Social development in adulthood

In developed countries, the human life span is seventy years. Adulthood is considered to begin around age twenty, although no benchmark marks its onset. Social development focuses on trying to understand the factors involved in psychological change over time. It also seeks to identify the milestones and internal elements that determine these changes. Among the fields of study it encompasses, social development includes the disciplines of health and medicine, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and social work.

Research areas of social development in adults examine many issues related to the sociocultural development of people during young, middle, and late adulthood. Among topics studied by experts are how adults learn, adoption of values and principles, the changing nature of human relationships, the context and quality of human relationships, the development of ego, adults in organizational settings, development of adults and medical issues, life-cycle issues, and many others.

Background

People normally transition from childhood to adolescence and then to adulthood. This cycle is commonly known as life-span development, and if a person lives an average life span, adulthood will be the longest period lived.

Many theories seek to explain the ways in which adults develop values, goals, and behaviors that guide how they deal socially with the world around them. One of the most accepted theories that seek to explain the stages of social development during adulthood is Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development. Erikson suggests that there are three specific stages of social development an adult must go through as he or she transitions through adolescence (nineteen to forty years), middle-aged adulthood (forty to sixty-five years), and older adult or late adulthood (sixty-five years and older). These stages have specific traits.

Young adults strive to fit into the roles they desire. At this stage, called intimacy versus isolation, young adults seek partners and at the same time fear rejection. This fear of rejection and of injured ego tends to spark feelings of isolation. About halfway through this stage, however, young adults seek to meet people and establish a set of friends and a career network. Young adults find their identities and tend to enter into stable relationships. Since Erikson posited his theory, the age at which many people marry has increased.

During middle adulthood, concern for the welfare of future generations begins to grow. This stage is called generativity versus stagnation. People develop a sense of social and civic responsibility as they face raising adolescent children and possibly caring for aging parents. Leisure-time activities become more important. Although a “midlife crisis” is no longer considered a benchmark phenomenon or milestone, it is during this stage that individuals recognize they may have lived more than half their allotted life span.

Erikson and his followers call late adulthood the ego versus despair stage. It is defined by decreased productivity and retirement. People tend to reflect on their past lives and as a result develop feelings of contentment or despair. Fear of death often sets in during this stage.

Overview

Life-span changes are accompanied by many changes in individuals’ physical, psychological, and social domains. Coping with these changes is often characterized by experimentation and learning experiences. Some things can be taught; others can only be learned through experience. Exposed to varied social situations, individuals engage in experiences that will lead them to become unique adults. The life-span theory proposed by Erikson still has much currency, although experts advise that every individual may have had different childhood experiences which, in turn, influence their transition through adulthood. The benchmarks of the three adult stages are flexible.

Other theoretical models offer various perspectives into adult development. These are the behavioral model, the cognitive model, the sociocultural model, and the integrative model.

The behavioral model falls within the sphere of mechanistic approaches. It seeks to predict and control behavior. In this view, behavior is based on response to stimuli; it is taught by giving positive or negative reinforcement. For example, individuals will favor certain behaviors if they have been praised when engaging in them and avoid other behaviors if they have been punished. Experts in the behavioral model believe a person is like a machine with many complex parts. Personalities, then, are a set of habits and behaviors. By the time a person is about thirty years old, these habits are usually set.

The cognitive model, also known as the psychological approach, is concerned with a person’s internal processes as he or she engages with the world. The cognitive model has a subset of approaches. One offers the perspective that people are active and creative participants in their own development. Another sees development as a more or less predetermined process; that is, it evolves in one direction, and has a beginning and an end point. Some experts offer versions that have elements of both perspectives. Today, the idea that people reach better-integrated levels of development by active participation in the world is among the most accepted.

The sociocultural model of development argues that social development in adulthood cannot be understood abstracted from its context. In other words, to fully comprehend it, one must see adult social development as integrated within its historical, cultural, and social milieu, because people are part of their environments. Factors such as gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, age, and others are sociocultural factors, and they have a deep influence on the development of human beings. These factors not only position an individual in his or her society, but also influences how individuals relate to one another. It is in these interactions and intersections that development occurs.

The integrated model of adult development offers a holistic perspective. It has elements of other theories and is concerned with how physical, psychological, and sociocultural factors interact and influence an individual’s development. It also proposes that the human mind is affected by events and changes across several levels over time and that human beings constantly engage in active and transformative learning.

Bibliography

Clarke-Stewart, Alison, and Ross D. Parke. Social Development. Hoboken: Wiley, 2014. Print.

Drago-Severson, Eleanor. Leading Adult Learning: Supporting Adult Development in Our Schools. Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2009. Print.

Hayslip, Bert Jr., Julie H. Patrick, and Paul E. Panek. Adult Development and Aging. 5th ed. Malabar: Krieger, 2011. Print.

Lemme, Barbara H. Development in Adulthood. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2006. Print.

Merriam, Sharan B. Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. Hoboken: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print.

Whitbourne, Susan K., and Stacey B. Whitbourne. Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives. Hoboken: Wiley, 2010. Print.

Young, Gerald D. Adult Development, Therapy and Culture: A Postmodern Synthesis. New York: Springer, 2013. Print.