ABSTRACT
THE COMPLETE SUMMARY OF ADULTHOOD
&MATURITY COURSE/PRESCRIBED BOOK
(UNISA). HIGHLIGHTS POINTS REQUIRED
FOR ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS
PSYCHOLOGY:
ADULTHOOD AND
MATURITY/PYC2601
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AUTHOR-ramonde seymour
, Chapter 1
Basic Concepts of Adult Development and Ageing
INTRODUCTION
Demands of a growing and ageing population lead to the scientific discipline
gerontology
Gerontology: Multidisciplinary study of old age and the ageing process
Gerontologist: People that study aged people and the ageing process
Geropsychology: Specific branch of psychology dealing with multiple aspects of
normal and abnormal psychological changes that occur in later years of life
Geriatrics: Branch of medicine dealing problems and diseases of old age
SUBSTAGES OF ADULTHOOD
Adulthood could easily stretch over 50 years and is characterised by continuing
changes in all areas of functioning.
Adulthood is divided into:
• Early adulthood: ± 20 – 39
• Middle adulthood: ± 40 – 59
• Late adulthood: ± 60 – death
Psychologists agree these should not be used too rigidly – Age is a relative concept
Defining Old Age in Africa
• 50 – 59 traditionally defined (in African culture) as being elderly and preparing for
transition to old age
• Beginning period of reduced productive activity & completion of reproductive
activity
• Title ‘older person’ is dictated by one’s role in society i.e. becoming a grandparent
• Such titles conferred regardless of chronological age
• WHO determined age 50 is the cut off point to define people as old in Africa and
60 in western societies
• Poor economic status and burden of survival = greater disadvantage than richer
countries, thus leading to premature ageing
PERSPECTIVES ON AGE
• Chronological age – number of years passed since a person’s birth. Time does
not cause developmental changes. The extent to which developmental changes
has taken place during the chronological lifespan is important.
• Psychological age – ability of a person to adjust to the environment and cope with
associated challenges, in comparison with individuals of the same age.
• Social age – determine by degree in which a person’s role in a society meets
expectations and perceptions of that society. Expectations are strongly influenced
by norms and expectancies of the specific society, as dictated by factors such as
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, culture, gender, race and ethnicity. Social age could also be regarded as cultural
age.
• Biological age – physical condition of a person in comparison with peer group.
Relativity applies to this factor i.e. health consciousness
• Functional age – total ability of an individual to function effectively in environment.
Psychological, social and biological ages are used to determine an individual’s
functional age
Gerontologists also distinguish between:
Primary ageing – typical ageing, gradual physical deterioration. It’s universal,
inevitable and caused by inborn factors.
Secondary ageing – physical deterioration accelerated by disease or external factors
i.e. stress or unhealthy lifestyle
Tertiary ageing – process of terminal decline occurring in time before death.
Characterised by significant increase of physical and cognitive deterioration in relative
short period after which the individual dies. Not primarily related to age - signifies
approach of death.
Relativity and subjectivity of age have led to the coining of two concepts:
Personal age – how old a person perceives and experiences own age. Most adults
feel younger than their actual age.
Ageless self – adults experience that the self (‘core’ of the personality) remains the
same, regardless of biological or chronological ageing.
• Women tend to be more anxious about growing old than men do
• Most societies place much higher value on women’s physical appearance and
reproductive abilities than they do with men
• Women feel more competent and confident in their 40s than in their 30s
All definitions regarding adulthood are subjected to legislation of a
country Legal definition will always be the determining criterion
Legal maturity – age considered to legally be old enough to make own decisions
Up until 2007 the legal age in South Africa was considered to be 21 and not 18
Demographic context provides an important informative background on the study of
adult development
A LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE
Paul Baltes identified key principals to study adult development:
• Development is a life-long process
- takes place over entire life-span
- at every age various developmental processes are at work
- not all developmental processes are present at birth
• Development is multidimensional and multidirectional
- development occurs in various dimensions & affects multiple aspects
simultaneously
- may also occur in different directions i.e. improve in some areas, remain stable
in others, etc.
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, • Development is a combination of gains and losses
- developmental processes increase/decrease throughout life-span
- people may lose in some area and gain in another
- people tend to maximise gains
- minimise losses by means of management or compensation
• Development shows plasticity
- aspects of development can be modified/altered: person’s experience could
change their course of development
- abilities (memory, strength, endurance) can be improve with training and
practice
- development is not cast in stone, but potential for change is limited
• Development is embedded in history and context
- development occurs in a given cultural-historical context
- individuals respond to social-cultural environments and actively interact with
and influence them - people in Western-orientated societies have different views
than people in traditional African communal societies, or societies where both
views are incorporated
• Development occurs in context
- development is influenced by biological, social or environmental influences
- some influences are similarly experienced by others (age-related, historical,
social)
- how we develop is shaped by a variety of influences
• Development is multidisciplinary
- influenced by multiple factors
- no single perspective can adequately explain complexity of development
- many disciplines play a role in conceptualising & influencing development
- biological (medical) fields ageing process at the organismic, molecular, cellular
and neurological levels
- psychology addresses adult development and ageing from socio-economic
factors, social changes and political and social policies
Purpose of adopting a life-span developmental perspective is to describe development
and behaviour, guiding us to formulate strategies to optimise development.
THE FORCES AND INFLUENCES OF DEVELOPMENT
Different interactive forces shape development:
Biological forces – all physical and physiological related factors i.e. changes in
physical appearance, organ & perceptual systems, body mass, health-related factors,
etc.
Psychological forces – cognitive, emotional and personality factors that affect
development. Some characteristics changes, other may remain stable
Sociocultural forces – interpersonal, societal and cultural forces providing overall
contexts in which we develop
Life-cycle forces – forces affecting course of development, may be combination of
biological, psychological and sociocultural forces affecting people at different points of
their lives. These forces may have positive or negative effects on individual
development
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