Chapter 16, Human Development

Front 1

Define individuation.

Back 1

Jung's term for emergence of the true self through balancing or integration of the conflicting parts of the personality.

Front 2

Define generativity versus stagnation.

Back 2

Erikson's 7th stage of psychosocial development, in which the middle-aged adult develops a concern with establishing, guiding, and influencing the next generation or else experiences stagnation(a sense of inactivity or lifelessness.)

Front 3

How can generativity be expressed?

Back 3

parenting and grandparenting, teaching or mentorship, productivity or creativity, self-development, and "maintenance of the world." The "virtue" of this period is care.

Front 4

What do humanistic theorists say about middle age?

Back 4

Humanistic theorists such as Maslow and Rogers see middle age as an opportunity for positive change.

Front 5

Explain's Jung's ideas about middle age?

Back 5

held that men and women at midlife express previously suppressed aspects of personality. Two necessary tasks are giving up the image of youth and acknowledging mortality.

Front 6

What did Vaillant and Levinson discover?

Back 6

major midlife shifts in men's lives. Their findings echo Jung's and Erikson's theories.

Front 7

What are key psychosocial issues at midlife?

Back 7

midlife crisis, identity development (including gender identity), and psychological well-being.

Front 8

Define interiority.

Back 8

Neugarten's term for a concern with inner life(introversion or introspecition) which usually appears in middle age.

Front 9

Does research support a normative midlife crisis?

Back 9

Research does not support a normative midlife crisis. It is more accurate to refer to a transition that often involves a midlife review, which may be a psychological turning point.

Front 10

Define midlife crisis and midlife review.

Back 10

crisis--stressful life period precipitated by the review and reevaluation of one's past, typically occurring in the early to mid-40s.
review--introspective examination that often occurs in middle age, leading to reappraisal and revision of values and priorities.

Front 11

Describe Whitbourne's identity process model.

Back 11

identity development is a process in which people continually confirm or revise their self-perceptions based on experience and feedback from others. Identity style can predict adaptation to the onset of aging.
based on processes of assimilation and accommodation.

Front 12

Define identity assimilation and accommodation

Back 12

effort to fit new experience into an existing self-concept.
adjusting the self-concept to fit new experience.

Front 13

Define identity style.

Back 13

characteristic ways of confronting, interpreting, and responding to experience.

Front 14

How does narrative psychology describe identity development?

Back 14

as a continuous process of constructing a life story

Front 15

Describe gender crossover.

Back 15

Gutmann's term for reversal of gender roles after the end of active parenting. Not supported by research.
Research has found increasing "masculinization" of women and "feminization" of men at midlife, but this may be largely a cohort effect and may reflect the types of measures used.

Front 16

What is Ryff's 6 dimensional scale and what has it shown?

Back 16

multifaceted model that includes dimensions of well-being and a self-report scale to measure them. self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth.
has found that midlife is generally a period of positive mental health and well-being, though socioeconomic status is a factor.

Front 17

Define the social convoy theory.

Back 17

Proposed by Kahn and Antonucci; theory that people move through life surrounded by concentric circles of intimate relationships of varying degrees of closeness, on which they rely for assistance, well-being, and social support.

Front 18

Define the socioemotional selectivity theory.

Back 18

Proposed by Carstensen; theory that people select social contracts on the basis of the changing relative importance of social interaction as a source of information, as an aid in developing/maintaining a self-concept, and as a source of emotional well-being.

Front 19

Do marriages become happier or unhappier in midlife?

Back 19

Research on the quality of marriage suggests a dip in marital satisfaction during the years of child rearing, followed by an improved relationship after the children leave home.

Front 20

How common is divorce in mid-life?

Back 20

Divorce at midlife is relatively uncommon but is increasing. Marital capital, socioeconomic status, and the timing and effects of the empty nest may play a part.
Divorce today may be less threatening to well-being in middle age than in young adulthood

Front 21

How do homosexual couples compare to heterosexual couples at midlife?

Back 21

Because many homosexuals delay coming out, at midlife they are often just establishing intimate relationships.
Gay and lesbian couples tend to be more egalitarian than heterosexual couples but experience similar problems in balancing family and career commitments.

Front 22

How do friendships fare in mid-life?

Back 22

Middle-aged people tend to invest less time and energy in friendships than younger adults do, but depend on friends for emotional support and practical guidance.
Friendships may have special importance for homosexuals.

Front 23

How do parent-child relationships change as children approach and reach adulthood?

Back 23

Parents of adolescents have to come to terms with a loss of control over their children's lives, and some parents do this more easily than others.
The "emptying of the nest" is liberating for most women but may be stressful for couples whose identity is dependent on the parental role or those who now must face previously submerged marital problems.
Today, more young adults are delaying departure from their childhood home or are returning to it, sometimes with their own families. This situation can be disturbing to both sides; adjustment tends to be smoother if the parents see the adult child as moving toward autonomy and if parents and child negotiate roles and responsibilities.
Middle-aged parents tend to remain involved with their adult children, and most are generally happy with the way their children turned out. Conflict may arise over grown children's need to be treated as adults and parents' continuing concern about them.

Front 24

Define marital capital.

Back 24

Financial and emotional benefits built up during a long-standing marriage, which tend to hold a couple together.

Front 25

Define filial maturity.

Back 25

Stage of life, proposed by Marcoen and others, in which middle-aged children, as the outcome of a filial crisis, learn to accpet and meet their parents' need to depend on them.

Front 26

Define filial crisis.

Back 26

In Marcoen's terminology, normative development of middle age, in which adults learn to balance love and duty to their parents with autonomy within a two-way relationship.

Front 27

Define kinship care.

Back 27

Care of children living without parents in the home of grandparents or other relatives, with or without a change of legal custody.