M12 Essays

Question 1

generativity and stagnation

Answer 1

anxious to try and leave something that will last for the next generation or they begin to feel stagnant

depression and feelings of dissatisfaction with life

Question 2

Levinson

Answer 2

coping with opposites (young v old, desctrutive v constructive masculine v feminine) allows you to escape midlife crisis

Question 3

Vaillant

Answer 3

many middle aged people are full of questioning and discovering truth

no such thing as midlife cris s

Question 4

Middle Aged crisis

Answer 4

Erikson
Levinson
Vaillant

greatest time of career and financial success

work to move past smithing small or identifying the part of his life that he is anxious over

Question 5

support of erickson stage theories

Answer 5

Erkison validated by Vaillant

generatively lead to happy marriage form 75-80 years

Ryff support erickson bc women and men were both concerned with generatively

Question 6

Criticisms of levinson stage theories

Answer 6

levinson did not use statistical analyses and did not interview early adults or women

Question 7

Criticisms of stage theories over all

Answer 7

they place too much emphasis on crises in development and not enough emphasis on the every day struggles

fail to describe individuals (too general)

Question 8

alternative to stage theory

Answer 8

life events approach
daily stressors approach

a major life event may have an altering effect on our development but the stressors that would follow the event might also produce change

Question 9

life events approach

Answer 9

looks at how both a major life event and other factors such as support systems, health, coping strategies, age, and historical context impact an individual’s development

Question 10

critics of life events approach

Answer 10

places too much emphasis on change

fails to truly account for the stability

Question 11

daily stressors approach

Answer 11

our daily experiences are our primary sources of stress and may play a bigger role on development than the life-events theory recognizes

Repeated stressors everyday might have more of an impact on our development, health and mood than a single event

Question 12

critics of daily stressors approach

Answer 12

life events have prolonged effect or arousal while daily stressors are merely bumps or spikes in arousal

doesn’t describe physical changes, coping mechanisms, and perception of hassles

Question 13

Baltimore study

Answer 13

five factors of personality

remained stable during adulthood

greatest change in all of the personality traits occurs during early adulthood

Question 14

five factors of personality:

Answer 14

openness to experience
conscientiousness
extraversion
agreeableness, 
neuroticism/emotional stability

Question 15

5 factors and their stability (other studies)

Answer 15

neuroticism, extraversion, openness and agreeableness were lower in early adulthood, peaked during middle adulthood, and decreased during late adulthood

conscientiousness continually increased throughout the stages of adulthood

Question 16

Berkeley Longitudinal Studies

Answer 16

most stable: intellectual orient, self confidence, and openness to experiences

changed the most: nurture/hostility, self control

Question 17

Helson’s Mills College

Answer 17

women in three groups: family oriented, career oriented, and neither

regardless of which life path the women chose, they were able to learn to control impulses, develop interpersonal skills, become independent and achieve goals when compared to women who did not commit to one of these paths

Question 18

Vaillant’s studies

Answer 18

look at how personality can predict life

75 to 80 year olds, he classified them as happy well, sad sick, or dead

alcohol abuse and smoking at 50 were the best predictor for if one is dead at 75-80

regular exercise, avoiding being overweight, were well educated, had a stable marriage, future oriented, thankful and forgiving, empathetic with others, active with friends, or had good coping skills were all found to be happy well at 75-80

Question 19

Four studies

Answer 19

Baltimore study
Berkeley Longitudinal Studies
Helson’s Mills College
Vaillant’s studies

They found that there was more stability in personality in midlife than in early adulthood, no one pattern

Question 20

qualities of relationships that are found to be associated with midlife divorce

Answer 20

AARP Survey

66% of women initiated divorce, women more concerned with financial

Question 21

Women cited for divorce

Answer 21

verbal, physical or emotional abuse, alcohol or drug abuse, and cheating

Question 22

reasons men cited for divorce

Answer 22

falling out of love, cheating, and different values or lifestyles