Module 18

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Module 18

• Adolescence Adulthood

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INTRODUCTION

• Adolescence
• Developmental period, lasting from about ages 12
  to 18, during which many biological, cognitive,
  social, and personality traits change from
  child-like to adult-like

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

• Puberty
• Developmental period between the ages of 9 and 17
• Individual experiences significant biological
  changes
• Results in developing secondary sexual
  characteristics
• Sexual maturity

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (CONTD)

• Girls during puberty
• Puberty sets off physical growth
• starts 9.6 years
• begins 6 to 12 months before breast development
• Puberty triggers a physiological process female
  sexual maturity
• Menarche
• first menstrual period
• estrogen levels increase eightfold
• stimulates the development of both primary and
  secondary sexual characteristics

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (CONTD)

• Menarche triggered by
• Hypothalamus
• releases hormone called kisspeptin (stimulates
  pituitary gland)
• Pituitary gland
• produces hormones that travel through the
  bloodstream and stimulate the ovaries to greatly
  increase production of female hormones

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (CONTD)

• Girls during puberty
• Estrogen
• one of the major female hormones
• stimulates both primary and secondary sexual
  characteristics
• Female secondary sexual characteristics
• triggered by increase of estrogen secretion
• includes growth of pubic hair, development of
  breasts, and widening of hips
• begins about 10.5 years, continues for about 4 to
  5 years

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (CONTD)

• Boys during puberty
• Increase in physical growth (height) age 13 to 14
• Male sexual maturity, includes growth of genital
  organs
• begins around age 11 and continues for
  approximately three years
• sperm production begins around age 12 to 14
• Testosterone
• major male hormone
• stimulates growth of genital organs
• development of secondary sexual characteristics

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PUBERTY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR (CONTD)

• Male secondary characteristics
• triggered by increased secretion of testosterone
  includes growth of pubic hair, facial hair,
  development of muscles, and a change (deepening)
  in voice
• occurs between 12 and 16

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ADOLESCENTS SEXUALLY MATURE

• BioPsychoSocial approach
• Adolescent development as a process that occurs
  simultaneously on many levels
• Includes
• hormonal
• neural
• sexual cognitive
• social
• cultural
• personality changes
• interact and influence each other

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES

• Definition
• How a person perceives, thinks of, and
  understands his or her world through the
  interaction and influence of genetic and learned
  factors
• Piagets cognitive stages continued
• Stage 4 formal operations
• last of Piagets four cognitive stages extends
  from about age 12 through adulthood
• adolescents and adults develop the ability to
  think about abstract or hypothetical concepts
• consider an issue from anothers viewpoint and
  solve cognitive problems in a logical way

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Brain development reason and emotion
• Prefrontal cortex executive functions
• located near the front of the brain
• Vulnerability
• around age 11 and continuing into young
  adulthood, the brain rewires and reorganizes
• especially vulnerable to traumatic adolescent
  experiences such as physical or sexual abuse,
  bullying, feeling lonely, rejected, or depressed,
  and abusing drugs

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Brain development reason and emotion
• Prefrontal cortex executive functions
• risk-taking behavior
• explains why the adolescents brain (not being
  fully developed) allows for risky or
  irresponsible behavior
• feels invulnerable and has no fear of accidents

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Brain development reason and emotion
• Limbic system emotional behaviors
• teenagers have less control over their emotional
  and impulsive behaviors
• moody, emotional, and impulsive behaviors
• display a wide range of emotion
• being ecstatic over getting a date
• feeling depressed when failing a test
• getting angry when being insulted
• increased structure and function of the limbic
  system accounts for irritability and aggression

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)
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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning
• Three levels of moral reasoning
• Self-interest preconventional level
• lowest level of moral reasoning
• stage 1, moral decisions are based primarily on
  fear of punishment or the need to be obedient
• stage 2, moral reasoning is guided most by
  satisfying ones self-interest
• may involve bargaining

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning
• Three levels of moral reasoning
• Social approval conventional level
• represents an intermediate level of moral
  reasoning
• stage 3, moral decisions are guided most by
  conforming to the standards of people we value
• stage 4, moral reasoning is determined most by
  conforming to laws and society

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning
• Three levels of moral reasoning
• Abstract ideas postconventional level
• stage 5, moral decisions are made after carefully
  thinking about all the alternatives and striking
  a balance between human rights and laws of
  society
• stage 6, has been omitted because few people have
  reached it

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Parenting styles and effects
• Different styles of parenting
• Authoritarian parents
• attempt to shape, control, and evaluate the
  behavior and attitudes of their children in
  accordance with a set standard of conduct
• absolute standard that comes from religious or
  respected authorities

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Parenting styles and effects
• Different styles of parenting
• Authoritative parents
• attempt to direct their childrens activities in
  a rational and intelligent way
• supportive, loving, committed, encourage verbal
  give and take, and discuss their rules and
  policies with their children

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Parenting styles and effects
• Different styles of parenting
• Permissive parents
• less controlling and behave with a nonpunishing
  and accepting attitude toward their childrens
  impulses, desires, and actions
• consult with their children about policy
  decisions, make few demands, and tend to use
  reason rather than direct power

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Beyond adolescence
• Changes in cognitive speed
• 20 to 40, cognitive skills remain relatively
  stable
• 40 to 80, general slowing of some cognitive
  processes
• late 50s, slowing in processing speed, perceptual
  speed, and reaction time
• Changes in memory
• 40s and continuing into old age, most people
  complain about not remembering things

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COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Resiliency
• As we age, brain becomes more flexible and
  adaptable
• Connections to other brain cells multiply and
  form meaningful connections as a result of life
  experiences
• Left and right hemispheres become better
  integrated during middle age
• Emotions
• Positivity bias
• pay less attention to negative information and
  more to positive information

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES

• Personality and social development
• Refers to how a person develops a sense of self
  or self-identity, develops relationships with
  others, and develops the skills useful in social
  interactions
• Personal identity or self-identity
• Refers to how we describe ourselves and includes
  our values, goals, traits, perceptions,
  interests, and motivations

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Development of self-esteem
• Self-esteem
• how much we like ourselves and how much we value
  our self-worth, importance, attractiveness, and
  social competence
• High self-esteem develop and maintain high
  levels
• 60 of adolescents develop and maintain a strong
  sense of self-esteem through junior high school
• do well in school, develop rewarding friendships,
  participate in social activities, and are
  described as cheerful, assertive, warm, and
  unwilling to give up

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Development of self-esteem
• Low self-esteem develop and maintain low levels
• 15 of adolescents develop and maintain a
  chronically low self-esteem through junior high
  school
• have continuing personal and social problems
  (shy, lonely, depressed) that have been present
  for some time and contribute to low self-esteem
• Reversals, reverse levels
• 25 of adolescents show dramatic reversals in
  self-esteem, either from high to low or low to
  high

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Adulthood Eriksons psychosocial stages
• Stage 5 identity versus role confusion
• adolescence (12 to 20)
• adolescents need to leave behind the carefree,
  irresponsible, and impulsive behaviors of
  childhood and develop the more purposeful,
  planned, and responsible behaviors of adulthood
• if successful, develop a healthy and confident
  sense of identity if not, experience role
  confusion
• results in having low-self esteem and becoming
  unstable or socially withdrawn

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Adulthood Eriksons psychosocial stages
• Stage 6 intimacy versus isolation
• young adulthood (20 to 40)
• young adulthood is a time for finding intimacy by
  developing loving and meaningful relationships
• can find intimacy in caring relationships
• without intimacy, we will have a painful feeling
  of isolation, and our relationships will be
  impersonal

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Adulthood Eriksons psychosocial stages
• Stage 7 generativity versus stagnation
• middle adulthood (40 to 65)
• time for helping the younger generation develop
  worthwhile lives
• positive achieve generativity by raising our own
  children
• also by mentoring at work and helping others
• negative lack of involvement leads to a feeling
  of stagnation, of having done nothing for the
  younger generation

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PERSONALITY SOCIAL CHANGES (CONTD)

• Adulthood Eriksons psychosocial stages
• Stage 8 integrity versus despair
• late adulthood (65 and older)
• time for reflecting on and reviewing how we met
  previous challenges and lived our lives
• positive if we can look back and feel content
  about how we lived and what we accomplished, we
  will have a feeling of satisfaction or integrity
• negative if we reflect and see a series of
  crises, problems, and bad experiences, we will
  have a feeling of regret and despair

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS

• Definition gender roles
• Gender roles
• traditional or stereotypical behaviors,
  attitudes, values, and personality traits that
  society says are how males and females are to
  think and behave
• US gender roles
• female gender role includes being caring,
  insecure, helpful, emotional, social, and shy
• male gender role includes being arrogant,
  self-confident, aggressive, ambitious,
  unemotional, and dominant

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)
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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)

• Definition gender roles
• Worldwide gender roles
• male gender roles include being ambitious,
  dominant, and independent
• female gender roles include being submissive,
  affectionate, and emotional
• differences in gender roles are clearly defined
  because society (family, peers, bosses, and
  colleagues) encourages and rewards behaviors and
  thoughts that match expected gender roles and
  discriminates against those who dont fit

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)

• Gender roles development and function
• Evolutionary psychology theory
• emphasizes genetic and biological forces and says
  that current gender differences are a
  continuation of the behaviors that evolved from
  early men and women who adapted these different
  behaviors in their attempts to survive the
  problems of their time
• Social role theory
• emphasizes social and cultural influences and
  states that gender differences between males and
  females arise from different divisions of labor

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)

• Kinds of love
• Passionate love
• involves continuously thinking about the loved
  one and is accompanied by warm sexual feelings
  and powerful emotional reactions
• Companionate love
• involves having trusting and tender feelings for
  someone whose life is closely bound up with ones
  own

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)
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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)

• Kinds of love
• Triangular theory of love
• Passion
• feeling physically aroused and attracted to
  someone
• Intimacy
• feeling close and connected to someone
• develops through sharing and communicating
• Commitment
• making a pledge to nourish the feelings of love
  and to actively maintain the relationship

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GENDER ROLES, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS (CONTD)
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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING

• Kinds of aging
• Normal aging
• gradual and natural slowing of our physical and
  psychological processes from middle through late
  adulthood
• Pathological aging
• caused by genetic defects, physiological
  problems, or diseases, such as Alzheimers
• Gerontology
• study of aging

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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING (CONTD)

• Aging and physiological changes
• Aging process
• caused by combination of certain genes and
  proteins that interfere with organ functioning
  and the natural production of toxic molecules
  (free radicals)
• causes random damage to body organs and DNA
• damage eventually exceeds the bodys ability to
  repair itself
• results in grater susceptibility to diseases and
  death

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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING (CONTD)
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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING (CONTD)

• Sexual changes with aging women
• Menopause
• Average age 50 (range 35 to 60)
• Involves gradual stoppage of secretion of the
  major female hormone (estrogen)
• Results in cessation of both ovulation and
  menstrual cycle
• Physical symptoms
• hot flashes, some sleep disturbance, and dryness
  of the vagina, which results from a decrease and
  eventual stoppage in the secretion of estrogen

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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING (CONTD)

• Menopause
• Psychological symptoms
• moodiness, depression, anxiety, and anger
• Sexual activities
• women who experienced sexual activity as
  fulfilling and enriching before menopause will
  likely continue to enjoy sexual activity after
  menopause and into late adulthood

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PHYSICAL CHANGES AGING (CONTD)

• Sexual changes with aging men
• Sexual response
• older men may require more time and stimulation
  to have an erection
• healthy men usually have no difficulty in
  becoming sexually aroused or reaching orgasm
• Physiological problems
• some men see their decreased sexual abilities as
  a threat to their self-esteem