Human Development: From Adolescence to Late Adulthood
Andropause and Aging in Men
During andropause, men experience lower fertility, lower frequency of ejaculation, and increased impotence.
The run-up to andropause is characterized by changes engaging the reproductive system and other bodily systems. The pattern of symptoms varies, affecting around 5% of men.
Men in climacteric experience symptoms such as depression, sexual inadequacy, and infirmity, variously defined.
Causes of death in middle age:
- Cancer
- Heart attacks
- Accidents
- Psychosomatic disorders
Intellectual Development in Middle Age
Intellectual development in middle age is characterized by the ability to remember what one already knows.
During middle age, there is an increase in areas of vocabulary, skills, general information, culture, and the ability to synthesize knowledge and experience.
During middle age, fluid intelligence decreases while crystallized intelligence increases.
Middle Adulthood: 40 to 65 Years
Middle adulthood runs from 40 to 65 years old.
Over 40, individuals may experience awkwardness, pain, regret for lost youth, and weight gain.
Middle adulthood is a time of socialization, integration, and intellectual and psychological gain.
One of the strengths of middle age is having valuable social and professional experience and opportunities to draw on that experience.
Critical Processes in Middle Adulthood
The critical process of middle adulthood implies a reassessment of professional aspirations, modifying goals, intimacy, and other aspects of lifestyle, often involving different activities than expected.
In adulthood, individuals think from the standpoint of the years they have left to live and want to make the most of their remaining years.
In the intervening years, gradual biological changes may not be perceived. There is generally good health and physical functioning, with changes in sexual and reproductive capacities.
Characteristics of Mature Thinkers
Mature thinkers exhibit more complex thinking, pay attention to all aspects, learn to accept imperfection, and understand that compromise is part of adult life.
Mature thought incorporates subjectivity, trusts intuition, and personalizes arguments.
Late Adulthood and Aging
In late adulthood, people are in the aging period, beginning at age 65. They experience a general slowing of responses, and in some cases, there is deterioration in mental health.
Pragmatic theory regarding aging: Cells divide a limited number of times.
Theory of wear and destruction: Internal efforts and external factors cause an accumulation of harmful byproducts.
Erikson argues that the last crisis of life is called integrity of the self vs. despair.
Activity theory: Being active ensures successful old age.
Disengagement theory: In the elderly, there is a mutual withdrawal between society and the elderly.
Sensory and Psychomotor Skills in Old Age
Sensory skills in old age: The elderly have poor eyesight in the dark, hearing disorders are more common, and they have difficulty following a conversation with noise interference.
Psychomotor skills in old age: The elderly do the same things as young people but slower. They are slow to adapt to the environment and make decisions, affecting their ability to drive and their capacity for independence.
Senile dementia affecting the elderly occurs when physical and mental deterioration combine.
In the intellectual sphere, the elderly have difficulty adapting to spatial and geometric problems.
Children’s Understanding of Death
For children who do not yet have the concept of forever, death is a temporary and reversible phenomenon, a continuation of life analogous to sleep from which one can wake. People do not disappear but must be living elsewhere.
Later, death to the child is a phenomenon that happens to others but not to them or their loved ones, something that can be prevented if one does not want to die, something that can be avoided if certain actions are performed.
In the oedipal period, death is seen as punishment for conduct of which the child feels guilty. This gives rise to phobic behavior toward death, such as taking excessive risks. This challenging period has its peak in adolescence.
Freud’s Genital Stage
According to Freud, a healthy person in the genital stage must have overcome the conflicts of the previous stages, have socialization and integration capabilities, feel pleased with themselves, and have the capacity to love fully and satisfactorily.
The person who is at the genital stage has all the features of the earlier stages in a moderate way and sublimates effectively and completely.
Marcia’s Identity Statuses
According to Marcia, if a person delays reaching adulthood until after 30 years, it produces identity confusion (no obligation).
The virtue of fidelity comes from the identity crisis.
The formation of female identity is achieved through cooperation.
Adolescence
Adolescents go to society or the world as a subject of criticism and rejection. They disclaim parents and are unknown to authority or leadership.
In adolescence, the psycho-emotional development of men and women is different: men focus on having, and women on being.
Teenagers must achieve the following demands of culture and society: heterosexuality, acquiring a business or profession, and developing a philosophy of life.
Puberty is regulated by genes, health, and a determined critical weight.
The adolescent growth spurt lasts approximately two years (girls 9-10, boys 12-14).
Sexual maturity is achieved in girls when they reach menarche.
Adolescence terminates upon arrival at the sociological status of an adult.
Dialectical Development in Adults
Adults have dialectical development: they appreciate opinions, have learned to live with opposing views, and are more sensitive to contradictions.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
According to Piaget, the stage of formal operations begins at 11-12 years old.
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning involves thinking in terms of what should be, imagining an unlimited variety of possibilities, and constructing hypotheses.
The transition from concrete intelligence to formal intelligence is produced by reflective abstraction.
The ability to conceptualize change and its causes results in abstract reasoning.
The achievement of formal operations allows for N/A.
Post-Formal Thinking
Post-formal thinking has the following characteristics: relativism, contradiction, and synthesis.
Moral Development
The upper limit of moral development is established by life experience and the cognitive stage.
The development of the ethical sense occurs as claims of intimacy, competition, and reserve are resolved.
Challenges for Young Adults
Challenges for young adults include love, work, and parenthood.
Intellectual Development
The way cognitive skills develop and progress through various quality standards is called intellectual development.
Early Adulthood
Early adulthood is the period of life that elapses between 20 and 40 years old.
These adult years involve the most important transitions of life, making decisions affecting all areas of life.
Sensory Changes in Adulthood
Gradual hearing loss begins after 25 years old.
Intelligence increases up to 50 years old.
Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence
Fluid intelligence involves perceiving relations, forming concepts, reasoning, and abstractions.
Crystallized intelligence involves the ability to remember and properly use learned information.