MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory

 Generativity versus Self-Absorption
 With increasing maturity, the adult needs to establish all sorts of caring and work relationships that will benefit the
world and the community—that is so to be generative or productive rather than absorbed in self.
Peck’s extension of Erikson’s theory
 Valuing Wisdom versus Valuing Physical Power
 -decline of components of strength and endurance and athletic prowess
 Socializing versus Sexuality
 Hormonal changes through middle age often result in changes in sexual interest, behaviour, or capability. Social relationships
may become more important as sexuality becomes less so.
 Emotional Flexibility versus Emotional Impoverishment
 Many of our emotional ties are strained or ruptured for any variety of reasons. Adjusting to these emotional changes often
requires considerable emotional flexibility.
 Emotional Flexibility versus Emotional Impoverishment
 Many of our emotional ties are strained or ruptured for any variety of reasons. Adjusting to these emotional changes often
requires considerable emotional flexibility.
Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life

 Early Adulthood
 Each of Levinson’s stages involves a major developmental task. For example, the transition to early adulthood requires
separating from parents and establishing identity.
 At around age thirty—is the adoption of what Levinson refers to as a “dream”. Levinson’s dream is an idealized fantasy that
includes the goals and aspirations of the dreamer. In one sense, the dream is a tentative blueprint of the dreamer’s life.

 The next period, setting down (late thirties), is marked by major efforts to lay the groundwork for accomplishing the dream in
all important areas: career related, social, economic, political, family-related, and so on.
 The Midlife Transition
 Probably the most highly popularized of all adult developmental stages is the midlife transition or midlife crisis. The
main developmental task of this period is to come to grips with successes and failures relative to the dream.
 The most depressed, anxious, purposeless individuals were those who had never developed a dream and those who failed in
their dreams clearly experiencing a crisis.
 Entering Middle Adulthood
 Some bring with them renewed commitment to family and career; others, following the crises of the preceding period,
enter middle adulthood with new lifestyles.
 Age Fifty transition
 Another period of transition involves tasks very similar to those of the midlife transition.
 Culmination of Middle Adulthood
 Relatively stable “settled” period which the individual’s career will begin to wind down, accepting one’s own mortality
and preparing for some drastic changes brought about by retirement and all that it entails

Levinson’s Season of a Woman’s Life

 Gender-based dreams
 Women’s dreams embrace family as well as careers.
 Career transition
 Women tend to complete their preparation for a career, and to begin their careers, later than men.
Midlife Crisis
 Crisis- involves some identifiable discrete change of life event that brings with it some degree of distress.
 Midlife crisis- event or change occurring during the middle life period, not all people experience midlife crisis