Lifespan Development Final Exam
Emerging Adulthood
The period of life between the ages of 18 & 25. It is now widely thought of as
a separate developmental stage.
Extreme Sports
Forms of recreation that include apparent risk in injury or death and are
attractive and thrilling as a result.
Drug Abuse / Addiction
The ingestion of a drug to the extent that it impairs the user's biological or
psychological well-being.
Postformal Thought
A proposed adult stage of cognitive development, following Piaget's four
stages. Postformal thought goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more
practical, more flexible, & more dialectical (more capable of combining
contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole).
Stereotype Threat
The possibility that one's appearance or behavior will be misread to confirm
another person's oversimplified, prejudiced attitudes.
,Massification
The idea that establishing higher learning institutions & encouraging college
enrollment could benefit everyone, leading to marked increases in the
number of emerging adults in college.
Ethnic Identity
The development of ethnic & racial identity.
Personality in Emerging Adulthood
Continuity & change are evident. This age is characterized by years of
freedom from a settled lifestyle. New characteristics appear & negative traits
diminish.
Psychological Disorders
The rate of emotional disorders rises in emerging adulthood. The causes are
thought to include psychological vulnerability, combined with one's own
identity apart from the family. (schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, suicide,
drug addiction)
Intimacy vs. Isolation
The 6th of Erikson's 8 stages of development. Adults seek someone with
whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment.
Without such commitment they risk profound loneliness & isolation.
Choice Overload
, Having so many options that a thoughtful choice becomes difficult, & regret
after making a choice is more likely.
Cohabitation
An arrangement in which a couple live together in a committed romantic
relationship but are not formally married.
Linked Lives
Lives in which the success, health, & well-being of each family member are
connected to those of other members, including members of another
generation, as in the relationship between parents & children.
Senescence
A gradual physical decline related to aging. It occurs in everyone & in every
body part, but the rate of decline is highly variable within & between
persons.
Organ Reserve
The extra capacity built into each organ, such as the heart & lungs, that
allows a person to cope with extraordinary demands or to withstand organ
strain.
Homeostasis
The adjustment of all the body's systems to keep physiological functions in a
state of equilibrium, moment by moment. As the body ages, it takes longer
Emerging Adulthood
The period of life between the ages of 18 & 25. It is now widely thought of as
a separate developmental stage.
Extreme Sports
Forms of recreation that include apparent risk in injury or death and are
attractive and thrilling as a result.
Drug Abuse / Addiction
The ingestion of a drug to the extent that it impairs the user's biological or
psychological well-being.
Postformal Thought
A proposed adult stage of cognitive development, following Piaget's four
stages. Postformal thought goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more
practical, more flexible, & more dialectical (more capable of combining
contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole).
Stereotype Threat
The possibility that one's appearance or behavior will be misread to confirm
another person's oversimplified, prejudiced attitudes.
,Massification
The idea that establishing higher learning institutions & encouraging college
enrollment could benefit everyone, leading to marked increases in the
number of emerging adults in college.
Ethnic Identity
The development of ethnic & racial identity.
Personality in Emerging Adulthood
Continuity & change are evident. This age is characterized by years of
freedom from a settled lifestyle. New characteristics appear & negative traits
diminish.
Psychological Disorders
The rate of emotional disorders rises in emerging adulthood. The causes are
thought to include psychological vulnerability, combined with one's own
identity apart from the family. (schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, suicide,
drug addiction)
Intimacy vs. Isolation
The 6th of Erikson's 8 stages of development. Adults seek someone with
whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment.
Without such commitment they risk profound loneliness & isolation.
Choice Overload
, Having so many options that a thoughtful choice becomes difficult, & regret
after making a choice is more likely.
Cohabitation
An arrangement in which a couple live together in a committed romantic
relationship but are not formally married.
Linked Lives
Lives in which the success, health, & well-being of each family member are
connected to those of other members, including members of another
generation, as in the relationship between parents & children.
Senescence
A gradual physical decline related to aging. It occurs in everyone & in every
body part, but the rate of decline is highly variable within & between
persons.
Organ Reserve
The extra capacity built into each organ, such as the heart & lungs, that
allows a person to cope with extraordinary demands or to withstand organ
strain.
Homeostasis
The adjustment of all the body's systems to keep physiological functions in a
state of equilibrium, moment by moment. As the body ages, it takes longer
