespectedauthorslikePenelopeLeach(1997)andT.BerryBrazelton(2006)havewrittenhelpfulbooks,andmanyparentshavefoundvalueintheseriesofWhat

toExpect

books

by

Eisenberg,

Murkoff,

and

Hathaway

(1996),

and

Lipmans

MoreHelp!

My

Baby

Came

WithoutInstructions(2008).

REFLECTON IT:PARENTSORCAREGIVERS

Whattypeofparentsorcaregiversdidyouhaveinyourlife? Howhasitaffectedwhoyouaretoday?

SOCIETY ANDSOCIAL STRATA

Inadditiontoourfamilyunit,wehaveanautomaticmembershipinalargerorganization,society.

Societysetsexpectationsforitsmembers,whichmayvarydependingonlocation(theexpectationsof

behaviorinasmallmidwesterntownareprobablyverydifferentfromthoseofamajorcitylikeNew

York).Animportantsocietalexpectationisthedistinctionbetweenyouthsandadults.Adultsare

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

13/41

13

incomelevelandthesocialgroupthattheindividualmost

Childrenwhogrowupinsafeneighborhoods

ues

f

e

has

Nevertheless,oneofthemostpervasive

y.

Finally,wefindthataparentseducationalandincomelevelsarethetwomostimportantfactorsin

e

expectedtobehaveinamorecontrolledmannerwhereaschildrenaregivenmoreleewayintheir

actions(childrenmayruninhallwaysandatthemall,butsuchbehaviorbyadultsisfrownedupon).

Societyalso

gives

certain

rights

and

responsibilities

to

adults,

such

as

the

legal

right

to

drive,

get

married,drinkalcohol,serveinthemilitary,andvote.Sometimesthereareevenritesofpassage,which

wewilllookatunderculturalinfluences,markingapersonstransitionfromyouthtoadult.

Socialstrataarethesocioeconomicgroupswithinasociety.Wecommonlyrefertothesegroupsin

termslikemiddleclass,upperclass,orevenbluecollar,butpsychologistsfocusonapersons

commonlymingleswith.

haveamoretrustingattitudethanthosewho

growupinunsafeplaces,regardlessoftheir

parentsincome.

Values

are

an

important

part

ofstratatoo.Forinstance,middleclassval

oftenemphasizetheimportanceoffamily,

education,hardwork,andowningahome.

Peoplewholiveonthesameblockthatareo

differentraces,ethnicities,andevenincom

levelsusuallysharesimilarvalues.

Neighborhoodgangsorothergroups,suc

churchoryouthorganizations,oftenhave

widesocialinfluence.

influencesrelatedtosocialstrataismone

Financesimpactmanythings,includinglearningresources(e.g.books,computerandInternetaccess,

musicalinstruments)andtheenvironmentinwhichchildrenlive.Numerousstudieshaveshownthat

adequatefinancialresourcesarerelatedtobetternutritionandeasieraccesstogoodhealthcare,

resultinginhealthierbodiesandagreaterresistancetoillnessanddisease.Wealthierparentscan

providenotonlythenecessitiesfortheirchildrenbutalsotheextrasthathelpthemdevelopsocial,

cognitive,andemotionalskills.Extrasincludethingsthatcontributetoricherlifeexperiences,suchas

summercamp,books,magazinesubscriptions,educationaltoys,vacationstoexpandhorizons,tripsto

museums,and

the

time

to

share

those

experiences,

guiding

achilds

understanding.

Arich

set

of

life

experiences

is

known

to

increase

performance

in

school.

DigitalVision/Thinkstock

determiningwhetherornotaninfantborntodaywillgotocollege.Parentswhohaveearnedacolleg

degreemostoftenteachtheirchildrenthathighereducationisnotanoptionbutthenextstepafter

highschool.Andhigherincomeprovidesanadvantageingettingthere.Thesetwovariablesare

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

14/41

14

tetheredtosocialstratabywayoftheneighborhoodanditsschools,thechildspeersandshared

values,andtheavailabilityofresources.

Weseeastrongcorrelationbetweenarichersetoflifeexperiencesandperformanceinschoolatall

levels,greateracceptanceofotherswhoaredifferent,betterunderstandingoftheworld,andbetter

preparationfortheopportunitiesthatlifeoffers.Educationhasahighcorrelationwithprosperityand

lifetimeearnings.Asanadultlearner,youarebackonthatpathnow,perhapsafterovercomingmany

obstacles.AsnotedinthesectionSelfEsteem,youshouldfeelproud(andyourfamilyshouldfeel

proudofyou)forfindingawaytogobacktoschoolsothatyoucanachieveyourdreamsandforthe

workthatyoudointakingeachstepdownthatpath.

Understandinghumandevelopmentisoneofthosestepsthathelpsprepareyoutounderstandyourself

betterandtomakedecisionsthatwillhelpyousucceed.Thework,sacrifice,andenergythatyouput

intoyour

education

will

be

the

key

to

open

many

closed

doors

and

the

way

to

create

abetter

future

for

yourselfandyourfamily.

REFLECTON IT:UPBRINGING

Inwhatwayshasyourupbringingaffectedyourlifeandyourdreams?Whatdoyouthinkwerethebestandworstparts?

Whatinfluencedoessocietyandsocialstratahaveonyourexpectationsofcollegeandyourthoughtsaboutsucceeding?

PEERSAND GROUPS

Humanshaveanaturaltendencytocreaterelationships.Theyserveassocialsupportmechanismsand

areanimportantpartofdevelopment.Aschildrenbegintointeractwithothers,theybegintomakethe

acquaintanceoftheirpeers,ortheindividualstheyencounterwhoareaboutthesameage.Children

enjoythefeelingofhavingfriendsandbelongingtoagroup.Aschildrenandadultslearnsocialrules,

theyquickly

learn

to

adopt

the

norms

of

the

group,

which

are

accepted

standards

of

behavior

or

ideas

in

aparticularsituation.Asthegroupnormsdevelop,theinfluenceofpeersbecomesgreater,butnorms

alsochange.Thirtyyearsago,thenormwastoacceptadinerlightingacigaretteinarestaurant.This

eventisnolongerthecase,andthechangeinsmokinglawsreflectsthatchangedsocialnorm.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

15/41

15

Weallbelongtogroups.Groupsofferneededsupport,andforthatsupportweareoftenwillingtogive

upsomeofourfreewill.ThepoetJohnDonnefamouslywroteNomanisanislandentireofitself;

everyman

is

apiece

of

the

continent,

apart

of

the

main

....

Though

it

is

true

that

no

person

is

an

island,weallcanchoosewhichcontinent,orgroups,wearepartof.Wepurposelyjoinsomegroups,

whereaswemayjustdriftintoothers.Generally,thegroupsthatwebelongtoofferussomesortof

rewardorbenefit,suchasfriends,socialinteraction,information,support,andsharedactivitieswe

enjoy.

Wecontinuetomakemeaningfulconnectionswithothersthroughgroupsourentirelives,bothsocially

andprofessionally.Weselectgroupswherewefeelwelcome,wherethepeoplearelikeus.They

providefellowship,reinforceaselfconcept,andvalidateoursocialnorms.Whenwechangeour

behaviororbeliefstofitintoagroupitiscalledconformity.Itisapowerfulforceonbehavior,even

whenpeoplesthinkingaboutasubjecthas

notchanged.Peoplearemorelikelytodo

thingsthattheymaynotdoalone,goodand

bad,whentheyseeothersintheirgroup

doingit,suchasengaginginprosocial

behavior(positivebehaviordesignedto

promotefriendshipandsocialacceptance),

protesting,vandalism,andvolunteerwork.

Importantly,theassociationsthatyou

developinagroupmayormaynotbeworth

the

overall

influence

that

the

group

has

on

youandyourfuture.

Forexample,SchroederandPrentice(1998)

foundthatwhenaskedindividuallyabouttheir

drinkinghabits,newcollegestudentsatPrincetonUniversityreportedtheybelievedthatmoderate

drinkingwasthewisestchoiceandthatwasthestandardtheyused.Somewerethenaskedto

participateinagroupdiscussion,whichleftthedistinctimpressionineveryonesmindthatamore

permissivestandardwasthegroupnormatPrinceton.Severalmonthslater,theresearchersfound

thosewhodidnotparticipateinthegroupdiscussionwereaveraging3.1drinksperweek,whilethose

whothoughtthegroupnormwasmorepermissivethantheirownstandardshad5.0drinksperweek.

Thegroupsperceivedstandardapparentlycausedindividualsinthegrouptoshifttheirbehaviortoward

amorepermissivestandardinviolationoftheirownbeliefs,perhapseithertofeeltheyfitinor

perhapsthegroupstandardgavethempermissiontodrinkmore.Inanycase,groupthinkingand

groupnormscanbeadecidedinfluenceonindividualmembers.

Oneexampleofagroupisasportsteam.

BarryAustin/DigitalVision/Thinkstock

Groupscontinuetobeanimportantinfluenceondevelopmentthroughoutlife.Earlyadultrelationships

canhavealifelonginfluencehelpingtoshapebehaviors,goals,andvalues.Yourcurrentpeersarelikely

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

16/41

16

toshapesomeofyourworkhabits,rulesforrecreation,andpoliticalandmoralvalues.Adultsjoin

groupsofallsorts.Somemaygravitatetowardsportsgroups,formalorotherwise;somelookforgroups

withmembers

who

share

similar

interests,

such

as

books,

craft

making,

or

politics.

Still

others

join

groupsinhopesofimprovingbusinessopportunitieswhilehelpingtheircommunities,suchasRotaryor

Kiwanisclubs.Whenmembersgettoofaroutofline,othermembersbothexplicitlyandimplicitly

reshapethestraysbehaviorsoitfitsbetterwiththegroupexpectations.Thosewhowillnotconform

aregenerallyeasedoutofthegroup.

Theremaybegoodreasonstoquitagroup,

however.Perhapsthegroupanditsactivities

aretakingvaluabletimethatyoucoulduse

moreproductivelyonotheractivities.Orthe

groupmaynotbesupportiveofyourdesirefor

acollegeeducationoranewcareer,creating

doubtandevenloweredselfesteem.Groups

arevaluablewhentheygiveyousomething

youneed.Whenthatstops,youshouldnot

hesitatetoquit.

Inyourcollegeexperience,youwillformnew

friendshipsasyoubecomemoreestablishedin

theAshfordstudentbody.YouwilllearnmoreaboutyourpeersatAshfordwhilethequalityand

structureofoutsidefriendshipsmaychangeinconcertwithyourgoalsandcommitments.Youwillgain

theinsights

and

support

of

your

classmates

that

will

help

you

to

grow.

Of

course,

your

peers

will

also

expectyoutoshareyourinsightandsupportasapartoftheirgroup.

YourclassmatesatAshfordarenowagroupyouareapartof.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

REFLECTON IT:GROUPS

Groupsoftenmakeabigdifferenceinourlives,asyoulearnedabove.

Whatgroupswouldyouconsideryourselfapartof? Whichofthesedoyouthinkhavethegreatestinfluenceonyourthinkingandyourbehavior?

Howdotheyexertthatinfluence?

Haveanygroupshadanegativeimpactonyourlife?How?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

17/41

17

CULTURE

Onekind

of

larger

group

is

aculture.

Cultural

groups

sharevalues,beliefs,traditions,ritualsorbehaviors

thatmaybeeasilycategorized.Cultureworksquietlytohelpshapedevelopment.Forexample,insome

Asiancultures,peopleareencouragedtonotshowemotion.WhenlivingintheUnitedStates,some

AsianAmericansmaybeconflictedbetweenwhattheirparentsandgrandparentsteachandwhatthey

seeothersaroundthemdoing.Inlargepart,weeachseetheworldthroughthelensofourculture,

whichisonereasonwhywehaveproblemsunderstandingthethinkingoractionsofthoseindifferent

cultures.

Culturehasamajorimpactonapersonsidentity

development.Oneofthemostimportantcultural

influences

on

identity

formation

is

the

transition

fromchildtoadult.Inmanycultures,thereisno

wordforadolescent,theperiodbetweenchildhood

andadulthood.(Indeed,forthemostpart,

adolescencedidnotexistintheUnitedStatesuntil

aftertheCivilWar.)Oneiseitherachildoranadult,

andoftenthechangetakesplaceafterthechildgoes

throughasymbolicritualoftransitiontoadulthood

(Arnett,2001).

Ritesof

passage

(to

adulthood)

are

ancient

practices

thatarestillaroundtoday;theyusuallyinvolve

groupsofyouthofthesameage.IntheUnitedStates,weseetheMexicantraditionofQuinceaera,the

JewishBarandBatMitzvah,theDebutanteBall,andSweetSixteenparties.Otherritesofpassagemay

beassimpleasafathertakinghisso

TheJewishBarMitzvahisanexampleofariteofpassage.Did

youparticipateinanyritesofpassageintoadulthood?

DanPorges/PeterArnoldImages/photolibrary

nordaughterouttoabarfortheirfirstlegaldrink.

Thepurposeofsuchritesistoshowsocietythatithasanewadultandtoimpressontheformeryouth

thatheorsheisnowanadultandexpectedtoactassuch.SocialscientistslikeKottak(2008)believe

thatritesofpassagecreatenewadultidentitiesandallowelderstobelookedatassourcesofwisdom

androlemodelingforadultthinkingandbehavior.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

18/41

18

REFLECTON IT:CULTUREANDRITESOF PASSAGE

One

of

the

valuable

experiences

in

college

is

the

opportunity

to

share

your

cultural

perspective

and

to

understandthoseofothers.Beingopentothisexperiencewillhelpyougainaricherunderstandingof

yourselfandthosearoundyou.

Howhaveyourculturalrootsaffectedthepersonyouhavebecomeyourattitudes,values,ideas,beliefs,andgoals?

Haveyouparticipatedinanyritesofpassage? Inwhatwayscanculturebenefitastudentsexperienceinnotonlycollegebutalsolife?

GENDER

Genderexpectationsarestunningproofofculturesinfluence.For

example,inmanyareasofIndia,itisexpectedthatthedaughter

willacceptherparentschoiceofahusband.InthePhilippines,

olderchildrenareexpectedtogiveuppersonalcareeraspirations

togetcityjobstosupporttheirfamilies.InmuchoftheMuslim

MiddleEast,itisacrimeforwomentointeractwithmen.Inmany

underdevelopedcountries,girlsareexpectedtomarryyoung,

perhapsat

14

years

of

age,

and

the

family

of

the

husband

will

expectadowryfromthebridesparentsaspartofthe

arrangement.Inaddition,manyculturesbelievethatmalesshould

havefargreateraccesstoeducationthanfemales.Blatant

discriminationalsoexistsinthetypesofjobsthatwomencando

andtheamountofsexualactivitythatwomencanengagein,

especiallybeforemarriage(UNICEF,2008).

Apersonsgenderhasagreatimpactonphysical,cognitive,and

socioemotionaldevelopment.Physicalchanges,whichareusually

governedby

maturation

and

often

controlled

by

hormones,

are

ofteneasilyseen.Hormonescreatemanychanges,obviousand

hidden,suchasthedevelopmentofsecondarysexcharacteristics

(visiblechangesatpuberty),signalstoeatandfight,andurgesformotherstobondwiththeirnewborn

infants.

Traditionalgenderrolesforwomenmight

includegroceryshoppingandproviding

childcare.

Jupiterimages/PolkaDot/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

19/41

19

Somegenderdifferencesarerelatedtothematurationprocessandgenetics,butmanyothersare

developedbasedontheexpectationsofparents,peers,authorityfigures,teachers,counselors,culture,

andsociety.

The

expectations

may

be

thought

of

as

gender

roles,thebehaviorsandtraitsthataculture

considersappropriateformalesorfemales.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,therearemanymore

dentistswhoaremaleandnurseswhoarefemale.Thelopsidedratioshavelittletodowithabilityand

areprobablyentirelyrelatedtogenderroles.

Inculturesworldwide,theinfluenceofparents

playsamajorroleintheirchildrens

genderroledevelopment(Bronstein,2006).

Bronsteinnotesthatdespiteanincreased

awarenessintheUnitedStatesandother

Westernculturesofthedetrimentaleffectsof

genderstereotyping,

many

parents

continue

tofosterbehaviorsandperceptionsthatare

consonantwithtraditionalgenderrolenorms

(p.269).

Onewaythatwelearnwhatisexpectedofour

genderisbythemedia,watchingmodelslike

teachersandotherprofessionalsand

especiallymothersandfathers.Themedia

exertsitsinfluencebybothreinforcingtraditionalroles(e.g.,EverybodyLovesRaymond)andbyproviding

role

models

for

different

behaviors

(e.g.,

ModernFamily).

Peer

groups

also

teach

children

their

expectedgenderrolesandappropriatebehaviorandindoingsohelpdeveloptheirselfconcept.For

example,Yunger,Carver,andPerry(2004)foundthatchildrenwhoadoptedtheexpectedgender

attitudesandbehaviorsfeltgreaterselfesteemthanthosewhorebelledagainstthoseroles.AsMartin

andRuble(2004)state,Childrenaregenderdetectiveswhosearchforcuesaboutgenderwhoshould

orshouldnotengageinaparticularactivity,whocanplaywithwhom,andwhygirlsandboysare

different(p.67).Thissearchingleadstogenderrolesinfluencingthewaysthatchildrenlearntosee

themselves,andthiscontinuesintoadulthood.

Anontraditionalgenderrole,thestayathomedad,isbecomingmore

commonintheUnitedStates.

Jupiterimages/Comstock/Thinkstock

REFLECTON IT:GENDER

Doyourexperiencesfitwiththefindingsinthissection? Howdoyouthinkyourexperienceswithgenderroleshelpedshapewhoyouaretoday?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

20/41

20

RACEAN DETHNICITY

Racegenerally

refers

to

agroup

of

people

that

are

unitedbygeneticallytransmittedphysical

characteristicssuchasBlacks,Whites,andAsians.

Theyoftenshareacommonhistoryorgeographical

location.Raceoftenoverlapsethnicity,whichreferstoagroupofpeoplewithsharedanddistinctive

language,culture,orreligion.Raceandethnicity

playkeyrolesintheidentityformationofyoung

people.Ethnicidentityisasenseofbelongingtoa

particularethnicgroupbyrelatingtothefeelings

andattitudesofthatgroup.

WhenimmigrantsarriveintheUnitedStates,there

isoftenasenseofstrainastheirtraditionalwaysconflictwiththewaysoftheirnewcountry.The

degreetowhichthosewhohavenewlyimmigratedstarttofeelAmericanisverymuchrelatedtothe

extenttowhichtheylearnEnglish,developsocialnetworksbeyondtheirethnicgroup,andbecome

moreknowledgeableaboutthemainstreamculture(Berry,2007).Studiesshowthatyouthswitha

positiveethnicidentitywhoalsoembracetheAmericanculturehavemorepositiveoutcomes

Studiesshow

that

children

who

both

embrace

the

American

cultureandmaintainasenseofethnicidentityhavemorepositive

outcomes.

Fancy/photolibrary

(UmanaTaylor,2006).

Thisoutlook

embraces

apluralistic

model

whereby

distinct

cultural

groupsexistwithinthelargersociety.Bigcitiesinparticularhavemany

ethnicenclaveswheregroupscanfindculturalsimilarities.Chinatown

inSanFranciscoisonesuchplace.Incontrast,thosewhoembracethe

assimilation,ormeltingpot,modellooktoadoptbehaviorsand

valuesofthemajority.Peopleassimilateintotheculturebymakinga

pointtolearnthemainstreamcustoms,attitudes,andlanguage.

TheChinatownsthatexistinmanycities

areanexampleofapluralisticmodelof

ethnicidentity.

Photos.com/Thinkstock

Phinney(1998)hasadaptedMarcias(1991)classificationofidentity

formationintofourcategoriesofethnicidentityformation.Thosewho

arediffuseddonotexploretheirethnicityorunderstandmuchabout

theirheritage.Theysimplydonotthinkmuchabouttheirethnic

heritage.Othersarereferredtoasforeclosed;theyhavedonelittle

explorationbuthavestrongfeelingsabouttheirraceorethnic

background,basedonnarrowexplanations.Someareinmoratorium;

theyhavebeguntoexploretheirheritagebutarealsoconfusedabout

whatitshouldmeantothem.Finally,somehaveexploredtheir

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

21/41

21

heritage,understandit,andaccepttheirethnicity.Theyareinastageofachievement.

Phinneyfoundthatthoseinachievement,20%ofthosesurveyed,showedbetteradjustment,abetter

selfconcept,agreatersenseofmastery,andmorepositiverelationswithfamilyandfriends.These

resultsreinforcefindingsfromawidevarietyofstudiesaboutpsychologicalhealth.Peopleofany

culture,race,ornationalitywhohaveastrongsenseofidentityhaveafirmerfoundationformaking

changestoimprovetheirlivesthanthosewhodonot.Allbackgroundsofferstrengthsandsourcesof

pridethatcanpromoteamorepositiveselfconcept.Sharingbackgroundsandperspectiveswithother

studentsoffersanopportunityfordiscoveryandenrichmentandtheabilitytobetteracceptthosewith

differentbackgrounds.

REFLECTON

IT:

RACE

AND

ETHNICITY

Howhasraceorethnicityinfluencedyourdevelopment?

STAGESOF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Bynowitshouldbeclearthatitisverydifficulttopointtoanyoneaspectofapersonsphysical,

cognitive,or

emotional

development

and

say

that

we

know

exactly

why

it

developed

in

that

way.

Even

thetransitionsbetweendifferentperiodsofdevelopmentaresometimesblurry.Thoughitappearstous

thatlifeisastreamthatcontinuallyflowspastthelandscapeofexperiences,manysocialscientistsview

adultdevelopmentasoccurringinstages,eachwithitsowncharacteristics.

Whilehumandevelopmentischaracterizedbypsychologistsasoccurringinstages,itismoresimilartothecontinuousgrowthofaplant.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

22/41

22

ntistsusechronological

Inthisbook,wecoveronlythestagesofadulthood,butitisimportanttounderstandallstagesand

rememberthathumandevelopmentalongthelifespanstartsevenbeforebirth.Keepinmindthatthese

stagesare

social

constructs,

identified

partly

for

convenience.

For

instance,

ifyou

are

40

years

old,

does

thatmakeyouayoungadultormiddleaged?Whichismostimportant,physical,mental,emotional,or

cognitiveage?Wecommonlydontuseanyofthosedescriptions.Infact,scie

agetodefinethestages,aswedohere.

Ininfancy,majormotorskills

aredeveloped.

Jupiterimages/Creatas/Thinkstock

Thesevenmostcommonlyrecognizedstagesofhumandevelopmentareas

follows:

1. BirthandInfancy.Thisstagespansfrombirthtotheendofthesecondyearasthenewpersonmovesfrombeinganewborntoatoddler.Itis

herethatsomeofthemostfundamentalskillsaredeveloped,suchas

walkingand

talking.

There

are

also

massive

changes

in

physical,

motor,

andsensorydevelopment,allowingustobetterperceiveandinteract

withtheworld.Wealsobeginthejourneyofsocialandemotional

development,includingthefirstattachmentstootherhumanbeings.

2. EarlyChildhood:Ages2to6.Inthisstage,physicalgrowthcontinuesasmotorskillsallowchildrentodomoreactivitiesrequiringcoordination

andskill,whilementalgrowthspursmajorimprovementsinlanguage

development.Childrenbegintoseparatefromthedependencyon

theirparentsandbegintoestablishrelationshipswithpeers.Theyalso

beginin

to

learn

the

rules

of

social

engagement.

The

ideas

of

selfawarenessandselfconceptalsobegintoemerge.

3. MiddleChildhood:Ages7to12.Childrenbecomeabletoengageinmostadultphysicalskills,thoughperhapswithlessskill.Intheselater

elementaryschoolyears,weseeanincreaseinmentalandemotional

development,including

greateraptitudewith

languageaschildrenlearn

howtomorepreciselyexpresstheirthoughts,wishes,

and

feelings.

Social

ties

become

more

important,

and

childrenbecomemoreawareofothers.Ideasof

popularityandacceptancebythoseinthesamesocial

groupstakeonnewmeaning,andchildrenlearnto

controltheiremotionsasawayofadaptingtothe

socialstandardsandrequirementsoftheirgroups.

Earlychildhoodisa

periodwhenlanguage

skillsimprove

dramatically.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Inmiddlechildhood,physicalskillsare

welldevelopedandsocialtiestoothersbecome

moreimportant.

Jupiterimages/BrandXPictures/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

23/41

23

pressuretofitinan

ks

4. LateChildhoodorAdolescence:Ages13to19.Sexualawarenessandexperimentationbegins,as

doesawareness

that

adulthood

and

its

new

responsibilitiesisfastapproaching.Inthese

middleandhighschoolyears,weseestriking

changesinphysicaldevelopmentduetothe

impactofpubertyandtheincreasedhormones

thataffectmanyofthebodyssystems.Cognitive

maturationcontributestomoreabstractthinking,

includinginnerdebatesaboutwhatcareerto

pursue.Italsocontributestotheabilityto

questionothers,leadingsometorebelagainst

authority.Incompletebraindevelopmentcontributestoariseinriskybehaviorsliketheuseof

drugsandengaginginunprotectedsex.Identitydevelopmentiskeyduringadolescence.The

dbeacceptedbecomesmoreintense.

Adolescenceisaperiodinwhich"fittingin"becomes

increasinglyimportant.

MariaTeijeiro/Photodisc/Thinkstock

5. EarlyAdulthood.Earlyadulthoodistheperiodbetween20and40yearsofage.Duringthesecondhalfofthisstage,most

bodysystemsbegintodecline,thoughthereisnotaparticularly

noticeablechange.Manyadultsbegintogainweightintheir20s

asmetabolismslows.Insomeways,youngadultsreachtheirpea

cognitively,thoughinotherwaystheycontinuetoexpand

capabilities.Psychosocially,

we

think

of

early

adulthood

as

beginningwhenindividualsphysicallyleavehometogetajob,get

married,gotocollege,orjointhemilitary.Itisinthisstagethat

mostpeoplefirstlearnthedemandsofearningalivingandlearn

tofunctionindependentlyofparents.Longtermrelationshipsare

established,andmostpeoplebecomeparents.Peoplebegin

distinctcareers.Inearlyadulthood,manylearnto

manageresponsibilities,including

work,personallife,andoftena

longtermrelationshipandchildren.

MirkoIannace/agefootstock/photolibrary

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

24/41

24

6. MiddleAdulthood.Thisstageroughlyspansfrom40to65yearsofage.Theupperlimitcorrespondstothetraditionalretirementage.Changea

transitionare

common

in

this

stage,

beginning

with

physicalchanges.Declineismorenoticeable,andwe

begintomakeadaptations.Thoughdiseasesbecome

morecommon,peoplearegenerallystillingoodhealth.

Thoseinmiddleadulthoodareattheirpeakinmanyw

nd

ays,

includingtheabilitytouseacquiredknowledgein

problemsolving.Grownchildrenmoveoutofthehouse,

leavingparentswithanemptynest.Friendshipsare

fewerbutdeeper.Itiscommontostartlookingforwardto

theyearsremainingandaskingimportantquestionslike

Whatdo

Iwant

to

do

with

the

rest

of

my

life?

Wh

importanttomenow?HowwillIleaveamarkonthe

world?

Thoseinmiddleadulthoodareattheir

intellectualpeakinmanyways.

BrandXPictures/Thinkstock

atis

en

7. LateAdulthood.Thisstagebeginsataboutage65andendsatdeath.Thereisaslowbutinevitabledeclineinphysicaland

mentalcapabilities.Despiteanincreaseinphysical

complaints,itisnotuncommonforthoseinthisstagetosay

theyareashappyastheyveeverbeenintheirlives.Many

reporttheyfeelyoungerthantheirages.Thefocusisnoton

career

but

on

life,

although

many

continue

to

work.

Relationshipswithchildrenmayundergoareversalaschildr

oftenstepintoprovidecare.Livingarrangementsoften

changeasolderfolksmoveintoachildshomeoracare

facility.Oftenonespousedies,leavingtheothertocopewith

financialandemotionalfallout.Lateadulthoodisalsoatime

oflifereview,toassessaccomplishments.

LateAdulthoodisoftenatimeof

reflectionandassessment.

iStock/Thinkstock

REFLECTON IT:LIFESTAGES

Whatstageinyourlifehasbeenthebestsofar? MakealistofthingsIwishIhadknownthentohelpyouanswerthisquestion:Howcanyou

applywhatyouhavelearnedaboutthatstagetoimproveyourcurrentandfuturelifestages?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

25/41

25

Thereisacycletohumanlifejustasthereistoalllivingthings.Thestoryofadultdevelopmentisthe

storyofthatcycle.Inthenextchapter,welookatsomeofthemajortheoriesandcontroversiesinthis

complexfield.

Then

we

take

up

the

stages

of

life.

But

now,

we

focus

on

information

and

research.

ADULTLEARNINGIN THEINFORMATION AGE

TheInternethasrevolutionizededucation.Youarepartofanewwaveofadultcollegelearnerswho

simplydidnotexistpriortotheInternet.Thenewopportunitiesthatacollegedegreewillgiveyouis

madepossiblebytheadvantagesofanonlineeducation,includingclassworkonamoreflexible

schedule,easeofdoingresearchonline,easeofcollaboratingwithothersatadistance,andaccessto

universitiesthatmaybegeographicallyfarremovedfromwhereyoulive.Onlineclassesalsomakeit

possible

for

students

to

learn

from

working

professionals

in

their

field

who

may

be

scattered

across

the

countryoraroundtheworld.

LEARNINGANDNETWORKING ONLINE

YoulikelyusetheInternetformanyotheractivities

besideseducation,includingconnectingwithothers.

SocialmediasitessuchasFacebook,Twitter,MySpa

datingservices,andchatroomsletpeopleeasily

communicatewitheachotheriftheysochoose.These

serviceshavemadeiteasierand,forsome,

emotionallysafertoestablishrelationshipsfor

support,sharing,andfriendship.Gettingacollege

educationisseldomeasy,butitisparticularlydifficult

ifyouhavemultipleresponsibilitiesandtoolittletime.

Havingotherswhounderstandwhatyouaregoing

throughandwhocanofferemotionalsupportortips

forhandlingtimeandfamilyissuesisaninvaluable

resource.Thatonlinesupportnetworkhashelpedmanystudentsstayinschool.

Learningonlineopensupanewworldofconnectionsto

studentsaroundtheworld.

Jupiterimages/BrandXPictures/Thinkstock

ce,

ThefactthatonestudentmaybeinKansasandanotherinOregonorevenTaiwanorIndiaisnobarrier

totheintellectualandemotionalbenefitssuchinteractionoffers.Theopportunitytolearnabout

studentswithdifferentbackgroundsmakestheonlineuniversityexperienceevenricher,broadening

perspectivesandincreasingtoleranceforthosewithdifferentbeliefs.Inshort,theInternetprovidesnot

onlyafreshwayforadultstogetagoodeducationbutalsobenefitsthatmayexceedsomefoundin

traditionaluniversities.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

26/41

26

REFLECTON IT:THEINTERNET

You

are

going

to

college

thanks

to

the

Internet,

a

technology

that

has

opened

the

door

for

many

studentsjustlikeyoutogetadegree.

Otherthanopeningthisdoor,howhastheInternetaffectedyourworldviewandthepeopleinit?

Therearesiteslikewww.virtualtourist.comwhereyoucanvisitandcorrespondwithresidentsofpracticallyeverycountryintheworld.Doyouthinkthisisvaluable?Howmightitchangeyour

feelingsaboutforeigncountriesandforeigners?

FINDING INFORMATION ONLINE

Aspeopleentereachstageofdevelopment,theyneed

reliableinformationaboutwhattoexpectandhowto

makethebestchoices.Oneofthegreatbenefitsofthe

Internetisthatinformationismoreeasilyaccessible.

However,ifyouarenotcareful,youwillalsofindthatone

ofthegreatdetrimentsoftheInternetisthatbad

informationisalsomoreeasilyaccessible.Theproblemis

finding

what

you

need

and

then

judging

the

quality

of

whatyoufind.Wienbroer(2000)offerssomegood

practicalideasonhowtoachieveyourobjectives.

1. Taketimetothinkandplan.TheInternetislikeajunglewheremuchishidden.Ifyoudontplan

yoursearch,youlllikelymisssomeimportantresources.Atthesametime,ifyoudonotplana

searchspecificallyenough,youmaybedirectedtotangentialinformationthatisofnouse.

Beforeyoubegin,makesurethatyouarefocusedonwhatyouareafter.Writedownseveral

keywordstohelpyouinyoursearch.

Findinginformationonlinemaybequickerthantheoldcard

catalogatyourlocallibrary,butbothmethodsrequire

searchingskillstofindtheinformationyouarelookingfor.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

2. BesuretoreadtheinformationonyoursearchengineabouthowtodoadvancedsearchesusingpunctuationandBooleanoperators.Thathelpscutdownthethousandsofresultsyou

wouldotherwiseget.TofindmoreofWienbroerssuggestionsonthistopic,go

tohttp://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/weinbroer/pt01.html.

3. Asyounavigatethroughsiteslinkedtoyourkeywordsonthesearchengine,besuretobookmarkthosewithevenapossibilityofvalue;youllwastemoretimelookingforlostsites

http://www.virtualtourist.com/http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/weinbroer/pt01.htmlhttp://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/weinbroer/pt01.htmlhttp://www.virtualtourist.com/

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

27/41

27

thanyouwillspendonbookmarkingthesite.Makesurethatyouidentifythesiteaccurately

whenyoubookmarksothatitiseasilyreferencedlater.

4. Trydifferentsearchengines.Onesearchenginedoesnotreferenceanythingclosetoalltheonlinematerialavailable.

5. MakeuseoftheAshfordonlinelibrary.Ithasarichcollectionofinformationandwillprovidefulltextversionsofarticlesthatareonlyavailableinsynopsisformthroughothersources.Librarians

arealsoawonderfulsourceforgoodsuggestionsabouthuntingforwhatyouwant.

6. CheckoutmegainformationsitesliketheWorldwideVirtualLibrary(http://www.vlib.org/Overview.html),whichoffersbranchinglinkstohundredsofsubjects.For

scholarlyarticles,tryGoogleScholar.Lookatipl2,asearchsitestaffedbyInternetlibrarians

(http://www.ipl.org/).And

dont

forget

online

bookstores

like

Amazon

that

will

let

you

read

portionsofbookswithoutbuyingthem.Finally,thinkabouttheLibraryofCongressWebsite

anditsmillionsoflinkstoinformationathttp://www.loc.gov/index.html.

7. Whenyoubegintoevaluatematerial,thefirstruleofthumb

yof

tute

d

ber

les

8. Becarefulaboutacceptingatfacevalueinformationthatisuchastobaccocompanies,who

9. Someelementsofsitesthatmoreoftenhavetrustworthyinformationincludeaddressesthaton;

isBeskeptical;dontaccepteverythingatfacevalue.Even

expertsmakemistakes,andthevastmajorityofpeople

writingontheInternetarenotexperts,eventhoughman

themmayclaimtobe.Itiscommonforwritersonthe

InternettofaketitleslikeDoctor,Professor,andCEOin

ordertoaddtoanimage.Also,dontbedeceivedbya

professionallookingWebsiteorfancynameslikeInsti

orCenter;theyarenoindicationofvalue.Bevery

suspiciousofinformationfoundonblogsortweetsan

alwaystrytofindindependentsupportforideas.Remem

thatwhatonepersonsaysisfactislikelytobedisputedby

others,sotryforawellroundedperspectiveonthesubject.

Beequallyskepticalofwellregardedwikis,like

Wikipedia.Bydefinition,wikisacceptcontentwithoutru

aboutwhocanpostorhowitshouldbepresented.

TheInternetallowsstudentsaccessto

itmassiveamountsofbadinformation,so

isveryimportanttoknowhowtofind

informationyoucantrust.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

foundonsiteswithaninterestininfluencingyouropinion(s

deniedforyearsthatcigarettescausedcancer).

endin.gov(government)and.edu(education);onlinearticlesthatincludefootnotesand

references;authorswhoareassociatedwithauniversityorrespectednonprofitorganizati

http://www.vlib.org/Overview.htmlhttp://www.ipl.org/http://www.ipl.org/http://www.vlib.org/Overview.html

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

28/41

28

newerarticles(olderideasoftenundergomodificationorarediscreditedlongafterthearticleis

published);articlesthattrytopresentabalancedlookattheissueandnotattempttopersuade

youwith

one

sided

information;

articles

that

seem

to

be

well

written,

without

grammatical

or

spellingmistakes,faultylogic,oruseofcolloquialwordsorslang.

RESEARCH: THEPATHWAYTO UNDERSTANDING ADULTDEVELOPMENT

Allourknowledgeabouthumandevelopmenthascomefrom

fs.

ere

a

o

Understandinghowsocialscientistsderivetheirconclusions

Youwontbesurprisedtolearnthatmanypeoplesimplyguessor

Bothinyouruniversitystudiesandin

Youassumeitisandhavenevercheckeditout?wouldmakeyoufeelgood(likeasmokerdiscounting

carefulscientificresearch,notguessworkorunsupportedbelie

Thatisthewaythatscienceadvancesourknowledgeofthetruth

ineveryarea.Researchisanorganizedandsystematicapproach

tofindinganswerstoquestions.Notallquestionslend

themselves

to

being

scientifically

researched

(e.g.,

Is

thGod,andifso,whatisGodlike?).Lifespanpsychologyisfarto

complex,interconnected,andindividualizedforscientiststo

simplylookatonepersonandsay,Hereisthewayeveryone

developsphysically,cognitively,andemotionally.Thatiswhy

goodresearchisparamountindiscoveringinformationandwhy

itisimportanttodifferentiategoodresearchfrombadresearch,

knowingwhentoquestionfactsthataresometimesproduced.

aboutdevelopmentisasimportantastheconclusions

themselves.

Whilescientists performresearch,itisnotlimited

tothem.

You

can

perform

research

to

answer

questionsinyourlife.

Ablestock.com/Thinkstock

usesomeunprovenmethodtofindananswer,likeaskingafriend.

youreverydaylifeyouwanttoavoidjumpingtoconclusionsandacceptingunproveninformationasthe

truth.Inamoment,welllookatthestepsthatwillhelpyoubecomeamorelogicalthinkerthroughthe

useofaspecifickindofresearch.Butfirst,lookattheseexamplestoseeifyouhavebeenguiltyofthese

commontypesofunscientificthinking,takenfromPaulandElder(2003):

Doyoueversayitistruejustbecause...

Otherpeoplehavetoldyouitwas? Youwantittobetruebecausethat

researchaboutcigarettescausingcancer)?

Itfitswithyourotherlongheldbeliefsandvalues?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

29/41

29

Itisjustsomethingyouhavealwaysbelieved,maybefromchildhoodorfromyourparents(likesuperstitionsormyths)?

Itsupportssomebehavioryouwanttocontinuebecauseitisinyourbestinterest(suchashowyoumakemoney,gainpower,seeklove)?

Becausehumansarenaturallypronetomisguidedthinking,itisnotsurprisingthatunscientificthought

flourishesinoursociety(Paul&Elder,2003,p.41).Iftheaboveareexamplesofwrongheadedthinking,

howshouldyoutrytodiscoverthetruthaboutaproblemthatyouarefacing?

Fromtimetotime,weallwonderwhysomethinghappens.Inschool,

wemaycomeacrossascientificpuzzleorwonderwhypeoplebehave

thewaytheydo.Generally,wemakeaguessbasedonwhatweknow

andacceptthatastheprobableanswer.Wemaybewrong,butwe

oftennever

really

find

out

for

sure.

For

example,

imagine

that

most

of

thetimeyouwalkbyBob,acoworker,hesneezes.Youwouldbothbe

inclinedtothinkthatheisallergictoyou.Inresearch,thatiscalleda

hypothesis.

Ifone

of

your

coworkers

sneezed

everytimeyouwalkedby,howwould

youknowifhewasallergictoyou?

BananaStock/Thinkstock

Ahypothesisisastatementaboutthesupposedrelationshipbetween

twoevents.Morespecifically,itisatentativeexplanationforan

observationorproblemthatcanbetested.Itisnotafactbutanidea.

Manypeoplewouldsimplystopatthehypothesis,statingasafactthat

Bobisallergictoyou(seewrongheadedthinkingabove).Asaresult,he

maychange

his

behavior

based

on

that

fact,

requesting

to

not

serve

oncommitteeswithyou,nottalktoyou,andevennotbeinthesame

roomwithyou.Otherpeoplemaystarttolaughatyou.Somethingnot

yetprovencanstillhaveconsequences.YoucanhypothesizethatBobis

notreallyallergictoyou,buthowdoyoutestyourtheory?

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

30/41

30

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Oneanswer

is

the

scientific

method,

the

accepted

standard

for

scientific

researchworldwide.Itisalogicalapproachforobserving,testing,and

drawingconclusionstoseparatefactfromconjecture.Ifyoudonot

believethatBobisreallyallergictoyou,whatwouldyoudo?The

scientificmethodprescribesafivestepplantoguideinvestigatorstoward

conclusions.Weveusedthescientificmethodforseveralhundred

inalltypesofsciences,butitisntjustforscientistsyoucanuseit,too.

Itispartiallyresponsiblefortheamazingamountofknowledgethat

humanshaveacquired.

years

We

use

the

scientific

method

because

it

allows

us

to

test

a

hypothesis

aboutrelationships:IfAoccurs,thenIthinkthatBwillhappen.Italso

allowsmeasurementstobemadesothatwecanreportourfindingsin

termsofnumbers:Aoccurred20times;93.5%ofthetime,IgotB.

Finally,thescientificmethodmustbeprecisesothatotherscientistscan

replicatetheexperimentandcompareresults.Soletsseehowwecanuse

thefivestepsofthescientificmethodtoinvestigateBobssneezing.

1. Statetheproblem.Thisisntalwayseasy;itmustbepreciseenoughsothatwecanfigureouthowtomeasureit.Soaproblem

likeDoesJenniferloveme?isnotsomethingthatcanbe

measuredandthereforeisnotsuitableforscientificevaluation.Ourproblemismoredirect:

DoesBobsneezebecauseofme?

GalileoGalileiwasoneofthe

contributorstothescientificmethod

thatisinusetoday.Galileoismost

wellknowntodayforworkdoneinthe

17th

centurysupportingthetheorythat

thesunwasthecenterofthesolar

system.

JackNovak/Superstock/photolibrary

2. Statethehypothesis.Ahypothesisisatentativeidea,oreducatedguessaboutarelationship,that

canbetested.LetsassumethatyouthinkBobis

notallergictoyoubuttothebodyspraythatyou

use.Scientistsrefertothefactorsinvolvedas

variables.Inthiscasetherearetwovariables,the

bodysprayandtheresponse(sneezeornot).The

independentvariableisthefactorthatis

manipulatedbytheexperimenter,suchasthe

presenceorabsenceofsomething.The

independentvariableisthesupposedcauseofthe

result.Anexperimentmayhaveoneorseveral

suchindependentvariables.Inourcase,the

Inthisexperiment,theindependentvariablesarethe

typesofbodysprayused.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

31/41

31

independentvariableisthebodyspraybecausetheexperimenterisgoingtodecideifitis

presentornot.

Theotherfactoristhedependentvariable.Thedependentvariablechangesbasedontheaffect

oftheindependentvariable.Theexperimentermanipulatestheindependentvariableand

measuresitseffectonthedependentvariable.Inourcase,thedependentvariableisBobs

sneeze.Wellstartwiththehypothesis,BodyspraycausesBobtosneeze.Notethatwehave

narrowedthefocustosomethingwecanmanipulateeasily.Iftheresultsdontsupportit,well

tryanotherhypothesis.Thistrialanderrorprocessisexactlyhowscientistsdotheirwork,too.

Whetheritisabigorsmallinvestigation,themethodisthesame.Thekeyquestionremains:

Howdochangesintheindependentvariableaffectthedependentvariable?Inourexample,

Howdochangesintheadministrationofbodysprayaffectsneezing?

3. Testthehypothesis.Thescientificmethoddoesnotallowustoassume;todrawconclusions,wemusttest.Inthiscase,youmightwalkbyBob20timeswhilewearingyourregularbodyspray

andcounthowoftenhesneezes.Lets

sayhesneezes16times.Thenextday,

youwearadifferentbodysprayandwalk

byBob20times.Hesneezesonly8times.

Finally,onthethirddayofyour

experiment,youdonotwearbodyspray

atall.ThistimeBobneversneezeswhen

youwalkbyhim20times.Youllnotice

wenow

have

hard

number

measurementstoworkwith,notjust

guessesorimpressions.

Figure1.1 Numberofsneezesbasedonthreeconditions:

regularbodyspray,anewbodyspray,andnobodyspray.The

regular

body

spray

produced

the

most

number

of

sneezes,

whereasnobodysprayproducednosneezes.

4. Analyzethedata.WeseethatBobdoesnotsneezewhenyouarewithoutbody

sprayanddoeswhenyousprayiton.We

seethatwecancontrolhowmuchhe

sneezesbythetypeofspray.AsFigure

1.1shows,ourregularspraycauseshim

tosneezetwiceasoftenasthenew

spray;nospraycausednosneezeatall.

5. Drawconclusions.Wasyourhypothesissupported?ThedatashowthatyourregularbodyspraymakesBobsneeze,notyou;hedidnotsneezewhenyouwalkedbywithoutbodyspray.Wemay

alsoconcludethatthereissomechemicalinthespraythatmakeshimsneeze,notbodysprays

ingeneral;onetypeofspraymadehimsneezetwiceasmuchasanother.Totestthat

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

32/41

32

statement,youwouldneedanotherhypothesisandwouldneedtobeginanotherstudy.Based

onthescientificresearchinthisstudy,youcanmakearationaldecisionaboutusingabody

spray.You

have

not

guessed

or

assumed;

you

have

tested

your

ideas

and

made

logical

conclusions.Ifyourhypothesiswerenotsupported,youwouldformanotheroneandtrythe

samestepsagain.

Whetheryousucceedorfail,inthescientificmethodyoualwayslearnsomethingofvalue.Thinkabout

this:WhatwouldyoudoifyourhypothesisbodyspraycausesBobtosneezewerenotsupported?

Whathypothesiswouldyoutestnext?

Noticethattheproblemwasonefromeverydaylife,thekindyoumightencounter.Thescientific

methodcanbeusedbyanyonetodiscoverrelationshipsbetweenvariablesinalogical,unemotional

way.Youmustbanemotionsfromyourinquiryfortheyhaveawayofdistortingthinkingand

conclusionsthat

are

drawn

from

data.

When

that

happens,

bad

data

can

lead

to

bad

conclusions.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCHAN DADULTDEVELOPMENT

Allscientificresearchhasthegoalofdiscovering

objectiveinformationthatwillhelpusunderstand

theworldbetter.Goodscientistswillagreethattheir

rolesaretoobserveandanalyze,nottoinfluence

theoutcomesorfavorsomedataoverothersor

bendconclusionstofitpreexistingideas.Theyjust

wantto

know

the

objective

information.

Although

researchmaynotgivethemabsoluteproof,itcan

providesomedegreeofcertainty.

Throughoutthisandothercourses,youwillsee

referencestoresearchstudies.Remember,you

cannotalwaystrusttheresultsofresearch.Youneed

tohaveameasuringsticktohelpyouevaluate

research.Partofyourgrowthasaninformedstudent

islearninghowtodistinguishgoodfrom

questionableor

unreliable

research

conclusions.

Just

because

someone

says

something

is

true

does

not

makeittrue.Herearesomethingstolookfor:

IfyouwantedtofindouthowoftentheaverageAmericanwatches

football,wouldtakingapollofthisgroupbeconsideredtheproper

methodology?

DarrinKilmek/DigitalVision/Thinkstock

1. Methodologyistheplanforhowtheresearchistobeconducted.Ifyoudonotlookcarefullyatthemethodology,youcouldbelulledintobelievingsomethingthatisnottrue.Forexample,a

researcherreportsthathisstudyof19yearoldmalesshowed90%ofthemplannedacareerin

theministry.Lookingathismethodology,weseethatheonlyasked10studentsandtheywere

allstudentsataBaptistTheologicalSeminary!Thisexamplealsoshowstheimportanceof

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

33/41

33

surveyingalotofpeoplewhorepresentthegroupthatyouareinterestedin(suchasall

19yearoldmales).Otherwise,yourmethodologyisbiased,leadingyoutofalseconclusions.

2. Biasisatendencytowardaparticularresult.Researchersmusttrytoavoidallformsofbias,includingbiasedquestions.Somequestionsareblatantlybiasedandneverpassforgood

research:Fromthislistofthree,choosethetypeofpunishmentthatyouwilllikelyuseonyour

children.Othershaveasubtlebiasthatalsoskewsresults:Ratethedegreetowhichyou

believeourimmigrationpolicyshouldbemorerestrictive.Thewaythataquestionisworded

canhaveasignificantinfluenceontheoutcomeoftheresearch,soitisveryimportanttoomit

biasifyouwanttoproduceaccurateresults.Wecanalsoinadvertentlyintroducebiasintheway

thatdataarecollectedifweforgetimportantfactsaboutthosewewanttosurvey.Research

preferencepollsinseveralrecentelectionshavebeenwrongbecausesomepollsterscontinued

tocall

people

only

on

land

line

telephones.

However,

many

younger

people

and

those

of

lower

socioeconomicstatusonlyusecellphones,sotheiropinionswerenotbeingcounted.

3. Validityistheextenttowhichresearchisactuallymeasuringwhatitintendsto

measure.Letssayyoudesignedan

experimenttoanswerthisquestion:Doesmy

companionloveme?Youdecidetomeasure

lovebythenumberofkissesthatyougetina

weekstime.Doyouseetheproblemwiththis

design?First,

you

are

assuming

that

kisses

reflectlove,withmorekissesequalingmore

love.Second,youhavenostandardbywhich

tojudgewhatacertainnumberofkisses

mean;do10kissesreflectalotofloveorlittle

love?Infact,youcouldbemeasuring

somethingentirelydifferentthanloveor

nothingatallexceptkisses.Considerthisquestion:Dointelligencetestsreallymeasurewhat

wethinkofasintelligence?Whenyouanswerthatquestion,youaredeterminingthevalidityof

thetest.Couldyoutestthevalidityofintelligencetestbyusingthescientificmethodtofindthe

answer?

Arekissesavalidmeasureoflove?Howwouldyoumeasure

loveinanexperiment?

Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Thinkstock

4. Considerthesourcesofresearchinformation.IfyoureadanonlineblogstatingthatscientificresearchhasprovedthatEarthwillbedestroyedonDecember21,2012,wouldyouimmediately

believeit?Youhavetoconsiderthesourceoftheinformation.Usegoodjudgmentforevery

sourceofresearchinformationthatyouconsider.Justbecauseitislabeledresearchdoesnot

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

34/41

34

makeittrue!Rememberthatnotallresearchisequal.TheruleofthumbisWhenindoubt,

doubt.

REFLECTON IT:RESEARCH

Youseestoriesaboutresearchstudiesorpollsinthenewsallthetime.Sometimesitseemsliketheresultsdontmakesenseorevencontradictearlierresearch.Basedonwhatyouhave

learnedaboutresearch,whatdoyouthinksomeofthereasonsforthismightbe?

Ifyouweregoingtopollsomeofyourfriendstofindoutwhattheythoughtofanidea,whataresomeguidelinesthatyoudneedtofollowsothatyougotanaccuratereflectionofyourfriends

ideas?

LIFEASSESSMENT:WHOAM INOW?

Yourjourneyofexplorationintothestoryofadultdevelopmenthasbegun.Youshouldhavegainedboth

knowledgeandinsightintothefactorsinfluencingyourowndevelopment.Throughoutthesechapters,

wellbeaskingyoutopauseandthinkaboutyourselfandyourlife.Thisbookisdesignedtohelpyou

learnaboutthefactorsinfluencingthedevelopmentofahumanbeing.Butmorethanthat,itisabook

thatis

meant

to

help

you

discover

more

about

yourself.

It

is

arare

opportunity,

and

the

Reflect

on

It

portionsofthebook,alongwiththeseLifeAssessments,areyourguidesinthatdiscovery.

Throughoutthischapter,youvebeenaskedtoconsidermanyspecificquestionsrelatedtothe

influencesondevelopmentastheyrelatetoyou.Nowwelllookatafewthatwillhelpyousynthesize

(puttogether)yourideas.Ifyoudonthavetheanswertoallofthesequestionsyet,thatisok.Youwill

bepromptedtocontinuetothinkaboutmanyoftheseissuesthroughoutthisbook,andbythelast

chapter,youwillputthemalltogetheragainintoaplanforyourjourney.

A. TheValueofStudyingAdultDevelopment.Ifyouwereaskedtoexplaintosomeonethevalueofstudyingadultdevelopment,whatwouldyousay?Howwouldyoucounterhisstatement

thatitdoesntmatterwhereyoucamefrom,justwhereyouaregoing?

B. Strengths.Whatstrengthsofyourshaveyoudiscoveredinthischapter,inpersonality,intelligence,orpotentialcareers?

C. InfluencesonYourDevelopment.Eachinfluenceonadultdevelopmenthasanimpactonyourpersonalityandselfconcept,ondoubtsanddreams.Ofthespecificinfluencesyouveread

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

35/41

35

about,whichhavehadthegreatestimpactonyourlifeandonyourselfconcept?Whichhave

helpedtodefineyou,andwhichhavehadlessofanimpact?

D. SocialInfluences.Youlearnedthatyourcognitiveandsocioemotionaldevelopmentisinfluencedbyavarietyofrelatedfactors:yoursociety,culture,socialstrata,groups,friends,

andfamily,amongothers.Theyarecomposedofotherpeople:somehavingmanypeople,

othersjustafew.Thinkaboutthesefactorsintheorderlisted,askingyourselfforeachone,

HowhasthishelpedmakemewhoIam?Then,forallbutthefirstinfluence(society),ask

yourselfasecondquestion:Howhasthismodifiedorsharpenedthepreviousinfluencesin

makingmewhoIam?

E. PersonalInfluences.ThisexerciseisrelatedtotheoneinpartDabove.Pickafewofthemostimportantcomponentsthathelpdefinewhoyouareandthenaskyourselfhowyourgender

andyour

race

or

ethnicity

working

together

have

helped

mold

those

components

in

you.

ComparetheinfluencesthatyoudiscoveredinpartDwiththepersonalinfluenceshere.How

didthetwosetsofinfluencesinteracttomakeyouwhoyouare?

F. ActingonInfluences.Thinkaboutallthepositiveandnegativeinfluencesonyourlife,yourcareergoals,andyourselfconcept.Howcanyourejectthenegativeinfluencesinyourlife

andbenefitfromthepositivestomakeasuccessofthisstageinyourlife?

G. WhoAmI?Thinkabouthowyouansweredtheearlierquestionaboutwhoyouareandallofyourresponsesabove.Howdoyoudescribeyouridentitynow?Itwillbeusefultolookback

onyouranswerherewhenyoureachtheendofthebookandcompareyourresponses.

Developinganunderstandingofthewaysthatweareinfluencedbyourbodies,ourrelationships,and

ourworldarekeycomponentsofunderstandingwhoweare.Andthatunderstandingisthefoundation

forchangeandgrowth.Rememberthis:Youarenotarobotcontrolledbyoutsideinfluencesoreven

yourownpast.Youcanmakepositivechangesinyourlife.ConsiderwhatthepoetWilliamErnest

Henley(1888)wroteinthelasttwolinesofhisinspiringpoemInvictus:

Iamthemasterofmyfate:

Iam

the

captain

of

my

soul.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

36/41

36

ASKANASHFORDSTUDENT:

WHOAM

I?

WHAT

THINGS

MADE

ME

THE

PERSON

IAM

TODAY?

ThestorybelowwascompiledfromareflectiveessaywrittenbyanAshfordUniversitystudentenrolledinPSY202:AdultDevelopmentandLifeAssessment.Notethedynamicsthatledtotheauthorsreturntoschool.ByMichaelGerlovich

AsIapproachthebeginningofanewerainmylife,Iembracemypastexperiencesandanticipatethe

future.Applyingthedevelopmentaltheoriesandconceptsaddressedinthisclasshashelpedmeanalyze

mypast,reviewmyroleasanadultstudent,andlookforwardtoachievingfuturegoals.

Attheageof16,IbeganworkingasanusheratGeneralCinema,earning$1anhour.After2yearsof

college,IspentasummerworkinginthemaintenancedepartmentatArmcoSteel.Iwasofferedthe

opportunitytoworkfulltimeanddecidedtoquitschool.Iwastrainedasanapprenticeandbecamea

millwrightforGeneralMotors(GM).Eventually,Iwaspromotedtomaintenancesupervisor.Iremained

withGMforover20years.Inearly2009,amassiveemployeecutbackledtothelossofmyjob.Thiswas

oneofthemostdevastatingexperiencesofmylife.Myfuturewasinjeopardy,andlosingmyjobwasa

majorsetbacktomeetingmyprofessionalgoals.

AsIlookedtowardmyfuture,Isawthesignificanceofsettingacademicgoals.Tomoveforwardinmy

career,

I

need

to

finish

my

bachelors

degree

and

complete

additional

trade

skills

courses.

Earning

my

degreewillhelpmetoachievemyprofessionalgoalsasIworktowardjobsecurity.This,inturn,will

helpmeachievemypersonalgoalsinmyrolesasaprovider,husband,father,andgrandfather.Inmy

roleasanadultstudent,IamdrawingfrommycareerandlifeexperiencesasIcompleteassignments,

strivetoeffectivelymanagemytime,andendeavortomeetpersonalandprofessionalgoals.

AsIvereviewedmypastandlookforwardtothefuture,Iunderstandthevalueofstudyingadult

developmentandrecognizetheimportanceofsettinggoalsandrediscoveringwhoIamasanadult

learner.ThroughoutmylifetimeIhavehadmanyroles,andIhaveafewmoretomaster.Ilookforward

tomyfuturewithenthusiasmandexcitementasIparticipateinnewlearningexperiencesatAshford

University.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

37/41

37

KEYIDEASTO REMEMBER

IntroductionandOverview

Adultdevelopmentresearchfocusesonthreebroadareas:physicaldevelopment,cognitive(mental)development,andsocioemotionaldevelopment.

Sexualmaturationplaysamajorroleinhowwedevelopphysically,withthebiggestchangescomingduringtheteenageyears.

Wedevelopcognitivelyinavarietyofwaysasourskillsandabilitiesdevelopinmath,reasoning,language,interpersonalinteractions,andunderstandingourselves,amongothers.

Intelligencetests(mostlymeasuringverbal,math,andspatialabilities)andaptitudetestsarecommonlygiventochildrenandteens,buttheyarefarfromfoolproof.

Socialandemotionaldevelopmentfocusesonchangesinourpersonality,emotions,selfconcept,andsocialization.Thisareaisinfluencedbybothphysicalandcognitive

developmentsandinturninfluencesthem.

Selfconceptinfluencesourfeelingsofselfesteem,andselfesteeminturninfluencesourselfconcept.

Selfesteemisrelatedtothepraisethatwereceiveforaccomplishinggoals,includingselfpraise.Major

Influences

on

Adult

Development

Parentsplayamajorroleineverycategoryofdevelopment.Oneofthemostimportantthingsparentsmustdoforhealthydevelopmentistoshowchildrenthattheyareloved.Withoutthat

feelingoflove,everythingelsesuffers.

Theincomelevelandsocialgroupsinwhichweareraised,oursocialstrata,influenceourperceptionsandopportunities.

Financialresourcescanhaveamajorimpactonourphysical,cognitive,andsocialdevelopmentbylimitingorprovidingneededresources.

Peersandthegroupsthatwebelongtoinfluenceourselfconcept.Peersandgroupsoffersocialsupportandcanmodifyamembersthoughtsandfeelingstofitwithgroupnorms.

Aswetransitionintotheschoolageyears,theimportanceandinfluenceofpeergroupsbecomesstronger.

8/2/2019 PSY 202 Chapter 1

38/41

38

Genderplaysanimportantroleintheinfluenceofpeergroups.Theydevelopdifferentsocializationskillsinboysandgirls.Boysplayactivitiestendtodevelopselfassertivebehaviors,

whereasgirls

play

activities

tend

to

develop

affiliative

and

assertive

behaviors

such

as

collaborationwithothers.

Gendersocializationinfluencesourresponsetostressfulsituationsasadults,withmenoftenadoptingafightorflightresponse,whereaswomenoftenshowatendandbefriend

response,turningtoothersforsupport.

Thesocietythatwebelongtoandareraisedinhaveamajorinfluenceonourdevelopment,includingourexpectationsandtheexpectationsothershaveofus.

Cultureinfluencesthedevelopmentofouridentity.Wetendtoseetheworldthroughthelensof

our

culture,

adopting

its

collective

viewpoint

about

our

own

culture

and

those

of

other

people.

Genderhasamajorinfluenceonalltypesofdevelopment.Genderrolesarelearnedinlargepartthroughobservationandparticipationinsamesexpeergroups.

Apersonsraceandethnicbackg