Title: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood
1Physical and Cognitive Development in Early
Adulthood
2Physical Development and the Senses
- Physical development and maturation complete
- Peak of physical capabilities
- Brain wave patterns show more mature patterns
- Senses are peak
- Most professional athletes at peak during early
adulthood
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3Physical Fitness
- Superior physical capabilities require exercise
and diet - No more than 10 Americans exercise enough to
keep themselves in good physical shape - Less than 20 participate in moderate exercise on
regular basis
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4Benefits of Exercise
- Cardiovascular fitness increase
- Lung capacity increases, raising endurance
- Stronger muscles and greater flexibility
- Greater range of movement
- More elasticity in muscles, tendons, and
ligaments - Reduction in osteoporosis
- Optimization of immune response
- Decreased stress level
- Increased sense of control over their bodies and
feeling of accomplishment
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5One of the Best Pay-Offs Longevity
Greater fitness level lower the death rate
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6Health
- Leading causes of death among young adults (ages
25-34) are - Accidents
- AIDS
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Suicide
- Murder
- Gender and SES differences
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7Secondary Aging
- Lifestyle decisions, including the useor
abuseof alcohol, tobacco, or drugs or engaging
in unprotected sex, can hasten secondary aging - This can also increase a young adults risk of
dying
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8Violence and Death Tracking Murder
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9Age and Obesity
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10Stress and Coping in Early Adulthood
- STRESS Response to events that threaten or
challenge an individual - Pleasant events and unpleasant events
- Long-term, continuous exposure may result in a
reduction of body's ability to deal with stress -
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11Lazarus and Folkman
- People move through series of stages that
determine whether or not they will experience
stress - PRIMARY APPRAISAL
- SECONDARY APPRAISAL
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12Predicting Stressful Event (Shelly Taylor, 1991)
- Negative emotions are more likely to produce
stress - Uncontrollable or unpredictable situations are
more likely to produce stress - Ambiguous and confusing situations produce more
stress - Simultaneously tasks demands are more likely to
experience stress
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13Consequences of Stress
- PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS
- SOMATOFORM DISORDERS
- COPING
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14Styles of Coping
- Problem-focused coping
- Emotion-focused coping
- Social support coping
- Defense coping involves
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15Hardiness, Resilience, and Coping
- Hardiness is a personality characteristic
associated with lower rate of stress-related
illness - Resilience is ability to withstand, overcome, and
actually thrive following profound adversity - Optimistic vs. pessimistic explanatory style
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16The Informed Consumer of Development
- Coping with Stress General Guidelines
- Seek control over the situation producing the
stress - Redefine threat as challenge
- Find social support
- Use relaxation techniques
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17COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
18Postformal Thought
- Giesela Labouvie-Vief
- Adult predicaments are sometimes solved by
relativistic thinking rather than pure logic - Postformal thought acknowledges that world
sometimes lacks purely right and wrong solutions
so adults must draw upon prior experiences to
solve problems
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19K. Warner Schaie
- ACQUISITIVE STAGE
- ACHIEVING STAGE
- RESPONSIBLE STAGE
- EXECUTIVE STAGE
- REINTEGRATIVE STAGE
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20A Closer Look Sternberg
459
21Creativity Novel Thought in Early Adulthood
- CREATIVITY
- Early adulthood
- Peak of creativity
- Many of professional problems are novel
- Willing to take risks
- Fluid vs. Crystallized
- intelligence
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22Life Events and Cognitive Development
- Major life events may lead to cognitive growth
- Think about the world in novel, more complex,
sophisticated, and often less rigid ways - Apply postformal thought (Labouvie-Vief)
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23COLLEGE PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION
24Higher Education
- College is period of developmental growth that
encompasses mastery not just of particular bodies
of knowledge, but of ways of understanding world.
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25College Pursuing Higher Education
- Nationwide, a minority of high school graduates
enter college - Only about 40 of those who start graduate from
college in 4 years - Influenced by race and gender variables
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26Who goes to college?
- 40 of college students today are 25 years of age
or older - Average age of a community college student is 31
- College degree is becoming increasingly important
in obtaining and keeping job - Absolute number of minority students enrolled in
college has increased BUT overall proportion of
minority population has decreased over past
decade
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27College Student Attendance Trends
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28Consequences
- Proportion of students who enter college but
ultimately never graduate is substantial!
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29Why is there a gender gap in college attendance?
Will it continue?
- Men have more opportunities to earn money when
they graduate - More women enrolled in college
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30The Changing College Student Never Too Late to
Go to College?
- According to Sherry Willis, adults return to
college for several reasons - To understand their own aging
- To keep up with rapid technological and cultural
advances - To combat obsolescence on the job
- To acquire new vocational skills
- To broaden their intellectual skills
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31College Adjustment Reacting to the Demands of
College Life
- First year adjustment reaction
- Particularly affects unusually successful
students in high school - Passes for most as friends made and integration
into college life occurs - Serious psychological consequences for few
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32The Informed Consumer of Development
- When Do College Students Need Professional Help
with Their Problems? - Psychological distress that lingers and
interferes with a persons sense of well-being
and ability to function - Feelings that one is unable to cope effectively
with the stress - Hopeless or depressed feelings
- Inability to build close relationships with
others - Physical symptoms
- 1st Floor of the College Center, near the
Enrollment Services Office (RVCC) -
33Depression in College Students
Why people visit a college counseling center
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34Stereotype Threat and Disidentification with
School
- African Americans dont do well in academic
pursuits. - Women lack ability in math and science.
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35Steele Research
- Women and African Americans perform less well in
college - Academic disidentification
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36The Great Gender Divide
During 1st year of college, men are more likely
to view themselves as above average in several
academic areas.
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37Dropping Out of College
- Half of all students drop out of college
- Marriage, children, or death of family member
- Academic difficulties
- Financial difficulties
- Time off to mature
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