Developmental Psychology

Chapter 8: Early Adulthood

Overview This chapter is designed to dive into the physical, cognitive and social development of early adulthood. Even during this stage of life, there are still going to be conflicts and concerns, but they will differ from the previous stages that we have discussed. Key developmental milestones will be discussed and the challenges that individuals may face and will have to overcome will be discussed as well. Learning Objectives • At the end of this chapter, you should be able to: • List the different stages of physical change in the early adulthood stage • Understand sexual reproduction systems and the issues that come with infertility • Explain post-formal and the dialectal thought process. • Explain the influences of education • Explain the impact of life events on cognitive development • Explain concepts of o Intimacy o Friendship o Cohabitation o Marriage o Divorce o Parenthood • Understand the different theoretical perspectives of early adulthood and psychosocial development • Describe the importance of work, including o Work patterns o Workplace diversity o Dual-income families 8.1 Physical Development and Changes We are now moving on from the younger years, to the early 20’s through 40 years of age. This particular stage in life is considered the “prime of life” due to the physical performance being in its peak and can be maintained if physical activity is continued. If physical activity is maintained, there will be very few signs of aging during early adulthood. Usually between the ages of 15 and 30, growth will stop, and senescence will begin. This is the period where physical decline will begin. There will be a loss of strength, and loss of efficiency during this stage as well. Individuals will go through different aging processes, there is one thing that individuals will share and that is that the human body will not function the way at 40 years of age, like it did during your 20s.

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