Final Exam Study Guide PSY 658 Pepperdine PDF

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Final Exam Prep Week 6 - Adolescence Chapters 11 & 12: v Peer relationships - gender differences:  Friendships based on intimacy, mutual understanding, and loyalty foster more disclosure.  Girls emphasize emotional closeness, and boys emphasize more shared activities.  Online relationships can foster friendships, but also excessive use has risks.  Positive relationships without aggression or antisocial behavior promotes selfconcept, perspective taking, coping with stress, and capacity for intimate relationships.  Cliques are seen more with girls. They give a sense of identity. Mixed sex cliques decrease as (heterosexual) dating interests increase. v Early dating  Hormonal changes and cultural expectations determine when dating begins.  Asian youth start dating later, as opposed to other families that expect and encourage romantic involvement in middle school.  Intimacy in dating relationships is usually less than intimacy between friends.  Positive relationships with parents and friends contribute to secure romantic ties.  Purpose of dating among young includes recreation and achieving peer status; later, adolescents endorse more psychological intimacy.  Early Dating Associated With ... o Drug use o Delinquency o Academic difficulties o Physical and sexual abuse of dating partners o Uninvolved parents o Lesbian and gay youth facing additional difficulties due to prejudice Week 7- Young Adulthood: Chapters 13 & 14 v Erikson’s Intimacy vs Isolation Stage  Ability to form close relationship with a partner versus loneliness or self-absorption  Focus on generativity—parenting and contributing to society through work and community service v Romantic Partners  Close Relationships  Romantic partners tend to resemble in education, age, ethnicity, religion, and physical attributes  Evolutionary perspective—women select partners based on ensuring children's survival; men select partners based on sexual pleasure and ability to produce offspring  Triangular theory of love—passion, intimacy, commitment

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After marriage, men decrease other sex friendships, but women increase them (often making them in the workplace)  Passionate love shifts to compassionate love— compassionate relationships have more intimacy, commitment, satisfaction  Eastern cultures focus more on family obligation over passion; many arranged marriages are long lasting  Friendships based on trust, intimacy, loyalty  Women's same sex friendships tend to be more intimate  Adult siblings from positive family experiences become close friends v What does pragmatic thought allow for?  Structure of Thought  Development in cerebral cortex results in improvements in planning, reasoning, and decision making  Piaget's post formal thought—personal effort and social experiences lead to increased rational, flexible, and practical thinking  Perry's Epistemic Cognition—move from dualistic thinking (right or wrong extremes) to relativistic thinking (awareness of multiple truths) to commitment within realistic thinking (synthesize contradictions)  Move to pragmatic thought—use logic to solve problems and accept contradictions, imperfections, and compromise  Increased cognitive-affective complexity— coordinate positive and negative feelings into complex, organized structure v The 3 stages of vocational development  Vocational Choice • Fantasy period—children explore career options by fantasizing • Tentative period—adolescents evaluate careers in terms of interests, abilities, values • Realistic period—young adults settle more on a category than specific occupation  Influences by personality, educational opportunities, information, encouragement, teachers' expectations for them  Women's progress in male-dominated professions is slow; influenced by gender stereotypes and discrimination  Non-college bound young adults in U.S. usually limited to low paid, unskilled jobs; many are unemployed v Divorce  Factors contributing to divorce—younger age at marriage, poor communication, family history of divorce, American individualism  Remarriages are at increased risk for breakup— adjustment problems, view of divorce as an option, persistent negative patterns of communication Week 8 - Middle Adulthood: Chapters 15 & 16 v Presbyopia –

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Vision affected by presbyopia (loss of the accommodative ability of the lens), reduced vision in dim light, increased sensitivity to glare, diminished color discrimination, increased risk of glaucoma Symptoms of menopause –  Shorter cycle and irregular cycles leading up to full menopause  Decline in estrogen causing reproductive organs to shrink, less easily stimulated, complaints about sexual function and arousal difficulties  Drop in estrogen leads to aging of the skin, loss of bone mass, accumulation of plaque on artery walls  Emotional and physical symptoms: mood fluctuations, hot flashes, night sweats, persist for roughly four years and then decrease  Depressive episodes increase, especially if history of depression prior Changes in sexual activity –  Frequency of sexual activity among heterosexual couples tends to decline however it’s a small decline and not unstable  Intensity of sexual response diminishes in midlife due to physical changes, both men and women take longer to feel aroused or reach orgasm Predictors for heart disease –  Type A personality  Hereditary risk, being male, advanced age  High blood pressure or cholesterol levels, overweight, psychological stress Intellectual development – multidimensional and plastic:  Many middle-aged adults display continued cognitive growth in the realm of practical problem solving, which requires people to size up real-world situations and analyze how best to achieve goals that have a high degree of uncertainty.  core assumptions of the lifespan perspective: development as multidimensional, or the combined result of biological, psychological, and social forces; development as multidirectional, or the joint expression of growth and decline, with the precise mix varying across abilities and individuals; and development as plastic, or open to change, depending on how a person’s biological and environmental history combines with current life conditions  Cognitive flexibility is responsive to work experiences well into middle adulthood and perhaps beyond. Designing jobs to promote intellectual stimulation and challenge may be a powerful means of fostering higher cognitive functioning later in the lifespan. Benefits of continuing education –  Social support from family and friends and institutional services can help returning students succeed. Further education results in enhanced competencies, new relationships, intergenerational contact, and reshaped life paths.  Excitement for learning, fulfillment from academic success, and hope for improvement in work and family life Generativity vs Stagnation –

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Generativity involves reaching out to others in ways that give to and guide the next generation, expands greatly in midlife when adults focus more intently on extending commitments beyond oneself (identity) and one’s life partner (intimacy) to a larger group – community, family, or society.  Negative outcome of this stage – stagnation: once people attain certain life goals, such as marriage, children, and career success, they may become self-centered and self-indulgent, show lack of interest in young people, focus on what they can get from others, little interest in being productive at work, no interest in developing talents or bettering the world around them v Levinson’s Seasons of Life – masculinity and femininity:  the transition to middle age, adults become more aware that from now on, more time will lie behind than ahead, so they view the remaining years as increasingly precious. This leads some to make drastic revisions in their life structure: divorcing, remarrying, changing careers, or dis- playing enhanced creativity.  middle-aged person must better balance masculine and feminine parts of the self. For men, this means greater acceptance of “feminine” traits of nurturance and caring, which enhance close relationships and compassionate exercise of authority in the workplace. For women, it generally means greater openness to “masculine” characteristics of autonomy and assertiveness v Changes in family responsibility – 

“launching children and moving on” is the mid- life phase of the family life cycle. adults must adapt as their children launch–return–relaunch, marry, and produce grandchildren, and as their own parents age and die. v Changes in personality traits – neuroticism decreases in middle age:  people’s interpretation of regrets plays a major role in their well- being. Mature, contented adults acknowledge a past characterized by some lost opportunities, have thought deeply about them, and feel stronger because of them  Midlife changes in self-concept and personality reflect growing awareness of a finite lifespan, longer life experience, and generative concerns  Possible selves, self-acceptance, autonomy, and environmental mastery  “Big five” personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, open- ness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness  agreeableness and conscientiousness increase from adolescence through middle age, whereas neuroticism declines, and extroversion and openness to experience do not change or decrease slightly v Divorce –  longer life expectancy, widespread social acceptance of marital breakup, and greater financial security (making it easier to leave an unhappy marriage) have contributed to this surge in later-life divorces.  Because the divorce rate is greater among remarried couples than those in first marriages, about half of midlife divorces involve people who have had one or more previous unsuccessful marriages.

v Changes in parent-child relationships – low SES:  Parents’ positive relationships with their grown children are the result of a gradual process of “letting go,” starting in childhood, gaining momentum in adolescence, and culminating in children’s independent living  Investment in nonparental relationships and roles, children’s characteristics, parents’ marital and economic circumstances, and cultural forces affect the extent to which this transition is expansive and rewarding or sad and distressing.  low-SES parents give more overall support, usually consisting of coresidence plus various types of intangible assistance—advice, help with childcare, emotional encouragement, and companionship.  low-SES parents are able to give less tangible and intangible support to each child than their higher-SES counterparts v Challenges with retirement –  Individuals who have not thought carefully about how to fill this time may find their sense of purpose in life seriously threatened  Women plan less for retirement and rely on spouses  factors affecting adjustment to retirement include satisfactions previously derived from work, caregiving responsibilities, a sense of personal control over life events, social support, and marital happiness. v Skipped generation families – 

low-income families and in some ethnic groups, grandparents provide essential child-rearing assistance. When serious family problems exist, grandparents may become primary caregivers in skipped-generation families.

Week 9 - Older Adulthood: Chapters 17 & 18 v Factors that contribute to shortening life expectancy –  joint contributions of heredity and environment to biological aging  Life expectancy varies substantially with SES. As education and income increase, so does length of life  stressful life events, wide-ranging unhealthy behaviors, jobs with health risks, and weak social supports are associated with low SES.  US far behind industrialized nations in life expectancy v Functional age vs chronological age –  functional age, or actual competence and performance 

people age biologically at different rates, making chronological age an imperfect indicator of functional age. dramatic gains in average life expectancy confirm that biological aging can be modified by environmental factors, including improved nutrition, medical treatment, sanitation, and safety v Areas of decline among elders –

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Neuron loss, vision decline, taste and odor sensitivity decline, reduced capacity of cardiovascular and respiratory systems, immune system less effective, difficulty sleeping, memory loss Changes in sleep between men and women –  Changes in brain structures controlling sleep and higher levels of stress hormones in the bloodstream, which have an alerting effect on the central nervous system, are believed to be responsible  men experience more sleep disturbances than women  prostate issues and alcohol use are major contributors Leading form of dementia –  Beyond age 80, a larger proportion of women than men have dementia  two most common forms of cortical dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia Changes in speech –  Like implicit memory, language comprehension changes little in late life, as long as conversational partners do not speak too quickly and older adults are given enough time to process written text accurately, which enables them to compensate for reduced working-memory capacity  first is retrieving words from long-term memory  planning what to say and how to say it in everyday conversation is harder in late adulthood Ego integrity vs. despair –  ego integrity versus despair, involves coming to terms with one’s life. Adults who arrive at a sense of integrity feel whole, complete, and satisfied with their achievements.  Ego Differentiation – for those who invested heavily in their careers, finding other ways to affirm self-worth through family, friendship, and community life  Ego Transcendence – as contemporaries die, facing the reality of death constructively through efforts to make life more secure, meaningful, and gratifying for younger generations  Body Transcendence – surmounting physical limitations by emphasizing the compensating rewards of cognitive, emotional, and social powers Ways to age successfully –  complex cognitive activities of better-educated people lead to reorganization of brain areas devoted to cognitive processes and to richer synaptic connections, which act as a cognitive reserve, giving the aging brain greater tolerance for injury before it crosses the threshold into mental disability  We have seen that a wealth of life experience enhances the story- telling and problem solving of older adults  Heritability research suggests a modest genetic contribution to individual differences in cognitive change in late adulthood Changes in personality –

shifts occur in personality characteristics that, once again, defy aging stereotypes. Old age is not a time in which the personality inevitably becomes rigid and morale declines. Rather, a flexible, optimistic approach to life, which fosters resilience in the face of adversity, is common  gain modestly in agreeableness into their seventies, becoming more generous, acquiescent, and good-natured. However, declines in agreeable- ness tend to occur after age 80 as more people face physical and cognitive challenges  age-related dips in extroversion, perhaps reflecting a narrowing of social contacts as people become more selective about relationships  decline in openness to experience,  greater acceptance of change—an attribute older adults frequently mention as important to psychological well-being v Religiosity among men and women – differences:  65 percent of those age 65 and older said that religion is very important in their lives, and nearly half reported attending religious services at least once a week  women are more likely than men to say that religion is very important to them, to participate in religious activities, and to engage in a personal quest for connectedness with a higher power v Suicidality in late adulthood –  suicide increases over the lifespan, with older adults at greatest risk, though regional variations exist. 

Week 10 - Death & Dying: Chapter 19 v Define Thanatology –  The study of death and dying v Where do most Americans prefer to die?  At home or in child’s home with appropriate care v Palliative –  palliative, or comfort, care that relieves pain and other symptoms (nausea, breathing difficulties, insomnia, and depression) rather than prolonging life v Living will vs durable power of attorney for healthcare –  living will, people specify the treatments they do or do not want in case of a terminal illness, coma, or other near-death situation  durable power of attorney for health care authorizes appointment of another person (usually, though not always, a family member) to make health-care decisions on one’s behalf. v Voluntary euthanasia in North America –

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United States, medical aid-in-dying is legal in five states: Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and—as of 2016—California. Oregon

voluntary euthanasia, at a patient’s request, a doctor actively takes the patient’s life in a painless way for the purpose of relieving suffering. The practice, a form of mercy killing, is a criminal offense in all U.S. states and most other countries v Complicated grief –  severe, prolonged distress, depression, and lack of acceptance of the death that per- sists for years, impairing physical and mental health—termed complicated grief v Anticipatory grief –  anticipatory grieving—acknowledging that the loss is inevitable and preparing emotionally for it v Phases of dying – 

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In general, dying takes place in three phases: the agonal phase, in which regular heartbeat disintegrates; clinical death, a short interval in which resuscitation is still possible; and mortality, or permanent death v Spirituality/religiosity and death –  sense of spirituality reduces fear of death. Research indicates that this is as true for the dying as for people in general v What are the stages of death?  Same as phases of grief but not set in stone and differ for everyone...