Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Chapter 9: Middle Adulthood

Overview: This chapter will provide a brief overview of the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development of individuals within this developmental group. There tend to not be many concerns and conflicts during these years. Social dynamics outside of the family tend to play less of an influential role than familial social dynamics. Objectives: By the end of this chapter, you should be able to recognize, understand, and explain: • Physical changes during middle adulthood including sexual and reproductive changes • The impact of lifestyle on the middle age adult • Compare and contrast fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence • The “Big Five” stable personality traits • Family Dynamics-sandwich generation, marriage, divorce, etc. • Work-related issues associated with middle adulthood Physical Development in Middle Adulthood: By the time an individual passes their 40th birthday, there are visible signs of aging. Signs of aging include, but are not limited to, gray hair, thinning hair, wrinkles, changes in bone density, and changes in body shape. Due to changes in bone density, a person may seem to ‘shrink’ as the bones lose strength and the intercostal discs of the vertebrae loose elasticity. In the USA, many people become overweight in later life. Each body system undergoes a decline. • Hearing o Sex, genes, and age affect hearing o Men begin to lose hearing around age 30 and women around age forty-five or fifty. o The range of losses varies some loose higher frequencies before lower frequencies. • Vision

o Visual acuity (ability to focus at a distance) is highly variable with age o Vision decline is closer related to genetics than chronological age

Page 108 of 161

©2015

www.achievetestprep.com