Psychology Summary
EMERGING ADULTHOOD
Body, Mind, and
Social World
KEYPoints
- Emerging adulthood (roughly ages 18 to 25) is a new period of development, characterized by later marriage and more education, as well as robust good health.
- Sexual impulses and reproductive health reach a peak during emerging adulthood, although the birth rate tends to be much lower today than in previous centuries. Many nations are below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman.
- During emerging adulthood, risk-taking is prevalent, sometimes constructively and sometimes not. Edgework and violent death both increase, especially in men.
- Drug abuse and addiction increase during emerging adulthood; social norms are powerful influences on drug use.
KEYPoints
- Experience as well as maturation advance cognition in emerging adulthood. Young adults are better able to combine emotions and rational analysis.
- Stereotype threat appears when emotional fears overwhelm cognition. This self-handicapping prejudice is common among many groups, but it may be overcome.
- Over the years of college, students gradually become less inclined to seek absolute truths from authorities and more inclined to draw their own conclusions.
- In every nation, the sheer number of college students has multiplied, and their goals and backgrounds have become more diverse. Despite all the changes, a college education still seems to advance intellectual development during emerging adulthood.
KEYPoints
- Personality patterns are evident lifelong, in part because genes and early childhood are influential. Nonetheless, emerging adults may modify some traits and develop others that were not evident in earlier years.
- For most people, emerging adulthood is a happy time, as the various transitions increase a sense of well-being.
- The diathesis-stress model of psychological disorders suggests that genetic vulnerability, past experiences, and current stresses combine to cause serious psychological problems in some people.
- A minority of emerging adults are disabled by severe depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.
KEYPoints
- Identity achievement is often not attained until adulthood.
- Two aspects of identity often take time to achieve: ethnic identity and vocational identity. Many people do not select a career or find a job they like until age 25 or later.
- Intimacy needs are strong during emerging adulthood. Friendships, romances, and family all help young adults meet these needs.
- Far fewer emerging adults marry today than in earlier decades. Cohabitation has become much more common.
Cultural and National Differences
Emerging adulthood is a new period of development, characterized by later marriage and more education. Age variations are apparent; nonetheless, ages 18 to 25 can be described as a distinct period worldwide.
All the body systems function optimally during these years; death from disease is rare. Homeostasis helps emerging adults feel strong and recover quickly from infections and injuries.
The sexual-reproductive system functions especially well during emerging adulthood, the time of peak fertility. However, most people this age do not yet want to become parents. Sexual activity before marriage is accepted by most young adults.
One consequence of changing sexual mores is an increase in sexually transmitted infections; they are much more common now than in earlier generations because many young adults have several sexual relationships.
Risk-taking increases during emerging adulthood, with edgework particularly attractive to young men, who are more likely to die violently than are young women.
Drug and alcohol abuse increases during emerging adulthood; these years are the most common period for addiction. However, most emerging adults are not drug abusers: knowledge of this fact may deter drug abuse, Cognitive Maturity
One hallmark of adult thought is the ability to combine emotions and rational analysis. This ability is particularly useful in responding to emotionally arousing situations, as when childhood prejudices or stereotype threats are still present.
Stereotype threat can affect people of all ages and cultures, but it is particularly likely to slow down cognition when a person worries that other people might be biased in their assessment of his or her abilities.
Many more students of all backgrounds and nationalities attend college currently than in former decades. Despite many cohort differences, college students not only gain skills and future career advances but also become less inclined to seek absolutes from authorities and more inclined to make their own decisions.
Personality Patterns
Personality patterns change in emerging adulthood, but continuity is also apparent. Many emerging adults find an appropriate combination of education, friendship, and achievement that improves their self-esteem.
The rates of some forms of psychopathology, including substance abuse, anxiety disorders, depression, and schizophrenia, rise during emerging adulthood. As the diathesis–stress model of mental illness predicts, the seeds of these disorders are planted early in life, but the stress of young adulthood may produce mental health disorder
Identity and Intimacy
The process of identity achievement continues from adolescence through emerging adulthood. In a diverse, modern society, ethnic and vocational identities are particularly difficult to achieve. Most young adults seek an identity that differs from that of their heritage, and take much longer to settle on a career than their parents did.
Close friendships are common during emerging adulthood, typically including some opposite-sex as well as same-sex friendships.
Romantic love is complex, involving passion, intimacy, and commitment. Many emerging adults have a series of sexual relationships, hooking up and cohabiting before establishing an intimate partnership in marriage.
Family support is needed lifelong. In emerging adulthood, this often means that parents pay college costs and contribute in other ways to their young-adult children’s independence. Total separation from family is unusual and impairs young adults’achievement. Everywhere, members of families have linked lives.
