LESSON 8: MIDDLE ADULTHOOD II.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
INTELLIGENCE
I. THE NATURE OF MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

• developmental period that begins at

approximately 40 to 45 years of age and
extends to about 60 to 65 years of age.

PHYSICAL CHANGES
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
The first outwardly noticeable signs of aging usually
are apparent by the forties or fifties. The skin
begins to wrinkle and sag because of a loss of fat
and collagen in underlying tissues (Farage & others,
2009).
III. CAREERS, WORK AND LEISURE
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT The role of work, whether in a full-time career, a
Individuals lose height in middle age, and many gain part-time job, as a volunteer or as a homemaker,
weight. On average, from 30 to 50 years of age, men is central during middle adulthood. Many middle-
lose about an inch in height, then may lose another aged adults reach their peak in position and earnings.
inch from 50 to 70 years of age (Hoyer & Roodin, However, they may also be saddled with burdens
2009). from rent or mortgage, child care, medical bills,
home repairs, college tuition, loans to family
STRENGTHS, JOINTS, AND BONES members, or bills from nursing homes.
Sarcopenia: is given to the age-related loss of
muscle mass and strength (Doran & others, 2009; IV. RELIGION AND MEANING IN LIFE
Narici & Maffulli, 2010). In thinking about religion and adult development, it is
important to consider the role of individual
VISION AND HEARING differences. Religion is a powerful influence in some
• Accommodation of the eye: the ability to adults’ lives, whereas it plays little or no role in
focus and maintain an image on the retina— others’ lives (McCullough & others, 2005).
experiences its sharpest decline between 40
and 59 years of age. Meaning-making coping: Involves drawing on
beliefs, values, and goals to change the meaning of
• Hearing also can start to decline by the age a stressful situation, especially in times of chronic
of 40. Auditory assessments indicate that stress as when a loved one dies.
hearing loss occurs in as many as 50 percent
of individuals 50 years and older (Fowler & MEANING IN LIFE
Leigh-Paffenroth, 2007). In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl (1984)
emphasized each person’s uniqueness and the
SEXUALITY finiteness of life. He argued that examining the
• Climacteric: is a term that is used to finiteness of our existence and the certainty of
describe the midlife transition in which fertility death adds meaning to life. If life were not finite,
declines. said Frankl, we could spend our life doing just
about whatever we please because time would
• Erectile Dysfunction: the inability to continue forever.
adequately achieve and maintain an erection
that results in satisfactory sexual THREE MOST DISTINCT HUMAN QUALITIES:
performance (De Berardis & others, 2009). 1. Spirituality: does not have a religious
underpinning. Rather, it refers to a human
being’s uniqueness— to spirit,
philosophy, and mind.
 2. Freedom
3. Responsibility.

Question:
“Why they exist, what they want from life, and what
the meaning of their life is?”

FOUR MAIN NEEDS FOR MEANING (Baumeister

& Vohs, 2002)
1. Need for Purpose: “Present events draw
meaning from their connection with future
events.” Purposes can be divided into (1)
goals and (2) fulfillment. Life can be
oriented toward a future anticipated state,
such as living happily ever after or being
in love.

2. Need for Values: This “can lend a sense of

goodness or positive characterization of life
and justify certain courses of actions. Values
enable people to decide whether certain acts
are right or wrong.” Frankl’s (1984) view of
meaning in life emphasized value as the
main form of meaning that people need.

3. Need for Self-Efficacy: This involves the

“belief that one can make a difference. A life
that had purposes and values but no efficacy
would be tragic. The person might know what
is desirable but could not do anything with Stage One: Acquaintance: There's a myriad of
that knowledge.” With a sense of efficacy, factors that lead to an acquaintanceship, but just
people believe that they can control their because this "getting to know each other" is the first
environment, which has positive physical one of them all doesn't mean that every potential
and mental health benefits (Bandura, relationship will move beyond this phase. You might
2009). ask questions to get to know someone here but not
take steps to move forward. In modern dating terms,
4. Need for Self-Worth: Most individuals want think of it as continuing to chat on a dating app but
to be “good, worthy persons. Self-worth can never committing to an in-person date.
be pursued individually.”
Stage Two: Build-Up: This stage often will begin to
creep in slowly during your relationship, but will
V. SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
sometimes happen all at once. This can be a phase
where rocky relationships end because one person
decides that they've made a selection mistake.
However, the build-up is mostly a period spent
increasing the social, emotional, and physical
connections between each romantic partner. This is
a time when you might be asking more intimate
questions of your partner. Due to this increased
closeness, you might find that your early interest
fizzles out the more you get to know a new partner,
and you amicably part ways rather than take further
steps in a relationship.
 Prepared by:
You might find that these are the 'almost' Teresita Rungduin, PhD, RPm, RPsy
relationships with people who end up being a friend Professor 4, Dean, Office of the Student Affairs and
Student Services, Philippine Normal University
or acquaintance down the road. Usually, you haven't
spent enough time interested in one another to grow
any of the typical 'scorned heart' resentments that
come with long-term relationships.

Stage Three: Continuation: This relationship stage

is marked by a period of long-lasting stability and can
be entered into in any level of romantic relationship
(such as dating and/or marriage). The most
important element of this dating stage is the mutual
commitment to being in the relationship and all that
it entails. If ever you've heard people talk about the
"good years" before a relationship went south,
they're talking about the continuation stage.

Stage Four: Deterioration: Every relationship

doesn't have to go through the deterioration stage,
and often healthy, long-lasting ones never do. But
those that find themselves feeling bored, restless,
and irritable - perhaps, without any obvious triggers
- are feeling the effects of the relationship's slow
decline.

Stage Five: Ending: All relationships come to an

end - some messier than others - but the fifth stage
of relationships, according to Levinger, can't be
avoided. Despite the label's negative connotation,
not every relationship has to end in a bad way.
Rather, things like death, distance, or personal
growth can break romantic bonds.

Empty nest syndrome: refers to the grief that many

parents feel when their children move out of the
home. This condition is typically more common in
women, who are more likely to have had the role of
primary carer.

SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS:

• Sibling relationships persist over the entire
life span for most adults (Dunn, 2007).
• Friendships continue to be important in
middle adulthood just as they were in early
adulthood (Antonucci, 1989).

GRANDPARENTING
Many adults become grandparents for the first time
during middle age. Researchers have consistently
found that grandmothers have more contact with
grandchildren than do grandfathers (Watson,
Randolph, & Lyons, 2005).