Bee & Boyd, Lifespan Development, Chapter 14

1. Chapter 14:
Social and Personality Development
in Early Adulthood

2. In This Chapter

3. Theories of Social and Personality
Development
Erikson
Intimacy versus Isolation Stage
Intimacy: Capacity to engage in supportive,
affectionate relationship without losing one’s
own sense of self
Isolation: Results from relationships that are
inadequate, lack of self-disclosure, and
unresolved identity crises

4. Theories of Social and Personality
Development
Intimacy versus Isolation Stage
Developmental task of stage is to establish
intimate bonds of love and friendship
 Barriers to intimacy
 Supports to intimacy

5. Theories of Social and Personality
Development
Levinson
Life structures: All roles and relationships a
individual occupies — and conflicts and
balances that exist between them
 Regards formation of intimate relationship
central developmental task
 Cycle through periods of stability and
instability

6. Figure 14.1 Levinson’s Model of Adult
Development
Each stable life structure is
followed by period of
transition in which structure is
reexamined.

7. Theories of Social and Personality
Development
Emerging Adulthood
Emerging adulthood: Period in which
individuals experiment with options prior to
taking on adult roles
 Tasks
 Relationships
 Developmental issues

8. Theories of Social and Personality
Development
Roisman
Developmental Task Domains in Emerging
Adolescence
1. Academic
2. Friendship
3. Conduct
4. Work
5. Romantic
• Skills 1-3 transfer
from adolescence to
adulthood
• Skills 4-5 require
more adjustment

9. Intimate Relationships
Evolutionary Theory and Mate Selection
Overview
 Focus on survival value
 Mating a selective process to insure survival
of the species
 Cross-cultural research findings

10. Intimate Relationships
Evolutionary Theory and Mate Selection
Parental Investment Theory (Buss et al.)
 Male values
 Male selection criteria
 Female values
 Female selection criteria
How do men and women differ in this
theory?

11. Intimate Relationships
Social Role Theory and Mate Selection
Reanalysis of Parental Investment Theory
(Buss et al.)
 Sex differences are adaptations to gender
roles resulting from present-day social
realities rather than from natural selection
 Selections of high-income earning men and
women
 Homogamy or assortive mating

12. Intimate Relationships
Marriage
Prevalence
 More than 2 million formal weddings each
year
 Longitudinal research suggests that most
marriages endure; only 1/3 of first marriages
end in divorce

13. Intimate Relationships
Bridal Stress “Disorder”
The textbook author discusses the concept of
Bridal Stress “Disorder”.
 What circumstances or stresses contribute
to the behaviors described?
 Is this another way to say “Bridezilla”?

14. Intimate Relationships
Relationship Quality
Influences on marital success
Values
 Personality characteristics of the partners
 Attitudes towards divorce
 Security of each partner’s attachment to
family of origin
Lots of agreement across groups about what
makes marriages work!

15. Figure 14.3 Ratings of Marital Success by
Ethnicity

16. Intimate Relationships
Sex Differences in Marital Impact
Males
 Generally benefit more than females on
measures of physical and mental health
 Married men are healthier and live longer
than unmarried men
Females
 Married women slightly healthier than
unmarried women
 Unmarried women healthier and happier
than unmarried men

17. Intimate Relationships
Relationship Quality: Sternberg
Emotional affection contributes to relationship
quality
Three key components of love
 Intimacy
 Passion
 Commitment

18. Figure 14.4 Sternberg’s Theory of
Love

19. Relationship Quality
Conflict Management
How a couple manages conflict is important!

20. Intimate Relationships
Couples Likely to Divorce
Couples likely to divorce:
 Hostile/engaged
 Hostile/detached

21. Intimate Relationships
Consequences of Divorce
Consequences
 Increased physical and emotional illness
 Serious economic hardships, especially for
women
 Disruption of sequence and timing of family
roles
 Strong feelings of failure, loss of self-
esteem, loneliness

22. Intimate Relationships
Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples
Cohabiters
 Less satisfied when married and more likely
to divorce
 Less homogamous or similar to each other
 Either fully committed to future marriage or
ambiguous

23. Intimate Relationships
Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples:
Teachman
Prior sexual and cohabitational histories are
major factors in divorce
Cohabiting couples who intend to marry
 Share work loads at home
 Happier during cohabitation
 May do a better job communicating

24. Intimate Relationships
Gay and Lesbian Couples: Satisfaction
Satisfaction related to
 Similar backgrounds and equal relationship
length commitment
 Attachment security
Dissatisfaction related to
 Neuroticism in one or both partners

25. Intimate Relationships
Gay and Lesbian Couples Differences
 More dependent on each other for social
support
 Power and tasks are equally divided by
couple
 Lesbians insist on sexual exclusivity
whereas gay men regard sexual fidelity as
negotiable

26. Intimate Relationships
Singlehood
Many single adults:
 Prefer singlehood
 Participate in intimate relationships that
are not “partnered”
 Maintain close relationships with families
of origin and close friends

27. Parenthood
Overview
 85% of parents cite relationship of child most
fulfilling life aspect
 Transition to parenthood stressful
 Transition happens with other social
relationships also in transition

28. Parenthood
The Desire to Become a Parent
 Large majority of young adults desire to be
parents
 More men than women desire to be parents;
view parenting as life-enriching
 Expectant fathers become emotionally
attached to their unborn children

29. Parenthood
Delaying Parenthood
Decisions to delay parenting

30. Stop and Think
What do you believe are the three greatest
adjustments that new parents face?
Are these adjustments short-term? Long-term?

31. Parenthood
Postpartum Depression
 Incidence
 Causes
 Symptoms
 Treatment

32. Parenthood
Developmental Impact of Parenthood
Marital Satisfaction and Parenthood
 Division of labor issues fuel
dissatisfaction
 Support from extended family helps
 Effective conflict-resolution strategies
established before birth

33. Figure 14.5 Marital Satisfaction through the Family
Life Cycle

34. Parenthood
Childlessness
 Marital satisfaction fluctuates less over time
 Women are more likely to have full-time
continuous careers
 Married men whose wives were not
employed were more likely to advance

35. Parenthood
Social Networks
Family
Most adults feel emotionally close to their
parents and see or talk to them regularly.
 Proximity influences contact.
 Culture influences involvement with
parents.
 African Americans value family
connections highly.

36. Are you looking forward to having children? Why or
why not?
What characteristics of a potential mate are most
important to you? What characteristics would be
problematic for you? Why?
Do you have a good relationship with your parents
today? How often do you talk? In what situations
do you seek advice? What situations would you not
discuss with your parents?
Questions To Ponder

37. Other Relationships
Friends
Characteristics
 Similar in education, social class, interests,
family background and family life cycle stage
 Drawn from same age group; same sex
 Important members of social network (even
exclusive online)

38. Other Relationships
Sex Differences in Relationship Styles
 Women have more close friends
 Women often the “kinkeeper”,
correspondence, family news
 Young men remain competitive with friends

39. The Role of Worker
Choosing an Occupation
Family and educational influences of
occupational choice
 Parent social class
 Family values
 Educational goals

40. The Role of Worker
Influence of Gender
 Sex-role definitions still designate some jobs
 Male jobs more varied, technical, and higher
in status and income
 Female jobs concentrated in the service
industry, and offer lower status and pay

41. The Role of Worker
Personality: Holland’s Theory
Types
6 basic personality types
People whose personalities match their jobs
more likely to be satisfied with their work

42. The Role of Worker
Career Development: Super’s Model
Stages of career development

43. Career Development
Job Satisfaction
Influences
 Individual personality traits
 High school and college preparation related
to career
 Uncertainty about job security, employment
market and job opportunities

44. The Role of Worker
Quality of Work Life (QWL) Movement
QWL: Approach to enhancing job satisfaction
by basing job and work place design on
analyses of quality of employee experiences
in organization
 Assume happier workers are more
productive
 Involves innovations in how work is
structured

45. The Role of Worker
Sex Differences in Work Patterns
Women’s work satisfaction goes up with age
Most women move into and out of the labor
market at least once during adulthood
Why does this occur?

46. True or False?
Our culture thinks of a man as simultaneously a
worker, a parent, and a spouse but has
difficulty seeing a woman as all three.
Do you think this will change?
Why or why not? How?