HGD LECTURE NOTES CHAPTER 8 Middle-Adulthood is a time when many age-related physical changes occur (e.g., grey hair).The text defines two types of aging:Primary Aging-Biological factors, such as molecular and cellular changes, and oxidative damage (e.g., need for bifocals).Secondary Aging-Aging that occurs due to controllable factors, such as an unhealthy lifestyle including lack of physical exercise and poor diet (e.g., high blood-pressure).Several pages of this chapter are devoted to the numerous medical conditions that can develop during mid-life. Please review and study the following: vision/visual issues, heart disease, cholesterol, and the climacteric.Cognition in Middle AdulthoodIntelligence-Your authors summarize data on the differences between fluid and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities quickly and abstractly. Crystallized intelligence refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world we have acquired throughout our lives (e.g., knowledge of psychology). An ongoing study on cognitive development. The Seattle Longitudinal Study, (I bet you can guess where they conducted this one!) has found some remarkable findings regarding middle-aged adults. As stated in the text: Verbal memory, spatial skills, inductive reasoning (generalizing from particular examples), and vocabulary increase with age until one's 70s. This is good news!! The bad news: numerical computation and perceptual speed decline in middle and late adulthood. Remember, however, that these are group averages and not everyone fits these patterns of findings. Again, keeping one's mind active via reading, puzzles, etc. is probably a good idea!Flow- You may have experienced it! Flow occurs when you become so totally engrossed in an activity (like a favorite hobby) that you lose track of timetime flies when you are having fun. So, a musician might play their instrument and not even realize that three hours had passed. Your author cites research that suggests that it may lead to creativity. Make sure to read and study this section.Tacit KnowledgeAs defined in your text, Tacit Knowledge is knowledge that is pragmatic or practical and learned through experience rather than explicitly taught, and it also increases with age. Those who have engaged in careers, such a carpentry, develop this type of knowledge.

Through experience they have learned how to approach new problems that may be encountered at a worksite. So, when encountering a new problem at the workplace those with this type of knowledge can quickly come up with a solution.ExpertiseWhen we encounter issues in life (e.g., plumbing problem) and we have no skills (like me!), we call an expert. We look for the best plumber we can find. Experts are different than novices. There are 4 characteristics of expert thought. They are: a) Intuitive b) Automatic c) Strategic d) Flexible Make sure that you have read/studied these in the text.Work At Midlife- As related in your text job satisfaction tends to peak in middle adulthood. Make sure that you know the reasons why. Mid-Life Crisis-The text summarizes data on this topic. You have probably heard of an individual who at mid-life divorces, buys a sports car, and marries someone much younger. This is supposedly due to threats to one's identity (e.g., "I can't get older.") This is a topic that many people believe is a common occurrence. The research data, however, does not support this belief. Make sure you read and study this section. Pay attention to the work of Levinson and Vaillant.Stress at MidlifeThere are numerous issues that create stress in life. We call them stressors. We will discuss many below. But first we must review the impact of stress on our functioning. Hans Selye was a stress researcher who found that stress can have a significant negative impact on our physical and emotional functioning.Hans SelyeGeneral Adaptation Syndrome3 Stage ModelAlarm Stage-The alarm stage occurs when first confronted with a stressor. We experience the "fight or flight" response which results in several bodily reactions. Specifically, our heart rate will increase, respirations increase, our pupils dilate, etc. These reactions prepare us to either stay and deal with the event or to run from it. Think about a time when something unexpected frightened you. Most likely you experienced the fight or flight response. The physiological reactions of this stage are meant to be turned on briefly and then turned off. If we are constantly in a state of such arousal we will be uncomfortable and experience such things as anxiety, sleep loss, etc.

Resistance Stage-This stage develops when the stressor has not gone away. We have somewhat adapted to it but the physiological reactions of stage one are present. We are literally going to wear out if we don't manage the stressor at this point,Exhaustion Stage-If the stressor has gone on for quite some time we may enter this stage. Exhaustion results in serious medical issues (e.g., heart attacks, depression) or death. This is scary! Another factor that has been found to impact stress is personality. Some individuals manifest what has been termed the Type A Personality. Those with this personality style are competitive, impatient, and constantly worried about time. They are often hostile. This personality style has been linked to having heart attacks, with hostility being the most likely cause. We simply can't be angry all the timeit's not healthy! The opposite of a Type A personality is a Type B personality. These folks are much more relaxed and easy-going. They are essentially the opposite of the Type A.In addition, the experience of chronic negative emotions (e.g., anger, guilt, fear, disgust) and depression have also been found to be correlated with heart disease.YIKES!What causes stress at mid-life?Work and StressCertain jobs create more stress than others. Shocker!! Your text reports on the significant percentage of Americans who do not take their leave time (i.e., vacation days) from work. Sandwich Generation-This sounds funnyit has nothing to do with food though! Those in mid-life are often caught in a position in which they are caring for their children as well as aging, sick parents. Such a situation, coupled with work stress, can make mid-life a very difficult time period.Spousal Care-Read/study on ownKinkeeping-As defined in the text, a kinkeeper is a person or persons who keep the family connected and who promotes solidarity and continuity in the family (e.g., planning family gatherings). Now, kinkeeping can lead to stresssee the text for the details.Empty Nest Syndrome-see text for detailsLinked Lives-Parents are parents forever, regardless if their children have left the home or not. Adult children who have life problems (e.g., substance abuse, divorce) still impact the stress level of their parents. See the text for details.Boomerang kidsThese are young adults who return home after living on their own. Although your authors report that some parents are accepting of this and some possible positives are associated with adult-children living in the home, stress could occur on both the part of the parent and the adult child over such issues as rent, privacy issues, and the parents wishing that their children were on their own, etc. Resistance Stage-This stage develops when the stressor has not gone away. We have somewhat adapted to it but the physiological reactions of stage one are present. We are literally going to wear out if we don't manage the stressor at this point,Exhaustion Stage-If the stressor has gone on for quite some time we may enter this stage. Exhaustion results in serious medical issues (e.g., heart attacks, depression) or death. This is scary! Another factor that has been found to impact stress is personality. Some individuals manifest what has been termed the Type A Personality. Those with this personality style are competitive, impatient, and constantly worried about time. They are often hostile. This personality style has been linked to having heart attacks, with hostility being the most likely cause. We simply can't be angry all the timeit's not healthy! The opposite of a Type A personality is a Type B personality. These folks are much more relaxed and easy-going. They are essentially the opposite of the Type A.In addition, the experience of chronic negative emotions (e.g., anger, guilt, fear, disgust) and depression have also been found to be correlated with heart disease.YIKES!What causes stress at mid-life?Work and StressCertain jobs create more stress than others. Shocker!! Your text reports on the significant percentage of Americans who do not take their leave time (i.e., vacation days) from work. Sandwich Generation-This sounds funnyit has nothing to do with food though! Those in mid-life are often caught in a position in which they are caring for their children as well as aging, sick parents. Such a situation, coupled with work stress, can make mid-life a very difficult time period.Spousal Care-Read/study on ownKinkeeping-As defined in the text, a kinkeeper is a person or persons who keep the family connected and who promotes solidarity and continuity in the family (e.g., planning family gatherings). Now, kinkeeping can lead to stresssee the text for the details.Empty Nest Syndrome-see text for detailsLinked Lives-Parents are parents forever, regardless if their children have left the home or not. Adult children who have life problems (e.g., substance abuse, divorce) still impact the stress level of their parents. See the text for details.Boomerang kidsThese are young adults who return home after living on their own. Although your authors report that some parents are accepting of this and some possible positives are associated with adult-children living in the home, stress could occur on both the part of the parent and the adult child over such issues as rent, privacy issues, and the parents wishing that their children were on their own, etc.

Coping With Stress-There are different ways to deal with stress. Problem-Focused Methods-This type of method involves dealing with a stressor head on. You don't run from it! So, if an assignment is stressing a student out the student would take the necessary steps to complete it as soon as possible. No procrastination!! Emotion-Focused Methods-This involves trying to manage the emotions linked to stress. So, instead of fretting over some stressor an individual might play video games to distract themselves from it. Marriage- Your text indicates that marriage is the most common relationship status for middle-aged adults in the United States.Divorce-Divorce is a serious issue that has consequences not just for the couple and the couple's children but for extended family and friends as well (e.g., sometimes friends are lost after divorce). Throughout the years the divorce rate in the U.S. has fluctuated but has typically hovered around 50%. With specific regard to middle-aged adults your text cites a study from 2014 showing that 27% of adults age 45 to 54 were divorced. Make sure you read and study the data in the text on divorce, dating post-divorce, and remarriage. Be familiar with the following terms: enhancers, competent loners, and gatekeep. What predicts divorce?There are many different factors that lead to divorce (e.g., marriagejust kidding, financial issues, infidelity, getting married at too young of an age). Dr. John Gottman has found that certain specific behaviors are also predictive of divorce. He calls them the "4 Horseman of The Apocalypse". They include criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and withdrawal. Criticism-This involves criticizing another "You didn't clean that well enough."Contempt-This involves acting as if what the other has said is unimportant (e.g., rolling your eyes at something your partner has said).Defensiveness-Never owning up to your role in an issue.Stonewalling-Tuning out during a conversation and refusing to say anything.Here is a good video on the 4 Horseman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQOgAgfDm_8Now, by studying how couples treat each other in the lab Dr. Gottman can predict divorce with great accuracy. Here is a brief video highlighting how he evaluates married couples in the lab:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEnVSrCCSw4

In this chapter we learned about stress and sources of stress. The text and the lecture notes also discussed problem-focused and emotion-focused coping mechanisms.

Now, consider some common stressors for those in collegeupcoming exams, speeches, papers, practicums, balancing work and school responsibilities, etc. When stressed by such an issue do you tend to use problem-focused methods or emotion-focused methods? Give an example(s) to support your answer.