Emotional and social development of Adolescence Your Name: Subject Psychology Date: 8 March, 2014
Introduction
The paper looks into the different phases of development that and adult goes through and what are his expectations form himself, his career and others. It is interesting to know as to how men and women are similar as well as different in their stages of life development. The different relationships an individual experiences in him adulthood have an impact on his emotional and social development.REVIEW: According to Levinson, how do the life structures of men and women differ?According to Daniel Levinson, the eminent psychologist, adults go through a series of stages as they develop. Based on a series of intensive interviews, Levinson developed a comprehensive theory on the life structures of men and women and how their underlying patterns differ. The life structure of an individual is shaped by his physical environment and social structure that is made of religion, race, and economic status. The life structures of both men and women are made of pre-adulthood, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood.
Men begin their careers and families during the period of early adulthood and settle down, working towards career advancement. At the age of forty, some of them realize about this unfulfilled ambitions and during the middle adulthood, the men deal with their individuality and cultivate their skills and assets. As they move towards the late adulthood, they reflect upon their past, successes and failures.
Levinson, when he studied the lives of women, as they moved through their stages of adulthood, he found that they too go through the same kinds of cycles that men do. The only difference is that not all of them have a career and about one third of them were content being at home and were home makers. The rest ran their own business or were in the service sector. The only major difference that he found in the life structure of men and women was that the women tend to be closer to the family life and give it the utmost importance.
APPLY: Using the concept of the social clock, explain Sharese’s conflicted feelings about marrying Ernie after she finished graduate school.
It is easy to understand Sharese’s conflicted feelings about marriage as she is in the early adulthood phase of the social clock. She has graduated recently and has two examples in front of her, one of the carefree life of her friend, Sharese and, on the other hand, the married life of Christy and her husband Gary, who married early. She feels that perhaps this is not the right time to combine family and career under the tight job market. She is not confident of meeting the financial pressures and parenthood that marriage will bring.
Sharese is at this early phase of adulthood, displaying her emotional and social sides. She confesses here fears to Ernie and says that she doesn’t feel prepared for marriage. Ernie, on his part, tries to allay her fears and feels that this is the right time to walk down the aisle and reassures her with his love. We find that the adults make their career and romantic choices only in the mid-twenties or at twenties and not until they have gained full economic independence. Sharese, along with Ernie and Heather are good examples of adults and their social life circle in this phase of early adulthood, as they focus on their career, relationships and assert their independence.
CONNECT: Return to page 403 in Chapter 12 and review the contributions of exploration and commitment to a mature identity. Using the two criteria, explain why identity achievement is positively related to attainment of intimacy (fidelity and love), whereas identity moratorium is negative predictive.
Identity achievement helps in deciding the right goals and values in your life and demonstrate a sense of psychological wellbeing. Exploration and commitment to a mature identity is the prime focus for the late teens into the mid‐twenties. It is during this phase that one achieves independence from parents and tries to secure an identity and know where they are going and what they want exactly. The young adults seek close ties other than their parents and want to feel more personal control in their lives than before. At the same time, many of them fear losing their freedom if tied into marriage too soon. However, once these fears are overcome, these young adults feel comfortable with the idea of marriage and lead to new family units. At the same time, they progress in their chosen career. Thus, we find that, during this early phase of adulthood, identity, love, and work go side by side for these adults and are closely linked.Moratorium, on the other hand means delay and unsure of making any commitments. Identity moratorium can be negative predictive in relationships as a young adult still have doubts over a certain relationship. and this can lead to negative results.
The young adults are more active in more choosing, planning, and changing as compared to any other age group. Their need of intimacy is not just fulfilled by romantic love, but also with their close ties with friends, siblings, and co‐workers. We come across greater gender equity among men and women seeking preferences for their mate.REFLECT: Do you have a nonromantic, close other-sex friendship? If so, how has it enhanced your emotional and social development?
Levinson reflects that individual with warm, loving, and supportive parents view themselves as likable and were comfortable with intimacy. They were comfortable with the idea of looking for comfort and assistance in their partner and responding mutually. Such close friendships offer them a unique chance to widen their expressive capability. Having a nonromantic, other-sex friendship that is close can influence one positively. For example, women feel that their male friends offer different viewpoints on the problems and situations that are simply not looked at in that way by their female friends. The young adults gain self‐esteem and get aware of both masculine and feminine styles of intimacy. Such friendships offer them a unique opportunity to express themselves freely as men find it easier to confide in female friends and vice versa.
Sometimes, if the other-sex friendship develops into a romantic bond, the relationship is found to be more stable and enduring than a romantic relationship developed without a foundation in friendship. What is important in these adult friendships is the intimacy, loyalty, and trust along with shared interests as well as enjoying each other’s company. (Berk, 2014).
ConclusionThe early phase of adulthood foes through different phases as they plan their career, their relationships and how they try to balance out based on the priorities in their life. It is not until the late twenties that they gain a full economic independence and are sure of what they are looking for in their relationship.
Reference
Laura E. Berk (2014).Development Through the Lifespan, 6/e Assessed from
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/berkls6einfo/assets/pdf/Berk_0205957609_Ch14.pdf
