Adult Development and Aging Stages

Study Notes

Adult years are often divided into three periods: early adulthood (20-40 years), middle adulthood (40-65 years), and late adulthood (65 until death).
Some researchers propose a transitional stage called emerging adulthood (17-22).
This stage exists in cultures where individuals have choices regarding occupational and social roles.

Primary aging refers to universal, age-related physical changes with a biological basis.
These changes are inevitable and include things like gray hair and wrinkles.

The frontal lobes' development significantly increases in early adulthood.
Frontal lobe functions include logic, planning, and emotional control.
The ability of the frontal lobes to regulate the limbic system improves during early adulthood.

Post-formal thought is a proposed fifth stage of cognitive development, which happens after formal operational thinking.
Researchers question whether postformal thought is a higher level of thought distinct from previous stages.
Postformal thought develops in response to the problems of adult life.
Three aspects of postformal thought are relativism, dialectical thought, and reflective judgment.

Relativism: True or right depends on individual beliefs or cultural perspectives, not on universal rules.
Dialectical thought: Way of thinking that considers opposite ideas or viewpoints to discover a balance of truth.
Reflective judgment: The ability to identify underlying assumptions of differing perspectives on controversial issues.
Intelligence Test Measurement: Intelligence tests measure general thinking and reasoning skills compared to same-age peers (IQ).
Wechsler Scale: Measures verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, short-term memory, and processing speed.
Potential Limits of Intelligence Tests: Language barriers, cultural emphasis on different intelligences, test-taking ability, and focusing on only one type of intelligence.
IQ Stability: IQ scores remain quite stable throughout middle childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
IQ Decline: After age 60, IQ scores tend to decline.
Crystallized Intelligence: Knowledge and skills gained from experience and learning; improves with age. Examples include knowing the definition of a word.
Fluid Intelligence: Efficient functioning of the central nervous system (CNS); ability to think quickly. Examples include quick thinking.

Adults maintain intelligence throughout early and middle adulthood, but intelligence declines in the middle years.
Crystallized and fluid intelligence are two distinct types of intelligence.
Post-secondary credentials are held by 66% of Canadians aged 25-64.
Only 33% of students maintain the same career goals at age 25 as at age 21.
Critical thinking skills are developed through post-secondary education.