Psychology2016

352 CHAPTER 8

8. 10 Identify the cognitive and moral advances that
   occur in adolescence.

• Adolescents engage in two kinds of egocentric thinking called
  the imaginary audience and the personal fable.


• Kohlberg proposed three levels of moral development: precon-
  ventional morality, conventional morality, and postconventional
  morality. Gilligan suggested that Kohlberg’s ideas applied more
  to males.

8. 11 Describe how the adolescent search for personal
   identity influences relationships with others.

• In Erikson’s identity versus role confusion crisis, the job of the
  adolescent is to achieve a consistent sense of self from among all
  the roles, values, and futures open to him or her.

Adulthood

8. 12 Identify the physical changes and health issues
   associated with adulthood.

• Adulthood begins in the early 20s and ends with death in old
  age. It can be divided into young adulthood, middle adulthood,
  and late adulthood.


• The 20s are the peak of physical health; in the 30s the signs of
  aging become more visible, and in the 40s visual problems may
  occur, weight may increase, strength may decrease, and height
  begins to decrease.


• Women experience a physical decline in the reproductive system
  called the climacteric, ending at about age 50 with menopause,
  when a woman’s reproductive capabilities are at an end. Men go
  through andropause, a less dramatic change in testosterone and
  other male hormones, beginning in the 40s.


• Many health problems such as high blood pressure, skin can-
  cers, and arthritis begin in middle age, with the most common
  causes of death in middle age being heart disease, cancer, and
  stroke.

8. 13 Describe how memory abilities change during
   adulthood.

• Reaction times slow down, but intelligence and memory remain
  relatively stable.

8. 14 Apply Erikson’s theory to some common
   psychosocial concerns of adulthood.

• Erikson’s crisis of young adulthood is intimacy versus isolation,
  in which the young adult must establish an intimate relation-
  ship, usually with a mate.
  
  
  • The crisis of middle adulthood is generativity versus stag-
    nation, in which the task of the middle-aged adult is to help
    the next generation through its crises, either by parenting,
    mentoring, or a career that leaves some legacy to the next
    generation.
  
  
  • Baumrind proposed three parenting styles: authoritarian (rigid
    and uncompromising), authoritative (consistent and strict
    but warm and flexible), and permissive (either indifferent and
    unconcerned with the daily activities of the child or indulgent
    and unwilling to set limits on the child).
  
  
  • Erikson’s final crisis is integrity versus despair, in which an
    older adult must come to terms with mortality.
  
  
  
  

   8. 15 Compare and contrast four theories of why aging
  
   occurs.
  
   - Research strongly indicates that remaining active and involved
  
      results in the most positive adjustment to aging; this is a compo-
  
      nent of activity theory.
  
   - The cellular-clock theory is based on the idea that cells only
  
      have so many times that they can reproduce; once that limit is
  
      reached, damaged cells begin to accumulate.
  
   - The wear-and-tear theory of physical aging states that as time
  
      goes by, repeated use and abuse of the body’s tissues cause it to
  
      be unable to repair all the damage.
  
   - The free-radical theory states that oxygen molecules with an
  
      unstable electron move around the cell, damaging cell structures
  
      as they go.
  
   8. 16 Describe Kübler-Ross’s theory of death and dying,
  
   and identify some criticisms of this theory.
  
   - The five stages of reaction to death and dying are denial, anger,
  
      bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

  
  

Applying Psychology to Everyday Life:

Cross-Cultural Views on Death

8. 17 Compare and contrast some cross-cultural
   differences in views of death and dying.

• In wealthy Hindu families, a dying person is surrounded by
  family and friends and then honored with a funeral process of
  nearly 2 weeks.


• In Northern Cheyenne culture, death is seen as part of the pro-
  cess of the life cycle and takes place in three stages.


• In Navajo culture, the dead are believed to move to the under-
  world, and contact with the body is strictly limited for fear of
  luring evil spirits to the world of the living.