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Early adulthood can be a very busy time of life. Havighurst (1972) describes some of the developmental tasks of young adults. Havighurst identified developmental tasks across the lifespan into 6 different stages. These tasks are typically encountered by most people in the culture where the individual belongs.
- Chapter 10
In early adulthood, doctors may check every few years if the...
- Adolescence
According to the theory, early starters are at greater risk...
- Early Childhood
Children who experience toxic stress or who live in...
- Developmental Theories
Early Adulthood: Intimacy vs. isolation: Establish a...
- Death and Dying
Early Adulthood: In adulthood, there are differences in the...
- Glossary
Chapter 9: Early Adulthood. 10. Chapter 10: Middle...
- References
The long-term effects of early kwashiorkor compared with...
- Chapter 10
- Early adulthood (20s to early 40s) Early adulthood is the stage most of us associate with the biggest life changes. This period is characterised by exploration and establishing independence.
- Midlife (40s to 60s) Welcome to midlife, the stage where reflection becomes vital. After establishing oneself in early adulthood, the focus often shifts to evaluating one’s life choices.
- Late adulthood (60s to 80s) The late adulthood stage is often associated with retirement, but it is so much more than that. It’s a time for reflection, for looking back on life with pride or regret.
- Elderhood (80s and beyond) The final stage, elderhood, is marked by a profound sense of perspective. Elders, often retired, have a unique understanding of life.
The trend of prolonging adolescence has led to a new developmental phase called emerging adulthood. This phase occurs from ages 18 to 29 and captures the transition from adolescence to adulthood. In the past, most people in this age group had already entered stable adult roles, including romantic relationships and work.
- Why Learn About Development Changes During Early Adulthood?
- Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood
- Physical Development in Early Adulthood
- A Healthy, But Risky Time
- What You’Ll Learn to Do: Explain Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood
- Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood
- Parenting
- Learning and Behavior Modification
- Theories of Early Adult Psychosocial Development
When we are children and teens, we eagerly anticipate each and every birthday, waiting for the next big one…when we’ll finally be grown up and have all the freedoms and rights enjoyed by those who are older than us. Indeed, there are opportunities to drive, buy a car, vote, go to college, join the military, drink, move out on our own, date, live to...
Before we dive into the specific physical changes and experiences of early adulthood, let’s consider the key developmental tasks during this time—the ages between 18 and 40. The beginning of early adulthood, ages 18-25, is sometimes considered its own phase, emerging adulthood, but the developmental tasks that are the focus during emerging adulthoo...
The Physiological Peak
People in their twenties and thirties are considered young adults. If you are in your early twenties, you are probably at the peak of your physiological development. Your body has completed its growth, though your brain is still developing (as explained in the previous module on adolescence). Physically, you are in the “prime of your life” as your reproductive system, motor ability, strength, and lung capacity are operating at their best. However, these systems will start a slow, gradual decl...
Early adulthood tends to be a time of relatively good health. For instance, in the United States, adults ages 18-44 have the lowest percentage of physician office visits than any other age group, younger or older.However, early adulthood seems to be a particularly risky time for violent deaths (rates vary by gender, race, and ethnicity). The leadin...
We have learned about cognitive development from infancy through adolescence, ending with Piaget’s stage of formal operations. Does that mean that cognitive development stops with adolescence? Couldn’t there be different ways of thinking in adulthood that come after (or “post”) formal operations? In this section, we will learn about these types of ...
Beyond Formal Operational Thought: Postformal Thought
In the adolescence module, we discussed Piaget’s formal operational thought. The hallmark of this type of thinking is the ability to think abstractly or to consider possibilities and ideas about circumstances never directly experienced. Thinking abstractly is only one characteristic of adult thought, however. If you compare a 14-year-old with someone in their late 30s, you would probably find that the latter considers not only what is possible, but also what is likely. Why the change? The you...
Perry’s Scheme
One of the first theories of cognitive development in early adulthood originated with William Perry (1970), who studied undergraduate students at Harvard University. Perry noted that over the course of students’ college years, cognition tended to shift from dualism (absolute, black and white, right and wrong type of thinking) to multiplicity (recognizing that some problems are solvable and some answers are not yet known) to relativism(understanding the importance of the specific context of kn...
Dialectical Thought
In addition to moving toward more practical considerations, thinking in early adulthood may also become more flexible and balanced. Abstract ideas that the adolescent believes in firmly may become standards by which the individual evaluates reality. As Perry’s research pointed out, adolescents tend to think in dichotomies or absolute terms; ideas are true or false; good or bad; right or wrong and there is no middle ground. However, with education and experience, the young adult comes to recog...
Having Children
Do you want children? Do you already have children? Increasingly, families are postponing or not having children. Families that choose to forego having children are known as childfree families, while families that want but are unable to conceive are referred to as childless families. As more young people pursue their education and careers, age at first marriage has increased; similarly, so has the age at which people become parents. With a college degree, the average age for women to have the...
The Development of Parents
Think back to an emotional event you experienced as a child. How did your parents react to you? Did your parents get frustrated or criticize you, or did they act patiently and provide support and guidance? Did your parents provide lots of rules for you or let you make decisions on your own? Why do you think your parents behaved the way they did? Psychologists have attempted to answer these questions about the influences on parents and understand why parents behave the way they do. Because par...
The Changing Face of Parenthood
Parenthood is undergoing changes in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Children are less likely to be living with both parents, and women in the United States have fewer children than they did previously. The average fertility rate of women in the United States was about seven children in the early 1900s and has remained relatively stable at 2.1 since the 1970s (Hamilton, Martin, & Ventura, 2011; Martinez, Daniels, & Chandra, 2012). Not only are parents having fewer children, but t...
Parenting and Behaviorism
Parenting generally involves many opportunities to apply principles of behaviorism, especially operant conditioning. In discussing operant conditioning, we use several everyday words—positive, negative, reinforcement, and punishment—in a specialized manner. In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment...
Levinson’s Theory
In 1978, Daniel Levinson published a book entitled, The Seasons of a Man’s Life in which he presented a theory of development in adulthood. Levinson’s work was based on in-depth interviews with 40 men between the ages of 35-45. According to Levinson, young adults have an image of the future that motivates them. This image is called “the dream” and for the men interviewed, it was a dream of how their career paths would progress and where they would be at midlife.Dreams are very motivating. Dre...
- Julie Lazzara
- 2020
Nov 24, 2023 · The beginning of early adulthood, ages 18-25, is sometimes considered its own phase, emerging adulthood, but the developmental tasks that are the focus during emerging adulthood persist throughout the early adulthood years. Look at the list below and try to think of someone you know between 18 and 40 who fits each of the descriptions.
The beginning of early adulthood, ages 18-25, is sometimes considered its own phase, emerging adulthood, but the developmental tasks that are the focus during emerging adulthood persist throughout the early adulthood years. Look at the list below and try to think of someone you know between 18 and 40 who fits each of the descriptions.
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Oct 22, 2024 · Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood. Early adulthood can be a very busy time of life. Havighurst (1972) describes some of the developmental tasks of young adults. These include: Becoming part of a group or community: young adults may, for the first time, become involved with various groups in the community.
