PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

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Copyright Dr. Raja Roy Choudhury 2017
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 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Unit 1 Description Page No

1 Introduction to Personality 4-26
2 The Nature of Development 27-42
3 The Process of Birth 43-53
4 Infancy 54-65
5 Babyhood 66-80
6 Early Childhood 81-103
7 Late Childhood 104-120
8 Puberty 123-130
9 Adolescence 131-147
10 Adulthood 148-172

11 Middle age 173-199

12 Old Age 200-222

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 UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
‘Every person cries out to be read differently’
(Simone Weil)

Contents

1.1 Unit Objectives.

1.2 What is Personality?
1.3 The Meaning of Personality.
1.4 Definition of Personality.
1.5 Personality versus Character.
1.6 Personality versus Individuality.
1.7 Scientific Study of Personality.
1.8 Components of the Personality Pattern.
1.9 Development of the Personality Pattern.
1.10 Causes of Individuality in Personality.
1.11 Persistence in Personality.
1.12 Conditions contributing to Persistence in Personality.
1.13 Conditions contributing to Personality Change.
1.14 Some other determinants of Personality.
1.15 Effect of Physical Condition on Personality.
1.16 Effect of Success and Failure on Personality.
1.17 School Influences on Personality Development.
1.18 Family Influences on Personality Development.
1.19 Characteristics of Well Adjusted Personalities.
1.20 Chapter Summary.
1.21 Exercise Questions.
1.22 Reference Books.

1.1. UNIT OBJECTIVES

This unit teaches you –

 The definition of personality.
 The concept and meaning of personality.
 The various different meanings of personality.
 The various factors that determine personality.

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1.2 WHAT IS PERSONALITY

What, you may ask, is this highly prized thing labeled "persona lity". Is it something a few lucky people
are born with, a gift from the gods? Or is it within the reach of everyone? If it can be acquired, then why
doesn't everyone make it his business to develop the kind of personality that will bring him the success,
popularity, and happiness everyone wants? If it can be acquired, you may wonder why so many people
have personalities that bring them the things they do not want failure, unhappiness, and lack of social
acceptance.

1.3 THE MEANING OF PERSONALITY

The term "personality" is derived from the Latin word persona which means "mask." Among the
Greeks, actors used a mask to hide their identity on stage. This dramatic technique was later adopted by
the Romans to whom persona denoted "as one appears to others," not as one actually is.
The popular, nonscientific definition of personality as the effect one has on others has two
defects. First, it emphasizes only the manifest aspects of the intricate pattern of personality, the expres-
siveness of the individual. Second, in emphasizing only the objective aspects of personality, it does not
indicate what the real personality is, the subjective or interior organization which is responsible for the
expressive aspects. As Hall and Lindzey have pointed out, few words in the English language have a
greater fascination for the general public than personality.
Although the word is used in various senses, most of these popular meanings fall under one
of two headings. The first usage equates the term to social skill or adroitness. An individual's-
personality is assessed by the effectiveness with which he is able to elicit positive reactions from a
variety of persons under different circumstances. It is in this sense that schools which specialize in
glamorizing the American female intend the term when they refer to courses in "personality training."...
The second usage considers the personality of the individual to inhere in the most outstanding
or salient impression which he creates in others. A person may thus be said to have an "aggressive
personality" or a "sensitive personality" or a "fearful personality." In each case the observer selects an
attribute or quality which is highly typical of the subject and which is presumabl y an important part of
the over-all impression which he creates in others and his personality is identified by this term. It is
clear that there is an element of evaluation in both usages.
In 1937, All port identified in the literature almost 50 definitions of personality. Today, there
are doubtless more. Most of the early psychological definitions emphasized the expressive aspects of
personality and ignored or only indirectly implied the interior organization that is responsible for the
observable aspects. Woodworth, for example, defined personality as the "quality of the individual's total
behavior". According to Dashiell, an individual's personality is the "total picture of his organized
behavior, especially as it can be characterized by his fellow men in a consistent way. Munn gave a more
comprehensive analysis, pointing out that personality is the "most characteristic integration of an
individual's structures and activities." It is characteristic in a dual sense because (1) it is unique, thus
differentiating the individual from all others, and (2) it is fairly consistent, representing the customary
integration of a particular individual's structures and activities.
These representative early psychological definitions stressed the manifest aspects of

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personality what may be observed by others though they implied that what a person is, how he thinks
and feels, and what is included in his total psychological makeup will be revealed through his speech
and behavior. Munn implied this especially when he referred to the "integration of an individual's
structures and activities." None, however, spelled out the significance of fundamental and often
unconscious drives and wishes stemming from what may be considered the real personality the
individual's evaluation of himself, what he wants to be. How he appears to himself and to others, and
how he regards his relationship with others.
To fully understand what personality is, the intricacy of its structure, and its a ll-pervasive
influence on the "quality of the individual's total behavior," one must understand its motivational
aspects. This becomes apparent when one considers what a false impression one often gets from
judgments based solely on the manifest aspects of personality: the individual's speech, behavior, and
appearance.

1.3 THE DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY

The deficiencies in the early definitions led to attempts to define personality in such a way as
to include its motivational aspects as well as some of its other outstanding characteristics. Of these, the
most widely accepted is the short but all-inclusive definition proposed by the late Gordon W. Allport of
Harvard University. Most of the definitions accepted today are patterned on Allport's: " Personality is the
dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his
characteristic behavior and thought". An analysis of the key words in this definition will show how
comprehensive it is and how much stress Allport placed on motivation.
Organization – Organization emphasizes the patterning of the independent parts of the personality
structure, each of which has a special relation to the whole. It points out that personality is not just a
sum of traits, one added to another, but rather that the different traits or manifest aspects of the
personality pattern are held together and influenced by a central core, called the "concept of self." The
distinction between the normal and abnormal personality is to be found in the degree of organization that
exists. A normal, healthy personality is a highly correlative structured person. The abnormal personality,
by contrast, shows disorganization, the severity of the abnormality being directly related to the degree of
disorganization.

Dynamic – Dynamic refers to the constantly evolving or changing nature of personality. Not only does
the personality become more complex in structure as the individual's physical and psychological
characteristics develop, but from time to time and from situation to situation, there are changes in the
structural organization. The changes are not radical nor are they necessarily permanent. They do not rep -
resent the appearance of new traits. They are, in effect, fluctuations in the intensity of traits already
present. They are thus quantitative rather than qualitative changes. Radical changes, especially when
they occur suddenly and persist, are generally indicative of men tal illness.
The dynamic nature of personality accounts for the difficulty experienced in trying to
measure it. By contrast, intelligence, which is relatively stable, can be measured quite accurately.

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Psychophysical systems – A psychophysical system is composed of habits, attitudes, emotional states,
sentiments, motives, and beliefs, all of which are psychological but have a physical basis in the
individual's neural, glandular, or general bodily states. As Allport said, "This term reminds us that
personality is neither exclusively mental nor exclusively neural (physical). Its organization entails the
functioning of both 'mind' and 'body' in some inextricable unity".
Psychophysical systems are not the product of heredity although they have hereditary
foundations. They are the product of learning and they derive from the life experiences of the individual.
They are complexes of many elements in mutual interaction. Sometimes they are latent or inactive in the
organism. As such, they are "potentials for activity".

Determine – The word "determine" emphasizes the motivational role of the psychophysical systems.
Within the individual, these systems lie behind specific acts and influence the form they will take. Once
an attitude, belief, habit, sentiment, or some other element of a psychophysical system has been aroused
by a stimulus, either from the environment or within the individual, it provokes adjustive and expressive
acts which are characteristic forms of expression of that individual. As Allport has explained, "All the
systems that comprise personality are to be regarded as determining tendencies. They exert a directive
influence upon all the adjustive and expressive acts by which the personality comes to be known".

Characteristic – The adjective "characteristic" refers to the distinctiveness or uniqueness of the person's
behavior as an expression of the pattern of his particular psychophysical systems. Since no two peo ple,
not even identical twins, have exactly the same life experiences, each person learns to respond to his
environment in terms of his individual experiences, drives, and interests and the different
psychophysical systems that have been built up as a result of learning. As Allport has explained, even
the behavior and concepts which people apparently share with others are, in reality, individual. Some, of
course, are less "idiosyncratic" than others but none lacks a "personal flavor".

Behavior and thought – Together behavior and thought are a "Blanket to designate anything
whatsoever an individual may do". And what the person does, mainly, is adjust to his environment,
though he may also reflect on it. This means that the patterns of behavior, determined by the
psychophysical systems within the individual, are not aimless, but are directed toward the specific goal
of fitting the individual into the physical and social environments in which he lives.
While personality may be expressed in speech, in reactions to people and things, in
mannerisms, in fantasy, and in other ways, all are consciously, sub consciously, or unconsciously
directed toward the specific goal of enabling the individual to adjust to his environment. As Allport
emphasized,
“Above all, adjustment must not be considered as merely reactive adaptation such as plants and
animals are capable of….. Adjustment to the physical world as well as to the imagined or ideal world—
both being factors in the "behavioral environment"—involves mastery as well as passive adaptation”.

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1.5 PERSONALITY VERSUS CHARACTER

Personality is often confused with "character." The two are not synonymous, however, and
cannot be used interchangeably. Character implies a moral standard and involves a judgment of value.
When used in connection with personality, character relates to behavior that is regulated by per-
sonal effort and will. Conscience, an essential element of character, is a pattern of inhibitory
conditionings which control the person's behavior, making it conform to the socially approved patterns
of the group with which the individual is identified.

1.6 PERSONALITY VERSUS INDIVIDUALITY

"Individuality" refers to the uniqueness of personality. According to Allport, "Personality

itself is a universal phenomenon though it is found only in individual forms." A person has many
attributes characteristic of the human species, and many that resemble his cultural fellows but he weaves
them all into a unique idiomatic system. Individuality in the personality pattern is just as characteristic
as is individuality in appearance. As Allport said, each person is a "unique and never -repeated
phenomenon".
Each personality pattern is unique in that it differs from all other patterns in the combination
and organization of its constituent traits, in the strength of the different traits, and in its core—the
person's concept of himself. While a person's attributes may be qualitatively similar to those of other
people, each of his attributes differs quantitatively from those of others. You may, for example, find any
number of brave men, but each man's bravery will differ quantita tively from that of the others.
People are commonly described as belonging to certain "types." One person may be said to
be the "ambitious type," the "morose type," and still other the "stingy type." While it is true that people
resemble one another in some respects, this does not mean that they are alike in all respects. Each person
is to some extent unique. He is an individual, even though in some respects he may be c haracterized, as
belonging to some common "type."
Individuality is apparent in the structural and behavioral differences of newborn infants.
Some newborns are active, fretful, and prone to excessive crying; some are placid and serene. Some are
scrawny and poorly developed while others look as if they might be several weeks old.
Individuality increases as children grow older. Inherent traits begin the process of
maturation, and environmental influences, especially social conditions, begin to shape the
personality pattern.

1.7 THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF PERSONALITY

Popular recognition of the role personality plays in successful adjustments to modern life has given
strong impetus to the scientific study of personality. In simple cultures, personality is of secondary importance
in social relationships, but in cultures where social life is complex, personality is of major importance. Today's
parents and teachers put great emphasis on developing personality patterns in children which will help them to
make satisfactory adjustments both in the present and in the future.
A second impetus to the scientific study of personality has come from the growing evidence that

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learning, rather than heredity, largely determines what one's personality will be like. This recognition has had
two effects. First, it has emphasized that people can no longer blame a poor hereditary endowment or environ-
ment for their unfavorable personality characteristics but rather must blame themselves for developing such
personality patterns. Second, because personality, like so many other areas of development, is controllable,
children can, with guidance and help, develop personality patterns that will make successful adjustment to life
possible.
The third and, in many respects, the greatest impetus to the scientific study of personality is the real-
ization that, since personality development can be controlled, the personality pattern can also be changed and
modified in ways that lead to improved personal and social adjustments. Although there is no evidence of a
deadline after which learning cannot bring about modifications in an undesirable trait or an undesirable self-
concept, there is evidence that the early years of life are the "critical" years in personality development and that,
with each passing year, changes are more difficult to accomplish.

1.8 COMPONENTS OF THE PERSONALITY PATTERN

1.8.1. THE SELF CONCEPT

The real self-concept is the concept people have of who and what they are. It is a mirror image,
determined largely by their roles, their relationships with others, and what they believe the reactions of others to
them are. The ideal self-concept is the picture people hold of what they would like to be.
Each kind of self-concept has a physical and a psychological aspect. The physical aspect is composed
of concepts individuals have of their appearance, their sex appropriateness, the importance of their bodies in
relation to their behavior, and the prestige their bodies give them in the eyes of others. The psychological aspect
is composed of concepts individuals have of their abilities and disabilities, their worth, and their relationships
with others. At first, these two aspects are separate, but they gradually fuse as childhood progresses.

1.8.2. TRAITS
Traits are specific qualities of behavior or adjustive patterns, such as reactions to frustrations, ways of
meeting problems, aggressive and defensive behavior, and outgoing or withdrawing behavior in the presence of
others. Traits are integrated with and influenced by the self-concept. Some are separate and distinct, while others
are combined into syndromes or related patterns of behavior.
Traits have two outstanding characteristics: individuality, which is shown in variations in the quantity
of a particular trait rather than in a trait peculiar to that person, and consistency, which means that the person
behaves in approximately the same way in similar situations and under similar conditions.

1.9. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERSONALITY PATTERN

It was formerly believed that the personality pattern was the product of heredity and that the child was a
"chip off the old block." Today, there is ample evidence that the personality pattern is a product of both heredity
and environmental influences. As some researchers have said, "Personality is shaped by the constant interplay of
temperament and environment." They explain further that "if the two influences are harmonized, one can expect
healthy development of the child: if they are dissonant, behavioral problems are almost sure to ensue".
Studies of the development of the personality pattern have revealed that three factors are responsible
for its development; hereditary endowment, early experiences within the family, and events in later life. The

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pattern is closely associated with the maturation of physical and mental characteristics which constitute the
individual's hereditary endowment. These characteristics provide the foundations on which the structure of the
personality pattern is built through learning experiences.
Through learning, attitudes toward self and characteristic methods of responding to people and
situations—the traits of personality are acquired through repetition and the satisfaction they give. The early
learning experiences are mainly in the home, and later learning experiences are in the different environments
children come in contact with outside the home.
Children, for example, who learn to think of themselves as inferior, owing to the treatment they
receive in the home or outside the home, develop characteristic methods of adjusting. These methods differ
markedly from those of children who develop more favorable concepts of themselves as a result of more
favorable treatment from members of the family, the peer group, and outsiders. If, for example, they think of
themselves as "show-offs," as "imps," or as "featherbrains," their characteristic patterns of behaving and
adjusting to life will be very different than they would be if they learned to think of themselves as "leaders,"
"loyal friends," and "scholars".
Social pressures in the home, the school, and the peer group likewise influence the form the traits
will take. When aggressiveness is encouraged because it is considered a sex-appropriate trait for boys, the boy
will try to learn to behave in an aggressive manner.
Since the self-concept and the traits are developed differently, they will be discussed separately. It
is necessary to keep in mind, however, that the three factors discussed above hereditary endowment, early home
experiences, and events in later life all help to determine the pattern of development of both the self-concept and
the traits.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-CONCEPT

Concepts of self come from the contacts children have with people, how they treat children, what they
say to and about children, and what status children have in the group with which they are identified. At first, the
most significant people in children's lives are family members. As a result, their influence on the developing
self-concept is dominant. Later, as peers and teachers become significant, their influence on the self-concept
becomes greater and greater.
The role of the hereditary endowment in the development of the self-concept comes from the way chil-
dren interpret the treatment they receive from others. Social insight is greatly influenced by the individual's level
of intelligence. Bright children can interpret better how people feel about them from what they say or do than
can children who are less bright. Their interpretations of the feelings of others, in turn, determine whether they
will develop favorable or unfavorable self-concepts.
By adolescence, the self-concept is firmly established, though it often is revised later as children
have new personal and social experiences. Children, for example, who have developed concepts of themselves
as outstanding athletes because they could play better than the other members of their gangs may have to revise
their concepts radically when they reach high school and find that their sports skills are so
inferior to those of their age-mates that they cannot make the athletic teams.

DEVELOPMENT OF TRAITS

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 Traits are a product of 'earning, though they are based on a hereditary foundation. They are molded
mainly by child training in the home and school and by imitating a person with whom the child identifies. A
child, for example, who identifies with his father will imitate the father's characteristic methods of reacting to
people and situations to the point where it appears that the child has inherited these characteristics—that the
child is, indeed, a "chip off the old block." Later, the child will imitate the traits of members of the peer group,
developing the characteristic methods of adjustment accepted and approved by the peer group.
Some personality traits are learned by trial and error. If, for example, children learn more by chance
than by imitation or direct teaching that aggressiveness in frustrating situations wins approval from the peer
group and satisfies their needs, they will repeat the aggressive behavior whenever similar situations arise. In
time, this will develop into their characteristic method of adjusting to frustration and they will be known as
"aggressive children."
Not only do children develop personality traits that serve their needs but they also try to develop
traits that are admired by members of the social group with which they are identified. They discover that people
who have admired traits are more likely to win social approval and acceptance than those who have non-
admired traits—traits that lead to criticism, scorn, and rejection.
Furthermore, children discover, as they grow older, that not all people value traits in the same way.
Parents, teachers, and other adults, they discover, value certain traits more highly than members of the peer
group and vice versa. They also discover that there are sex-approved and social-class-approved traits. In spite of
these variations, children learn that certain basic traits are admired by all cultural groups. Honesty, respect for
the rights of others, respect for authority, and a sense of appreciation, they discover, are universally approved.
As children grow older, their values change. As a result, the traits they admired when they were
younger are often less admired as they approach adolescence and, later, adulthood.
As traits develop, they begin to organize into clusters, forming syndromes. Children who are
subjected to strict authoritarian child training, for example, usually develop rigidity in their characteristic pattern
of adjustment or "authoritarian personality syndromes." They are inhibited, overcontrolled, introverted,
withdrawn, conservative, and conventional. As a result of these characteristics, they are intolerant of change,
irregularity, and things that are not clearly defined. They tend to be submissive to authority figures but
aggressive toward all who are weaker than they are. Characteristically, they are anxious, guilt-prone, worry-
prone, compulsively doubtful, insecure, rigidly moral and plagued by feelings of inadequacy and inferiority
these characteristics color all of their adjustments to life.

1.10 CAUSES OF INDIVIDUALITY IN PERSONALITY

Recognition of individuality goes back at least as far as the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates referred to
four different personality "types": The sanguine, or quick, active persons; the choleric, or strong and easily
aroused persons; the phlegmatic, or slow and stolid type; and the melancholic, or sad and pessimistic
individuals. The cause of the differences in personality patterns which gave each type individuality, according to
Hippocrates, was a difference in the strength of the body humors. Thus, according to him, individuality had a
physical cause, though there is no evidence that Hippocrates considered this to be due to differences in heredity.
It is now believed that the foundation of personality comes from the maturation of hereditary traits
but that these are influenced partly by learning in connection with direct social contacts and partly by

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conditioning. Because no two children, even identical twins, have exactly the same physical and mental
endowments, and the same environmental experiences, no two children will develop identical personality
patterns. Instead, each child will be an individual.
Once a trait has been developed through environmental influences, it affects behavior as well as
interests and attitudes. The trait is thus strengthened and made more resistant to change. However, in spite of
environmental influences, each personality pattern has a tough core of traits. Because this gives an inner
resistance, children react in their own individual manner to people and things in the environment. This increases
their individuality.

1.11 PERSISTENCE IN PERSONALITY

The term persistence means "enduring" and "constantly recurring"; it does not mean that no
change occurs. It does mean, however, that there is a tendency for certain traits to remain in an unchanged, or
relatively unchanged, form, even when training and social pressure have been operative. As Allport has stressed,
the "important fact about personality is its relatively enduring and unique organization'.
For example, children who, as infants, showed irritability will show the same trait as they grow
older, even though their irritability may be somewhat modified and toned down as a result of environmental
pressures. Children who have been waited on by parents and other family members often develop a weak
achievement-striving drive. As a result, they develop the habit of working below their capacities and become
underachievers in whatever they do. Unless environmental conditions or personal pride provide them with the
necessary motivation to make the most of their innate potentials, their tendency to underachieve will become
persistent.
The reason for persistence in the personality pattern is that the core of the pattern—the self-
concept— remains fundamentally the same. This preserves the balance of traits within the pattern. Once the core
of the pattern is fixed, it does not change unless radical steps are taken to produce such a change.
In young children, the core of personality is not well established. It can therefore be changed
without disturbing the total personality balance. But the personality becomes less flexible as the person grows
older, because of the larger and more fixed core of habits and attitudes, and any change will require a great deal
of effort and pressure. Also, care will have to be taken to avoid disturbing the personality balance.

1.12 CONDITIONS CONTRIBUTING TO PERSONALITY PERSISTENCE

A trait that is related, either directly or indirectly, to the child's hereditary endowment will be more
stable than a trait that has little relationship to heredity.
Child Training
The method of child training and the attitudes of the person who uses it remain relatively stable; this reinforces
the developing self-concept and the child's characteristic pattern of adjustment.
Parental Values
Personality traits that parents value highly are reinforced by parental rewards, while traits that are not valued
are extinguished by punishment or lack of reward.
Role Playing
The role children learn to play in the home influences their self-concepts. Because this role playing tends to be
persistent during the childhood years, the effect on the self-concept will be persistent.

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Social Environment
Since children see themselves as others see them, this reinforces the developing self-concept and the charac-
teristic method of adjustment. Later changes in the social environment may not be adequate to change the
personality pattern.
Selection in the Social Environment
The child's personality or some dominant trait in it determines the selection of the social environment. Through
constant association with people in that environment, the child's self-concept and characteristic patterns of
adjustment will be reinforced.
The Significance of Persistence
Difficult as it is to determine how persistent the personality pattern is and when, how, or how much it
can be changed, an understanding of persistence is needed for several practical reasons. The four most
significant are described below.
First, if the personality pattern is persistent, good foundations which can guarantee reasonably good
adjustment throughout life must be laid early. This can best be achieved by guidance to ensure that a favorable
self-concept will be developed and that socially acceptable methods of adjusting to people and situations will be
learned and reinforced through repeated experiences.
Second, symptoms of maladjustment can be recognized and the maladjustments corrected as soon as
they appear. Since there is little evidence that changes occur of their own accord or that they will be changes for
the better, the sooner they are made, the easier they are and the more likely they are to persist.
Third, the personality pattern influences the kind of adjustment the child makes rather than vice versa.
There is substantial evidence that the children who make good adjustments have well-integrated personality
patterns in which the core is a stable, realistic self-concept, while those who make poor adjustments have poorly
integrated personalities with unstable and unrealistic self-concepts.
Fourth, since the personality pattern becomes increasingly stable with the passage of time, it is pos-
sible to predict early in childhood what sort of person the child will be in adolescence

1.13 CONDITIONS CONTRIBUTING TO PERSONALITY CHANGE

Physical Changes
Physical changes, resulting from maturation, structural disturbances in the brain, organic disorders, endocrine
disorders, injuries, malnutrition, drugs, or illness, are often accompanied by personality changes. The effects are
mainly on the child's self-concept.
Environmental Changes
When changes in the environment improve the child's status in the peer group, it has a favorable effect on the
self-concept. The effect comes not from environmental changes per se but from the effect the change has on the
child.
Social Pressures
The stronger the drive for social acceptance, the more the child will try to develop personality traits that
conform to socially approved patterns.
Increase in Competence
Increase in competence, either in motor or mental skills, has a favorable effect on the self-concept because of
the social recognition this increase in competence brings. It helps the child to change from feelings of

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inadequacy to feelings of adequacy and even of superiority.
Role Changes
Change from a subordinate to an egalitarian or leadership role in the home, school, or neighborhood will im-
prove the child's self-concept. A change in the reverse order will damage it.
Professional Help
Psychotherapy helps children to develop more favorable self-concepts by helping them to gain insight into the
causes of their unfavorable self-concepts and by helping them to change these unfavorable self-concepts to those
that are more favorable.
1.14 SOME OTHER IMPORTANT PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS

Some of the determinants of personality have their greatest effect on the core of the personality
pattern, the self-concept, and some of the traits related to the core. No determinant, however, affects just one
part of the personality pattern. For example, a physical defect affects not only the child's characteristic pattern of
adjustment to life but also the core of the personality pattern; it influences the child's concept of self as a person
in comparison with other members of the peer group.
How much influence different factors will have on personality development will depend to a large
extent upon children's ability to understand the significance of the factors in relation to themselves. If, for
example, their appearance is such that others admire it, appearance will be a favorable factor in personality
development. If, on the other hand, children are aware that others do not admire their looks, appearance will be a
liability to personality development.
The analysis of the determinants of personality in the following pages covers only those which most
commonly affect American children today. Figure 18-5 shows some of the determinants that influence the
child's self-concept and, through it, the child's characteristic pattern of adjustment.
Early Experiences
The importance of early experiences to personality development was first stressed by Freud,
who found that many of his adult patients had had unhappy childhood experiences. Following in Freud's
footsteps, Rank claimed that the "birth trauma," or the psychological shock that results when the infant is
separated from the mother, has a lasting effect on personality by making the individual feel insecure.
Studies of the effects of early experiences have shown that these experiences and the memories of
them, even though vague, are highly influential because they leave an indelible impression on the child's self-
concept. There is, however, no convincing evidence that the individual's personality reflects the kind of care
given during babyhood. That is, there is no definite evidence that breast feeding or late toilet training is better
than bottle feeding or early toilet training so far as the personality pattern is concerned. Nor is there any definite
evidence that the effects of these early experiences carry into the adult years.
On the other hand, there is ample evidence that the attitude and emotional reactions of parents,
the total cultural context of the environment in which the child grows up, and other factors in the child's total
experience are of great importance in determining the pattern of personality. Only when parents' attitudes make
the c J feel anxious and guilty in relation to training or eating will there be any real effect on the child's per-
sonality.
Cultural Influences
It has been said that you can take children away from their culture but you cannot take the culture

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away from children. In every culture, children are subjected to pressure to develop a personality pattern that will
conform to the standards set by the culture. The cultural group to which children's parents belong sets the
model for the approved personality pattern. Through child training in the home and school, children are
expected to adopt this pattern as a model for their own personalities. The way children are brought up, thus, is
responsible for the kind of personality patterns they develop. As they grow older, pressures from the peer group
and from the adult social group outside the home supplement family and school pressures. From all these,
children learn to behave in a way that is socially approved in their culture.
In a cultural group, for example, that puts strong pressures on children to conform to approved
stereotypes of sex appropriateness, how closely they conform to these cultural expectations will influence their
self-concepts and, in turn, their patterns of adjustment. As Inselberg and Burke have pointed out, as early as the
late preschool years, "appropriate sex-role identification in boys is associated with favorable personality
characteristics".
In many cultures in foreign countries, children are trained to be family-oriented. As a result, they
develop personality patterns characterized by loyalty, cooperation, self-sacrifice, and often unrealistic concepts
of themselves and their roles in life. In cultures that are more individual-oriented, as is true of American culture
today, children become more egocentric, more concerned about their independence and rights, and more anxious
to help themselves than others.
Physique
Physique, or body build, influences personality both directly and indirectly. Directly, it determines
what children can and cannot do. Indirectly, it determines how children feel about their bodies. This, in turn, is
influenced by how significant people in their lives feel about them.
Children who are markedly overweight, for example, are not affected by their obesity until they
become a' e of the fact that people regard overweight as ugly (60, 73, 96). When children become aware of the
respect and prestige associated with being tall, it affects the self-concepts of those who are taller than their age-
mates favorably. Every cultural group has its own standards of what is "right" or appropriate for boys and girls.
Extremes are regarded as "wrong." If a short, frail boy is in a group of children of his own size and build, size
will have no effect on his concept of self. Only when the variation from the norm of his own group is great
enough to be noticed by others will it affect him.
At an early age, children become aware of any marked deviation from the group norm because of
the effect it has on their social relationships. Nicknames that imply physical differences, such as "Fatty,"
"Skinny," or "Skyscraper," show how other children feel about these differences. Because being different means
children feel inferior, it affects their personalities.
Children who are markedly different from their age-mates in physique
often develop some compensatory behavior, such as clowning and showing off. This
leads to unfavorable social reactions that reinforce the unfavorable social reactions to
their physiques.
Even when the deviation from the group norm is only temporary fat
children may lose weight or tall children may find that age-mates catch up to them when
they begin their puberty growth spurts the unfavorable effects on their personalities may
persist long after these deviations have disappeared. As a result, the poor personal and

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social adjustments caused by an unfavorable self-concept will persist because the
unfavorable self-concept, once developed, has become persistent.
Physical Condition
There are two aspects of children's physical conditions that affect their
personalities—general health and physical defects. Not only does good health enable
children to engage in the normal activities of their age groups but it also has a favorable
effect on their personalities. The attitude of the family and of the social group is much
more favorable toward healthy children than toward those who are sickly. This is certain
to influence their self-concepts favorably. Furthermore, children who are delicate and
sickly come to expect the consideration from other people that they have been
accustomed to at home and they react unfavorably when they do not receive it. In
addition, because they cannot engage in the activities of their healthier age-mates, they
develop feelings of inferiority and martyrdom.
How physical defects affect personality depends on two conditions: the
activities children can engage in, and the attitudes of others toward them because of
their defects. The more different the defects make children from their age-mates, the
greater will be their beliefs of their inferiority, inadequacy, and martyrdom.
Normally, as children grow older, they have a more sympathetic attitude
toward those with physical defects than they had when they were younger. This more
favorable attitude is reflected in a more favorable attitude toward those with defects.
However, if the defect is serious enough to necessitate the removal of children from the
regular school classroom and putting them in special classes for the handicapped, the
more favorable treatment of their peers may be counteracted by feelings of inferiority on
the part of the handicapped children.

Attractiveness
At all ages, social attitudes are more favorable toward people who are
judged "attractive" than toward those who are judged unattractive or actually ugly.
These judgments may be based on physical features, body build, clothing that is stylish
and becoming, or becoming hair styles. Furthermore, it is assumed that those who are
attractive have more desirable personality characteristics than those who are
unattractive. This reinforces favorable social attitudes toward them.
Favorable social attitudes toward attractive children are not limited to one
segment of the social group but they permeate all segments. In the home, parents and
other relatives tend to react more favorably toward children who are attractive than
toward those who are less attractive and are more lenient toward them when they
misbehave. The same is true of teachers It has been reported that teachers not only give
better grades to attractive children than they actually deserve but they are, like parents,

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more lenient in their attitudes toward them when they misbehave.
Among peers, attractive children are more popular than unattractive, and
they are more often selected for leadership roles.
At an early age, attractive children sense these favorable social attitudes
toward them and this influences their self-concepts favorably. As a result, they are more
self-confident, more relaxed, and more friendly and gracious than are children who are
less attractive. However, just because attractiveness of appearance leads to favorable
personality characteristics, it does not mean that the more attractive children are the
more favorable their personalities will be. Too attractive children may and often are the
targets of envy and jealousy among their peers. This is true both in the home and
outside the home. When this happens, they are treated with discrimination and
sometimes even rejection by their peers. This unfavorable social treatment is increased if
attractive children become conceited and show it by their attitudes toward, and treat-
ment of, their peers. Because peer acceptance means so much to children, those who
are rejected or neglected, regardless of the cause, develop unfavorable self-concepts
that are reflected in unfavorable patterns of behavior.

1.15 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AFFECTING PERSONALITY

Fatigue
Fatigue causes the child to be irritable and quarrelsome, thus affecting reactions to
people and theirs to the child.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition results in a low energy level which is shown in shyness, irritability,
depression, and unsocial behavior.

Irritating Physical Condition

A physical irritation, such as hives or eczema, leads to emotional overreactions.
Chronic Disease
Such chronic diseases as allergies and diabetes cause emotional instability, strong
negative emotions, and emotional dependence on family members.

Endocrine Glands
Of all the glands in the endocrine system, the thyroids have the greatest effect on
personality. A hyperthyroid condition makes the child nervous, excited, jumpy, restless,
and overactive. A hypothyroid condition makes a child lethargic 1Nunresponsive,
depressed, dissatisfied, and distrustful.

1.16 EFFECTS OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE ON PERSONALITY

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SUCCESS

 Makes children proud and self-satisfied

 If too easy and too frequent, makes children conceited and arrogant

 Makes children satisfied with their achievements

 Increases children's motivation and efforts for future successes

 If too easy and too frequent, decreases motivation and effort

 Makes children willing to help others

 Encourages children to seek new challenges

 Encourages children to be boastful

 Encourages children to be independent of help

 Helps to build up self-confidence

 If too easy and too frequent, leads to overconfidence and inability to face stiff
competition later

 Makes children cheerful and happy

FAILURE

 Encourages children to lower their aspirations to realistic levels

 Makes children unsure of their abilities

 Contributes to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority

 If frequent or severe, leads to a "failure complex"

 Makes impulsive children more cautious

 Makes children embarrassed and self-conscious

 Encourages children to seek advice and help

 Encourages children to shun future threat situations

 Weakens children's motivation and willingness to expend effort

 Encourages children to rationalize the cause of their failures

 Encourages children to project the cause of failure on others.

 Is often expressed in angry outbursts and destruction of property.

 Makes children gloomy, depressed, and unhappy

1.17 SCHOOL INFLUENCES ON PERSONALITY

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Emotional climate of the Classroom
A healthy emotional climate makes the child relaxed cooperative, happy, and
motivated to study and to conform to rules. An unhealthy emotional climate makes the
child tense, nervous, irritable, quarrelsome, hypercritical, disinterested in studying, and
prone to troublesome behavior The emotional climate is due mainly to the attitude of
teachers toward their work and their pupils, the kind of discipline used, and the efforts
of teachers to make schoolwork interesting and stimulating
Teachers
Directly, teachers affect children's self-concepts by, their attitudes toward
academic work and school behavior and the interest in their pupils Indirectly, their
influence comes from helping children to develop socially approved patterns of
adjustment.
Discipline
The discipline used in the school affects the child's attitudes and behavior.
Authoritarian discipline makes the child tense, nervous, resentful, and antagonistic:
permissive discipline leads to lack of responsibility, lack of respect for authority, and
egocentrism; democratic discipline gives children a feeling of self-worth and encourages
them to be happy, relaxed, cooperative, trustworthy, and fair
Transmission of Cultural Values
The school is more important than the home in seeing to it that the child
accepts the cultural values as a price for social acceptance.

Favoritism and Partiality

The teacher's favorite becomes conceited, arrogant, and self-centered. Non
favorites become resentful, antagonistic, troublesome, hypercritical of school, and
plagued by feelings of martyrdom.
Academic Achievement
Grade placement whether in a "slow" or "fast" section promotion, and
marks are the criteria by which children assess their academic achievement. Success is
ego-inflating; failure is ego-deflating.
Social Achievement
The child measures social achievement in terms of social acceptance and
the holding of leadership roles. The more value the school places on extracurricular
achievements, the more influence these criteria of achievement have on the child's self-
concept.

1.18 FAMILY INFLUENCES ON PERSONALITY

Of all personality determinants, the family is the most important. There are a

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number of reasons why: The family is the first social group with which the child is
identified; the child spends more time with the family group than with any other social
group; family members are the most significant people in the child's life during the years
when the foundations of personality are being laid; and the areas of family influence are
broader than those of any other personality determinant, even the school. How great an
influence the family has on the personality development of the child has been expressed
in the following way by an anonymous writer:
 If he lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
 If he lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilty.
 If he lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
 If he lives with shame, he learns to be ashamed of himself.
 If he lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.
 If he lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.
 If he lives with acceptance, he learns to love.
 If he lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
 If he lives with recognition, he learns to have a goal
 If he lives with fairness, he learns to value justice.
 If he lives with honesty, he learns to value truth.
 If he lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and others.
The influence of the family on the developing personality depends to
some extent upon the kind of child. A child who is nervous and tense, for example, will
be more upset by the attention given to a new baby in the family than a child of a more
phlegmatic disposition. Similarly, a healthy child will react very differently to parental
over-protectiveness and pampering than will a delicate, sickly child.

1.19 CHARACTERISTICS OF WELL ADJUSTED PERSONALITIES

 Able and willing to assume responsibilities appropriate to their age

 Participate with pleasure in experiences belonging to each successive age level
 Willingly accept the responsibilities pertaining to their roles in life
 Attack problems that require solution
 Enjoy attacking and eliminating obstacles to happiness
 Make decisions with a minimum of worry, conflict, and advice-seeking
 Abide by a choice they make until convinced it is a wrong choice
 Get major satisfactions from real rather than imaginary accomplishments
 Can use thinking as a blueprint for action, not as a device for delaying or
escaping action
 Learn from defeats instead of finding excuses for them
 Do not magnify successes or apply them to unrelated areas

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  Know how to work when working and to play when playing
 Can say "No" to situations harmful to their best interests Can say "Yes" to
situations that will ultimately aid them
 Can show anger directly when injured or when rights are violated
 Can show affection directly and appropriate in kind and amount
 Can endure pain and emotional frustration when necessary
 Can compromise when they encounter difficulties
 Can concentrate their energies on a goal that is important to them Accept the fact
that life is an endless struggle.

1.20 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 The meanings of the terms "personality" and "personality pattern" put emphasis
on the important role played by learning in the development .of the hereditary
potentials that form the foundations for personality.

 Individuality, which is apparent at birth, is caused by hereditary differences and

by differences in learning experiences.

 The important conditions contributing to personality persistence include heredity,

child training, parental values, role playing, the social environment, and selection
of people in the environment.

 Changes in the personality pattern, which are more often quantitative than
qualitative, are due to a number of causes, the most important of which are
physical and environmental changes, social pressures, increase in competence,
role changes, and professional help.

 There are many personal and environmental conditions that are responsible for
the development of the self-concept and the different traits in the personality
pattern. How great an influence they will have on the developing personality
pattern will depend on children's ability to understand the significance of these
conditions in relation to themselves.

 The most important personality determinants include early experiences, cultural

influences, physique, physical condition, physical attractiveness, intelligence,
emotions, names, success and failure, social acceptance, status symbols, and
school and family influences.
 The level of adjustment children achieve is greatly influenced by the social
acceptance they receive from people—adults and peers—who play significant

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 roles in their lives.

 Because of the high social value placed on personality, anything that interferes
with the development of a favorable self-concept is hazardous to the child's
personal and social adjustments because of the effects of an unfavorable self-
concept on the quality of the child's behavior.

 Lack of social recognition of individuality is especially serious in late childhood

because, at this age, children normally want to establish their identity as
individuals.

 There are two major kinds of personality maladjustment. The first involves
behavior that is satisfactory to the child but unacceptable to the group and the
second involves behavior acceptable to the group but not satisfactory to the
child's needs. The second form is more readily spotted than the first and, as a
result, is believed to be more common.

1.21 EXERCIZE QUESTIONS

SHORT QUESTIONS –

 Define Personality.
 Give the characteristics of a well adjusted personality.
 Discuss the influence of culture on personality.
 Discuss the influence of family on personality.
 Discuss the influence of school on personality development.
 Compare Personality and Character.
 Discuss the concept of Persistence in Personality.
 Discuss the concept of Individuality.
 What is Self Concept.
 What is the effect of success on children.
 What are traits and how do they develop.
 Discuss the effects of physical conditions on personality.

LONG QUESTIONS –

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  Define Personality. Discuss in details the concept of Personality and compare
it to Character.
 Discuss the various influences that determine Personality Development.
 Discuss the role of Family, Culture and School Environment in the
development of Personality.

1.22 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Hall CS & Lindzey G (1986). Introduction to the Theories of Personality. New

York, Wiley.
 Laynon RI & Goodstein LD (1982). Personality Assessment (2 nd Edition). New
York, Wiley : Interscience.
 Pervin LA (1985). Personality : current controversies and newer issues.
Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 83-114.
 Alport GW (1937). Personality : a psychological interpretation. New York,
Holt.
 Kagan J (1984). The Nature of the Child. New York, Basic Books.
 Numerous articles from the Annual Review of Psychology.
 Numerous articles from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
 Numerous articles from the American Psychologist.

UNIT 2 - THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT

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 ‘Childhood shows the man as morning shows the day’
(Milton)
Contents
2.1 Unit Objectives.
2.2 Introduction to Development.
2.3 Development Involves Changes.
2.4 Goals of Developmental Changes.
2.5 Types of Developmental Changes.
2.6 Attitudes to Developmental Changes.
2.7 Early Development is Critical.
2.8 Why Early Foundations are Important.
2.9 Maturation.
2.10 Learning.
2.11 Other factors affecting Maturation.
2.12 Some Predictable Patterns of Development.
2.13 Development is Continuous.
2.14 Different areas develop at different rates.
2.15 Individual Differences in Development.
2.16 Normal versus Problem Behavior
2.17 Developmental Tasks.
2.18 Purpose of Developmental Tasks.
2.19 Mastery over Developmental Tasks.
2.20 Stages of Early Human Development.
2.21 Chapter Summary.
2.22 Exercise Questions.
2.23 Reference Books.

2.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this unit are –
1. To understand the meaning and nature of development.
2. To understand certain basic rules of development.
3. To discuss the various forms of growth and development.
4. To explain the concept of maturation.
5. To explain the various factors affecting maturation.
6. To discuss the significance of developmental tasks and mastery over them.

2.2 INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT

Developmental psychologists realize that an accurate picture of the

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developmental pattern is fundamental to an understanding of children. They also
recognize that knowledge of what causes variations in development is essential to
an understanding of each individual child.
Knowing what the developmental pattern is like has scientific as well as
practical value. These values are: First, knowledge of the pattern of human
development helps developmental psychologists to know what to expect of children,
at approximately what ages to expect different patterns of behavior to appear, and
when these patterns will normally be replaced by more mature patterns. This is
important because if too much is expected at a given age, children are likely to
develop feelings of inadequacy if they do not live up to the standards their pa rents
and teachers set for them. If, on the other hand, too little is expected of them, they
are deprived of incentives to develop their potentials. Equally serious, they often
build up resentments toward those who underestimate their capacities.
Second, knowing what to expect enables developmental psychologists to
set up guidelines in the form of height-weight scales, age-weight scales, age-height
scales, mental-age scales, and social- or emotional-development scales Since the
pattern of development for all normal children is approximately the same, it is then
possible to evaluate each child in terms of the norm for that child's age. If
development is typical, it means that the child is making normal adjustments to
social expectations. Should, on the other hand, there be deviations from the normal
pattern, this may be regarded as a danger signal of poor personal, emotional, or
social adjustments. Steps can then be taken to discover the cause of the deviation
and to remedy it. Should the deviation be the result of lack of opportunities to
learn, for example, the child can then be given learning opportunities and
encouragement to use these opportunities.
Third, since successful development requires guidance, knowing the
developmental pattern enables parents and teachers to guide the child's learning at
appropriate times. A baby who is ready to learn to walk must be given opportunities
to practice walking and encouragement to keep on trying until the walking skill has
been mastered. Lack of opportunity and encouragement may delay normal
development.
Fourth, knowing what the normal developmental pattern is makes it
possible for parents and teachers to prepare children ahead of time for the changes
that will take place in their bodies their interests, or their behavior. For example,
children can be prepared for what will be expected of them when they enter school.
While this psychological preparation will not eliminate all tensions that come from
such a radical adjustment, it will go a long way toward minimizing them.

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2.3 DEVELOPMENT INVOLVES CHANGE
Many people use the terms "growth" and "development"
interchangeably. In reality they are different, though they are inseparable; neith er
takes place alone. Growth refers to quantitative changes—increases in size
and structure. Not only does the child become larger physically, but the size and
structure of the internal organs and the brain increase. As a result of the growth of
the brain, the child has a greater capacity for learning, for remembering, and for
reasoning. The child grows mentally as well as physically. Development, by
contrast, refers to qualitative and quantitative changes. It may be defined as a
progressive series of orderly, coherent changes. "Progressive" signifies that the
changes are directional, that they lead forward rather than backward. "Orderly" and
"coherent" suggest that there is a definite relationship between the changes taking
place and those that preceded or will follow them. Neugarten has explained how
changes in development affect people as they grow older

“People change, whether for good or for bad, as a result of the

accumulation of experience. As events are registered in the organism, individuals
invariably abstract from the traces of those experiences and they create more
encompassing as well as more refined categories for the interpretation of new
events. The mental filing system not only grows larger, but it is reorganized over
time, with infinitely more cross references. . . . Adults are not only much more
complex than children, but they are more different one from the other, and
increasingly different as they move from youth to extreme old age.”

2.4 THE GOAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES

The goal of developmental changes is self-realization or the
achievement of genetic potentials. This Maslow has labeled "self-actualization"—the
striving to be the best person possible, both physically and mentally. It is the urge
to do what one is fitted to do. To be happy and well-adjusted, a person must be
given an opportunity to fulfill this urge.

However, whether the person will achieve this goal will depend on
what obstacles are encountered and how successful the person is in overcoming
these obstacles. Obstacles may be environmental, such as growing up in an
environment where children are deprived of educational and cultural opportunities;
or they may be from within the person, such as a fear of attempting to do what
they are capable of doing because of social criticism. Many potentially creative
children, for example, fail to achieve the creativity they are capable of because of
early social criticism of their creative endeavors.

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2.5 TYPES OF CHANGE
Changes in Size

These include physical changes in height, weight, circumference, and

internal organs, and mental changes in memory, reasoning, perception, and
creative imagination.
Changes in proportions
Children are not miniature adults in their physical proportions. Nor are
they mentally miniature adults.Their imaginative capacity is better developed than
their reasoning capacity, while the reverse is true of adults.
Disappearance of old features
When certain physical features, such as the thymus gland after
puberty and baby hair and teeth, lose their usefulness, they gradually atrophy, as
do some psychological and behavioral traits—babyish locomotion and speech and
fantastic extensions of the imagination.
Appearance of new features
Some new physical and mental features develop from maturation and
some develop from learning and experience. New physical features include second
teeth and primary and secondary sex characteristics; new mental features include
interest in sex, moral standards, and religious beliefs.
2.6 ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHANGE

Whether the individual child's attitudes toward "change are

generally favorable or unfavorable depends upon many factors. First, children's
awareness of the change. As babies become more autonomous, they begin to resent
being waited on. Pubescent children, aware of the awkwardness that normally
accompanies rapid growth, feel self-conscious and embarrassed instead of self-
confident as they were earlier when slow growth enabled them to have better
control over bodily movements.
Second, how the change affects their behavior. If the change
enables children to be more independent of adult help or if it gives them added
strength and speed so that they can take part in the play activities they associate
with older children, they will welcome the change.
Third, social attitudes toward the change affect children just as
they do adults. Most parents, for example, encourage their children to "grow up" as
soon as possible. When children live up to parental expectations, they are praised;
when they fall below these expectations, they are reproved for not "acting their
age."

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 Fourth, social attitudes are influenced, to some extent at least,
by how the change affects the child's appearance. As a cuddly baby becomes a
spindly pre-adolescent and as teeth fall out, giving the face a comical, if not homely
look, the child may be less appealing to adults. If so, they are likely to show it in
their treatment of the child.
Fifth, cultural attitudes affect the way people treat children as a
result of changes in their appearance and behavior. Attitudes are, for the most part,
more favorable toward babies and young children than toward older children. Just
as "everyone loves a baby," so many people dread the prepubescent stage when
children tend to become glum, moody, surly, and difficult to live or work with. Even
peers may regard the prepubescent as a "pest" and old friendships often break as a
result. Under such conditions, it is unlikely that children will have favorable
attitudes toward many of the changes that puberty brings.
2.7 EARLY DEVELOPMENT IS MORE CRITICAL
Long before scientific studies of children were made, it was an
accepted fact that the early years are critical in the child's development. This was
expressed in the old Chinese proverb, "As the twig is bent, so the tree's inclined."
In a more poetic way, Milton expressed the same fact when he wrote, "The
childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day."
The first important scientific clue of the significance of the early
years came from Freud's studies of personality maladjustment. Such
maladjustments, Freud found, could be traced to unfavorable childhood
experiences. More recent studies have substantiated Freud. From clinical studies of
children from birth to maturity, Erikson has concluded that "childhood is the scene
of man's beginning as man, the place where our particular virtues and vices slowly
but clearly develop and make themselves felt." He has further explained that
babyhood is a, time of "basic trust"—the individual learns to view the world as safe,
reliable, and nurturing; or a time of "basic distrust"—the individual learns to view
the world as full of threat, unpredictability, and treachery.
What the child will learn, Erikson explained, will depend on how
parents gratify the child's needs for food, attention, and love. Once learned, these
attitudes will color the individual's perceptions of people and situations throughout
life.
The histories of maladjusted children from preschool years into
high school or college have revealed that most of them were so poorly adjusted as
young children that they never belonged to any group or had many friends. In
addition, many suffered from speech, academic, and enuretic difficulties and were
regarded by their families as "problem" children. From studies of the life histories of

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delinquents. Glueck concluded that potential delinquents could be identified as early
as two or three years of age by their antisocial behavior.

2.8 WHY EARLY FOUNDATIONS ARE IMPORTANT

As evidence piles up to show that early foundations tend to be

persistent and to influence the child's attitudes and behavior throughout life, it
becomes increasingly apparent why early foundations are important. There are four
lines of evidence to substantiate this claim.

First, since learning and experience play increasingly dominant roles in

development as children grow older, they can be directed into channels that will
lead to good adjustment. Basically, this task must be handled by the family, though
the larger social group can provide a culture in which children can fulfill their po -
tentials.
Allowing children to grow up, doing what they want when they want, is
obviously unfair to them. Children are too inexperienced to know what the social
group expects of them. How, for example, can children know that mispronunciations
and grammatical mistakes will create the impression that they are ignorant? How
can they know that aggressive attacks on playmates will create more enemies than
friends?
Guidance is most needed in the early stages of learning when the
foundations are being laid. If children are put on the right track at first and
encouraged to remain there until they become accustomed to it or realize why it is
best, they will be less likely to get on the wrong track later.
Second, because early foundations quickly develop into habitual
patterns, they will have a lifelong influence on children's personal and social
adjustments. Many years ago James warned of this habituation when he said,
"Could the young but realize how quickly they will become mere walking bundles of
habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while still in the plastic stage".
Third, contrary to popular belief, children do not outgrow
undesirable traits as they grow older. Instead, as was stressed earlier, patterns of
attitudes and behavior, established early in life, tend to persist regardless of
whether they are good or bad, beneficial or harmful to the child's adjustments.

Fourth, because it is sometimes desirable to make changes in what has been

learned, the sooner the changes are made, the easier it is for children and,
consequently, the more cooperative they are in making the changes.
In spite of the fact that early foundations are difficult to change,

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they can be, and often are, changed. There are three conditions that facilitate such
change. First, when children receive guidance and help in making the changes,
second, when the significant people in their lives treat them in a different way, and
third, when the children themselves have a strong motivation to make the changes.

2.9 MEANING OF "MATURATION"

Intrinsic maturing—maturation—is the unfolding of characteristics
potentially present in the individual that come from the individual's genetic endow-
ment. In phylogenetic functions—functions common to the race—such as creeping,
crawling, sitting, and walking, development comes from maturation. Training, per
se, is of little advantage. Controlling the environment in such a way as to reduce
opportunities to practice may, on the other hand, retard development.

By contrast, in ontogenetic functions—functions specific to the

individual—such as swimming, ball throwing, riding bicycles or writing, training is
essential. Without such training, development will not take place. No hereditary
tendency can mature fully, however, without environmental support.

2.10 MEANING OF LEARNING

Learning is development that comes from exercise and effort.
Through learning, children acquire competence in using their hereditary resources.
They must, however, have opportunities to learn. A child with superior
neuromuscular organization, for example, may have a high aptitude for musical
performance. But, if deprived of opportunities for practice and systematic training,
the child will not develop this hereditary potential.
Some learning comes from practice or the mere repetition of an
act. This, in time, brings about a change in the person's behavior. Such learning
may consist of imitation, in which the person consciously copies what others do. Or
it may consist of identification, in which the person attempts to adopt the attitudes,
values, motives, and behavior of admired and loved persons.
Learning may come from training—selected, directed, and
purposive activity. In training, children are directed in their behavior by adults or
older children who attempt to mold their behavior into patterns that will contribute
to their welfare and be acceptable to the social group.
The different environmental influences children experience affect
the pattern of their development. Were human development due to maturation
alone, as in some animal species, individuality would be reduced to a minimum.
2.11 CERTAIN OTHER FEATURES OF MATURATION

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MATURATION SETS LIMITS TO DEVELOPMENT
Because of limitations in the hereditary endowment of the child,
development cannot go beyond a certain point even when learning is encouraged.
MATURATIONAL LIMITS ARE RARELY REACHED
When children reach a temporary plateau in their development, they
often conclude that they have reached their limits. As a result, they put forth little
effort to learn and remain on the plateau instead of advancing to higher levels.
DEPRIVATION OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES LIMITS DEVELOPMENT
When the environment limits opportunities for learning, children
will be unable to reach their hereditary potentials
STIMULATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR FULL DEVELOPMENT
For full development of hereditary potentials, children's innate
capacities must be stimulated or encouraged to develop, especially at the time they
normally develop.
EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING DEPENDS ON PROPER TIMING
Regardless of how much effort children put into learning, they cannot
learn until they are developmentally ready to learn.
2.12 SOME PREDICTABLE PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT
From the many evidences of an orderly, predictable pattern in
physical development, in both prenatal and postnatal life, have come two laws of
the directional sequence of development: the cephalocaudal law and
theproximodistal law. According to the cephalocaudal law, development spreads
over the body from head to foot. This means that improvements in structure and
function come first in the head region, then in the trunk, and last in the leg region.
According to the proximodistal law, development proceeds from near to far—
outward from the central axis of the body toward the extremities. In the fetus, the
head and trunk are fairly well developed before the rudimentary limb buds appear.
Gradually, the arm buds lengthen and then develop into the hands and fingers.
Functionally, babies can use their arms before their hands and can use their hands
as a unit before they can control the movements of the fingers.
Longitudinal studies of intelligence have revealed that the pattern of
mental development is as predictable as the pattern of physical development. The
results of several longitudinal studies covering different segments of the life-span
from birth to 50 years show that the major part of mental growth comes when the
body is developing most rapidly, during the first 16 to 18 years. There is also a
predictable pattern for development of the different intellectual functions, such as
memory and reasoning, that constitute general intelligence.
2.13 DEVELOPMENT IS CONTINUOUS
Development is continuous from the moment of conception to death but

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it occurs at different rates— sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly. As
Piechowski has emphasized, "Development does not occur at an even pace. There
are periods of great intensity and disequilibrium . . . and there are periods of
equilibrium. Development achieves a plateau and this may occur at any level or
between levels".
Furthermore, developmental changes do not always go forward in a
straight line. They sometimes go backward, as when a jealous child regresses to
babyish ways of doing things in the hopes of winning the parental attention enjoyed
earlier. However, in the end, these changes lead forward.
Since development is continuous, what happens at one stage
influences the following stage. Unhealthy attitudes about self or about relationships
with others during the early years, for example, are rarely elimi-lated completely.
They are reflected in the individual's outlook on life even in middle and old age.
"Basic trust" or "basic distrust," developed during the babyhood years, Erikson
found, persist throughout life and color the persons reactions to people and to life
situations.
2.14 DIFFERENT AREAS DEVELOP AT DIFFERENT RATES
While the development of different physical and mental traits is
continuous, it is never uniform for the entire organism. If the body is to attain its
adult proportions, inequalities in rate must occur. The feet, hands, and nose, for
example, reach maximum development early in adolescence, while the lower parts
of the face and the shoulders develop more slowly.
Measurements of intellectual capacities reveal that they, like physical
traits, develop at different rates and reach maturity at different ages. Creative
imagination, for example, develops rapidly in childhood and reaches its peak early
in adolescence. Reasoning, on the other hand, develops more slowly. Rote memory
and memory for concrete objects and facts develop more quickly than memory for
abstract, theoretical material.
Variations in the rate of development of different physical and mental
traits, especially when pronounced, lead to many adjustment problems. The
"superior-immature" child, whose intellectual development outpaces physical,
social, or emotional development, will be out of step with both contemporaries and
older children. Similarly, the fact that some parts of the body reach their mature
size earlier than others accounts in part at least for the awkwardness and self-
consciousness of the young adolescent.

2.15 THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN DEVELOPMENT

Although the pattern of development is similar for all children, all

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children follow the predictable pattern in their own way and at their own rate. Some
children develop in a smooth, gradual, step-by-step fashion, while others move in
spurts. Some show slight swings, while others show wide ones. All children do not,
therefore, reach the same point of development at the same age.
Causes of Differences
Dobzhansky has said, "Every person is indeed biologically and
genetically different from every other". In addition, no two people have identical
environmental influences, even identical twins. This means that individual
differences are caused by both internal and external conditions. As a result, the
pattern of development will be different for every child, even though it is similar in
its major aspects to the pattern followed by other children.
Physical development, for example, depends partly on hereditary
potentials and partly on such environmental factors as food, general health,
sunlight, fresh air, climate, emotions, and physical exertion.
Intellectual development is affected by such factors as inherent
capacity, the emotional climate, whether one is encouraged to pursue intellectual
activities, whether one has a strong intellectual drive, and whether one has
opportunities for experiences and learning. Personality development is influenced by
genetic factors as well as by attitudes and social relationships, both in the home
and outside.
There is evidence that physical and mental differences exist between
the sexes and in children of different racial backgrounds. These differences are due
in part to hereditary factors and, in part, to environmental factors. Of the two,
there is evidence that the environmental factors play a more dominant role in
producing the ^differences that do the hereditary factors.
2.16 NORMAL VERSUS "PROBLEM" BEHAVIOR
During every period of development, some normal patterns of behavior
are regarded as "problem" behavior by parents, teachers, and other adults because
they do not conform to adult standards. Young children, for example, who take
things belonging to others or who tell "tall tales" have not yet reached a point in
their mental development that enables them to understand the difference between
"mine and thine" or between reality and the product of imagination.
These patterns of so-called "problem" behavior arise because of the
adjustments the child must make to new demands and new environmental
conditions. The more demands and the greater the changes in the environment , the
more adjustment problems the child will encounter. During phases of
disequilibrium, a constellation of environmental pressures and biological changes
affects the child's behavior. At puberty, for example, social expectations to "act like

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an adult" coincide with the adjustments the child must make to the physical and
physiological changes puberty gives rise to.
Parents and teachers often regard normal behavior that interferes with
the efficient running of the home or school as problem behavior. When they do this,
they are likely to develop in the child unfavorable attitudes toward them and toward
the situation in which the behavior occurs. The result is that many children then
develop real problem behavior, such as lying, sneakiness, or destructiveness, as a
way of getting their revenge. Most forms of real problem behavior are normal for a
younger age.
Children may cling to immature behavior because they have not yet
learned to meet their needs in a more mature manner or because they derive less
satisfaction from mature behavior. Children who revert to infantile behavior when
they are jealous derive satisfaction from the attention their helplessness brings. If
they persist in this pattern, it is symptomatic of some disturbance in their social
relationships and may be regarded as true problem behavior. Stealing, for example,
will be tolerated in preschool children, but in an older child or adolescent it will be
regarded as "delinquent" behavior.
The fact that certain forms of behavior are normal for certain ages
does not make them acceptable. Nor does it mean that they should be tolerated
without any effort to change them. If, for example, children have enough motor
coordination to grab another child's toys, they have enough motor coordination to
offer the other child one of their toys in exchange.
No form of problem behavior should be overlooked on the grounds
that it is "typical" and that children will "outgrow" it. They may, but the chances are
just as great that they will not. Instead, behavior that is not typically found at the
child's age or maturity level is a danger signal of possible future trouble. As such,
attempts should be made to remedy it before it has developed into a habitual
method of adjustment.
In every cultural group, experience has shown that people learn
certain behavior patterns and certain skills more easily and more successfully at
some ages than at others. The group then comes to expect each individual to
perform according to this timetable of development.

2.17 DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS

People of all ages are well aware of these "social expectations."
Even young children know, from what people say to them and ask them to do, that
certain things are expected of them. They soon realize, from the approval or
disapproval of their behavior, that these social expectations largely determine the

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pattern of their learning.
Social expectations are known as "developmental tasks".
Havighurst has defined a developmental task as a "task which arises at or about a
certain period in the life of an individual, successful achievement of which leads to
his happiness and success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhap-piness in
the individual, disapproval by society, and difficulty with later tasks." Some
developmental tasks arise mainly as a result of physical maturation (learning to
walk); others are developed mainly from the cultural pressures of society (learning
to read or learning appropriate sex roles); still others grow out of the personal
values and aspirations of the individual (choosing and preparing for a vocation).
Most developmental tasks arise from all three of these forces working together.
In a culture that is relatively static, developmental tasks remain
much the same one generation after another. In a changing culture, however, the
new generation must perform new developmental tasks, while some of the old tasks
will become less important or be eliminated. In a culture that changes from hand
labor to machine labor, for example, learning hand skills becomes less important
than learning to operate machines.

2.18 PURPOSE OF DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS

Developmental tasks serve three very useful purposes. First,
they act as guidelines to help parents and teachers to know what children should
learn at a given age. If, for example, children are to make good adju stments to
school, they must have mastered the tasks needed to be independent of teacher
help, such as putting on or taking off outer garments, and they must know how to
play the games other children in the neighborhood play.
Second, developmental tasks serve as motivating forces for
children to learn what the social group expects them to learn at that age. Children
quickly learn that social acceptance depends on their being able to do what their
age-mates do. The stronger their desire for social acceptance, the greater will be
their motivation to learn to do what their age-mates do.
Third, developmental tasks tell parents and teachers what
will be expected of children in the immediate and remote future. As such, they alert
them to the necessity of preparing children to meet these new expectations. When
children begin to play with their age-mates, it alerts parents, for example, to the
importance of teaching them how to play the games and sports that are popular
among the older children of the neighborhood so that their children will be ready to
play them when playing with age-mates becomes an important play activity for
their children.

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2.19 FACTORS INFLUENCING MASTERY OF DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS
AIDS TO MASTERY
 Accelerated physical development
 Strength and energy above average for age
 Above average intelligence
 An environment that offers opportunities for learning
 Guidance from parents and teachers in learning
 A strong motivation to learn
 Creativity accompanied by a willingness to be different
OBSTACLES TO MASTERY
 Retardation in developmental level, whether physical or mental
 Poor health resulting in low energy and strength levels
 A handicapping physical defect
 Lack of opportunity to learn what the social group expects
 Lack of guidance in learning
 Lack of motivation to learn
 Fear of being different

2.20 STAGES OF EARLY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

PRENATAL PERIOD (CONCEPTION TO BIRTH)

Before birth, development is extremely rapid. It is mainly physiological
and consists of the growth of all the bodily structures.
INFANCY (BIRTH TO 10-14 DAYS)
This is the period of the newborn or the neonate (derived from the Greek
word "neos," "new," and the Latin verb, nascor, "to be born"). During this time, the
infant must adjust to a totally new environment outside the mother's body. Growth
is temporarily at a standstill.
BABYHOOD (2 WEEKS TO 2 YEARS)
At first, babies are completely helpless. Gradually, they learn to
control their muscles so that they can become increasingly self-reliant. This change
is accompanied by a growing resentment against being babied and a growing desire
to be independent.
CHILDHOOD (2 YEARS TO ADOLESCENCE)
This period is usually divided in two subdivisions:
Early childhood (2 to 6 years) is the preschool or "pregang" age. The child seeks to
gain control over the environment ana" starts to learn to make social adjustments.
Late childhood (6 to approximately 13 years in girls and 14 years in boys) is the

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period in which sexual maturity occurs and adolescence begins. The major
development is socialization. This is the elementary school age or the "gang age."

PUBERTY (11 TO 16 YEARS)

This is an overlapping period; approximately 2 years overlap the end of childhood,
and 2 years overlap the beginning of adolescence. Puberty extends from 11 to 15
years in girls and from 12 to 16 in boys. The child's body is now transformed into
an adult body.

2.21 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Knowledge of the developmental pattern is important for scientific reasons
because it helps developmental psychologists to know at approximately what
ages to expect different patterns of behavior and to use these to set up
guidelines. For practical reasons it is important because it emphasizes the
necessity for guidance and stimulation if the child's full potentials are to be
reached and it enables parents and teachers to prepare children ahead for
what will be expected of them at given ages.

 Research studies have provided evidence for 10 fundamental facts about

principles of development during the childhood years. As research continues,
more principles may emerge.

 The first principle of development is that development involves changes, the

goal of which is self-realization or the achievement of hereditary potentials.

 Children's attitudes toward change are influenced by their awareness of

these changes, how they affect children's behavior, social attitudes toward
these changes, how they affect children's appearance, and how the social
group reacts to children when these changes occur.

 The second principle of development is that early development is more

critical than later development. Because early foundations are greatly
influenced by learning and experience, if they are harmful to a child's
personal and social adjustments, they can be changed before they settle into
habitual patterns.

 The third principle of development emphasizes the fact that development

comes from the interaction of maturation and learning, with maturation

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 setting limits to the development.

 The fourth principle of development is that the pattern of development is

predictable, though this predictable pattern can be delayed or accelerated by
conditions within the prenatal and postnatal environments.

 The fifth principle of development is that the developmental pattern has

certain predictable characteristics, the most important of which are that
there is similarity in the developmental pattern for all children; development
proceeds from general to specific responses; development is continuous;
different areas develop at different rates; and there is correlation in
development.

 The sixth principle of development is that there are individual differences in

development due partly to hereditary influences and partly to environmental
conditions. This is true both for physical and psychological development.

 The practical significance of knowing that there are individual differences in

development is that it emphasizes the importance of training children ac-
cording to their individual needs and of not expecting the same behavior in
all children.

 The seventh principle of development is that there are periods in.the

developmental pattern which are labeled the prenatal period, infancy,
babyhood, early childhood, late childhood, and puberty. Within these periods
there are times of equilibrium and disequilibrium and behavior patterns that
are normal and those that are carry-overs from an earlier period— usually
called "problem" behavior.

 The eighth principle of development is that there are social expectations for
every developmental period. These social expectations are in the form of
developmental tasks which enable parents and teachers to know at what
ages children are capable of mastering the different patterns of behavior
necessary to make good adjustments.

 The ninth principle of development is that every area of development has

potential hazards—physical and psychological—which may alter the pattern of

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 development.

 The tenth principle of development is that happiness varies at different

periods in the developmental pattern. The first year of life is usually the
happiest and puberty is usually the most unhappy.

2.22 EXERCISE QUESTIONS

SHORT QUESTIONS –
 What is a developmental task.
 Explain the concept of maturation.
 Discuss the types of learning.
 What are predictable patterns of development?
 Enlist the various stages of early human development.
 Enlist the factors influencing mastery over developmental tasks.
 What are the goals of developmental changes.
 What is normal and problem behavior.

LONG QUESTION –
 Discuss the concept of development and maturation and various factors
affecting the same.

2.23 REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Bronfenbrenner U (1972). Influences on human development. New York: Holt,

Rinehart & Winston.
2. Looft WR (1972). Developmental psychology: A book of readings. Hinsdale :
Dryden Press.
3. Church J (1973). Understanding your child from birth to three: A guide to your
child's psychological development. New York : Random House.
4. Erikson EH (1964). Childhood and society. New York : Norton.
5. Havighurst RJ (1972). Developmental Tasks and Education. New York : McKay.
6. Eliot J (1971). Human development and cognitive processes. New York : Holt,
Rinehart & Winston.
7. Maslow AH (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.

UNIT 3 - THE PROCESS OF BIRTH

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 Contents

3.1 Unit Objectives.

3.2 Concept of Birth.
3.3 Subdivisions of Infancy.
3.4 Major Adjustments at Birth.
3.5 Adjustment Difficulties to Birth.
3.6 Medication of the Mother.
3.7 Prenatal Environment.
3.8 Types of Birth.
3.9 Length of the Gestation Period.
3.10 Post Natal Care.
3.11 Parental Attitudes to Birth.
3.12 Conditions associated with birth that affect Parental Attitudes.
3.13 Categories of Infant Activity.
3.14 Conditions contributing to Individuality in Newborns.
3.15 Common effects of Prematurity on later development.
3.16 Chapter Summary
3.17 Exercise Questions
3.18 Reference Books

3.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand the concept of birth and its types.
 To study the adjustments needed at birth.
 To study how birth and birth related problems affect personality development.

3.1 THE CONCEPT OF BIRTH

Birth is not the beginning of life. Instead, it is merely an interruption in the

developmental pattern that began at the time of conception. It is the time when the
individual must make a transition from the internal environment of the mother's uterus
to the world outside the mother's body. In so doing, the individual must adjust from
being a parasite, completely dependent on the mother for survival, to being
independent.
The time when the transition is being made the perinatal experience and
the necessary adjustments to it is known as "infancy" a term suggesting complete
helplessness. Although the time needed to bring about the change in locale from the
mother's body to the world outside is seldom more than 48 hours even in a difficult

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birth, the time needed to adjust to the change is relatively long. Most infants require at
least 2 weeks and those whose birth has been difficult or premature require
proportionally more time.

3.2. SUB-DIVISIONS OF INFANCY

PERIOD OF THE PARTUNATE

 This period covers the first 15 or 30 minutes after birth.

 With the cutting of the umbilical cord, the infant because a separate, distinct, and
independent individual.
PERIOD OF THE NEONATE

 This period covers the remainder of the infancy period

 According to medical criteria, it ends with the falling off of the umbilical cord,
about 2 weeks after birth.
 According to psychological criteria, it ends with the regaining of lost birth weight
and indications of a resumption of development.

 Adjustments essential to a life free from the protection of the intrauterine

environment are successfully made.

3.3 MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS NECESSITATED BY BIRTH

ADJUSTMENT TO TEMPERATURE CHANGES

In the sac in the mother's uterus, the temperature is constantly around
100°F. In the postnatal environment, it will be between 68 and 70°F. and will vary,
especially after the infant leaves the hospital nursery.
ADJUSTMENT TO BREATHING
Before birth, oxygen comes from the placenta through the umbilical cord.
When the cord is cut, after birth, the infant must inhale and exhale air. The birth cry
normally comes when breathing begins and thus serves to inflate the lungs. At first,
breathing is imperfect and irregular. The infant yawns, gasps, sneezes, and coughs in an
effort to regulate the amount of air needed. If the infant is unable to do so, oxygen must
be administered to help establish normal breathing.
ADJUSTMENT TO TAKING NOURISHMENT
Since the reflex activities of sucking and swallowing are often
imperfectly developed at birth, the infant is frequently unable to get the nourishment
needed and thus loses weight. This is in direct contrast to the situation in the prenatal
environment, where the fetus received constant nourishment through the umbilical cord.
ADJUSTMENT TO ELIMINATION

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 Within a few minutes or hours after birth, the excretory organs begin
to function, eliminating waste products from the body which formerly were eliminated
through the umbilical cord and the maternal placental.

3.4 ADJUSTMENT DIFFICULTIES TO BIRTH

The first indication of the adjustment difficulties all infants encounter is

loss of weight. After birth, infants normally lose weight for approximately a week. They
may lose only a few ounces or they may lose a pound or more. As they become adjusted
to the new environment outside the mother's body and to the changes that are essential
for survival, they begin to regain the lost weight.
By the end of the second week of life, most infants are back to their
normal birth weight or may even show a slight weight gain. As a general rule, heavy
infants lose more and lose for a longer time than light infants. Firstborn infants generally
lose less than those born later. Infants born in the summer and autumn regain their
birth weight sooner than those born in the winter and spring.
The second indication of the difficulty newborn infants encounter
in adjusting to postnatal life is a disorganized pattern of behavior. All infants experience
a state of relative disorganization after birth. Their behavior suggests that they have
been stunned by the experience. Ordinarily, pulse and respiration rates are irregular.
The infant urinates and defecates frequently, wheezes, and regurgitates food.
There are two major causes for this disorganized behavior. First, all
infants, even those born normally, suffer some disturbance of the cranial circulation. This
disturbance is the result of the severe pressure on the head during the birth process.
Deficient mechanisms for maintaining body homeostasis owing to the underdeveloped
autonomic nervous system at birth is the second cause. How inability to maintain body
homeostasis affects the infant's behavior will be explained in detail later, in the
discussion of the helplessness of the infant.
Some infants require much more time that others to recover from the
stunned state that leads to disorganization. On the average, they need about a week
approximately the time needed to start to regain the lost birth weight. Infants who lose
much weight and regain it slowly are likely to take longer to achieve organized behavior.
The third and most important evidence of the difficulty newborn
infants experience in their adjustment to postnatal life is the infant mortality rate. While
the percentages of stillbirth’s deaths at or immediately after birth—and deaths during
infancy have been declining, owing to improved prenatal, childbirth, and postnatal care,
the death toll is still high. Because infant mortality is one of the most serious hazards of
infancy, it will be discussed in detail in this chapter in connection with a discussion of the
hazards of infancy.

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3.5 MEDICATION OF THE MOTHER

The second condition associated with birth that affects the infant's
postnatal adjustment is the medication of the mother before and during childbirth. Stud-
ies of the effects of medication of the mother to relieve the pain of childbirth have
revealed that the more medication given the mother, the longer and more difficult the
infant's adjustment to postnatal life. The disorganization of behavior immediately after
birth, for example, lasted 3 to 4 days, as compared with 1 to 2 days for infants whose
mothers had very light medication or none at all. The effects on the infant, however,
varied according to the type, amount, and timing of the medication. An inhalant
anesthesia, for example, had a more transient effect than premedication, such as bar-
biturates.
Medication has also been reported to affect breast feeding, especially
during the first 5 days after birth. In addition, it has been found that infants whose
mothers had heavy medication lost more weight and took a longer time to regain it than
those whose mothers had less medication.

3.6 PRENATAL ENVIRONMENT

The third condition associated with birth that affects postnatal adjustment
is the type of prenatal environment the infant had. Any condition in the prenatal envi-
ronment that keeps the fetus from developing according to the normal timetable will
result in more difficulties at birth and in postnatal adjustment that are usually
experienced. That is why, for example, the mortality rate is higher among infants whose
mothers suffer from severe malnutrition or drug addiction. Intense and prolonged
emotional disturbances of the mother during the last months of pregnancy, as was
explained in the preceding chapter, are especially damaging. Many childbirth
complications have been traced to these sources.
The effects of unfavorable prenatal conditions usually persist after birth,
and they manifest themselves in various adjustment difficulties, such as feeding
problems, gastrointestinal dysfunction, sleep problems, hyperactivity, and general
irritability.

3.7 TYPES OF BIRTH

NATURAL OR SPONTANEOUS BIRTH

Spontaneous birth is usually referred to as "natural" childbirth because it
occurs without outside aid and with a minimum of or no medication of the mother. In
this type of birth, the position of the fetus in the mother's uterus and the size of the
fetus make it possible for the fetus to emerge headfirst. After the head, one shoulder
and then the other appear as the fetal body rotates slowly in the birth canal. Next the

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arms emerge, one at a time, and finally the legs.
INSTRUMENT BIRTH
If the fetus is too large to emerge from the mother's body
spontaneously or if its position in the uterus is such that it makes normal birth
impossible, surgical instruments must be used to aid in delivery.
BREECH BIRTH
The fetal buttocks appear first, followed by the legs, the arms, and
finally the head. If the position of the fetus cannot be changed before the birth process
begins, instruments must be used to aid the delivery.
TRANSVERSE-PRESENTATION BIRTH
The fetus lies crosswise in the mother's uterus. If this position cannot
be changed before the birth process begins, instruments must be used to aid delivery.
CAESAREAN-SECTION BIRTH
When the fetal body becomes too large to pass through the birth
canal without a prolonged and difficult labor, even when instruments are used, the fetus
is delivered surgically by making a slit in the maternal abdominal wall.

3.8 LENGTH OF THE GESTATION PERIOD

The fourth condition associated with birth that affects postnatal

development is the length of the gestation period. Even though the average length of the
gestation period is 38 weeks or 266 days, very few infants arrive exactly on schedule.
Meredith has reported that the gestation period varies from 36 to 40 weeks for 70
percent of all infants and from 34 to 42 weeks for 98 percent of all infants.
Those whose arrival is late are called "post-matures" and those whose
arrival is early are called "pre-matures" or for short, "premies.'' Infants are called post-
mature if born two or more weeks late and premature if they i 'e two or more weeks
ahead of schedule. However, as it is often impossible to tell just when conception
occurred, more accurate criteria are used.
As a rough indication of postmaturity, 21 or more inches in length and
8 or more pounds in weight are used as criteria. Postmature infants are seldom over 10
pounds in weight and 11 or more pounds are rare.
Because prematurity is far more common and more hazardous to later
development than postmaturity, more specific criteria are used. In addition to the length
of the gestation period, body size is added. Body size is calculated in terms of the
weight-length ratio. When infants weigh 51/2 pounds or less and are less than 19 inches
in length, they are called premature. Should the head circumference be less than 12.87
inches and the crown-rump length less than 12.48 inches, this is additional proof of
prematurity. Because body size is, to some extent, influenced by heredity with small

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women, on the average, having smaller babies than large women additional criteria are
being used, such as the nutritional status of the infant, ossification, and neurological
assessment.
Unless damaged before or during birth, the postmature infant adjusts
more quickly and more successfully to the postnatal environment than does the full-term
infant. By contrast, premature infants usually experience difficulty in adjusting to their
postnatal environment, even if they have not been damaged before or during birth. What
these difficulties are will be discussed in detail in the section dealing with hazards re-
sulting from birth.

3.9 POSTNATAL CARE

The fifth condition associated with birth that affects the infant's
postnatal adjustments is the type of care received in the early days following birth. After
9 months in the stable environment of the uterus, the fetus is suddenly thrust into an
environment which is not only different, but highly variable.
In days when babies were born at home, the mother or a mother
substitute was a constant source of aid in making these adjustments. With childbirth in
hospitals, a stable source of aid is less common. While it is true that newborn infants
usually remain in the hospital environment for only 4 to 6 days before going home, these
are the critical days in learning to adjust to the postnatal environment. Even though
most normal, healthy, full-term infants suffer no serious or lasting effects from the
impersonal and unstable care they receive in hospital nurseries, there is evidence that it
delays their adjustment to postnatal life.
Infants who receive individual attention and handling in addition to
the routine care of the hospital nursery are more alert, more active, and tend to be more
responsive to external stimuli than those who fail to receive this stimulation.
Furthermore, they regain their lost weight sooner and the dazed state which normally
follows birth disappears more rapidly.
Recognizing the importance of individual and stable attention to
postnatal adjustments, some hospitals are using the "rooming-in" plan—having a crib
beside the mother's bed so she can take care of the infant's needs. This has proved to be
especially important in handling the crying problem—a problem that baffles many
mothers of firstborns. When the mother understands the infant's cry and reacts to it
appropriately, the infant cries less and makes better adjustments to the postnatal
environment.

3.10 PARENTAL ATTITUDES

The sixth condition associated with birth that affects adjustment to postnatal
life is parental attitudes. When parental attitudes are favorable, the parent-child

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relationship is relaxed. This aids the infant's adjustments to the new conditions of the
postnatal environment.
A relaxed mother, for example, produces more milk than a tense one, thus
helping the infant adjust to the new method of taking nourishment which birth has ne-
cessitated. Unfavorable parental attitudes, by contrast, make for a highly emotionally-
toned parent-infant relationship. This slows down the infant's adjustments to eating and
sleeping and encourages excessive crying, which further interferes with the adjustments
the infant must make to the postnatal environment.
3.11 CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH BIRTH THAT AFFECT PARENTAL
ATTITUDES
The Mother’s Childbirth Experience
When birth gives the mother a minimum of discomfort, her attitude will be more
favorable than when labor is prolonged and difficult.
The Mother’s Physical Condition After Childbirth
Women who are physically exhausted after childbirth have far less favorable attitudes
toward their infants than those who recover quickly.
Preparation For Parenthood
The more preparation parents have for their parental roles, the more relaxed they will be
when they bring the infant home from the hospital and take over its care.
Parental Expectations
When the infant is of the desired sex and attractive looking, parental attitudes will be far
more favorable than when the infant is not of the desired sex and fails to conform to the
parents' "dream child" concept.
The Infant’s Postnatal Adjustments
The infant who adjusts quickly and satisfactorily to the postnatal environment
encourages more favorable parental attitudes than the one whose adjustments are slow
and unsatisfactory.
Parental Resentments against Work and Privations
If care of the infant in the home requires more work, more expense, more sleepless
nights, and more privations than parents had anticipated, it may lead to resentments
toward the infant.
Concern about Normality
If the doctor is concerned about the infant's difficulties in adjusting to postnatal life and
if the infant is kept in the hospital longer than the usual time, parents become anxious,
concerned, and unhappy. They wonder if the infant will ever be a physically and mentally
normal person.
Concern about Survival
Concern about survival, especially in difficult and premature births, is heightened when
the infant must be given special and intensive care in the hospital and is not released

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from the hospital for days or weeks after the usual release time. This leads to parental
concern about ability to care for the infant in the home.

3.12 CATEGORIES OF INFANT ACTIVITY

Mass Activity
When one part of the body is stimulated, the whole body responds, though most
profoundly in the area stimulated. Mass activity is greatest in the trunk and legs and
least in the head. It is highly uncoordinated and diffuse and results in a great
expenditure of energy. Normally, mass activity increases in frequency as the infant
adjusts to the postnatal environment.
Specific Activity
There are two types of specific activity: reflexes and general responses. The first reflexes
to make their appearance are those which have distinct survival value heart action,
breathing, sneezing, and the digestive reflexes. The others can be aroused within a few
hours or days after birth. General responses involve larger portions of the body than
reflexes, such as random arm and hand movements, prancing, stretching and kicking of
the legs, and head turning. Like mass activity, general responses increase in frequency
shortly after birth.
3.13 CONDITIONS CONTRIBUTING TO INDIVIDUALITY IN NEWBORNS

Age At Birth
How old infants are at birth depends on whether they are full-term, postmature, or
premature. Appearance and developmental level are affected, by age.
Inherited Characteristics
Except for identical multiple births, no two individuals inherit exactly the same physical
and mental characteristics and, as a result, they will not be alike.
Prenatal Conditions
Even in multiple births, the conditions of the prenatal environment differ depending on
which fetus gets a favored position in the uterine sac.
Type of Birth
Infants delivered by caesarean' section tend to be less active and to cry less than those
born spontaneously or delivered with the aid of instruments. There is little evidence that
the amount of activity or crying is influenced by the length of labor.
Medication of the Mother
Infants whose mothers had been heavily medicated to relieve childbirth pain show
greater disorganization of behavior at birth and for several days after birth than those
whose mothers received little or no medication.
Brain Damage

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Infants whose brains were damaged during the prenatal period or during birth have
different appearances, behavior, and developmental levels than those who suffered no
brain damage.
Post Natal Care
Infants who receive individualized care, either from rooming-in with their mothers or
from special nurses, are more alert, cry less, and show less disorganized behavior than
those who receive only routine hospital care.
Parental Attitudes and Expectations
Parents who feel insecure in their roles or expect the infant to be too delicate and
helpless to be handled, fail to stimulate the infant or are so nervous and anxious that
they make the infant nervous and tense.

3.14 COMMON EFFECTS OF PREMATURITY ON LATER DEVELOPMENT

Physical Development
Premature infants are slower to reach the growth spurt characteristic of the early months
of life, but by the end of the first year they have almost caught up to the norm for full-
term infants.
Health
In their first year, prematures have more illnesses, especially respiratory and
nasopharyngeal disturbances. As they grow older, they suffer slightly more from such
physical defects as malnutrition, dwarfism, and obesity. The most serious defect
associated with prematurity is eye damage resulting from anoxia.
Motor Control
Prematures sit, stand, and walk at a later age than full-term infants with the greatest
retardation in those who were smallest at birth. As young children, they are less graceful
in their movements.
Intelligence
More cases of serious mental deficiency are found among prematures than in the general
population. For the most part, mental defects are found among those who suffered from
cerebral hemorrhages at or immediately after birth.
Speech
Prematurely born children use baby talk longer and have more speech defects than full-
term children. Stuttering is the most common speech defect.
Sensory Behavior
Premature infants are highly sensitive to sounds and noises. As they grow older, they
are easily distracted by noises and are very sensitive to colors and moving objects.
Emotional Behavior
Some premature are "gentle babies," but most are shy, petulant, irascible, and

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negativistic. Nervous traits, such as finger-sucking and nail-biting, and behavior dis-
orders, such as temper outbursts and a tendency to cry frequently, are more common
among prematures.
Social Adjustment
In general, prematurely born children make better adjustments in the early years of life
than later. As infants, they tend to be shy, closely attached to their parents, and more
dependent than full-term infants of the same age. In the preschool and early elementary
school years, they show more forms of problem behavior, especially feeding difficulties.
Deviant Behavior
Hyperkinetic, disorganized behavior, nervous mannerisms, and accident-proneness are
especially common among premature who have suffered brain damage at birth.

3.15 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Infancy, which extends from birth to approximately the end of the second week of
life, is divided into two subperiods the period of the partunate and the period of
the neonate.
 Early medical interest in birth began with the Greek physicians in the fourth and
fifth centuries B.C., but psychological interest did not develop until the middle of
the present century.
 There are four major adjustments all newborn infants must make immediately
after birth adjustments to temperature changes, to breathing, to taking
nourishment, and to elimination.
 That adjustment to postnatal life is difficult has been substantiated by three lines
of evidence loss of weight, disorganization of behavior, and mortality.
 How much effect birth will have on postnatal development depends on type of
birth, medication of the mother before and during childbirth, conditions in the
prenatal environment, length of the gestation period, postnatal care, and parental
attitudes.
 Parental attitudes are very important because they influence the treatment
infants receive during the critical period of adjustment to postnatal life.
 Scientific interest in the influence of time of birth on development has produced
little evidence to substantiate the traditional beliefs about the "best" times to be
born.
 All newborn infants are top-heavy, and many are homely because of their facial
and bodily disproportions.
 Helplessness during infancy comes from inability to maintain homeostasis, to
control motor activity, to communicate in a meaningful way, to experience clearly
and distinctly the most important sensations, and to learn new patterns of

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 behavior.
 Individuality in appearance and behavior at birth comes partly from heredity and
partly from environmental experiences before, during, and after birth.
 Physical hazards during infancy have received more scientific attention than
psychological hazards though the latter tend to have a more persistent effect on
development than the former.
 While birth has always been recognized as a hazardous experience, certain types
of birth are more hazardous than others.
 The most serious physical hazards associated with birth are infant mortality, post
maturity, prematurity, and brain damage.
3.16 EXERCISE QUESTIONS
SMALL QUESTIONS –
 Discuss the various types of birth.
 Discuss the subdivisions of the infancy period.
 Discuss the conditions that affect parental attitudes at birth.
 Discuss the effects of prematurity on later personality development.
 Discuss individuality with respect to newborns.

3.17 REFERENCE BOOK

 Mussen PH (1983). Handbook of Child Psychology – Vols 1 to 4. New York, Wiley.

UNIT 4 - INFANCY

Contents

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4.1 Unit Objectives.
4.2 Introduction to Infancy
4.3 Sub-divisions of Infancy.
4.4 Characteristics of Infancy.
4.5 Adjustments made in Infancy.
4.6 Indications of the difficulties to adjustment to Post natal life.
4.7 Characteristics of the infant.
4.8 Categories of infant activity.
4.9 Sensory capacities of the infant.
4.10 Hazards of infancy.
4.11 Long term effects of Pre-maturity.
4.12 Causes of unfavorable attitudes to infants.
4.13 Chapter Summary.
4.14 Exercise Questions.
4.15 Reference Books.

4.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand the concept of infancy.
 To understand the various adjustments made in infancy.
 To understand the characteristics of an infant.
 To understand the long term effects of the infancy period.
 To understand the various hazards of the infancy period.

4.2 INTRODUCTION TO INFANCY

Infancy or the period of the newborn, is the shortest of all the

developmental periods. It begins at birth and ends when the infant is approximately two
weeks old. This is the time when the fetus must adjust to life outside the uterine walls of
the mother, where he has lived for approximately nine months. According to medical
criteria, the adjustment is completed with the fall of the umbilical cord from the navel;
according to physiological criteria, it is completed when the infant has regained the
weight lost after birth; and according to psychological criteria, it is completed when he
begins to show signs of developmental progress in behavior. Although most infants
complete this adjustment in two weeks or slightly less, those whose birth has been
difficult or premature require more time.

4.3 SUBDIVISIONS OF INFANCY

Period 1 - Period of the Parturiate (birth to fifteen to thirty minutes after birth)

Period 2 - Period of the Neonate (from the cutting of the umbilical cord to the end of the

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second week)

4.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF INFANCY

Each period in the life span is characterized by certain developmental

phenomena that distinguish it from the periods that precede and follow it. This is true of
infancy, in spite of its shortness. While some of these phenomena may be associated
with other periods, they appear in distinctive forms in infancy.

Traditional Beliefs about Birth

Traditional beliefs about birth color the attitudes of significant people in the
infant's life toward him. For example, there are many beliefs about auspicious and
inauspicious times to be born. There is also the belief that the ease or difficulty of birth
affects postnatal adjustments and the belief that a premature baby will never be as
strong as one born at full term or make as successful an adjustment to life.

Infancy Is a Time of Radical Adjustments

Although the human life span legally begins at the moment of birth, birth is
merely an interruption of the developmental pattern that started at the moment of con-
ception. It is the graduation from an internal to an external environment. Like all
graduations, it requires adjustments on the individual's part. It may be easy for the in-
fant to make these adjustments or so difficult that he will fail to do so. Even in the case
of difficult births, it seldom takes more than forty-eight hours for the fetus to emerge
from the mother's body. By contrast, it requires approximately two weeks to adjust to
his new environment.

Infancy Is a Plateau in Development

The rapid growth and development which took place during the prenatal
period suddenly come to a stop with birth. In fact, there is often a slight regression, such
as Infancy loss of weight and a tendency to become less strong and healthy than at
birth. Normally, this slight regression lasts for several days to a week; then the infant
begins to improve, and by the end of the period of infancy, he is back to where he was
at the time of birth.
The halt in growth and development, characteristic of this plateau, is due
to the necessity for making radical adjustments to the postnatal environment. Once
these adjustments have been made, the infant resumes his growth and development.
While a plateau in development during infancy is normal, many parents,
especially those of firstborn children, become concerned about it and fear that something
is wrong with their child. Consequently, the infancy plateau may become a psychological

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hazard, just as it is a potential physical hazard.
Infancy Is a Preview of Later Development
It is not possible to predict with even reasonable accuracy what the
individual's future development will be on the basis of the development apparent at
birth. However, the newborn's development provides a clue as to what to expect later
on.
Infancy Is a Hazardous Period
Infancy is a hazardous period, both physically and psychologically.
Physically, it is hazardous because of the difficulties of making the necessary radical
adjustments to the totally new and different environment. The high infant mortality rate
is evidence of this.

4.5 ADJUSTMENTS OF INFANCY

Temperature Changes
There is a constant temperature of 100°F in the uterine sac, while
temperatures in the hospital or home may vary from 60 to 70°F.
Breathing
When the umbilical cord is cut, the infant must begin to breathe on his own.
Sucking and Swallowing
The infant must now get nourishment by sucking and swallowing, instead of
receiving it through the umbilical cord. These reflexes are imperfectly developed at birth,
and the infant often gets less nourishment than he needs and thus loses weight.
Elimination
The infant's organs of elimination begin to work soon after birth;
formerly, waste products were eliminated through the umbilical cord.

4.6 THE DIFFICULTY OF ADJUSTMENT TO POSTNATAL LIFE

Loss of Weight
Because of difficulties in adjusting to sucking and swallowing, the newborn
infant usually loses weight during the first week of postnatal life.
Disorganized Behavior
For the first day or two of postnatal life, all infants show relatively
disorganized behavior, such as irregularities in breathing rate, frequent urinations and
defecations, wheezing, and regurgitation. This is due partly to pressure on the brain
during birth, which results in a stunned state, and partly to the undeveloped state of the
autonomic nervous system, which controls body homeostasis.
Infant Mortality
Even today, the rate of infant mortality during the first two days of

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postnatal life is high. The causes of infant mortality are many and varied.
Parental Attitudes
How quickly arid how successfully the infant will adjust to postnatal
life is greatly influenced by his parents' attitudes toward him. When parental attitudes
are unfavorable, for whatever reason, they are reflected in treatment of the infant that
militates against his successful adjustment to postnatal life.
By contrast, parents whose attitudes are favorable treat the infant in
ways that encourage good adjustment. Parent-infant interactions are not characterized
by the emotional tension and nervousness that are normally present when parental
attitudes are unfavorable. A relaxed mother, for example, usually produces more milk
than one who is tense and nervous, and this helps the infant adjust to a new method of
taking nourishment.

4.7 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INFANT

Infants differ greatly in appearance and physiological functions at birth

and in their early adjustments after birth.
Size - At birth, the average infant weighs 7.5 pounds and measures
19.5 inches in length. Weight in relation to height is less at birth, on the average, in
the more active fetuses than in those who have been less active during the latter part of
the fetal period. Boys, on the whole, are slightly longer and heavier than girls. There are
marked individual differences, however, in infants of both sexes.
Infantile Features - The muscles of the newborn infant are soft, small,
and uncontrolled. At the time of birth, less development has taken place in the muscles
of the neck and legs than in those of the hands and arms. The bones, like the muscles,
are soft and flexible because they are composed chiefly of cartilage or gristle. Because of
their softness, they can readily be misshapen. The skin is soft and often blotchy. The
flesh is firm and elastic.
Frequently, soft downy hair is found on the head and back, though the
latter soon disappears. The eyes of white newborns are usually; a bluish gray, though
they gradually change to whatever their permanent color will be. Infants with dark skin
have dark brown eyes but they also change, becoming darker in time. Natal teeth occur
approximately once in every 2,000 births. They are the "baby" type and are usually
lower central incisors.
Physical Proportions - The newborn is not a miniature adult. The head is
approximately one-fourth of the body length; the adult head, by comparison, is
approximately one-seventh of the total body length. The cranial region, the area over
the eyes, is proportionally much larger than the rest of the head, while the chin is
proportionally much too small. By contrast, the eyes are almost mature in size. The nose

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is very small and almost flat on the face, while the tiny mouth may look like a slit if the
lips are narrow.
The neck is so short that it is almost invisible, and the skin covering it
lies in thick folds or creases. In the trunk, the shoulders are narrow, while the abdomen
is large and bulging. Proportionally, the arms and legs of the infant are much too short
for his head and trunk. The hands and feet are miniature.
Physiological Functions - Because of the undeveloped state of the
autonomic nervous system at birth, the infant is unable to maintain homeostasis, which
is one of the causes of the high mortality rate at this time.
With the birth cry, the lungs are inflated and respiration begins. The
respiratory rate at first ranges from forty to forty-five breathing movements per minute.
By the end of the first week of life, it normally dips to approximately thirty-five per min-
ute and is more stable than it was at first.
Neonatal heartbeat is more rapid than that of the adult because the
infant's heart is small compared with the arteries. When body movements are restricted
by means of swaddling the infant's body, there is an increase in stability of the
heartbeat. As a result, the infant is quieter, sleeps more, and has a lower heart rate.
Even in a healthy infant, the temperature is higher and more variable than in the adult.
Reflex sucking movements occur when the infant is hungry or when the
lips are touched. There is an increase in the rate of sucking and in the amount of
nutrients consumed with each passing day partly because of maturation and partly
because of learning.
The hunger rhythm does not develop until several weeks after birth.
The hunger demands of the newborn are therefore irregular, not only in regard to
intervals between feedings but also in regard to amounts. Because the hunger
contractions of the infant are more vigorous than those of the adult, the infant
experiences real pain when he is hungry.
Elimination of waste products begins a few hours after birth. Many
voidings occur during periods of wakefulness and when the infant is quiet, usually within
an hour after feeding. Defecations likewise occur when the infant is awake and quiet,
shortly after feeding.
In no physiological function is lack of homeostasis more apparent than
in sleep. Neonatal sleep is broken by short waking periods which occur every two or
three hours, with fewer and shorter waking periods during the night than during the day.
Throughout the neonatal period, there is a general increase in bodily movements during
sleep as well as during the time the infant is awake.
There are marked variations in infant posture during sleep. However,
the characteristic posture, when prone, k similar to that of the fetus during intrauterine

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life. By the end of the first month of life, this posture is generally outgrown, owing to the
tonus of the baby's musculature.

4.8 CATEGORIES OF INFANT ACTIVITY

Mass Activity
Mass activity occurs throughout the entire body when any area is
stimulated, though the activity is most pronounced in the stimulated area.
Specific Activities
Specific activities involve certain limited areas of the body. They include
reflexes, which are definite responses to specific sensory stimuli and which remain
unchanged with repetition of the same stimulus, and generalized responses, which use
larger groups of muscles than are involved in reflexes and which may be aroused by
either external or internal stimuli.
Vocalization of the Newborn
The vocalizations of the newborn infant can be divided into two
categories: crying and explosive sounds. During infancy and the early months of
babyhood, crying is the dominant form of vocalization. However, from the long-term
point of view, explosive sounds are the more important kind of vocalization because
speech eventually develops from them.
Normally, crying begins at birth or shortly afterwards. Occasionally, in a
long and difficult birth, the fetus will cry even while in the uterus. Pre-birth cries are rare
and dangerous, for there is always the possibility that the fetus will be choked by the
fluid in the uterus.
The birth cry is a purely reflex activity which results when air is drawn
over the vocal cords, causing them to vibrate. Its purpose is to inflate the lungs, thus
making breathing possible, and to supply the blood with sufficient oxygen.
Shortly after birth, the infant's cry shows variations in pitch, intensity,
and continuity. It is then possible to tell, within limits, what he wants.
As the infant recovers from the shock of birth, he is awake more and
cries more than he did at first. While crying may occur at any time, it is most frequent
and most intense from 6 P.M. until midnight.
Mass activity almost always accompanies the infant's crying. The more
vigorous the crying, the more widespread the activity. Bodily activity that accompanies
crying is a signal that the infant needs attention. It is thus a form of language.

4.9 SENSORY CAPACITIES OF INFANTS

Vision
The infant's visual field is small. The muscles that control the movement

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of the eyes are often so undeveloped at birth that the infant cannot focus both eyes on
the same object and hence sees everything as a blur.
Hearing
At birth, hearing is the least well developed of all the sensory capacities
owing to the stoppage of the middle ear with amniotic fluid. Low-frequency tones can be
heard sooner than those of high frequency. Hearing improves within four to seven days
after birth, and the infant can then determine the direction from which a sound comes.
Smell
The sense of smell is well developed at birth, and the ability to
distinguish odors is also present.
Taste
Because taste is markedly influenced by smell, it too is well developed at
birth. The infant has generally positive reactions to sweet tastes and negative reactions
to salty, sour, and bitter tastes.
Skin Sensitivities
The skin of the lips is especially sensitive to touch in the newborn, while
the skin on the trunk, thighs, and forearms is less sensitive. The infant's sensitivity to
cold is more highly developed than his sensitivity to heat. Sensitivity to pain is weak for
the first day or two and then improves rapidly. Pain responses develop earlier in the
anterior than in the posterior end of the body.
Organic Sensitivities
Sensitivity to hunger is fully developed at birth, and hunger
contractions occur every ten or fifteen minutes.

4.10 HAZARDS OF INFANCY

In spite of its short duration, infancy is one of the most hazardous
periods in the life span. Hazards at this time may be physical, psychological, or both,
and they can affect both present and future adjustment. In the case of the plateau in
development, discussed earlier, the physical adjustments may take place too slowly,
thus threatening the infant's life. Psychologically, this plateau is hazardous because it
may cause parents to become anxious and fearful about the infant's development,
feelings that can persist and lead to overprotectiveness in later years.
Physical Hazards
Some of the physical hazards of infancy are of only temporary
significance, while others can affect the individual's entire life pattern. The most
important physical hazards of infancy are those relating to an unfavorable prenatal
environment, a difficult and complicated birth, a multiple birth, post maturity and
prematurity, the time of birth, and conditions leading to infant mortality.
Unfavorable Prenatal Environment

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 As a result of unfavorable conditions in the prenatal environment,
discussed in the preceding chapter, the infant may have difficulty adjusting to postnatal
life. Excessive smoking on the part of the mother, for example, can affect the
development of the fetus. Prolonged and intense maternal stress is another important
factor, causing the infant to be tense and nervous and experience difficulty adjusting to
the postnatal environment.
Difficult and Complicated Birth
As was stressed earlier, a difficult birth or one requiring surgery or the
aid of instruments frequently results in temporary or permanent brain damage. Severe
and persistent brain damage will have an adverse effect on all adjustments during
infancy and childhood, resulting in uncoordinated behavior, hyperactivity, learning
difficulties, or emotional problems.
Multiple Births
Children of multiple birth are usually smaller and weaker than singletons
as a result of crowding during the prenatal period, which inhibits fetal movements.
Furthermore, these babies tend to be born prematurely, which adds to their adjustment
problems.
Postmaturity
Postmaturity is hazardous only when the fetus becomes so large that
the birth requires the use of instruments or surgery, in which case the hazards are due
to the conditions associated with birth rather than to postmaturity per se. One study of
babies born more than three weeks after term reported that they experienced neonatal
adjustment problems and were also socially maladjusted and required special schooling
by the age of seven.
Prematurity
Prematurity causes more neonatal deaths than any other condition.
This will be discussed in more detail in the section on infant mortality. Prematurely born
infants are also especially susceptible to brain damage at birth because the skull is not
yet developed enough to protect the brain from pressures experienced during birth.
Anoxia is another common problem since the premature baby's respiratory mechanism is
not fully developed.
The problems of adjustment that a normal newborn infant must face
are exaggerated in the case of a premature baby. For example, he requires nearly three
times as much oxygen as a full-term infant because his breathing is characterized by
jerks and gasps. He often has difficulty expanding his lungs, and muscular weakness
makes breathing hard.
Because his sucking and swallowing reflexes are underdeveloped, he
will require special feeding with a medicine dropper or tube. The premature infant's body

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temperature is not yet properly controlled, and special equipment is needed to duplicate
as nearly as possible the constant temperature of intrauterine life.
Prematurity affects adjustments not only during infancy but also
for many years thereafter. Some of these effects are the direct result of the fact that the
brain and the nervous system have not had time to develop fully, and others are due to
neurological disorders resulting from birth injuries and anoxia, which are more common
among premature infants than among those born at full term. Other effects are the indi-
rect result of unfavorable attitudes on the part of significant people in the infant's life,
which will be discussed in the section dealing with psychological hazards.
While few studies of the long-term effects of prematurity have been
carried beyond childhood, there is evidence that some of the lag in development
experienced by children who were born prematurely is due to protectiveness on the part
of parents. Whether this developmental lag persists as the children grow older and
parental over-protection is relaxed is still unknown.

4.11 LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF PREMATURITY

Physical Development
Prematures are smaller than those born at full term, even after the
growth spurt of puberty. They are more prone to illness, and to more serious illness, and
they often have more physical defects, especially eye defects.

Developmental Status
Prematures are slow to sit, stand, and walk.
Motor Control
Prematures are frequently awkward and have poor posture. Cerebral palsy
is also common, a result of brain damage.
Speech Development
Speech is slower to develop in prematures than in those born at full
term. Baby talk persists longer, and they have more speech defects, especially
stuttering. They also tend to have smaller vocabularies and to make more mistakes in
sentence structure.
Intelligence
Prematures as a group have lower IQs than those born at full term,
and they have more serious mental defects due to brain injury. Their scores on reading
and arithmetic tests tend to be lower, and their grade placement is below that which
would be normal for their age.
Socialization
Prematures make poorer social adjustments than those born at full

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term. This persists into adolescence and may be due in part to parental over-
protectiveness. They also have more behavior problems at all ages.
Emotional Behavior
Some prematures tend to be emotionally apathetic, but more often
they are petulant, irascible, and negativistic. Emotional disorders are common, as are
nervous traits, such as irritability, temper outbursts, and thumb-sucking.

4.12 CAUSES OF UNFAVORABLE ATTITUDES TOWARD THE INFANT

Appearance
Even a normal, full-term infant is anything but a thing of beauty at first,
and thus, in terms of looks at least, he may be a disappointment to parents, siblings,
and other relatives.
Behavior
Excessive crying, wakefulness, and difficulties in nursing cause many parents
to become worried and anxious.
Sex
Parents who strongly desired a child of one sex are likely to be bitterly
disappointed when it turns out to be of the other sex.

Birth Experience
If a difficult birth means that the mother can have no more children,
the parents may either resent the infant or be overprotective of him.

Helplessness
Parents, especially those of firstborns, are often frightened by the
infant's extreme helplessness and feel inadequate to assume its care after the hospital
stay.
Multiple Births
Parents may feel that a multiple birth will overtax them, both
physically and financially. If the babies are born prematurely, as is usually the case,
these feelings are intensified.
"New-Parent Blues"
New-parent blues—feelings of depression and anxiety—affect
most parents shortly after the infant's birth. In the mother, these feelings are partly
physiological and partly psychological in origin. She may suffer from fatigue or feel
inadequate to meet the challenges of motherhood. The father, while not physically
affected, may worry about the extra financial burden and the fact that he will have to
share his wife's time and attention with the baby.

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4.13 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Infancy is subdivided into two periods: the period of the partunate (birth to
fifteen to thirty minutes after birth) and the period of the neonate (from the
cutting of the umbilical cord to the end of the second week).

 There are many traditional beliefs about infancy. While it is a time of radical
adjustments, a plateau in development may occur. Infancy is also a preview of
development that will take place later, and it is a time of physical and
psychological hazards.

 The major adjustments the infant must make are to temperature changes,
breathing, sucking, swallowing, and elimination.

 How well the infant makes these difficult adjustments is influenced by many
factors, the most important of which are his prenatal environment, the kind of
birth he experienced and the ease or difficulty of his birth, the length of the
gestation period, parental attitudes toward him, and the postnatal care he
receives.

 In addition to his small size, infantile features, and top-heavy proportions, the
homeostasis of the newborn is poor as a result of the undeveloped state of the
autonomic nervous system.

 The infant's activities are of two types: mass activity, which involves the whole
body, and specific activities (such as reflexes and generalized responses), which
involve certain limited areas of the body.

 Vocalization of the newborn infant consists of crying and explosive sounds; both
are forms of communication, but only the latter is the forerunner of speech.

 Because the infant's sensitivities are unevenly developed at birth, with vision and
hearing the least well developed, he is not entirely conscious of what goes on
around him.

 Emotional states at birth are general rather than specific because of the
uncoordinated state of the infant's activity and his limited capacity for learning,

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  Temperamental differences at birth are the foundation for later personality
development.

 The major physical hazards of infancy are the aftereffects of an unfavorable

prenatal environment, a difficult and complicated birth, prematurity or
postmaturity, and conditions leading to infant mortality.

 The major psychological hazards of infancy are unfavorable attitudes toward the
infant on the part of people who are significant to him and the potentially harmful
effect of the name given to him at birth.

4.14 EXERCIZE QUESTIONS

 Discuss the characteristics of an infant.

 Discuss the categories of infant activity.
 What are the various hazards of the infancy period.
 Discuss the long term effects of pre-maturity.
 What are the causes of unfavorable attitudes towards an infant.
 Name the sub-divisions of the infancy period.

4.15 REFERENCE BOOKS

Dineker E. (1965). Child Development. WW Norton.

UNIT 5 - BABYHOOD

Contents

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5.1 Unit Objectives.
5.2 Introduction to Babyhood.
5.3 Characteristics of Babyhood.
5.4 Patterns of Motor Control in Babyhood.
5.5 Some Common Skills of Babyhood.
5.6 Tasks Involved in Learning to Speak.
5.7 Common Emotional Patterns of Babyhood.
5.8 Patterns of Early Socialization.
5.9 Concepts that Develop in Babyhood.
5.10 Common Causes of Changes in Family Relationships during Babyhood.
5.11 Hazards in Establishing Physiological Habits.
5.12 Common Emotional Hazards of Babyhood.
5.13 Family Relationship Hazards of Babyhood.
5.14 Causes of Unhappiness in Babyhood.
5.15 Chapter Summary.
5.16 Exercise Questions.
5.17 Reference Books.

5.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To study the various characteristics of babyhood.
 To understand the common skills in babyhood.
 To understand the emotional patterns in babyhood.
 To understand the concepts that develop in babyhood.
 To understand the various hazards of babyhood.

5.2 INTRODUCTION TO BABYHOOD

Traditionally, the term infant has been used in medical circles to
refer to a person who is incapable of speech and thus helpless. Many psychological
research studies refer to the first two years of life as infancy and to the individual
who has not yet reached his second birthday as an infant. Legally, a person is
regarded as an infant until he reaches the age of eighteen. A minor, according to
the law, is thus an infant.
The term babyhood will be used to refer to that period extending
from the end of the second week after birth until the end of the secon d year of life.
By that time, the average baby is relatively independent and can do many things
for himself which formerly had to be done for him. Although many babies attain
relative independence before their second birthday, the average baby is two years

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old before he reaches this stage in his development.
The term baby means an extremely young individual, but it does
not carry the connotation of helplessness that infant does.

5.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF BABYHOOD

Babyhood Is an Age of Rapid Growth and Change
Babies grow rapidly, physically and psychologically. With this
rapid growth comes a change not only in appearance but also in capacities. The
baby gradually becomes less top-heavy than he was as an infant, and the trunk and
limbs seem to be more in proportion to the large head. The random mass
movements of the infant give way to more coordinated movements which make it
possible for him to do things for himself which formerly he had to rely on oth ers to
do for him. Perhaps in no area is change more apparent than in the baby's ability to
recognize and respond to people and objects in his environment.

Babyhood Is an Age of Decreasing Dependency

The decrease in dependency on others results from the rapid
development of body control, which enables the baby to sit, stand, walk, and
manipulate objects at will. Independence also increases as the baby becomes better
able to communicate his needs and wishes to others in forms they can understand.
Perhaps the most significant thing about increased independence is that it permits
the baby to develop along lines suited to his interests and abilities. As a result, the
individuality apparent at birth increases as he grows older.
Babyhood Is the Foundation Age
Babyhood is the true foundation period of life because, at this
time, the foundations of many behavior patterns, many attitudes toward others and
toward the self, and many patterns of emotional expression are being established.
While these foundations are not so firmly established at the end of babyhood that
they cannot be changed should they prove inefficient or socially unacceptable, they
are nevertheless firmly enough established so that change entails relearning,
with its accompaniment of emotional tension and confusion.
Babyhood Is a Hazardous Age
Certain hazards are more common during babyhood than at other
ages. Among the physical hazards, illnesses and accidents are the most serious.
Because behavior patterns, interests, and attitudes are established during
babyhood, serious psychological hazards can result if poor foundations are laid at
this time.
Babyhood Is an Appealing Age

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 Adults as well as older children find the small baby appealing
because of his helplessness and dependency. Furthermore, he is easy to manage,
and this adds to his appeal. Gradually, as his dependency is replaced by the ability
to do things for himself, the baby becomes less easy to manage and more resistant
to' adult help, qualities which make him less appealing than he was earlier.

5.4 PATTERN OF MOTOR CONTROL IN BABYHOOD

Head Region
Eye Control
Optic nystagmus, or the response of the eyes to a succession of
moving objects, begins about twelve hours after birth; ocular pursuit movements,
between the third and fourth weeks; horizontal eye movements, between the
second and third months; vertical eye movements, between the third and fourth
months; and circular eye movements, several months later.
Smiling
Reflex smiling, or smiling in response to a tactual stimulus, appears
during the first week of life; social smiling, or smiling in response to the smile of
another person, begins between the third and fourth months.
Head holding
In a prone position, the baby can hold his head erect at one month;
when lying on his back, at five months; and when held in a sitting position, between
four and six months.

Trunk Region
Rolling
The baby can roll from side to back at two months and from back to
side at four months; at six months he can roll over completely.
Sitting
The baby can pull to a sitting position at four months, sit with support
at five months, and sit without support momentarily at seven months and for ten or
more minutes at nine months.

Arm and Hand Region

Hands
Thumb opposition—the working of the thumb in opposition to the fingers-
appears in grasping between three and four months and in picking up objects
between eight and ten months.

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Arms
The baby can reach for objects by six or seven months and can pick
up a small object without random movements by one year.
Leg Region
Shifting of the body by kicking occurs by the end of the second week.
Hitching, or moving in a sitting position, appears by six months. Crawling and
creeping appear between eight and ten months, and at eleven months the baby
walks on "all fours." The baby can pull himself to a standing position at about ten
months, stand with support at eleven months, stand without support at one year,
walk with support at eleven months or onfi_year, and walk without support at
fourteen months.

5.5 SOME COMMON SKILLS OF BABYHOOD

Hand Skills
Self-feeding
At eight months the baby can hold his bottle after it has been
placed in his mouth; at nine months he can put it in and take it out without help. At
twelve months he can drink from a cup when he holds it with both hands; several
months later he can drink using one hand. At thirteen months he begins to feed
himself with a spoon, and a month or two later he spears food with a fork and
carries it to his mouth with much spilling. By hi s second birthday he can use a
spoon and fork without too much spilling.
Self-dressing
At the end of the first year most babies can pull off their socks,
shoes, caps, and mittens. By the middle of the second year the baby attempt s to
put on his cap and mittens, and by the end of babyhood he can pull off all his
clothes and put on a shirt or dress.
Self-grooming
Self-bathing is limited mainly to running a cloth or sponge over
the face and body. Before they are two, most babies try to brush their hair and
teeth.

Play Skills
At twelve months the baby can scribble with a pencil or crayon,
and several months later he can throw or roll a ball, open a box, unscrew a lid from
a bottle, turn the leaves of a book, build with a few blocks, insert pegs in a
pegboard, string large beads, and cut a gash in paper with scissors.

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Leg Skills
The baby learns to jump and also to climb stairs, which he does
first by crawling and creeping. After he can walk alone, he goes up and down steps
in an upright position, placing one foot on a step and then drawing the other up to
it, Very few babies are able to ride a tricycle, and then only when they are held on
the seat. The swim by slashing the arms and kicking the legs.

Pre-speech Forms
Three pre-speech forms normally appear in the developmental
pattern: crying, babbling, and gesturing. Crying is the most frequently used of the
three during the early months of life, though from the long-range point of view,
babbling is the most important because real speech eventually develops from it.
The cries of the newborn baby gradually become differentiated,
so that by the third or fourth week of life it is possible to tell what the cry signifies
from its tone and intensity and from the bodily movements accompanying it. Pain,
for example, is expressed by shrill, loud cries, interrupted by groaning and
whimpering. Hunger cries are loud and interrupted by sucking movements. Cries
from colic are accompanied by a peculiar, high-pitched scream, with alternate and
forceful flexion and extension of the legs. Before he is three months old, the baby
has learned that crying is a sure method of gaining attention.
As the baby's vocal mechanism develops, he becomes capable of
producing a larger number of explosive sounds than he could at birth. Some of
these sounds are retained and will develop into babbling or lalling. In time, s ome
will form the basis of real speech. The number of sounds produced in babbling
gradually increases. The baby can, by the time he is six months old, combine
certain vowel and consonant sounds such as "ma-ma," "da-da," or "na-na."
Babbling begins during the second or third month of life, reaches its peak by the
eighth month, and then gradually gives way to real speech.
The baby uses gestures as a substitute for speech. Even after he is
able to say a few words, the baby will continue to use gestures, combining them
with the words he knows to make his first sentence. By outstretching his arms and
smiling," for example, the baby readily communicates the idea that he wants to be
picked up; when he pushes away his plate, at the same time saying "no," he is
obviously indicating that he does not want the food that has been placed before
him. No gestures are more expressive than facial gestures, and the baby uses these
to communicate his emotional state to others —happiness, fear, or anger, for
example.
Comprehension

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 At every age, a child comprehends the meaning of what others
say more readily than he can put his own thoughts and feelings into words. This is
true of babyhood also. The facial expression, tone of voi ce, and gestures of the
speaker help him to understand the meaning of what is being said. Pleasure, anger,
and fear can be comprehended as early as the third month of life.
Until the baby is eighteen months old, words must be reinforced
with gestures, such as pointing to an object, if he is to understand the meaning. By
the age of two, according to the Terman-Merrill Scale of Intelligence Tests, the
average baby should comprehend well enough to respond correctly to two out of six
simple commands, such as "Give me the kitty" or "Put the spoon in the cup," when
the objects are within easy reach.

5.6 TASKS INVOLVED IN LEARNING TO SPEAK

Pronunciation
The baby learns to pronounce words partly by trial and error but
mainly by imitating adult speech. Consonants and consonant blends are more dif-
ficult for babies to pronounce than vowels and diphthongs. Much of the baby's
speech is incomprehensible up to the age of eighteen months, after which there is
gradual but marked improvement.
Vocabulary Building
The baby learns the names of people and objects first, and then
verbs such as "give" and "take." Just before babyhood ends, he learns a few
adjectives such as "nice" and "naughty," as well as a few adverbs. Prepositions,
conjunctions, and pronouns are generally not learned until early childhood.
Vocabulary increases with age.
Sentences
The baby's first "sentences," which appear between twelve and
eighteen months, generally consist of one word accompanied by a gesture.
Gradually more words creep into the baby's sentences, but he continues to use
gestures well into childhood.
5.7 COMMON EMOTIONAL PATTERNS IN BABYHOOD
Anger
The common stimuli that give rise to anger in babyhood are
interference with the movements the baby wants to make, thwarting of some wish,
not being able to do what he sets out to do, and not being able to make himself
understood. Typically, the angry response takes the form of screaming, kicking the
legs, waving the arms, and hitting or kicking anything within reach. During the
second year, babies may also jump up and down, throw themselves on the floor,

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and hold their breath.
Fear
The stimuli most likely to arouse fear in babies are loud noises;
strange persons, objects, and situations; dark rooms; high places; and animals.
Any stimulus which occurs suddenly or unexpectedly or which is different from what
the baby is accustomed to gives rise to fear. The typical fear response in babyhood
consists of an attempt to withdraw from the frightening stimulus, accompanied by
whimpering, crying, temporary holding of the breath, and checking of the activity
he was engaged in when he became frightened.
Curiosity
Anything new or unusual acts as a stimulus to curiosity, unless
the newness is so pronounced that it gives rise to fear. As fear wanes, it is replaced
by curiosity. Young babies express curiosity mainly through their facial exp ressions
tensing the facial muscles, opening the mouth, and protruding the tongue. Later,
the baby grasps the object that aroused his curiosity and handles, shakes, bangs,
or sucks it.
Joy
Joy is stimulated at first by physical well-being. By the second or
third month the baby reacts to being played with, being tickled, and watching and
listening to others. He expresses this by smiling, laughing, and moving his arms
and legs. When joy is intense, the baby coos, gurgles, or even shouts with glee,
and all bodily movements are intensified.
Affection
Anyone who plays with the baby and takes care of his bodily needs
or shows him affection will be a stimulus for the baby's affection. Later, his toys
and the family pet may also become love objects. Typically he expresses his
affection by hugging, patting, and kissing the loved object or person.

5.8 PATTERN OF EARLY SOCIALIZATION

Social Responses to Adults
Two to three months
The baby distinguishes people from inanimate objects and discovers that people
supply his needs. He is content when he is with people and discontented when left
alone. At this age babies show no preferences for any one person.

Four to five months

The baby wants to be picked up by anyone who approaches him, and he reacts
differently to scolding and smiling and to friendly voices and angry ones.

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Six to seven months
The baby differentiates between "friends" and "strangers" by smiling at the former
and showing fear in the presence of the latter. This is the beginning of the "shy
age." He becomes strongly attached to his mother and displays a waning of
indiscriminate friendliness.
Eight to nine months
The baby attempts to imitate the speech, gestures, and simple acts of others.
Twelve months
The baby reacts to the warning "no-no."
Sixteen to eighteen months
Negativism, in the form of stubborn resistance to requests or demands from adults,
is manifested in physical withdrawal or angry outbursts.
Twenty-two to twenty-four months
The baby cooperates in a number of routine activities, such as being dressed, fed,
and bathed.

Social Responses to Other Babies

Four to five months
The baby tries to attract the attention of another baby or a child by bouncing up
and down, kicking, laughing, or blowing bubbles.
Six to seven months
The baby smiles at other babies and shows an interest in their crying.
Nine to thirteen months
The baby attempts to explore the clothes and hair of another baby, to imitate his
behavior and vocalization, and to cooperate in the use of toys, although he may
become upset when the other baby takes one of his toys.
Thirteen to eighteen months
Fighting over toys decreases, and the baby shows more cooperation during play and
a willingness to share
Eighteen to twenty-four months
The baby shows more interest in playing with other babies and uses play materials
to establish social relationships with them.

5.9 CONCEPTS THAT DEVELOP IN BABYHOOD

Concepts of Space
During the second year, babies rarely reach for objects that are more

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than 20 inches away, indicating that they are able to estimate distance; the direc-
tion of their reach is usually correct.
Concepts of Weight
Concepts of weight are inaccurate during babyhood; babies perceive
a small object as light and a large object as heavy.
Concepts of Time
A baby has no idea of how long it takes to eat his dinner, for
example, nor has he any concept of the passage of time. Only when he is on a fairly
rigid daily schedule does he know morning from afternoon or night.
Concepts of Self
The baby develops a physical self-concept by looking at himself in
the mirror and handling the different parts of his body. Psychological self-concepts
develop later and are based mainly on what the significant people in his life think of
him. Before babyhood is over, most babies know that they are either boys or girls.
Social Concepts
By eight months the baby responds to the emotions of others as
revealed in their facial expressions, though there is little evidence that, even by the
end of babyhood, he understands exactly what these emotions are.
Concepts of Beauty
Between the ages of six and twenty-four months babies begin
to respond to different colors. They are also apt to say that something is "pretty,"
for example, and they like music with a definite tune.
Concepts of the Comic
At four months the baby perceives vocal play or babbling as
comic/and he enjoys blowing bubbles in his milk and splashing his bath water. At
six months he derives enjoyment from dropping things that are handed to him, and
at one year he likes to make funny faces. The two-year-old laughs at his own
stunts. such as squeezing through a narrow space.

Evidence of Importance Family Relationships

Studies of family relationships have shown that all family
relationships are important factors in the individual's development. However, during
the babyhood years, parent-child relationships are more important than any other.
For example, a baby who is institutionalized and thus is deprived of normal
opportunities to express love becomes quiet, listless, and unresponsive to the
smiles of others; he shows extreme forms of temper, as if seeking attention, and he
gives the general appearance of unhappiness.
The baby needs the continuous care of one person —usually the

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mother or a satisfactory mother substitute —for the first nine to twelve months of
his life. Such care gives him a feeling of security, and the lack of it can have a
profound influence on his development, psychological as well as physical.
Equally important evidence of the influence of family
relationships on the baby's development comes from studies of babies from
different-sized families. Babies from large families in which the children are closely
spaced have fewer contacts with their mothers, who are preoccupied with other
responsibilities; as a result, they suffer from some of the usual effects of maternal
deprivation. Lack of attention and stimulation can cause them to become lethargic,
for example.
On the other hand, there is little evidence that satisfying
experiences during babyhood will be adequate to compensate for unfavorable
parent-child relationships that develop as the child grows older or for the effects of
economic privation, for example. Although it is true that the foundations of
attitudes, behavior patterns, and personality structure are laid in babyhood, events
of childhood and the later years are of great importance in reinforcing or even
changing the personality structure tentatively formed in the early years of life.

5.10 COMMON CAUSES OF CHANGES IN FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS DURING

BABYHOOD
Dream-Child Concept
If the baby lives up to the dream-child concepts of parents and
siblings, in terms of appearance and behavior, family relationships will become
increasingly more favorable. If he does not, they will deteriorate.
Degree of Dependency
As the baby's complete dependency—one of his most appealing
features —decreases, he becomes more troublesome and demanding and thus less
appealing.
Parental Anxiety
Parents may become nervous about how well -they are performing
their parental roles, or they may worry if the baby behaves differently from the way
an older sibling did, for example. Such feelings are communicated to the baby, and
he may react by becoming resentful and negativistic and by crying excessively,
which makes him seem less appealing than before.
Child-Training Methods
Most child-training methods during babyhood center on
sleeping, eating, and going to the toilet. How authoritarian or permissive these
methods are will influence the character of the parent-child relationship. Corporal

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punishment is very damaging to this relationship.
Arrival of New Sibling
The arrival of a new sibling may cause the baby to feel
displaced and neglected, leading to fussiness, crying, and a tendency to revert to
infantile behavior, all of which is upsetting to the family.
Relationships with Older Siblings
Older siblings may begin to think of the baby as a pest when
they must be quiet while he naps, share their mother's time and attention with him,
and help with his care.
Preference for Certain Family Members
Even before his first birthday, the baby shows definite
preferences for certain family members—usually his mother or an older sister.
Other family members tend to resent this and to communicate their feelings to the
baby,-thus intensifying his preferences.
5.11 HAZARDS IN ESTABLISHING PHYSIOLOGICAL HABITS
Eating Habits
A baby who sucks for long periods shows signs of tenseness; he
engages in more nonnutritive sucking (such as thumb-sucking), has more sleep
difficulties, and is more restless than one whose sucking periods are shorter. If
weaning is delayed, the baby is likely to resist the new kind of food and substitute
thumb-sucking for the nipple. He will also resist semisolid foods if they are in -
troduced too early, not because of their taste, but because of their texture.
Sleep Habits
Crying, strenuous play with an adult, or noise in the
.environment can make the baby tense and keep him from falling asleep. Sleep
schedules that do not meet the baby's individual requirements make him tense and
resistant to sleep.

Habits of Elimination
These habits cannot be established until the nerves and
muscles have developed adequately. Trying to train a baby too early will make him
uncooperative about establishing these habits when he is maturationally ready.
Delay in toilet training results in habits of irregularity and lack of motivation on the
baby's part. Enuresis —bed-wetting —is common when training is not timed
according to the baby's developmental readiness.
5.12 COMMON EMOTIONAL HAZARDS OF BABYHOOD
Emotional Deprivation
The baby who is not given the opportunity to experience the normal

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emotions of babyhood-especially affection, curiosity, and joy-does not thrive
physically, is backward in motor and speech development, and does not learn how
to establish social contacts or show affection. He usually becomes listless and
apathetic and often develops nervous mannerisms, such as thumb-sucking.
Too Much Affection
Parents who are oversolicitous or overdemonstrative encourage the
baby to focus his affection on himself and to become self-bound and selfish, rather
than show affection for others.
Dominant Emotions
Conditions in the baby's environment encourage the development of
certain emotions to the exclusion of others, and these eventually become the
dominant ones in his life unless conditions change and the development of other
emotions is encouraged. Timidity may persist long after babyhood, for example, if a
shy or fearful child is exposed to too many strangers or too many frightening
situations.

5.13 FAMILY-RELATIONSHIP HAZARDS IN BABYHOOD

Separation from Mother
Unless a satisfactory and stable substitute is provided, the
baby who is separated from his mother develops feelings of insecurity which are ex -
pressed in personality disturbances that lay the foundations for later
maladjustments.
Deterioration in Family Relationships
The deterioration in family relationships that almost always
occurs during the second year of the baby's life is psychologically hazardous
because he notices that family members have a changed attitude toward him and
treat him differently. He may feel unloved and rejected and develop feelings of re-
sentment and insecurity.
Overprotection
A baby who is overprotected and prevented from doing what he
is capable of doing becomes over-dependent and afraid to do what other babies of
his age can do. This is likely to lead to an abnormal fear of school and excessive
shyness in the presence of strangers.
Inconsistent Training
Inconsistent child-training methods-which can be the result of
permissiveness or of parents' feelings of inadequacy for the parental role-provide
poor guidelines for the baby, and this slows down his learning to behave in
approved ways

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5.14 CAUSES OF UNHAPPINESS DURING BABYHOOD
Teething
Teething causes periodic discomfort, if not actual pain, and the
baby tends to be irritable, fretful, and negativistic.
Desire for Independence
The baby now has increased control over his body and may resent
adult assistance or interference. He shows his resentment by being balky or having
a temper tantrum.
Increased Need for Maternal Attention
As dependency decreases and waking time increases, the baby
wants more attention from his mother. If she cannot give him the attention he
craves, he may become angry, causing her to behave punitively and the baby to
feel that he has lost her love.
Beginning of Discipline
Many parents' initial attempts at discipline consist of slaps,
spankings, harsh words, and angry expressions. The baby interprets this to mean
that the parent is angry at him, not at the thing he has done, and this makes him
feel unloved and unwanted.
Increased Sibling Resentment
Siblings may now regard the baby as a nuisance, especially when
he takes their own belongings or when they must help care for him. If he senses
that everyone in his environment is against him, he may have strong feelings of
resentment and insecurity.

5.15 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Babyhood, which extends from the end of the period of the newborn to the
end of the second year of life, is a time of increasing independence due to
rapid physical and psychological development.

 Babyhood is a foundation age and a very appealing age, but it is also a

hazardous age, both physically and psychologically.

 The major developmental tasks of babyhood involve learning to be

independent.
 Babyhood is a period of rapid physical growth accompanied by changes in
body proportions. As a result of maturation and learning, the major
physiological functions eating, sleeping, and elimination are brought under

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 control.

 Muscle control follows the laws of developmental direction. When babyhood

ends, control is more developed in the arm than in the leg region, and thus
arm and hand skills are superior to leg skills.

 Pre-speech forms of communication —crying, babbling, and gesturing —

predominate during the first year of life, after which rapid strides are made
in learning to talk.

 There are two outstanding characteristics of emotional development during

babyhood: All emotional responses are proportionally too great for the
stimuli that gave rise to them, and emotions are more easily conditioned
than will be possible later.

 The foundations for social behavior are laid during babyhood. Whether the
baby will become socially well adjusted or socially maladjusted depends on
his social experiences both in the home and outside the home.

 There are five major categories of babyhood play: sensorimotor play,

exploratory play, imitative play, games, and amusements. Proficiency in all
types of play develops rapidly at this age.

 Concepts develop rapidly during babyhood as a result of sensory exploration

and motor manipulation. Concepts are usually specific in form, however,
especially concepts of right and wrong and self-concepts.

 Because family relationships play a dominant role in shaping the baby's

concept of self, changes in these relationships often result in unhappiness
and in unfavorable self-concepts as babyhood draws to a close.

 On the whole, physical hazards are more serious than psychological hazards
during the first year of life, while the reverse is true during the second year.
This is one of the major reasons for a .decrease in happiness as babyhood
progresses.
5.16 EXERCIZE QUESTIONS
 What are the characteristics of babyhood.
 What are the common skills of babyhood.

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  What are the common emotional patterns in babyhood.
 What are the concepts that develop in babyhood.
 What are the patterns of socialization in babyhood.
 What are the common emotional hazards in babyhood.
 What are the common family relationships hazards in babyhood.
 What are the causes of unhappiness in babyhood.

5.17 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Vincent EL & Martin PC (1961). Human Psychological Development. New
York. Ronald Press.
 Havighurst RJ (1953). Human Development and Cognitive Processes.

UNIT 6 – EARLY CHILDHOOD

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 Contents

6.1 Unit Objectives.

6.2 Introduction to Early Childhood.
6.3 Various Names given to Early Childhood.
6.4 Developmental Tasks of Early Childhood.
6.5 Physical Development in Early Childhood.
6.6 Skills of Early Childhood.
6.7 Tasks in Learning to Speak in Early Childhood.
6.8 Emotions in Early Childhood.
6.9 Play in Early Childhood.
6.10 Leaders in Early Childhood.
6.11 Social and Unsocial Patterns in Early Childhood.
6.12 Play Patterns in Early Childhood.
6.13 Common categories of concepts in Early Childhood.
6.14 Effects of Discipline in Early Childhood.
6.15 Common Interests in Early Childhood.
6.16 Changed Parent Child Relationships in Early Childhood.
6.17 Hazards of Early Childhood.
6.18 Happiness in Early Childhood.
6.19 Chapter Summary
6.20 Exercise Questions.
6.21 Reference Books.

6.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand the concept of early childhood.
 To understand development in early childhood.
 To understand emotions and play in early childhood.
 To understand concept formation and interests in early childhood.
 To understand effects of discipline and changed parent child relationships in
early childhood.
 To understand the hazards of early childhood.
 To understand the concept of happiness in early childhood.

6.2 INTRODUCTION TO EARLY CHILDHOOD

Childhood begins when the relative dependency of babyhood is over,
at approximately the age of two years, and extends to the time when the child

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becomes sexually mature, at approximately thirteen years for the average girl and
fourteen years for the average boy. After the child has become sexually mature, he
is known as an adolescent. During this long period of time roughly eleven years for
girls and twelve years for boys marked changes take place in the child both
physically and psychologically. Because cultural pressures and expectations to learn
certain things at one age are different from the pressures and expectations at
another age, a child in the early part of childhood is quite different from a child in
the latter part of the period.
Today, it is widely recognized that childhood should be subdivided into
two separate period’s early and late childhood. Early childhood extends from two to six
years, and late childhood extends from six to the time the child becomes sexually
mature. Thus early childhood begins at the conclusion of babyhood —the age when
dependency is practically a thing of the past and is being replaced by growing
independence
6.3 VARIOUS NAMES GIVEN TO EARLY CHILDHOOD
Most parents consider early childhood a problem age or a
troublesome age. While babyhood presents problems for parents, most of these
center around the baby's physical care. With the dawn of childhood, behavior
problems become more frequent and more troublesome than the physical -care
problems of babyhood. The young child is developing a distinctive personality and is
demanding an independence which, in most cases, he is incapable of handling
successfully. A young child is often an obstinate, stubborn, disobedient,
negativistic, antagonistic individual and one that has frequent temper tantrums, he
is bothered by nightmares at night and irrational fears during the day, and he
suffers from jealousies.
Because of these problems, early childhood seems a less
appealing age than babyhood to many parents. The dependency of the baby, so
endearing to his parents as well as to older siblings, is now replaced by a resistance
on the child's part to their help and a tendency to reject demonstrations of their
affection. Furthermore, few young children are as cute as babies which makes them
less appealing.
Parents also refer to early childhood as the toy age because
the young child spends much of his waking time playing with his toys. Interest in
toys begins to decrease rapidly after the child reaches school age, but during early
childhood they play a dominant role.
Educators, doctors, sociologists, and psychologists have given
early childhood a number of names, each of which describes an important aspect of
the young child's development. Educators refer to it as the preschool age, even

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though the young child may be in nursery school or kindergarten, because the
pressures and expectations he is subjected to now are very different from those he
will experience when he enters first grade.

To the psychologist, early childhood is the pregang age, the

time when the child is learning the foundations of social behavior which will prepare
him for the more highly organized social life he will be required to adjust to when
he enters first grade.
Because the major development that occurs during early
childhood concerns gaining control over the environment, psychologists call it the
exploratory age. The child wants to know what his environment is, how it works,
how it feels, and how he can be a part of it. This includes people as well as
inanimate objects. One common way of exploring in early childhood is by asking
questions; thus this period is also called the questioning age.
At no other time in the life span is imitation of the speech and
actions of others more pronounced than it is during early childhood. For this reason,
it is also known as the imitative age. However, in spite of this tendency, most
children show more creativity in their play during early childhood than at any other
time in their lives. For that reason, psychologists also regard it as the creative
age.
6.4 DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
Although the foundations of some of the developmental tasks
the child is expected to master before he enters school are laid in babyhood, much
remains to be learned in the relatively short four-year span of early childhood.
When babyhood ends, all normal babies have learned to walk,
though with varying degrees of proficiency; have learned to take solid foods; and
have achieved a reasonable degree of physiological stability. The major task of
learning to control the elimination of body wastes has been almost com pleted and
will be fully mastered within another year or two.
While most babies have built up a useful vocabulary, have
reasonably correct pronunciation of the words they use, can comprehend the
meaning of simple statements and commands, and can put together several words
into meaningful sentences, their ability to communicate with others and to com-
prehend what others say to them is still on a low level. Much remains to be
mastered before they enter school.
Similarly, they have some simple concepts of social and
physical realities but far too few to meet their needs as their social horizons
broaden and as their physical environment expands. Few babies know more than

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the most elementary facts about sex differences, and even fewer understand the
meaning of sexual modesty. It is questionable whether any babies, as they enter
early childhood, actually know what is sex-appropriate in appearance, and they
have only the most rudimentary understanding of sex-appropriate behavior.
This is equally true of concepts of right and wrong. What
knowledge they have is limited to home situations and must be broadened to
include concepts of right and wrong in their relationships with people outside the
home, especially in the neighborhood, in school, and on the playground.
Even more important, the young child must lay the
foundations for a conscience as a guide to right and wrong behavior. The con science
serves as a source of motivation to do what he knows is right and to avoid doing
what he knows is wrong when he is too old to have the watchful eye of a parent or
a parent substitute constantly focused on him.
One of the most important and, for most young children, one
of the most difficult of the developmental tasks of early childhood is to learn to
relate emotionally to parents, siblings, and other people. The emotional re-
lationships that existed during babyhood must be replaced by more mature ones.
The baby's relationships to others is based on his dependence on them to meet his
emotional needs, especially his need for affection. The young child, however, must
learn to give as well as to receive affection. In short, he must learn to be outer-
bound instead of self-bound.

6.5 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Height
The average annual increase in height is 3 inches. By the age of six, the
average child measures 46.6 inches.
Weight
The average annual increase in weight is 3 to 5 pounds. At age six, the
child should weigh approximately seven times as much as he did at birth. The
average girl weighs 48.5 pounds, and the average boy weighs 49 pounds.
Body Proportions
Body proportions change markedly, and the "baby look" disappears.
Facial features remain small but the chin becomes more pronounced and the neck
elongates. There is a gradual decrease in the stockiness of the trunk, and the body
tends to be : come cone-shaped, with a flattened abdomen, a broader and flatter
chest, and shoulders that are broader and more square. The arms and legs lengthen
and may become spindly, and the hands and feet grow bigger.
Body Build

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 Differences in body build become apparent. Some children
have an endomorphic, or heavy, body build; some have a mesomorphic, or sturdy,
muscular body build; and , some have an ec-tomorphic, or relatively thin, body
build.
Bones and Muscles
The bones ossify at different rates in different parts of the body,
following the laws of developmental direction. The muscles become larger, stronger,
and heavier, with the result that children look thinner as early childhood
progresses, even though they weigh more.
Fat
Children who tend toward endomorphy have more adipose than
muscular tissue; those who tend toward mesomorphy have more muscular than adi-
pose tissue; and those with an ectomorphic build have both small muscles and litt le
adipose tissue.
Teeth
During the first four to six months of early childhood, the last four
baby teeth-the back molars-erupt. During the last half year of early childhood, the
baby teeth begin to be replaced by permanent teeth. The first to come out are the
front central incisors the first baby teeth to appear. When early childhood ends, the
child generally has one or two of his permanent teeth in-front and some gaps where
permanent teeth will eventually erupt.

6.6 SKILLS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Early childhood is the ideal age to learn skills. The young child
enjoys repetition and is therefore willing to repeat an activity until he has acquired
the ability to do it well. He is adventuresome and hence is not held back by fear of
hurting himself or of being
Typical Skills
What skills the young child will learn depends partly upon his
maturational readiness to learn but mainly upon the opportunities he has to learn
them and the guidance he receives in mastering them quickly and efficiently.
Children from poorer environments, it has been reported, generally master skills
earlier and in larger numbers than children from more favored environments, not
because they are maturationally more advanced but because their parents are too
busy to wait on them when it is no longer necessary.
There are sex differences in the kinds of skills children learn. Early
in childhood, boys come under pressure to learn play skills that are culturally
approved for members of their own sex and to avoid mastering those which are

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considered more appropriate for girls. They are, for example, encouraged to learn
skills involved in ball play, just as girls are encouraged to learn skills relate d to
homemaking.
In spite of variations, all young children learn certain common
skills, though the time they learn them may vary somewhat and the proficiency with
which they learn them may be different. These common skills can be divided into
two major categories: hand skills and leg skills.
Hand Skills
Self-feeding and dressing skills, begun in babyhood, are perfected in
early childhood. The greatest improvement in dressing skills generally comes
between the ages of 2 and 3 years. Brushing the hair and bathing are skills which
can be acquired easily in early childhood. By the time the child reaches
kindergarten age, he should be able to bathe, dress, tie his shoes.
Leg Skills
Once the young child has learned to walk, he turns his attention to
learning other movements requiring the use of his legs. He learns to hop, skip,
gallop, and jump by the age of five or six years. Climbing skills are likewise well
established in early childhood. Between the ages of three and four, tri-cycling and
swimming can be learned. Other leg skills acquired by young children include
jumping rope, balancing on rails or on the top of a wall, roller skating, ye skating
(on double-runners), and dancing.

6.7 TASKS INVOLVED IN LEARNING TO SPEAK IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Vocabulary Building
The young child's vocabulary increases rapidly as he learns new
words and new meanings for old ones. He learns a general vocabulary of words,
such as "good" and "bad," as well as many specific words, such as numbers and the
names of colors.
Pronunciation
Certain sounds and sound combinations are especially difficult for a
young child to learn to pronounce, such as the consonants z, w, d, s, and g and the
consonant combinations st, str, dr, and fl. Listening to radio and television can be
an aid in learning correct pronunciation.
Forming Sentences
Three- or four-word sentences are used as early as two years of
age and commonly at three. Many of these sentences are incomplete, consisting
mainly of nouns and lacking verbs, prepositions, and conjunctions. After age three,
the child forms six- to eight-word sentences containing all parts of speech.

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Content of Speech
At first, the young child's speech is egocentric in the sense that
he talks mainly about himself, his interests, his family, and his possessions.
Toward the end of early childhood, socialized speech begins, and the child talks
about other people as well as himself. However, much of this early socialized
speech is unsocial in that it is heavily weighted with criticism of others, and it may
take the form of tattling or complaining. Most young children also make unkind,
derogatory comments about other people and about their actions and their posses-
sions. They also engage in name-calling, especially when they are angry. Boasting,
especially about material possessions, is very common at this age.
As the size of the child's play group becomes larger, his
language becomes more sociable and less egocentric. He is also slightly less critical,
asks fewer questions, and gives more commands. Small social groupings are most
favorable for the development of speech in young children.
The most frequent topics of conversation among young children
are themselves and their activities. When a second person is the subject of a
remark, the remark is generally a command for that person to do something . Topics
such as personal likes and dislikes, clothes, where one lives, and matters of
everyday routine predominate in the young child's conversations.

6.8 COMMON EMOTIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Anger
The most common causes of anger in young children are conflicts
over playthings, the thwarting of wishes, and vigorous attacks from another child.
Children express anger through temper tantrums, characterized by crying,
screaming, stamping, kicking, jumping up and down, or striking.
Fear
Conditioning, imitation, and memories of unpleasant experiences
play important roles in arousing fears, as do stories, pictures, radio and television
programs, and movies with frightening elements. See Figure 5-2. At first, a child's
response to fear is panic; later, his responses become more specific and include
running away and hiding, crying, and avoiding frightening situations.
Jealousy
A child becomes jealous when he thinks parental interest and
attention are shifting toward someone else in the family, usually a new sibling. He
may openly express his jealousy, or he may show it by reverting to infantile
behavior (such as bed-wetting), pretending to be ill, or being generally naughty.
All such behavior is a bid for attention.

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Curiosity
Children are curious about anything new that they see and also
about their own bodies and the bodies of others. Their first responses to curiosity
take the form of sensorimotor exploration; later, as a result of social pressures and
punishment, they respond by asking questions.
Envy
A young child may become envious of the abilities or material
possessions of another person and may express his envy by complaining about what
he has, by verbalizing a wish to have what another has (see Figure 5-3), or by
appropriating the object he envies.
Joy
The young child derives joy from such things as a sense of physical
well-being, incongruous situations, sudden or unexpected noises, slight calamities,
playing pranks on others, and accomplishing what seems to him a difficult task. He
expresses his joy by smiling, laughing, clapping his hands, jumping up and down, or
hugging the object or person that has made him happy.
Grief
The child is saddened, by the loss of anything that he loves or is
important to him, and he typically expresses his grief by crying and losing interest
in his normal activities, including eating.
Affection
The young child learns to love the things-people, pets, or objects—that give him
pleasure, and he expresses his affection either verbally or physically.

6.9 PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Between the ages of two and three, the child shows a decided
interest in watching other children, and he attempts to make social contacts with
them. Parallel play, in which the child plays independently beside other children
rather than with them, is his earliest form of social activity with his con temporaries.
Following this comes associative play, in which the child
engages in similar, if not identical, activities with other children, and cooperative
play, in which he is a part of a group. Frequently children play the role of an
onlooker, watching other children at play. By the time the child is four years old, he
understands the rudiments of team play, is conscious of the opinions of others, and
tries to gain attention by showing off.
Companions of the same age and level of maturity are important
at this time. Because young children are relatively unaware of socioeconomic
differences, this factor is of little importance in their choice of companions.

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6.10 LEADERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
In early childhood, the leader is characteristically larger, more
intelligent, and usually older than the other members of the group. The fact that he
is older and more intelligent makes it possible for him to offer suggestions for play
which the other children, because of their habitual reliance upon adult suggestions,
are willing to follow. The big child has an advantage over smaller ones in that
children tend to respect size as a result of their habits of obedience to adult
requests.
Most leaders in early childhood are tyrannical bosses who show little
consideration for the wishes of others. When his tyranny becomes too great, the
leader loses status and is replaced by another. Some leaders in early childhood are
"diplomats" who lead others by indirect and artful suggestions or by bargaining.
Girls at this age frequently assume the role of leadership in groups containing boys.

6.11 SOCIAL AND UNSOCIAL BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

Social Patterns
Imitation
To identify himself with the group, the child imitates the attitudes and behavior of a
person whom he especially admires and wants to be like.
Rivalry
The desire to excel or outdo others is apparent as early as the fourth year. It
begins at home and later develops in play with children outside the home.
Cooperation
By the end of the third year, cooperative play and group activities begin to develop
and increase in both frequency and duration as the child's opportunities for play
with other children increase.
Sympathy
Because sympathy requires an understanding of the feelings and emotions of
others, it appears only occasionally before the third year. The more play contacts
the child has, the sooner sympathy will develop.
Social Approval
As early childhood draws to a close, peer approval becomes more importan t than
adult approval. Young children find that naughty and disturbing behavior is a way of
winning peer approval.
Unsocial Patterns
Negativism
Negativism, or resistance to adult authority, reaches its peak between three and

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four years of age and then declines. Physical resistance gradually gives way to
verbal resistance and pretending not to hear or understand requests.
Aggressiveness
Aggressiveness increases between the ages of two and four and then declines.
Physical attacks begin to be replaced by verbal attacks in the form of name-calling,
tattling, or blaming others.
Ascendant Behavior
Ascendant behavior, or "bossiness," begins around the age of three and increases
as opportunities for social contacts increase. Girls tend to be bossier than boys.
Selfishness
While the child's social horizons are limited mainly to the home, he is selfish and
egocentric. As his social horizons broaden, selfishness gradually wanes, but
generosity is still very undeveloped.
Sex Antagonism
Until they are four years old, boys and girls play together harmoniously. After that,
boys come under social pressures that lead them to shun play activities that might
be regarded as "sissyish." Many engage in aggressive behavior which antag onizes
girls.
Prejudice
Most preschool children show a preference for playmates of their own race, but they
seldom refuse to play with children of another race. Racial prejudice begins sooner
than religious or socioeconomic prejudice, but later than sex prejudice.

6.12 PLAY PATTERNS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Toys
Interest in toys begins to lag somewhat toward the end of early
childhood. The child no longer endows his toys with living qualities, and his interest
in solitary play is replaced by interest in group play.
Dramatizations
At around age three, dramatization consists of playing with his
toys in ways that imitate life experiences. Later, the child plays make-believe
games with his friends-cops and robbers, for example many of which are based on
stories that have been read to him or movies and television shows he has seen.
Constructions
The young child makes many things with blocks, sand, mud, clay,
beads, paints, crayons, scissors, and paints. Most of his constructions are in imita -
tion of what he sees in daily life—people and houses, for example.
Games

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 During the fourth year the child begins to prefer games played with
peers to those played with adults. These games can have any number of players
and involve few rules. Games that test skills, such as throwing and catching balls,
are also popular.
Reading
The young child likes to be read to and to look at pictures in
books. Fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and stories about animals and everyday occur-
rences appeal to him.
Movies, Radio, and Television
Most young children attend movies infrequently, but they do
like cartoons, movies about animals, and home movies of family members. They
also enjoy listening to the radio, but are especially fond of television watching. They
like programs meant for older children as well as those aimed at the preschooler.
Since they watch in the security of their own homes, they are not upset by
frightening elements in the programs.

6.13 COMMON CATEGORIES OF CONCEPTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Life
Children tend to ascribe living qualities to inanimate objects-dolls
and stuffed animals, for example. Adults may encourage this by pointing out
similarities between animate and inanimate objects, such as a cloud formation that
resembles a dog or a horse.
Death
The young child tends to associate death with anything that goes away
or disappears, although he is unable to comprehend the finality of death.
Bodily Functions
The young child has very inaccurate concepts of bodily functions and
of birth. This remains the case even after he enters school.
Space
Four-year-olds can judge short distances accurately, but the ability to
judge long distances does not develop until late childhood.
Weight
Before the child learns that different materials have different weights
which does not occur much before the school age-he estimates weight exclusively in
terms of size.
Numbers
Children who attend nursery school or kindergarten usually understand
numbers up to 5, but have only vague concepts about numbers higher than that.

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Time
Young children have no idea of the duration of time-how long an hour
is, for example-nor can they estimate time in terms of their own activities. Most
four- or five-year-olds know the day of the week, and by the age of six they know
the month, season, and year.
Self
By the time the child is three, he knows his sex, his full name, and the
names of the different parts of his body. When he starts to play with other children,
his self-concept begins to include facts about his abilities and his race but not his
socioeconomic level.
Sex Roles
Clear concepts of appropriate sex roles are developed by the time the
child is five years old.
Social Awareness
Before early childhood ends, most children are able to form definite,
opinions about others-whether a person is "nice" or "mean," for example.
Beauty
The young child prefers music with a definite tune or rhythm, and he
likes bright, gaudy colors.
Comic
Among the things most often perceived as comic by the young child are
funny faces made by himself or others, socially inappropriate behavior, and the
antics of domestic animals.

6.14 EFFECTS OF DISCIPLINE ON YOUNG CHILDREN

Effects on Behavior
Children of permissive parents become selfish, disregard the rights of
others, and are aggressive and unsocial. Those who are subjected to strict,
authoritarian training are overly obedient in the presence of adults but aggressive
in peer relationships. Children brought up under democratic discipline* learn to
restrain behavior they know is wrong, and they are more considerate of the rights
of others.
Effects on Attitudes
Children whose parents are either authoritarian or permissive tend to
resent those in authority. In the former case, they feel they have been treated un-
fairly; in the latter case, they feel their parents should have warned them that
not all adults will accept undisciplined behavior. Democratic discipline may lead to
temporary anger, but not to resentment. The attitudes formed as a result of child-

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training methods tend to become generalized, to spread to all persons in authority,
and to persist.
Effects on Personality
The more physical punishment is used, the more likely the child is
to become sullen, obstinate, and negativistic. This results in poor personal and
social adjustments, which are also characteristic of children brought up
permissively. Those brought up with democratic discipline make the best personal
and social adjustments.

6.15 COMMON INTERESTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Some interests are almost universal among young children in the
world today. These include interest in religion, in the human body, in sex, and in
clothes.
Interest in Religion
Religious beliefs are, for the most part, meaningless to a young
child, although he lay show some interest in religious observances. However,
because so many of the mysteries centered around birth, death, growth, and the
elements are explained to him in religious terms, his curiosity about religious
matters is great, and he asks many questions relating to religion. He accepts what
he is told without questioning or doubting.
The young child's religious concepts are realistic in the sense t hat
he interprets what he hears in terms of what he knows. To him, God is a man who
wears clothes different from the clothes of the persons he knows and who has a
flowing white beard and long white hair. God is all-knowing, all-powerful. He is
really a "watcher" who observes what people do and punishes those who are evil,
though he is kind and merciful to those who try to be good. Angels are men and
women with white wings, and heaven is a place where every human wish is
gratified. Early childhood is the "fairy-tale stage" of religious belief. That is why
religious stories have such a strong appeal to young children and also why they find
the pageantry of religious services so awe-inspiring. Even home religious
observances inspire awe and reverence in the young child.
The young child's interest in religion is egocentric, however.
Prayer, for example, is a way of gaining childish desires. - He thinks of God as a
person who can and will do things for him, just as his parents do when he asks
them. The egocentrism of religion in childhood is best illustrated by the young
child's attitude toward Christmas, which he does not think of as a day to celebrate
the birth of Christ, but rather as the day when Santa Claus will bring him all the
things he has asked for.

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Interest in the Human Body
The young child expresses his interest in his body by
commenting on the various parts and asking questions about them, examining parts
of his body and calling attention to them, and occasionally engaging in exhibi-
tionism. Children are also curious about elimination, though their attitude toward it
is matter-of-fact and unconcerned.
While young children recognize anatomical differences
between boys and girls, they regard these as incidental characteristics. They are
curious about germs and how they cause the body to become sick and about how
medicine cures sickness. When a person dies, they are curious about what happens
to the body and how it gets to heaven.
Interest in Sex
Young children are extremely curious about where babies come
from and ask many questions about this matter. Some children believe that babies
come from heaven, but most believe that they come from a hospital or a store or
that a stork brings them.
Many children show their interest in sex by talking about it to their
playmates when adults are not present, by looking at pictures of adult men and
women in amorous poses, by engaging in sex play with members of their own sex
or of the opposite sex, and by masturbating. However, because many parents
regard sex play and masturbation as naughty, if not actually wicked, such activities
are usually carried out in private.
Interest in Clothes
The young child has little interest in his appearance whether he
is clean or dirty, for example but he does have a strong interest in his clothes. At
an early age, he discovers that his clothing attracts attention. Adults make
favorable comments about his clothes, and his playmates often admire them or
even envy him because of them.
The young child is well aware of the sex appropriateness of
clothes and wants to be sure that his clothes conform to the approved styles for his
sex. Boys, for example, regard being dressed up as a sign of a sissy, and they
prefer playclothes to dressy clothes.

6.16 CHANGED PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS

Changes in the Child
The soft, cuddly baby has now become a rebellious,

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mischievous, self-assertive individual who is constantly into everything, demanding
attention, and refusing to do as he is told.
Changes in Parental Attitudes
As the young child becomes more independent, parents feel
that he needs less care and attention than he did when he was a baby, and the
child resents this.
Parental Concept of a "Good" Child
When a child does not come up to his parents' expectations,
they become critical and punitive, and the child reacts to this treatment by being
even more negativistic and troublesome.
Parental Preference
Because the mother spends more time with the child than the
father and because most mothers understand the troublesome behavior of young
children better than fathers do, the child may not only prefer his mother but also
show it plainly. The father may resent this and become critical of the child and his
behavior, thus widening the gap between them.
Preference for Outsiders
A young child who goes to nursery school, for example, may
develop a preference for his teacher over his parents, and they may feel hurt and
resentful.

6.17 HAZARDS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

Like the hazards of babyhood, those of early childhood can be
physical, psychological, or both. Poor nutrition, for example, may stunt physical and
mental growth, just as excessive family friction can lead to stress, which can also
stunt growth. However, the psychological hazards of early childhood are more
numerous than the physical hazards and are more damaging to the child's personal
and social adjustments.
Physical Hazards
The physical hazards of early childhood have psychological as
well as physical repercussions, especially such hazards as illness, accidents, and
awkwardness.
Mortality
Deaths start to decline rapidly in the latter part of babyhood and
decline even more rapidly during early childhood. Deaths in early childhood are
more often the result of accidents than of illness, and because boys have more
accidents than girls, deaths in early childhood are more frequent among boys than
among girls.

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Illness
Young children are highly susceptible to all kinds of illness, though respi-
ratory illnesses are the most common. While most illnesses are physiological in ori -
gin, some are psychosomatic and result from family tensions.
Because of the "wonder drugs" available today, children's illnesses
are shorter in duration and less severe than in the past and are far less likely to
result in permanent physical defects. However, they are psychologically damaging
for two reasons. First, a child who is sick for an extended period falls behind in his
learning of the skills needed for" play with his peers; as a result, he may lag behind
them when he returns to the play group. Second, if parents consider the child's
illness a family calamity and blame him for the inconvenience it causes, he will
become tense and nervous; this not only prolongs his illness but also damages his
relationships with his parents.
Accidents
Most young children experience cuts, bruises, infections, burns,
broken bones, strained muscles, or similar minor disturbances resulting from
accidents. Others have more serious accidents that disable them temporarily or
permanently. As was pointed out above, boys have more accidents than girls, and
they tend to be more serious.
Although most accidents in early childhood are not fatal, many of
them leave permanent physical or psychological scars. Many disabilities of
childhood, for example, are the result of accidents. A disability can cause the child
to develop feelings of inferiority and martyrdom that permanently distort his
personality pattern. Even if an accident leaves no permanent physical scar, it may
make the young child timid and fearful to the point where these feeling a will pre-
dominate his adjustment to life.
Unattractiveness
As early childhood progresses, children become increasingly unat-
tractive, reaching a low point as they emerge into late childhood. There are a
number of reasons for this. First, as the body changes shape, the child begins to
look skinny and gawky; second, his hair becomes coarser and less manageable, and
this gives him an unkempt appearance; third, there are gaps in his mouth where
baby teeth have fallen out, and the permanent teeth which have erupted seem
proportionally too large; and fourth, the child cares more about having a good time
than about keeping neat and clean, and thus he does not always look tidy and well
groomed.The young child's less attractive appearance, added to his changed
behavior, makes him less appealing to his parents and other adults than he was as
a baby, and he interprets this as a rejection of him.

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Awkwardness
The child who is hampered by overprotective parents, by fear
engendered by accidents or warnings to "be careful," by environmental obstacles,
or by lack of opportunity to practice becomes awkward as compared with other
children of his age. He cannot keep up with them, and as a result he is left out of
their play. He soon comes to think that they are better than he is —a feeling which
in time may become generalized and develop into an inferiority complex.
Left-Handedness
Left-handedness becomes a hazard when a child attempts to
learn a skill from a right-handed person; he becomes confused, and this confusion
may worsen as the child grows older and skills play a more important role in his
life. Left-handedness can affect the child's educational success and later his
vocational success or his social adjustments. A self-conscious adolescent, for
example, may shun social situations in which eating with his left hand would
embarrass him and make him feel conspicuous.
While children are relatively ambidextrous during babyhood,
between the ages of four and six they develop a preference for one hand over the
other. Many parents try to force a left-handed child to use his right hand. This can
be hazardous because it emphasizes the child's different-ness, which he interprets
as inferiority, especially when parents use punitive approaches.
Psychological Hazards
Every major area of the child's behavioral development has
associated with it potential hazards which can affect his personal and social
adjustments adversely.
Speech Hazards
Because speech is a tool for communication and because com-
munication is essential to social belonging, the child who cannot communicate with
others as well as his age-mates can will be socially handicapped, and this will lead
to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority.
Three common hazards are associated with the young child's
communicative ability. First, he may be unable to comprehend what others are
saying because they use words he does not understand, because they use
pronunciations that are unfamiliar to him, or because they speak too fast. An even
more common cause is the child's own failure to listen. Because most young chil -
dren are egocentric and are more interested in what they want to say to others
than in what others are saying to them, they often do not listen attentively enough
to comprehend what is .being said. As a result, their speech is unrelated to
what others are saying, and this jeopardizes their social contacts.

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 Second, when the quality of the young child's speech is so poor
that what he says is unintelligible to others, his ability to communicate with them is
even more jeopardized than when he has not listened to what they said to him.
Poor speech quality may be due to mispronunciation of words or grammatical
errors, often the result of imitating a poor model (see Figure 5-8); speech defects
such as lisping, slurring, or stuttering; or bilingualism.
The third serious speech hazard in early childhood and in many
respects the most serious one, concerns the content of the child's speech. While
others will overlook poor speech, assuming that he will learn to speak more
correctly as he grows older, they are far less likely to be tolerant if his speech is
largely egocentric and if the comments he does make about others are critical and
derogatory. Because the child derives temporary ego-satisfaction from hurting
others, he is likely to get into the habit of speaking in an unsocial way, and this will
play havoc with his social adjustments.
Emotional Hazards
The major emotional hazard of early childhood is the
dominance of the unpleasant emotions, especially anger. If the child experiences
too many of the unpleasant emotions and too few of the pleasant ones, it will
distort his outlook on life and encourage the development of an unpleasant
disposition. In addition, he soon acquires a facial expression that makes him look
surly, sullen, or generally disagreeable—an expression that contributes to the
decline in his appealingness.
Almost as great a hazard to good personal and social
adjustments in early childhood is the child's inability to establish the empathic
complex, or an emotional linkage with significant people in his life. The child who
does not receive affection from others is likely to become self-bound, and this pre-
vents him from having an emotional exchange with them. Almost as serious is the
development of too strong an affection for one person usually the mother because
this makes the child feel insecure and anxious whenever the loved person's behav-
ior seems threatening to him reproval for misbehavior, for example or wh en the
loved one pays attention to another. Both the inability to establish emotional
linkages with others and the development of an emotional overdependence on one
person make it difficult for the child to establish friendly relationships with his
peers.
Opportunities to learn to behave in a peer-^approved
manner. His socially unacceptable speech or behavior will become habitual, and his
chances of winning acceptance will worsen as time goes on.
Second, a child who is placed under strong pressure to

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play in a sex-appropriate way may overdo it and make himself obnoxious to his
peers. For example, a boy may try to be so masculine and aggressive in his play
that he antagonizes not only the members of his family but also his friends.
The third social hazard of early childhood is the use of
imaginary companions and pets to compensate for a lack of real companions.
Having an imaginary companion is a temporary solution to the lonely-child pro.
i.em, but it does little to socialize the young child. He is likely to acquire the habit
of dominating his friends, which is possible with an imaginary playmate but
frequently not possible with a real one. When he discovers that the technique that
worked so successfully with his imaginary playmate does not work with real
children, the child is likely to become a maladjusted member of the group.
While pets meet the social needs of a child to some
extent, they lack the socializing influence that the child should have. A pet that is
considered suitable for a young child is usually so docile that it will take any
treatment from the child without protest. This encourages the child to be aggressive
in his relationships with the pet, even though he may at times show affection. As
was stressed earlier, in order for a child to be an accepted member of the play
group, his aggressive reactions, must give way to friendly, affectionate ones,
Play Hazards
The child who lacks friends is forced to engage in
solitary forms of play. Because socialization in early childhood comes mainly
through play activities' with peers, the lonely child is deprived of opportunities to
learn to be social.
Because most young children enjoy watching
television more than other forms of solitary play, the child who lacks play mates
may spend proportionally too much of his playtime in this way and may come to
think of it as the best form of solitary play.
Studies of television watching by young children
recognize that it has some beneficial effects, but emphasize the harmful ones, such
as nervous tension, nightmares, and increased aggressiveness in play with other
children. This is especially true when parents exercise little or no control over the
programs the child sees. Furthermore, while many parents claim that television
watching is not harmful to young children because they do not "understand what
they see," they fail to realize that children are less critical than adults and therefore
are more influenced by what they see on the screen than adults are. They may not
understand what a particular program is about, but they often have a distorted
impression or misconception of what they have seen. Thus even a harmless
program can be harmful to the young child. Even more important, young children

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remember details of frightening programs better than those of programs that
arouse less fear, which reinforces their harmful effects.
Toys can present another play hazard in early childhood.
Toys that offer little opportunity for creativity, such as fully equipped dollhouses or
sets of soldiers, will stifle the child's creative urge. The child's creativity can also be
stifled if parents or nursery school teachers provide too much supervision and
direction concerning the use of toys.
Concept Hazards
Because concept development is a long, complicated, and
arduous task, young children cannot be expected to have well-developed concepts.
However, if the child's concepts are less well developed than those of his peers, this
can greatly affect his social adjustments. For example, the child who has limited
opportunities to associate with people outside the home does not learn to behave as
well with strangers as children who have more such opportunities. As a result, he
may say things that seem tactless or rude.
The emotional weighting of concepts can present an
even more serious hazard. The, young child, for example, whose concept of
Christmas has been built up around Santa Claus, with its pleasurable emotional
weighting, will be resistant to changing his concept about Christmas when he
discovers that there is no Santa Claus. Instead of revising it to include its religious
meaning, he will claim that "Christmas doesn't mean anything now".
Moral Hazards
There are four common hazards in moral development
during early childhood. First, inconsistent discipline slows down the process of
learning to conform to social expectations. When different people require that the
child behave differently under similar circumstances, he understandably becomes
confused about why something he did was all right yesterday but not today. This
not only complicates learning for the child but also may encourage him to be sly
and to lie if threatened with punishment.
Second, if the child is not reprimanded for
misdemeanors and if he is permitted to get temporary satisfaction from the admira-
tion and envy of his peers when he misbehaves, this is likely to encourage him to
persist in his misbehavior. As Glueck has pointed out, it is possible to spot potential
delinquents as early as two or three years of age, not just by their behavior, but
even more important by their attitudes toward their misbehavior.
Third, too much emphasis on punishment for
wrongdoing and too little emphasis on rewards for good behavior can lead to
unfavorable attitudes. Children who are punished more than they are rewarded are

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less apt to be repentant than to be angry, rebellious, and determined to "get even"
with the person who punished them.
Fourth, and most serious of all from the long-term
point of view, young children who are subjected to authoritarian discipline, which
puts major emphasis on external controls, are not encouraged to develop the in-
ternal controls over their behavior that form the foundations for the later
development of a conscience. Development of these internal controls must begin
early, and it is best accomplished through democratic discipline which encourages
the child to want to learn to conform to group expectations.

6.18 HAPPINESS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

 Good health, which enables the child" to enjoy whatever he undertakes and
carry it out successfully.
 A stimulating environment in which he has the opportunity to use his abilities
to their maximum.
 Parental acceptance of annoying childish behavior and guidance in learning
to behave in a socially more acceptable way.
 A disciplinary policy that is well planned and consistently adhered to. This
lets the child know what is expected of him and prevents him from feeling
that he is being punished unfairly.
 Developmentally appropriate expressions of affection, such as showing pride
in the child's achievements and spending time with him doing things he
enjoys.
 A reasonable number of successes. Parents can guide the child's aspirations
in accordance with his capacities and can show him how to make a success of
what he undertakes, thus fostering a favorable self-concept.
 Acceptance by siblings and playmates, which parents can help him achieve
by giving him guidance in how to get along in play situations
 A general atmosphere of happiness in the home, which will help the child to
tolerate temporary unpleasantness. .

6.19 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Early childhood, which extends from two to six, is called the problem age,
the troublesome age, and the toy age by parents and the preschool age, the
pregang age, the exploratory age, the questioning age, the imitative age,
and the creative age by educators and psychologists.

 The major developmental tasks of early childhood are centered on laying the

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 foundations for adjustments to people and situations outside the home.

 Physical development proceeds at a slower rate in early childhood than in

babyhood, and the major physiological habits, whose foundations were laid in
babyhood, become well established at this time.

 Skills are of great advantage to a young child, both personally and soci ally,
and there are rapid advances in the mastery of hand and leg skills, as well as
in those related to speech.

 The content and quantity of speech in early childhood play important roles in
the child's adjustments to peers as well as to adults.

 The common emotional patterns of early childhood are similar to those of

babyhood, though young children show more control over the overt
expression of their emotions with each passing year.
 As judged by adult standards, young children's patterns of behavior in social
situations are often more unsocial than social. This is especially true of
such patterns as negativism, aggressiveness, selfishness, and the beginning
of sex antagonism.
 The typical play activities of young children include toy play, dramatizations,
constructions, games, being read to, watching movies, listening to the radio,
and watching television.

 The common categories of concepts developed by young children include

concepts of life and death, bodily functions, space, weight, numbers, time,
self, sex roles, other people, right and wrong, beauty, and the comic. These
concepts have a profound influence on the child's personal and social
adjustments.

 As the young child's social horizons broaden, he acquires many new

interests, especially in religion, the human body, sex, and clothes.

 Deterioration in parent-child and in sibling relationships, which begins at the

end of babyhood, affects the developing self-concepts of young children
differently and this contributes to the development of individuality.

 The physical hazards of early childhood, especially illness and accidents,

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 have a less profound influence than the psychological hazards —speech
defects, lack of social acceptance, and conceptual errors —in determining the
kind of personal and social adjustments the young child will make and, as a
result, the degree of happiness or unhappiness he will experience.

6.20 EXERCIZE QUESTIONS

 What are the various names given to early childhood.
 Discuss the physical development in early childhood.
 Discuss the various developmental tasks of early childhood.
 Discuss the various emotional patterns in early childhood.
 Discuss the types of play and play patterns in early childhood.
 Discuss social patterns in early childhood.
 Discuss the common categories of concepts in early childhood.
 What are the effects of discipline in early childhood.
 What are the various hazards of early childhood.
 What contributes towards happiness in early childhood.
 Discuss changed parent child relationships in early childhood.

6.21 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Bossard JH & Boll ES (1966). The Sociology of Child Development. New York.
Harper and Row.
 Kagan J & Moss HA (1962). Birth to maturity : a study in psychological
development. New York, Wiley.
 Piaget J. (1971). Psychology and Epistemology. New York, Grossmann.
 Looft WR (1972). Developmental Psychology : a book of readings.
 Levinson BM (1972). Pets and human development. Springfield, Charles.C.
Thomas.

UNIT 7 - LATE CHILDHOOD

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 Contents

7.1 Unit Objectives.

7.2 Introduction to Late Childhood.
7.3 Names Given to Late Childhood.
7.4 Physical Development in Late Childhood.
7.5 Skills acquired in Late Childhood.
7.6 Specific Vocabulary of Late Childhood.
7.7 Content of Speech in Late Childhood.
7.8 Gangs of children in Late Childhood.
7.9 Treatment of other children.
7.10 Constructive Play in Late Childhood.
7.11 Favorite Amusements in Late Childhood.
7.12 Concepts in Late Childhood.
7.13 Moral Development.
7.14 Development of a Conscience.
7.15 Essentials of Discipline in Late Childhood.
7.16 Common Misdemeanors of Late Childhood.
7.17 Common Interests in Late Childhood.
7.18 Deterioration in Family Relationships in Late Childhood.
7.19 Factors affecting Self Concept Development in Late Childhood.
7.20 Physical Hazards in Late Childhood.
7.21 Psychological Hazards in Late Childhood.
7.22 Chapter Summary.
7.23 Exercise Questions.
7.24 Reference Books.

7.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To study the characteristics of late childhood.
 To study child development in late childhood.
 To study vocabulary and speech in late childhood.
 To study friends and play patterns in late childhood.
 To study the various hazards of late childhood.
 To study moral and conscience development in late childhood.

7.2 INTRODUCTION TO LATE CHILDHOOD

Late childhood extends from the age of six to the time the
individual becomes sexually mature. It is marked, at the beginning, by the child's

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entrance into first grade. This is milestone in his life and is responsible for many of
the changes that take place in his attitudes and behavior. Marked physical changes
take place during the last year or two of childhood, and these also cause changes in
attitudes and behavior.
Although it is possible to mark off the beginning of late childhood
fairly accurately, one cannot be so precise about the time this period comes to an
end because sexual maturity the criterion used to divide childhood from
adolescence comes at varying ages. There are marked variations in the ages at
which both boys and girls become sexually mature. As a result, some children have
a longer-than-average late childhood, while for others it is shorter than average.
For the average American girl, late childhood extends from six to thirteen, a span of
seven years; for boys, it extends from six to fourteen, a span of eight years.

7.3 VARIOUS NAMES GIVEN TO LATE CHILDHOOD

Educators call late childhood the elementary school age. It is the
time when the child is expected to acquire the rudiments of knowledge that are
considered essential for successful adjustment to adult life. It is also the time when
he is expected to learn certain essential skills, both curricular and extracurricular.
To the psychologist, late childhood is the gang age the time
when the child's major concern is acceptance by his age-mates and membership in
a "gang." This concern leads the older child to be a conformist in terms of the
appearance, speech, and behavior that are approved by the gang.

7.4 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN LATE CHILDHOOD

Height
The annual increase in height is 2 to 3 inches. The average eleven -
year-old girl is 58 inches tall, and the average boy of the same age is 57.5 inches
tall.
Weight
Weight increases are more variable than height increases, ranging
from 3 to 5 or more pounds annually. The average eleven-year-old girl weighs 88.5
pounds, and the average boy of the same age weighs 85.5 pounds. Fat tissue
accounts for only approximately 25 percent of the total body weight.
Body Proportions
Although the head is still proportionally too large for the rest of the
body, some of the facial disproportions disappear as the mouth and jaw become
larger, the forehead broadens and flattens, the lips fill out, the nose become larger
and acquires more shape. The trunk elongates and becomes slimmer, the neck

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becomes longer, the chest broadens, the abdomen flattens, the arms and legs
lengthen (although they appear spindly and shapeless because of undeveloped
musculature), and the hands and feet grow larger, but at a slow rate.
Teeth
By the onset of puberty, the child normally has twenty-eight of his
thirty-two permanent teeth. The last four, the wisdom teeth, erupt during
adolescence

7.5 SKILLS CATEGORIES OF LATE-CHILDHOOD

Self-Help Skills
The older child should be able to eat, dress, bathe, and groom
himself with almost as much speed and adeptness as an adult, and these skills
should not require the conscious attention that was necessary in early childhood.
Social-Help Skills
Skills in this category relate to helping others. At home, they
include making beds, dusting, and sweeping; at school, they include emptying
waste-baskets and washing blackboards; and in the play group, they include
helping to construct a tree • house or lay out a baseball diamond.
School Skills
At school, the child develops the skills needed in writing, drawing,
painting, clay modeling, dancing, singing, sewing, cooking, and woodworking.
Play Skills
The older child learns such skills as throwing and catching balls,
riding bicycles, skating, and swimming in connection with his play.

7.6 SPECIAL VOCABULARIES OF LATE CHILDHOOD

Etiquette Vocabulary
By the end of the first grade, the child who has had training at home
in using such words as "please" and "thank you" has as large an etiquette vocabu -
lary as that of the adults in his environment.
Color Vocabulary
The child knows the names of all the common colors and many of the
less common ones shortly after he enters school.
Number Vocabulary
The older child learns the names and meanings of numbers from
his study of arithmetic at school.
Money Vocabulary
Both in school and at home, the older child learns the names of

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the different coins and understands the value of the various denominations of bills.
Time Vocabulary
The older child's time vocabulary is as large as that of the adults
with whom he comes in contact.
Slang-word and Swearword Vocabularies
Children learn slang words and swearwords from older siblings or
older children in the neighborhood. Using such words makes the child feel "grown-
up."
Secret Vocabularies
Older children use secret vocabularies to communicate with
their intimate friends. These can be written, consisting of codes formed by symbols
or the substitution of one letter for another; verbal, consisting of distortions of
words pig Latin, for example; or kinetic, consisting of gestures and the use of the
fingers to communicate words. Most children start to use one or more of these
forms at the time they enter the third grade, and their use reaches a, peak just
before puberty.

7.7 CONTENT OF SPEECH IN LATE CHILDHOOD

The older child's speech is less egocentric than that of the
preschool child. Just when he will shift from egocentric to socialized speech will
depend not so much upon his age as upon his personality, the number of s ocial
contacts he has had and the satisfaction he has derived from them, and the size of
the group to which he is speaking. The larger the group, the more socialized the
speech. When the child is with his contemporaries, his speech is generally less
egocentric than when he is with adults.
Although children may talk about anything, their favorite topics
of conversation, when with their peers, are their own experiences, their home and
family, games, sports, movies, television programs, their gang activities, sex, sex
organs and functions, and the daring of a contemporary that led to an accident.
When he is with an adult, it is the latter who usually determines the topic of
conversation.
When the older child talks about himself, it is usually in the form
of boasting. He boasts less about material possessions than about his superior skill
and strength in games. Boasting, as a rule, is very common between the ages of
nine and twelve years, especially among boys.
The older child also likes to criticize and make fun of other
people. Sometimes he criticizes people openly, and sometimes behind their backs.
When criticizing adults, the child generally puts his criticism in the fo rm of a

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suggestion or complaint, such as "Why don't you do so-and-so?" or "You won't let
me dp what my friends do." Criticism of other children frequently takes the form of
name-calling, teasing, or making derogatory comments.
How much improvement there will be in the content of the
older child's speech and in the way he presents what he has to say will depend not
so much on his intelligence as on the level of his socialization. Children who are
popular have a strong incentive to improve the quality of their speech. They learn,
from personal experience, that words can hurt and that the popular children are
those whose speech adds to the enjoyment of their contact with their peers.

7.8 CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN'S GANGS

 Children's gangs are play groups belong to a gang, a child must be invited.
 Members of a gang are of the same sex.
 At first gangs consist of three or four members, but this number increases as
children grow older and become interested in sports.
 Boys' gangs more often engage in socially unacceptable behavior than girls'
gangs. Popular gang activities include games and sports, going to the
movies, and getting together to talk or eat.
 The gang has a central meeting place, usually away from the watchful eyes
of adults.
 Most gangs have insignia of belonging; the members may wear
similar clothes, for example.
 The gang leader represents the gang's ideal and is superior in most respects
to the other members.

7.9 TREATMENT OF OTHER CHILDREN

Once older children have formed a group of friends, they are often
cruel to others whom they do not regard as their friends. Much of the secrecy that
surrounds gangs is designed to keep out children the members do not want as
friends. The tendency to be cruel and callous toward all who are not gang-mates
generally reaches a peak around the eleventh year.
While any child may have difficulty making friends and being
accepted by a gang, a. child who is new to a neighborhood or sch ool has an
especially difficult problem. It is the new child who must initiate the con tacts if he
wants to have friends. This he does by trying to talk to or play with members of one
of the already-formed groups, by observing and imitating their play, and by trying
to attract their attention to himself.
At first, he is usually ignored. If he is willing to try again and

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again, he may succeed in getting one member of the group interested in him, and
through this contact he may eventually win a place in the gang.
Even though gangs are tightly knit social units, shrouded in
secrecy to keep out newcomers or others who are not wanted as members, there is
a great deal of fighting within the ranks. Often children in a gang are not on
speaking terms with some of their friends. Many of these quarrels are made up and
the friendships reestablished; others are not.
As a result, children's friendships are rarely static. The child
shifts from best friend to enemy, or from casual acquaintance to close friendship,
quickly and often for little reason. Quarreling, bossiness, disloyalty,
underhandedness, conceit, and incompatibility are the reasons most often given by
children for changing friends. However, as children grow older, their friendships
become more stable. Children who are popular have been found to change their
friends almost as often as unpopular children. Girls, at all ages in late childhood,
are slightly more stable in their friendships than boys (93) late childhood are
discussed in the following sections.

7.10 CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY IN LATE CHILDHOOD

Making things just for the fun of it, with little thought given to their eventual use, is
a popular form of play among older children. Construction with wood and tools
appeals to boys, while girls prefer finer types of construction, such as sewing,
drawing, painting, clay modeling, and jewelry making.
Drawing, painting, and clay modeling gradually decrease in
popularity as childhood advances, not so much because the child loses interest in
these activities, but rather because he feels self-conscious if he is criticized by his
classmates and teachers. Many children enjoy these activities at home, however.
The drawings that older children do make are likely to be cartoons of their teachers,
their friends, or people in the news. This kind of drawing is generally done during
school hours when they are bored.
Singing is another form of creative play the older child enjoys. He
does not like to sing at school, during the music period, for example, but rather
with his friends when he is away from the listening ears of teachers and parents.
Boys make little attempt-to sing well; they derive their fun just from making a
noise or from making up a silly version of a song they already know.
Collecting as a form of play increases in popularity as childhood
progresses. The older child is more selective in his collections than he was when he
was younger. He now collects only a few things stamps or shells, for example. He
chooses things that he thinks will give him prestige in the eyes of his friends, and

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he tries to get a wide variety of each item.

7.11 FAVORITE AMUSEMENTS DURING LATE CHILDHOOD

Reading
The older child prefers books and children's magazines which stress
adventure and in which he may read about a heroic person with whom he can iden-
tify. He also enjoys cartoons and comic strips in adult magazines and newspapers.
Comic Books and Comic Strips
Regardless of intellectual level, almost all children enjoy comic books
and comic strips, whether humorous or adventure-oriented. Their appeal comes
from the fact that they are amusing, exciting, easy to read, and a stimulus to the
child's imagination.
Movies
Movie attendance is one of the favorite gang activities of late
childhood, although some children attend alone or with family members. They enjoy
cartoons, adventure movies, and movies about animals.
Radio and Television
Radio is less popular than television among older children, although
they do enjoy listening to music or tuning into a sports event that is not presented
on television. Watching television is one of the favorite amusements of most older
children. They enjoy cartoon shows and other programs geared toward their age
level, as well as many adult shows.
Daydreaming
The child who is lonely at home or" who has few friends amuses
himself by daydreaming, "typically imagining himself as a "conquering hero."

7.12 CONCEPTS IN LATE CHILDHOOD

Life
While some older children find it difficult to understand that many things that
move—a river, for example—are not alive, they become increasingly aware that
movement is not the sole criterion of life.
Death
Children who experience the death of a family member or pet have a good
understanding of the meaning of death, and the emotional weighting of their
concept of death is colored by the reactions of those around them.
Life after Death
The child's concept of life after death depends mainly on the religious instruction he
receives and on what his friends believe.

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Bodily Functions
Until the child begins to study health in elementary school, many of his concepts
about bodily functions are inaccurate and incomplete.
Space
By using scales and rulers, the child learns the meaning of ounces, pounds, inches,
feet, and even miles; from reports of space exploration in the mass media, he
develops concepts about outer space.
Numbers
Numbers take on new meanings as the older child uses money and works with
arithmetic problems. By the time he is nine years old, he understands number
concepts to 1,000 or beyond.
Money
The child begins to understand the value of the various coins and bills when he
starts to us money himself. Opportunities to use money vary markedly in different
families.
Time
The rigid schedule of the school day enables the child to develop concepts of what
he can accomplish in a given period of time. Social studies in school and mass
media help him to develop concepts of historical time.
Self
The child's concept of himself becomes clarified when he sees himself through the
eyes of his teachers and classmates and when he compares his abilities with those
of his peers.
Sex Roles
Not only do boys and girls develop clear concepts of approved sex roles, but before
childhood is over they may also learn that the male role is apt to be considered
more prestigious than the female role.
Social Roles
The older child is aware of his peers' social, religious, racial, and socioeconomic
status, and he accepts cultural stereotypes and adult attitudes toward these
statuses. This leads to group consciousness and in some cases to social prejudice.
Beauty
The older child tends to judge beauty in terms of group standards, rather than
according to his own aesthetic sensibilities.

The Comic
The older child's concept of the comic is based largely on what he has observed
others to perceive as funny.

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7.13 MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Discipline plays an important role in the development of a
moral code. In spite of the child's need for discipline, it becomes a serious problem
with older children. Continuing use of the disciplinary techniques that proved to be
effective when the child was younger is likely to lead to strong resentments on the
part of the older child. If discipline is to fill its role as a developmental need of the
child, it must be suited to the child's level of development.
7.14 DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIENCE
The kind of discipline used also plays an important role in the
development of conscience—one of the important developmental tasks of late
childhood. The term conscience means a conditioned anxiety response to certain
kinds of situations and actions which has been built up by associating certain acts
with punishment. It is an "internalized policeman" which motivates the child to do
what he knows is right and thus avoid punishment.
Guilt is a "special kind of negative self-evaluation which occurs
when an individual acknowledges that his behavior is at variance with a given moral
value to which he feels obligated to conform". Shame, by contrast, is an
"unpleasant emotional reaction of an individual to an actual or presumed negative
judgment of himself by others, resulting in self-depreciation vis-a-vis the group".
Shame thus relies on external sanctions alone, though it may be accompanied by
guilt. Guilt, by contrast, relies on both internal and external sanctions.

7.15 ESSENTIALS OF DISCIPLINE FOR OLDER CHILDREN

Aid In Building a Moral Code
In the case of the older child, the teaching of right and wrong
should emphasize the reasons why certain patterns of behavior are acceptable while
others are not, and it should be directed toward helping him broaden specific
concepts into more generalized, abstract ones.
Rewards
Rewards, such as praise or a special treat, for handling a difficult
situation well, have a strong educational value in that they show the child he has
behaved correctly, and they also motivate him to repeat the approved behavior.
However, if they are to be effective, rewards must be appropriate to the child's age
and level of development.
Punishment
Like rewards, punishment must be developmentally
appropriate and administered fairly; otherwise, it may arouse resentment on the

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child's part. Punishment must also motivate him to conform to social expectations
in the future.

7.16 COMMON MISDEMEANORS OF LATE CHILDHOOD

Home Misdemeanors
 Fighting with siblings
 Breaking possessions of other family members
 Being rude to adult family members
 Dawdling over routine activities
 Neglecting home responsibilities
 Lying
 Being sneaky
 Pilfering things belonging to other family members
 Spilling things intentionally
School Misdemeanors
 Stealing
 Cheating
 Lying
 Using vulgar and obscene language
 Destroying school property and materials
 Being truant
 Annoying other children by teasing them, bullying them, and creating a
disturbance
 Reading comic books or chewing gum during school hours
 Whispering, clowning, or being boisterous in class Fighting with classmates

7.17 COMMON INTERESTS OF LATE CHILDHOOD

Appearance
The child is interested in his looks only if he is so homely or so different in
appearance from his age-mates that he feels conspicuous.
Clothes
Older children are interested in new clothing, but it must be like that worn by th eir
friends. They also have definite color preferences in clothing.
Names and Nicknames
The child's name interests him only if it is very different from his friends' names. He
also becomes aware that the nickname his friends give him reflects their judgment
of him, and he does not want one that implies ridicule.
Religion

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Older children who attend Sunday school may have less interest in it than they did
earlier, although they still enjoy seeing their friends there. However, they often
become skeptical about religious teaching and about the efficacy of prayer.
The Human Body
Since he is unable to observe most bodily functions directly, the older child tries to
satisfy his curiosity about them by asking questions and reading books.
Health
Only when children are ill or have a chronic illness such as asthma are they
interested in health. Boys, especially, regard this interest as a sign of a sissy.
Sex
The older child wants to know more details about the relations between the sexes,
the father's role in reproduction, and the birth process. He tries to get such
information from books and from his friends, with whom he exchanges "dirty"
stories and jokes.
School
Typically, the child is greatly enthusiastic about school at first, but by the end of
the second grade he may have developed a bored, antagonistic, critical attitude
toward the academic work, though he may still like the nonacademic aspects.
Future Vocation
The child's early interest in his future vocation is centered on jobs that are glamorous,
exciting, and prestigious, and he gives little consideration to his capacities.
Status Symbols
The older child has a growing realization of the importance of socioeconomic status,
and he becomes interested in visible symbols of his own family's status.
Autonomy
How much autonomy the older child is interested in having depends on how much
his Mends have. If he has as much or more, he is satisfied.

7.18 DETERIORATION IN FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Attitudes toward Parenthood
Parents who perceive their roles unfavorably and feel that the
time, effort, and money expended on their children are unappreciated tend to have
poor relationships with their children.
Parental Expectations
By the time the child enters school, many parents have high
expectations about the quality of his schoolwork and the amount of responsibilities
he will assume in the home. When he fails to meet these expectations, parents
often criticize, nag, and punish.

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Child-Training Methods
Authoritarian child training, commonly used in large families,
and permissive discipline, used mainly in small families, both lead to friction in the
home and to feelings of resentment on the child's part. Democratic discipline foste rs
good family relationships.
Socioeconomic Status
The child may feel that his home and possessions compare
unfavorably with his peers' and may blame and criticize his parents if he thinks he
has less than other children have.
Parental Occupations
How his peers feel about his father's occupation influences
the child's feelings about it and about his father. If the mother works, his attitudes
toward her are colored by how his friends feel about this and by how many home
responsibilities he is expected to assume.
Changed Attitude toward Parents
From his contacts with his friends' parents and as a result
of what he reads in books or sees on television and in movies, the child builds up
concepts of an ideal mother and father. If his own parents fall short of these ideals,
as they invariably do, he may become critical of them.
Sibling Friction
Older siblings frequently criticize the appearance and
behavior of the child, while he in turn likes to tease and bully younger siblings. If
parents attempt to put a stop to this, they are accused of playing favorites, and the
children may gang up against them and the sibling whom they regard as the
parental pet.
Changed Attitudes toward Relatives
The child enjoys being with relatives less than he did
when he was younger. He may regard them as "too old" or "too bossy" and put up a
protest when he is expected to be a part of a family gathering. Relatives often
resent this attitude and reprove him for it.
Stepparents
Older children who remember a real parent who is no
longer in the home usually resent a stepparent and show it by critical, negativistic,
and generally troublesome behavior. This leads to friction in the home.

7.19 FACTORS AFFECTING THE OLDER CHILD'S SELF-CONCEPT

Physical Condition
Poor health or a physical defect that cuts the child off from play with his peers

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makes him feel inferior and martyred.
Body Build
A child who is overweight or very short for his age, for example, may be unable to
keep pace with his peers and thus develop feelings of inferiority.
Names and Nicknames
Names which cause the child to be ridiculed or which suggest minority-group status
can lead to feelings of inferiority. Also, nicknames that make fun of a physical or
personality trait lead to feelings of inferiority and resentment.
Socioeconomic Status
If the child feels that he has a better home and more toys, for example, than his
friends, he will feel superior to them; if he senses that his socioeconomic status is
lower than that of his friends, he is likely to feel inferior.
School Environment
Competent, understanding teachers do much to bring about good adjustment in
their pupils, while teachers who use discipline the child considers unfair or who
otherwise antagonize him have the opposite influence.
Social Acceptance
Acceptance or the lack of it on the part of peers influences the child's personality
through its effect on his self-concept. Very popular children and isolates are
especially affected, and others less so.
Success and Failure
Success in the tasks the child sets out to achieve leads to a feeling of confidence
and self-acceptance, while failure makes him feel inadequate. The more prestigious
the activity, the greater the effect of success or failure on the self-concept. Re-
peated failures have a damaging effect on the child's personality.
Intelligence
The child's personality is adversely affected if his intelligence deviates markedly
from the norm. The child who is duller than average senses his inferi ority and the
rejectant attitude of the group toward him, and he may become shy, introverted,
and apathetic or else aggressive and hostile toward those who reject him. The very
bright child not only feels superior to the group but may also become smug and
intolerant toward those less bright than he.

7.20 PHYSICAL HAZARDS OF LATE CHILDHOOD

As a result of new medical techniques for diagnosing, preventing,
and treating illnesses, mortality during late childhood occurs much less frequently
than in the past. However, accidents still cause death among older children.
While many of the physical hazards of the earlier years persist into

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late childhood, their effects on the child's physical well-being tend to be less severe
and less far-reaching than they were earlier. On the other hand, their psychological
effects are greater and more persistent. The major physical hazards of late
childhood are discussed below.
Illness
Since vaccines against most childhood diseases are now available,
older children suffer mainly from occasional colds and stomach upsets, which rarel y
have any lasting physical effects.
The psychological effects of illness in late childhood, however,
can be serious. Illness upsets the body's homeostasis, which in turn makes the child
irritable, demanding, and difficult to live with. If he is sick for a long period, his
schoolwork may suffer and he may fall behind in his learning of various play skills.
Equally serious, parents may be intolerant in their attitudes toward the child's
illness, complaining about the extra work and expense it entails.
While most illnesses of late childhood are real, some are
imaginary or "faked." The child has learned that when he is ill he is nott expected to
carry out his usual activities, home discipline is relaxed, and he receives more
attention than usual. As a result, he may feign illness or actually believe he is ill as
a way of avoiding an unpleasant task or situation. If this tactic works, he will repeat
it and thus lay the foundation for a proneness to imaginary illness.
Obesity
The child who is markedly overweight due more often to overeating
than to a glandular condition loses out in active play, and as a result he misses the
opportunity to acquire the skills so essential to social success. In addition, his
playmates of i tease and taunt him, calling him "Fatso" or other names that make
him feel inferior and martyred.
Sex-inappropriate Body Build
Girls with masculine body builds and boys with girlish physiques are
likely to be ridiculed by their peers and pitied by adults. This leads to personal and
social maladjustment, though more so for boys than for girls. By contrast, a sex -
appropriate body build aids good adjustment.
Accidents
Even when accidents leave no permanent physical scar, they can
and often do leave psychological scars. The older child, like the younger one, who
experiences more than his share of accidents usually learns to be more cautious. In
time, this may lead to timidity concerning all physical)

7.21 PSYCHOLOGICAL HAZARDS OF LATE CHILDHOOD

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Speech Hazards
A smaller-than-average vocabulary handicaps the child in his
schoolwork as well as in his communications with others. Speech errors, such as
mispronunciations and grammatical mistakes, and speech defects, such as
stuttering or lisping, may make the child so self-conscious that he will speak only
when necessary. Egocentric speech, critical and derogatory comments, and boasting
antagonize his listeners.
Emotional Hazards
The child may be considered immature by both age-mates and
adults if he still exhibits unacceptable patterns of emotional expression, such as
temper tantrums, or if he is generally disagreeable and unpleasant to be with.
Social Hazards
Being rejected or neglected by the peer group deprives the child
of opportunities to learn to be social. Voluntary isolates, who have little in*
common with the group, come to feel that they are "different" and have no chance
for acceptance. Followers who want to be leaders become resentful and disgruntled
group members.
Play Hazards
The child who lacks social acceptance is deprived of
opportunities to learn the games and sports essential for gang belonging. He may
also devote much of his playtime to watching television, rather than to wholesome
amusements, such as reading.
Conceptual Hazards
The child who has an idealized self-concept is dissatisfied
with himself as he is and with the way others treat him. If his social concepts are
based on stereotypes, he may become prejudiced and discriminatory in his
treatment of others. Because such concepts are emotionally weighted, they tend t o
persist and to continue to affect the child's social adjustments unfavorably.
Moral Hazards
Four hazards are commonly associated with the
development of moral attitudes and behavior: (1) the development of a moral code
based on peer or mass-media concepts of right and wrong, which may not coincide
with adult codes; (2) a failure to develop a conscience as an inner control over
behavior; (3) intolerance of the wrongdoings of others; and (4) finding peer
approval of misdemeanors so satisfying that such behavior becomes habitual, and
leads to an unfavorable reputation and perhaps juvenile delinquency.
Hazards Associated with Interests
The child who is uninterested in the things his age-mates

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consider important may experience poor personal as well as social adjustments.
Family-Relationship Hazards
Friction with family members often leads to a habitual
unfavorable pattern of adjustment to people and problems which is carried outside
the home.

7.22 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Late childhood, which extends from the age of six to the time the individual
becomes sexually mature, is called the elementary school age by educators
and the gang age or the play age by psychologists.

 The major developmental tasks of late childhood are concentrated on

learning to achieve social acceptance by acquiring patterns of behavior that
are approved by members of the group.

 Because late childhood is a period of relatively slow and uniform growth, it is

possible for the child to acquire a large repertoire of skills during this time
and to improve his speech, both of which aid in his personal and social
adjustments.

 As the child's social horizons broaden, he learns to express his emotions in

ways that are approved by members of the social group, even at times of
heightened emotionality.

 During late childhood, membership in a gang of peers plays an important role

in the child's socialization. He also learns to engage in play activi ties which
give him satisfaction and also win the approval of others.

 The older child acquires new interests and comes in contact with a wide
range of people of different backgrounds and abilities. As a result, he
associates new meanings with previously developed concepts and also
develops new concepts.

 Even though the older child has a better understanding of right and wrong
than he did when he was younger, he often misbehaves at home, in school,
and in the neighborhood, partly to win peer approval and partly to assert his
independence of adult authority.
 Because of differences in abilities and experience, older children's interests

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 vary more than those of younger children. However, almost all are interested
in such things as clothes, religion, the human body, sex, their future
vocations, status symbols, and achieving autonomy.

 A deterioration in family relationships during late childhood has a markedly

unfavorable influence on the child's adjustments to his schoolwork and to
people outside the home, as well as on his self-concept.

 The physical hazards of late childhood are less serious than the psychological
ones, although obesity or a physical disability, for example, can make a child
feel different from his peers and thus have an adverse effect on his self-
concept.

 Most of the important psychological hazards of late childhood involve failure

to master the appropriate developmental tasks for that age.

 Because social acceptance plays such an important role in the older child's
life, the degree to which he is accepted by the group has a great_& effect on
how happy or unhappy he will be.
7.23 EXERCISE QUESTIONS
 What are the various names given to the age of late childhood.
 What are the various skills of late childhood.
 Discuss the characteristics of gangs in childhood.
 Describe the constructive play of late childhood.
 What are the favorite amusements of late childhood.
 What is the content of speech in late childhood.
 What are the common misdemeanors of late childhood.
 What are the common interests in late childhood.
 What factors affect the development of self concept in late childhood.
 Discuss the various hazards of late childhood.
 Discuss the various concepts that have developed in late childhood.
 Discuss the essentials of discipline in late childhood.
7.24 REFERENCE BOOKS
 Gessell A (1956). The Psychology of Youth. New York, Harper & Row.
 Hurlock EB (1959). Child Development. Tata McGraw Hill.

UNIT 8 - PUBERTY

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 Contents
8.1 Unit Objectives.
8.2 Introduction to Puberty.
8.3 Characteristics of Puberty.
8.4 Stages of Puberty.
8.5 Age of Puberty.
8.6 Conditions responsible for Puberty.
8.7 Puberty Growth Spurt.
8.8 Primary Sexual Characteristics.
8.9 Secondary Sexual Characteristics.
8.10 Common effects of puberty on attitudes and behavior.
8.11 Common concerns about Normalcy during puberty.
8.12 Chapter Summary.
8.13 Exercise Questions.
8.14 Reference Books.

8.1 UNIT OBJECTIVE

 To understand puberty, the various changes and concerns that come along
with puberty.

8.2 INTRODUCTION TO PUBERTY

Puberty is the period in the developmental span when the
individual changes from an a sexual to a sexual being. The word puberty is derived
from the Latin word pubertas, meaning "age of manhood." It is the time when the
individual becomes sexually mature and capable of producing offspring.
8.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBERTY
Puberty is a unique and distinctive period and is characterized
by certain developmental changes that occur at no other time in the life span. The
most important of these are discussed below.
Puberty Is an Overlapping Period
Puberty must be regarded as an overling period because it
encompasses approximately one-third of the closing years of childhood and one-half
of the beginning of adolescence, as shown in Figure 7-1. Until he is sexually
mature, the child is pubescent; after he becomes sexually mature, he is a young
adolescent.
Puberty Is a Short Period
Puberty is a relatively short period, lasting from two to four
years, and it is customarily divided into three stages

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Puberty Is a Time of Rapid Change
Puberty is one of the two periods in the life span that are
characterized by rapid growth and marked changes in body proportions. The other
is the prenatal period and the first half of the first year. The rapid growth that
occurs during puberty is generally referred to as the adolescent growth spurt. In
reality, however, it is a preadolescent rather than an adolescent spurt because it
precedes slightly or occurs simultaneously with the other physical changes of
puberty. This growth spurt lasts for a year or two before the boy or girl becomes
sexually mature and continues for six months to a year afterward. Thus the entire
period of rapid growth lasts for about three years.

8.4 STAGES OF PUBERTY

Prepubescent Stage
During the prepubescent (or immature) stage, the secondary sex characteristics
begin to appear, but the reproductive organs are not yet fully developed.
Pubescent Stage
During the pubescent (or mature) stage, the secondary sex characteristics continue
to develop. Sex cells are produced in the sex organs at this time.
Postpubescent Stage
During the postpubescent stage, the secondary sex characteristics become well
developed, and the sex organs function in a mature manner.
Many years ago, Charlotte Buhler labeled puberty the negative
phase. The term phase suggests a period of short duration; negative suggests that
the individual takes an "anti" attitude toward life or that he seems to b e losing
some of the good qualities he previously developed. There is evidence that negative
attitudes and behavior are characteristic mainly of the early part of puberty and
that the worst of the negative phase is over when the individual becomes sexual ly
mature.
Puberty can occur any time between the ages of twelve and
nineteen; however, the average girl becomes sexually mature at thirteen, and the
average boy a year later. These variations in the age at which puberty occurs cre ate
many personal as well as social problems for both boys and girls.

8.5 AGE OF PUBERTY

Approximately 50 percent of all girls mature between 12.5 and 14.5
years, with the average maturing at 13. The average boy becomes sexually mat ure

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between the ages of 14 and 16.5, with 50 percent of all boys maturing between 14
and 15.5 years. The remaining 50 percent in each sex group is about evenly divided
between those who mature earlier and those who mature later than average —the
early maturers and the late maturers.
Between the ages of twelve and fourteen, differences between the
sexes are especially marked, with many more girls having become mature than
boys. This difference is reflected in the larger and more mature bodies of the girls
and in their more mature, more aggressive, and more sex-conscious behavior.

8.6 CONDITIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBERTY CHANGES

Role of the Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland produces two hormones: the growth hormone,
which is influential in determining the individual's size, and the gonadotropic hor-
mone, which stimulates the gonads to increased activity. Just before puberty, there
is a gradual increase in the amount of the gonadotropic hormone and an increased
sensitivity of the gonads to this hormone; this initiates puberty changes.
Role of the Gonads
With the growth and development of the gonads, the sex organs—
the primary sex characteristics—increase in size and become functionally mature,
and the secondary sex characteristics, such as pubic hair, develop.
Interaction of the Pituitary Gland and the Gonads
The hormones produced by the gonads, which have been
stimulated by the gonadotrophic hormone produced by the pituitary gland, act in
turn on this land and cause a gradual reduction in the amount of growth hormone
produced, thus stopping the growth process. The interaction between the
gonadotrophic hormone and the gonads continues throughout the individual's
reproductive life, gradually decreasing as women approach the menopause and men
approach the climacteric.

8.7 PUBERTY GROWTH SPURT

The growth spurt for girls begins between 8.5 and 11.5 years,
with a peak coming, on the average, at 12.5 years. From then on, the rate of
growth slows down, until growth gradually comes to a standstill between 17 and 18
years. Boys experience a similar pattern of rapid growth except that their growth
spurt starts later and continues for a longer time. For boys, the f wth spurt starts
between 10.5 and 14.5 years, reaches a peak between 14.5 and 15.5 years, and is
then followed by a gradual decline until 20 or 21 years, when growth is completed.
Increases in height, weight, and strength come at approximately the same time.

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 The rapid growth and development that occur during puberty
depend partly on hereditary factors, as they influence the endocrine glands, and
partly on environmental factors, of which nutrition has been found to be the most
important. Poor nutrition in childhood causes a diminished production of the growth
hormone. Good nutrition, on the other hand, speeds up the production of this
hormone. Emotional disturbances can affect growth by causing an overproduction of
the adrenal steroids, which have an adverse effect on the growth hormone.
When the growth spurt of puberty is interfered with by illness,
poor nutrition, or prolonged emotional tension, there will be delayed fusion of the
bones, and the child will not attain his full height. However, if such disturbances are
detected in time and corrected, growth can be speeded up to three or four times its
normal rate and continue at that rate until the child reaches his hereditary
potential.
8.8 PRIMARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS
The male gonads, or testes, which are located in the scrotum, or sac,
outside the body, are only approximately 10 percent of their mature size at the age
of fourteen years. Then there is rapid growth for a year or two, after which growth
slows down; the testes are fully developed by the age of twenty or twenty -one.
Shortly after the rapid growth of the testes begins, the growth of the
penis accelerates markedly. The first growth is in length, followed by a gradual
increase in circumference. When the male reproductive organs have become mature
in function, nocturnal emissions generally begin to occur, usually when the boy is
having a sexually exciting dream, when he has a full bladder or is constipated,
when he is wearing tight pajamas, or when he is too warmly covered. Many boys
are unaware of what is taking place until they see the telltale spot on their bed -
clothes or pajamas.
All parts of the female reproductive apparatus grow during
puberty, though at different rates. The uterus of the average Eleven - or twelve-
year-old girl, for example, weighs 5.3 grams; by the age of sixteen, the average
weight is 43 grams. The Fallopian tubes, ovaries, and vagina also grow rapidly at
this time.
The first real indication that a girl's reproductive mechanism is
becoming mature is the menarche, or first menstrual flow. This is the beginning of a
series of periodic discharges of blood, mucus, and broken-down cell tissue from the
uterus that will occur approximately every twenty-eight days until she reaches the
menopause, in the late forties or early fifties.
The girl's menstrual periods generally occur at very irregular
intervals and vary markedly in length for the first year or so. This period is known

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as the stage of adolescent sterility. During this time ovulation, or the ripening and
release of a ripe ovum from a follicle in the ovary, does not occur, and the girl i s
therefore sterile. Even after several menstrual periods, it is questionable whether
the girl's sex mechanism is mature enough to make conception possible.

8.9 SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

Boys
Hair
Pubic hair appears about one year after the testes and penis have started to
increase in size. Axillary and facial hair appear when the pubic hair has almost
completed its growth, as does body hair. At first, all hair is scanty, lightly
pigmented, and fine in texture. Later it becomes darker, coarser, more luxuriant,
and slightly kinky.
Skin
The skin becomes coarser, less transparent, and sallow in color, and the pores
enlarge.
Glands
The sebaceous, or oil-producing, glands in the skin enlarge and become more
active, which may cause acne. The apocrine glands in the armpits start to function,
and perspiration increases as puberty progresses.
Muscles
The muscles increase markedly in size and strength, thus giving shape to the arms,
legs, and shoulders.
Voice
Voice changes begin after some pubic hair has appeared. The voice first becomes
husky and later drops in pitch, increases in volume, and acquires a pleasanter tone.
Voice breaks are common when "during is rapid.
Breast Knots
Slight knobs around the male mammary glands appear between the ages of twelve
and fourteen. These last for several weeks and then decrease in number and size.
Girls
Hips
The hips become wider and rounder as a result of the enlargement of the pelvic
bone and the development of subcutaneous fat.

Breasts
Shortly after the hips start to enlarge, the breasts begin to develop. The nipples
enlarge and protrude, and as the mammary glands develop, the breasts become

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larger and rounder.
Hair
Pubic hair appears after hip and breast development is well under way. Axillary hair
begins to appear after the menarche, as does facial hair. Body hair appears on the
limbs late in puberty. All hair except facial hair is straight and lightly pigmented at
first and then becomes more luxuriant, coarser, darker, and slightly kinky.
Skin
The skin becomes coarser, thicker, and slightly sallow, and the pores enlarge.
Glands
The sebaceous and apocrine glands become more active as puberty progresses.
Clogging of the sebaceous glands can cause acne, while the apocrine glands in the
armpits produce perspiration, which is especially heavy and pungent just before and
during the menstrual cycle.
Muscles
The muscles increase in size and strength, especially in the middle of puberty and
toward the end, thus giving shape to the shoulders, arms, and legs.
Voice
The voice becomes fuller and more melodious. Huskiness and breaks in the voice
are rare among girls.

8.10 COMMON EFFECTS OF PUBERTY ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR

Desire for Isolation
When the puberty changes begin, the child usually withdraws
from peer and family activities and often quarrels with friends and members of his
family. He may spend much time alone; daydreaming about how misunderstood and
mistreated he is or experimenting with sex through masturbation.
Boredom
The pubescent child is bored with the play he formerly enjoyed,
with schoolwork, with social activities, and with life in general, and he does as little
work as he can at school and at home.
Incoordination
Rapid and uneven growth affects habitual patterns of
coordination, and the pubescent child is clumsy and awkward for a time. As growth
slows down, coordination gradually improves.

Social Antagonism
The pubescent child is often uncooperative, disagreeable, and
antagonistic. Open hostility between the sexes, expressed in constant criticism and

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derogatory comments, is common at this age. As puberty progresses, the child
becomes friendlier, more cooperative, and more tolerant of others.
Heightened Emotionality
Moodiness, sulkiness, temper outbursts, and a tendency to cry at
the slightest provocation are characteristic of the early part of puberty. It is a time
of worry, anxiety, and irritability. As the pubescent child becomes more mature
physically, he grows less tense and exhibits more mature emotional behavior.
Loss of Self-Confidence
The pubescent child, formerly so self-assured, becomes lacking in
self-confidence and fearful of failure. This is due partly to lowered physical resis-
tance and partly to the constant criticism of adults and peers. Many boys and girls
emerge from puberty with the foundations of an inferiority complex.
Excessive Modesty
The bodily changes that take place during puberty cause the child
to become excessively modest for fear that others will notice these changes and
comment unfavorably on them.

8.11 COMMON CONCERNS ABOUT NORMALCY DURING PUBERTY

Boys' Concerns
Nocturnal Emissions
If the boy has not been told about nocturnal emissions, his first such experience is
likely to be traumatic.
Secondary Sex Characteristics
Boys are disturbed mainly by the slow growth of facial hair, the huskiness and
cracking that accompany voice changes, and the slow development and
strengthening of their muscles.
Lack of Interest in Girls
When they see older or sexually mature boys showing an interest in girls and in
dating, boys wonder whether they are normal because they have no such interests.
Girls' Concerns
The Menarche
Even with some foreknowledge, the menarche is often a traumatic experience,
especially if accompanied by vomiting and cramps. Many girls wonder whether they
will "bleed to death."

Menstruation
Many girls wonder whether the cramps, headaches, and backaches they experience
during their periods are normal.

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Secondary Sex Characteristics
Because the breasts have a conical shape when they begin to develop, girls wonder
whether they will eventually be normal in appearance. They also worry about
whether their hips will be too large for the rest of their bodies and whether the
down on their faces will turn into a beard or moustache.
Lack of Sex Appeal
Many girls worry if they are unable to attract the attention and win the favor of
boys.
Concerns of Boys and Girls
Sex Organs
The pubescent child may fear that his enlarged sex organs will show through his
clothing.
Body Disproportions
His large hands, feet, and nose; his long and lanky arms and legs; his small
shoulders; and perhaps a slightly receding chin —all characteristics of early puberty
make the pubescent child wonder whether he will ever look like a normal person.
Awkwardness
The child becomes awkward and clumsy during puberty and may worry that he is
losing skills acquired earlier. His concern is heightened if he is ridiculed or reproved
for his awkwardness.
Age of Maturing
Earlier maturers may feel like misfits, while those who are slow to mature are
embarrassed by their undeveloped bodies and concerned about their lack of interest
in the things that absorb their more mature age-mates.
Masturbation
Tension and discomfort in the developing sex organs often lead the pubescent to
handle them. Most children have been told that masturbation is wrong, and they
feel guilty and ashamed. Their concern is heightened if they have heard old wives'
tales that masturbation leads to insanity.

8.12 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 During puberty, the individual becomes sexually mature. Marked behavioral
as well as physical changes occur at this time.
 Puberty overlaps the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence and
is subdivided into three stages: the prepubescent stage, the pubescent
stage, and the postpubes-cent stage. The rapid changes that take place have
mainly unfavorable effects on behavior, and thus puberty has been called a
negative phase.

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  Puberty changes are caused by an interrelationship between the hormones
produced by the pituitary gland and the gonads.
 The average girl reaches puberty at thirteen and the average boy,
approximately a year later. However, there are marked variations in the age
of onset of puberty and also in the time needed to complete the puberty
changes.
 The puberty growth spurt is due to a combination of hereditary and
environmental factors. This growth involves four major kinds of body
changes: changes in body size, changes in body proportions, development of
the primary sex characteristics, and development of the secondary sex
characteristics.
 These changes have their major effects on health and on attitudes and
behavior.
 Body changes at puberty cause the child to become concerned about the
normalcy and sex appropriateness of his development.
 The major physical hazards of puberty come from three sources —an
insufficient amount of growth hormone, an insufficient amount of gonadal
hormones, and an excessive supply of gonadal hormones.
 The psychological hazards of puberty are those which prevent the pubescent
child from mastering the important developmental tasks for his age, thus
making him unprepared for the personal and social demands of adolescence.
 Failure to master the developmental tasks of puberty are mainly the result of
the child's reaching sexual maturity either too early or too late as compared
with his age-mates.
 Unhappiness at puberty, which is common, results from the pubescent child's
dissatisfaction with his appearance and also from the unfavorable effects of
his behavior on his social adjustments.
 Because unhappiness at puberty can develop into a persistent pattern of
behavior that may color the individual's attitudes toward his social role for
many years to come, parents and teachers should do all they can to make
this a less stressful period of development.

8.13 EXERCISE QUESTIONS

 What is Puberty. Enlist the various stages of puberty.
 What are the conditions responsible for puberty.
 Describe the primary sexual characteristics seen at puberty.
 Describe the secondary sexual characteristics seen at puberty.
 What is the effect of puberty on general attitude and behavior.

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  Discuss the common concerns an individual may have with puberty.

8.14 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Morgan CT (1964). Physiological Psychology. New York. McGraw Hill.
 Falkner F (1966). Human Development. New York. Saunders.

UNIT 9 - ADOLESCENCE

Contents

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9.1 Unit Objectives.
9.2 Introduction to Adolescence.
9.3 Characteristics of Adolescence.
9.4 Body Changes during Adolescence.
9.5 Storm and Stress.
9.6 Social Changes during Adolescence.
9.7 Adolescent Social Groups.
9.8 Acceptance and Rejection in Adolescence.
9.9 Recreational Interests in Adolescence.
9.10 Common Social Interests in Adolescence.
9.11 Adolescent attitudes towards education.
9.12 Pattern of changes in Religious interests in adolescence.
9.13 Changes in Morality.
9.14 Stages of Heterosexual Development.
9.15 Common areas of Family Friction in Adolescence.
9.16 Adolescent Self Concept.
9.17 Chapter Summary.
9.18 Exercise Questions.
9.19 Reference Books.

9.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand human development during adolescence.
 To understand body changes during adolescence.
 To understand social life and social groups in adolescence.
 To understand recreational interests in adolescence.
 To understand moral development in adolescence.
 To understand various hazards of adolescence.
 To understand adolescent self concept.

9.2 INTRODUCTION TO ADOLESCENCE
The term adolescence comes from the Latin ""word adolescere,
meaning "to grow" or "to grow to maturity." Primitive peoples as was true also in
earlier civilizations —do not consider puberty and adolescence to be distinct periods
in the life span; the child is regarded as an adult when he i s capable of
reproduction. As it is used today, the term adolescence has a broader meaning and
includes mental, emotional, and social as well as physical maturity. Legally, in the
United States, the individual is mature at age eighteen.

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 Until recently, adolescence was regarded as beginning when the
individual becomes sexually mature and ending when "he reaches legal maturity.
However, studies of changes in behavior throughout adolescence have revealed not
only that these changes are more rapid in the early than in the latter part of
adolescence but also that behavior and attitudes in the early part of the period are
markedly different from those in the latter part. As a result, it has become a
widespread practice to divide adolescence into two periods, early and late
adolescence. The dividing line between early and late adolescence is somewhat
arbitrarily placed at around seventeen years, the age when the average boy or girl
enters the senior year of high school. He then is usually recognized by his parents
as nearly grown up and on the verge of entering the adult world of work, going to
college, or receiving vocational training of some kind. His status its school likewise
makes him conscious of responsibilities he has never before been expected to
assume, and his awareness of this new and formally recognized status, both at
school and at home, motivates him to behave in a more mature manner.
Because boys mature, on the average, later than girls, they
have a shorter period of early adolescence, although they are regarded as adults
when they reach eighteen, just as girls are. As a result, they frequently seem more
immature for their age than girls. However, as they are accorded, along with girls,
a more mature status in the home and school, they usually settle down quickly and
show a maturity of behavior which is in marked contrast to that of the younger
adolescent.
Early adolescence extends roughly from thirteen to sixteen or
seventeen years, and late adolescence covers the period from then until eighteen,
the age of legal maturity. Late adolescence is thus a very short period. Early
adolescence is usually referred to as the "teens," sometimes even the "terrible
teens." Although the older adolescent is a teen-ager until he reaches twenty, this
label, which has become closely associated with the characteristic patterns of
behavior of the young adolescent, is rarely applied to him. Instead, older
adolescents are usually referred to as "young men" or "young women," indicating
that society recognizes a maturity of behavior not found during the early years of
adolescence.

9.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENCE

Certain "attitudes and behavior patterns are characteristic of
adolescence; these are discussed below.

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Adolescence Is a Transitional Period
The adolescent, whose body is now more like that of an adult than
that of a child, must adjust to a more mature status and to more mature level s
of behavior. As Sorenson has pointed out, adolescence is an "intermission
between earlier freedoms . . . and subsequent responsibilities and commitments ...
a last hesitation before . . . serious commitments concerning work and love".

Adolescence Is a Period of Change

The rate of change in attitudes and behavior during adolescence
parallels the rate of physical change. During early adolescence, when physical
changes are rapid, changes in attitudes and behavior are also rapid. As physical
changes slow down, so do attitudinal and behavioral changes. Tanner has
emphasized the impact of these changes.
There are four almost universal concomitants of the changes
that occur during adolescence. The first is heightened emotionality, the intensity of
which depends on the rate at which the physical and psychological changes are
taking place.
Second, the rapid changes which accompany sexual maturing
make the young adolescent unsure of himself, of his capacities, and of his interests.
He has strong feelings of instability, which may be intensified by the ambiguous
treatment he receives from both parents and teachers. As Luchins has pointed out,
the young adolescent must "learn to dance in harmony with many differ t tunes
while still attempting to maintain some degree of harmony with himself".
Third, changes in the adolescent's body, his interests, and the
role the social group now expects him to play create new problems for him. To the
young adolescent, these may seem more numerous and less easily solved than any
he has had to face before. Until he has solved his problems to his satisfaction, he
will be preoccupied with them and with himself. Furthermore, he will suffer from
feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, which in many cases he will try to hide by a
cocky, self-assured attitude.
Fourth, as the adolescent's interests and behavior patterns
change, so do his values. What was important to him as a child seems less
important to him now that he is a near-adult. For example, the boy no longer thinks
that a careless and slovenly appearance or crude and raucous speech is sex-
appropriate. Instead, he accepts the more mature value of a neat appearance and
more adult, restrained ways of expressing himself.

Adolescence Is a Dreaded Age

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 Acceptance of the cultural stereotype of the teen-ager as a
sloppy, unreliable, irresponsible individual who is inclined toward destructiveness
and antisocial behavior leads adults who must guide and supervise the lives of
young adolescents to dread this responsibility and to be unsympathetic in their
attitudes toward, and treatment of, normal adolescent behavior. The belief on the
adolescent's part that adults have a poor opinion of him makes the transition to
adulthood difficult, for him, leads to much friction with his parents, and places a
barrier between him and his parents which prevents him from turning to them for
help in solving his problems
Adolescence Is a Time of Unrealism
The unrealistically high aspirations the young adolescent has for
himself, for his family, and for his friends are in part responsible for some of the
heightened emotionality of early adolescence. The more unrealistic his aspiration,
the more angry, hurt, and disappointed he will be when he feels that others have
let him down or that he has not lived up to the goals he set for himself.
With increased social and personal experiences and with
increased ability to think rationally, the older adolescent sees himself, his family
and friends, and life in general in a more realistic way. As a result,- he is happier
and suffers less from disillusionment or disappointment than he did when he was
younger.
Adolescence Is the Threshold of Adulthood
As the adolescent approaches legal maturity, he is anxious to
create the impression that he is no longer a teen-ager, but rather is on the
threshold of adulthood. Dressing and acting like an adult, he finds, are not always
enough, and he may then concentrate on behavior that is associated with adult
status smoking, drinking, and engaging in sex, for example.

9.4 BODY CHANGES DURING ADOLESCENCE

External Changes
Height
The average girl reaches her mature height between the ages of seventeen and
eighteen and the average boy, a year or so later.
Weight
Weight changes follow a timetable similar to that for height changes, with weight
now distributed over areas of the body where previously there was little or no fat.
Body Proportions
The various parts of the body gradually come into proportion. For example, the
trunk broadens and lengthens, and thus the limbs no longer seem too long.

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Sex Organs
Both male and female sex organs reach their mature size in late adolescence, but
are not mature in function until several years later.
Secondary Sex Characteristics
The major secondary sex characteristics are at a mature level of developm ent by
late adolescence.
Internal Changes
Digestive System
The stomach becomes longer and less tubular, the intestines grow in length and
circumference, the muscles in the stomach and intestinal walls become thicker and
stronger, the liver increases in weight, and the esophagus becomes longer.
Circulatory System
The heart grows rapidly during adolescence; by the age of seventeen or eighteen, it
is twelve times as heavy as it was at birth. The length and thickness of the walls of
the blood vessels increase and reach a mature level when the heart does.
Respiratory System
The lung capacity of girls is almost at a mature level at age seventeen; boys reach
this level several years later.
Endocrine System
The increased activity of the gonads at puberty results in a temporary imbalance of
the whole endocrine system in early adolescence. The sex glands develop rapidly
and become functional, though they do not-reach their mature size until late
adolescence or early adulthood.
Body Tissues
The skeleton stops growing at an average age of eighteen. Tissues, other than
bone, continue to develop after the bones have reached their mature size.

9.5 STORM AND STRESS

Traditionally, adolescence has been thought of as a period of
"storm and stress" a time of heightened emotional tension resulting from the
physical and glandular changes that are taking place. While it is true that growth
continues through the early years of adolescence, it does so at a progressively
slower rate. What growth is taking place is primarily a completion of the pattern
already set at puberty. It is necessary, therefore, to look for other explanations of
the emotional tension so characteristic of this age.
The explanations are to be found in the social conditions that
surround the adolescent of today. Adolescent emotionality can be attributed mainly
to the fact that the individual comes under social pressures and faces new

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conditions for which he received little if any preparation during childhood.

9.6 SOCIAL CHANGES DURING ADOLESCENCE

One of the most difficult developmental tasks of adolescence
relates to social adjustments. These adjustments must be made to members of the
opposite sex in a relationship that never existed before and to adults outside the
family and school environments.
To achieve the goal of adult patterns of socialization, the
adolescent must make many new adjustments, the most important and, in many
respects, the most difficult of which are those he must make to the increased
influence of the peer group, changes in social behavior, new social groupings, new
values in friendship selection, new values in social acceptance and rejection, and
new values in the selection of leaders.
Increased Peer-Group Influence
The adolescent spends most of his time outside the home with
members of the peer group, and they have a greater influence on his attitudes,
interests, values, and behavior than his family has. If his friends experiment with
alcohol or drugs, for example, he is likely to do the same.
Changes in Social Behavior
Of all the changes that take place in social attitudes and
behavior, the most pronounced is in the area of heterosexual relationships. In a
short period of time, the adolescent makes the radical shift from disliking members
of the opposite sex to preferring their companionship to that of members of his own
sex. Social activities, whether with members of the same sex or with the opposite
sex, usually reach their peak during the high school years.
As a result of broader opportunities for social participation, the
older adolescent's social insight improves. He is now able to judge both members of
the opposite sex and members of his own sex better than he could when he was
younger. As a result, he makes better adjustments in social situations and quarrels
less than he did earlier.
The greater the social participation, the greater the
adolescent's social competency, as seen in his ability to dance, carry on con-
versations, play the sports and games that are popular with individuals of his age,
and behave correctly in different social situations. As a result, he gains a self-
confidence which is expressed in poise and ease in social situations!
New Social Groupings
The gangs of childhood gradually break up at puberty and
during early adolescence as the individual's interests shift from the strenuous play

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activities of childhood to the less strenuous and more formal social activities of
adolescence. In their place come new social groupings. The social groupings of boys
are, as a rule, larger and more loosely lit, whereas those of girls are smaller and
more sharply denned.
Crowds tend to disintegrate in late adolescence and are
replaced by loosely associated groups of couples. This is especially true of
adolescents who go to work at the complete of high school. At work they are in con-
tact with people of all ages, most of whom have friends and families of their own
outside their jobs. Unless the non college older adolescent has friends from his
school days who live and work near enough to make frequent contacts possible, he
may find himself limited to a few friends connected with his work and out of touch
with any group large enough to form a crowd.

9.7 ADOLESCENT SOCIAL GROUPINGS

Close Friends
The adolescent usually has two or three close friends, or confidants. They are of the
same sex as he and have similar interests and abilities. Close friends have a
marked influence on one another, though they may quarrel occasionally.
Cliques
Cliques are usually made up of groups of close friends. At first they consist of
members of the same sex, but later include both boys and girls.
Crowds
Crowds, made up of cliques and groups of close friends, develop as interest in
parties and dating grows. Because crowds are large, there is less congeniality of
interest among the members and thus a greater social distance between them.
Organized Groups
Adult-directed youth groups are established by schools and community
organizations to meet the social needs of adolescents who belong to no cliques or
crowds. Many adolescents who join such groups feel regimented and lose interest in
them by the time they are sixteen or seventeen.
Gangs
Adolescents who belong to no cliques or crowds and who gain little satisfaction from
organized groups may join a gang. Gang members are usually of the same sex, and
their main interest is to compensate for peer rejection through antisocial behavior.
9.8 ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION IN ADOLESCENCE
Acceptance Syndrome
 A favorable first impression as a result of an attractive appearance, poise,
and cheerfulness, for example

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  A reputation as a good sport and one who is fun to be with
 Appearance that conforms to that of peers
 Social behavior characterized by cooperativeness, responsibility,
resourcefulness, interest in others, tact, and good manners
 Maturity, especially in terms of emotional control and willingness to conform
to rules and regulations
 Personality traits that contribute to good social adjustments, such as
truthfulness, sincerity, unselfishness, and extroversion
 A socioeconomic status that is equal to, or slightly above, that of the other
group members and a good relationship with family members
 Geographic proximity to the group which permits frequent contacts and
participation in group activities
Alienation Syndrome
 An unfavorable first impression as a result of an unattractive appearance or
an aloof, self-centered attitude
 A reputation as a poor sport
 Appearance that does not conform to group standards of physical
attractiveness or grooming
 Social behavior characterized by showing off, teasing and bullying others,
bossiness, un-cooperativeness, and lack of tact
 Lack of maturity, especially in the areas of emotional control, poise, self-
confidence, and tact
 Personality traits that irritate others, such as selfishness, stubbornness,
resentfulness, nervousness and irritability
 A socioeconomic status below that of the group and poor relationships with
family members
 Geographic isolation from the peer group or inability to participate in group
activities due to family responsibilities or a part-time job
9.9 RECREATIONAL INTERESTS OF ADOLESCENTS
Games and Sports
Organized games and sports lose their appeal as adolescence progresses, and the
adolescent begins to prefer spectator sports. Games requiring intellectual skill, such
as card games, increase in popularity.

Relaxing
Adolescents enjoy relaxing and talking with their friends. They often eat while
gossiping and exchanging jokes, and older adolescents may smoke, drink, or take
drugs.

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Traveling
The adolescent enjoys traveling during vacations and may want to go further and
further away from home. Parental affluence and youth hostels make travel possible
for many adolescents.
Hobbies
Unpopular adolescents are more interested in hobbies than popular ones. Many
pursue useful hobbies; girls may make their own clothes, and boys may enjoy
repairing radios, bicycles, or cars, for example.
Dancing
Although many boys have little interest in dancing, they, like girls, try to become
good dancers because it is an important part of dating.
Reading
Because adolescents have limited time for recreational reading, they tend to prefer
magazines to books. As adolescence progresses, comic books and comic strips lose
some of their appeal, and newspapers gain in popularity.
Movies
Going to the movies is a favorite clique activity and later a popular dating activity.
Girls prefer romantic movies, while boys like those dealing with adventure.
Radio and Records
Adolescents enjoy listening to the radio while studying or engaging in solitary forms
of amusement. Programs of popular music are the favorites. They also enjoy
listening to records.
Television
Television watching loses some of its appeal as adolescence progresses, partly
because the adolescent becomes increasingly critical of the programs and partly
because he cannot study or read and watch television simultaneously.
Daydreaming
In a typical daydream, the adolescent sees himself as a conquering hero gaining
prestige in the eyes of the peer group. Daydreaming is a popular recreation among
all adolescents when they are bored or lonely.

9.10 COMMON SOCIAL INTERESTS OF ADOLESCENTS

Parties
Interest in parties with members of the opposite sex first manifests itself at about
age thirteen or fourteen. Girls enjoy parties more than boys throughout
adolescence.
Drinking
Drinking on dates or at parties becomes increasingly more popular as adolescence

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progresses. Girls rarely drink with members of their own sex, as boys do.
Drugs
While far from universal, the use of drugs is a popular clique and party activity,
beginning in early adolescence. Many adolescents try drugs because it is the "thing
to do," although few become addicts.
Conversations
All adolescents derive a sense of security from getting together with a group of
peers and talking about the things that interest or disturb them. Such get-togethers
provide an opportunity to blow off emotional steam and get a new perspective on
their problems.
Helping Others
The young adolescent is sincerely interested in trying to help people he feels have
been misunderstood, mistreated, or oppressed. This interest wanes as adolescence
progresses and the adolescent feels there is nothing he can do to right the wrongs
he sees or that his attempts to help are unappreciated.
World Affairs
The adolescent often develops an interest in government, politics, and world affairs.
He expresses this interest mainly through reading and discussions with his peers,
teachers, and parents.
Criticism and Reform
Almost all young adolescents, but especially girls, become critical and attempt to
reform their parents, peers, schools, and communities. Their criticisms are
generally destructive rather than constructive, and their suggestions for reform are
usually impractical
9.11 ADOLESCENT ATTITUDES TOWARD EDUCATION
 Peer attitudes—whether they are college-oriented or work-oriented.
 Parental attitudes—whether parents consider education a stepping-stone to
upward social mobility or only a necessity because it is required by law
 Grades, which indicate academic success or failure
 The relevance or practical value of various courses.
 Attitudes toward teachers, administrators, and academic and disciplinary
policies
 Success in extracurricular activities
 Degree of social acceptance among classmates.
9.12 PATTERN OF CHANGES IN RELIGIOUS INTERESTS
Period of Religious Awakening
When the adolescent prepares to join his family's church, his interest in religion is
heightened, and he may either become extremely enthusiastic about it or grow

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skeptical of his religious beliefs when he compares them with those of his friends.

Period of Religious Doubt

As a result of a critical examination of their childhood religious beliefs, adolescents
often become skeptical of religious forms, such as prayer and formal church rituals,
and later begin to doubt religious content, such as teachings about the nature of
God, and life after death. For some adolescents, doubt leads to a lessening of all
religious observances, while others attempt to find a religious faith that meets their
needs better than that of their family.
Period of Religious Reconstruction
This period is characterized by a decreased interest in formal religion because it
does not meet the adolescent's needs; changed beliefs, especially those concerning
the appearance of God and life after death; and a decrease in prejudice against
those of different faiths.
9.13 CHANGES IN MORALITY
One of the important developmental tasks the adolescent must
master is learning what the group expects of him and then being willing to mold his
behavior to conform to these expectations without the constant guidance,
supervision, proddings, and threats of punishment he experienced when he was a
child. He is expected to replace the specific moral concepts of childhood with
general moral principles and to formulate these into a moral code which will act as
a guide to his behavior. Equally important, he must now exercise control over his
behavior, a responsibility that was formerly assumed by parents and teachers.
Adolescents have reached what Piaget has called the stage of
formal operations in cognitive ability. They are now capable of considering all
possible ways of solving a particular problem and can reason on the basis of
hypotheses or propositions. Thus they can look at their problems from several
points of view and can take many factors into account when solving them.
Even with the best foundations, the three major tasks in
achieving adult morality replacing specific concepts with general moral concepts,
formulating these newly developed concepts into a moral code as a guideline for
behavior, and assuming control over one's own behavior—are difficult for many
adolescents. Some fail to make the shift to adult morality during adolescence and
must finish this task in early adulthood. Others not only fail to make the shift but
also build a moral code on socially unacceptable moral concepts.
Building a Moral Code
The adolescent will no longer unquestioningly accept a moral
code handed down to him by his parents, his teachers, or even his contemporaries,

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as he did when he was a child. He now wants to build his own moral code on the
basis of concepts of right and wrong which he has changed and modified to meet
his more mature level of development and which he has supplemented with laws
and rules learned from parents and teachers. Some adolescents even supplement
their moral codes with knowledge derived from their religious training.
Building a moral code is difficult for the adolescent because
of the inconsistencies in standards of right and wrong he encounters in his daily life.
These confuse him and impede his progress in building a moral code that is
satisfactory to him and will lead to socially approved behavior. He discovers, for
example, that peers of different socioeconomic, racial, or religious backgrounds
have different codes of right and wrong; that his parents' and teachers' codes are
stricter than those of his contemporaries; and that in spite of the breaking down of
the traditional sex-approved roles, there is still a "double standard".

9.14 STAGES OF HETEROSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

Crush and Hero-Worship Stage
The adolescent often centers his affection first on in older member of his own sex
and then on a member of the opposite sex. If he has personal contacts with the
admired person, he is said to have a "crush"; if the person is admired from afar, it
is "hero worship." This stage rarely lasts more than a year or two.
"Puppy-Love" Stage
Puppy love, or a transitory feeling of affection between a boy and girl, often occurs
in adolescence. It precedes the more serious dating and going-steady stages.
Dating Stage
Dating often begins as early as age thirteen or fourteen. At first adolescents "play
the field" rather than dating only one person.
Going-steady Stage
After playing the field for a year or two, many boys and girls limit their dating to
one individual. Going steady may involve no plans for the future, or th e couple may
be considering marriage, although no formal announcement is made.
Early Marriage
Adolescents who marry while still in high school or shortly after graduation are
usually dependent on their families for at least part of their support. Many earl y
marriages are the result of the girl's having become pregnant.
Approved Sex Roles
Learning to play approved sex roles is even more difficult than learning to get along
with age-mates of the opposite sex. This is easier for boys than for girls. First, sin ce
early childhood boys have been made aware of sexually appropriate behavior and

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have been encouraged, prodded, or even shamed into conforming to the approved
standards. Second, boys discover with each passing year that the male role carries
far more prestige than the female role.
Girls, by contrast, often reach adolescence with blurred concepts of
the female role, though their concepts of the male role are clearer and better
defined. This is because, as children, they were permitted to look, act and feel
much as boys without constant proddings to be "feminine." Even when they learn
what society expects of them, their motivation to mold their behavior in accordance
with the traditional female role is weak because they realize that this role is far less
prestigious than the male role and even less prestigious than the role they played
as children.
If they rebel against the traditional female role, they may be
rejected not only by members of the opposite sex but also by other girls. Before
early adolescence is over, most girls accept, often reluctantly, the stereotype of the
female role as a model for their own behavior and pretend to be completely
"feminine," even though they prefer an egalitarian role that combines features of
both the male and the female roles. This is a price they are willing to pay,
temporarily at least, for social acceptance.
Because the Women's Liberation movement has concentrated on
achieving equality for women in the business and professional fields and in
marriage, it has had little impact, to date, on younger adolescents' attitudes toward
sex roles. However, the influence of this movement is beginning to be felt among
older adolescents who go to college or begin training for business or a career, or
who marry or go to work at the completion of high school. Older adolescent girls no
longer meekly accept or pretend to accept the traditional female sex role. Instead,
they expect, demand, and achieve a more egalitarian role, whether in school, at
work, or in their own homes.

9.15 COMMON AREAS OF FAMILY FRICTION DURING ADOLESCENCE

Standards of Behavior
The adolescent often considers his parents' standards of behavior old-fashioned and
feels that they do not understand him.
Methods of Discipline
If the adolescent regards the methods used as "unfair" or "childish," he may
become rebellious.
Hypercritical Attitudes
Family members resent an adolescent's hypercritical attitude toward them and the
general pattern of family life.

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"Latchkey" Problems
The adolescent's new, more active social life may result in his breaking family rules
concerning times to return home or the people he associates with.
Immature Behavior
Parents may develop punitive attitudes if the adolescent neglects his schoolwork,
shuns responsibilities, or spends his money foolishly, for example.
Relationships with Siblings
The adolescent may be scornful of younger siblings and resentful of older ones,
leading to friction with them as well as with parents, whom they may accuse of
"playing favorites."
Rebellion against Relatives
Parents and relatives become angry if the adolescent openly expresses his feeling
that family gatherings are "boring" or if he rejects relatives' suggestions or advice.
Feeling Victimized
The adolescent may become resentful if he has fewer status symbols clothes and
possessions, for example than his peers have, if he must assume many household
responsibilities, or if a stepparent comes into the home. This antagonizes parents
and adds to an already-strained parent-adolescent relationship.

9.16 THE ADOLESCENT'S SELF-CONCEPT

Age of Maturing
Early maturers, who are treated as near-adults, develop favorable self-concepts and
thus make good adjustments. Late maturers, who are treated like children, feel
misunderstood and martyred and thus are predisposed to maladjusted behavior.
Appearance
Being different in appearance makes the adolescent feel inferior, even if the
difference adds to his physical attractiveness. Any physical defect is a source of
embarrassment which leads to feelings of inferiority.
Sex-Appropriateness
Sex-appropriate appearance, interests, and behavior help the adolescent to achieve
a favorable self-concept.
Names and Nicknames
The adolescent will be sensitive and embarrassed if the group judges his name
unfavorably or if he has a nickname that implies ridicule.
Family Relationships
An adolescent who has a very close relationship with a family member will identify
with this person and want to develop a similar personality pattern. If this person is
of the same sex, the adolescent will be helped to develop a sex-appropriate self-

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concept.
Peers
Peers influence the adolescent's personality pattern in two ways. First, his self-
concept is a reflection of what he believes his peers' concept of him is, and second,
he comes under peer pressures to develop personality traits approved by the group.
Level of Aspiration
If the adolescent has unrealistically high levels of aspiration, he will experience
failure. This will lead to feelings of inadequacy and anxiety and to defensive
reactions in which he blames others for his failure. The adolescent who is realistic
about his abilities will gain greater self-confidence with each success and, with it, a
better self-concept.

9.17 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Adolescence is usually subdivided into early adolescence, which extends
roughly from ages thirteen to sixteen or seventeen, and late adolescence,
which extends from then until age eighteen. The young adolescent is usually
referred to as a "teen-ager," while the older adolescent is considered a
"young man" or a "young woman."

 Because adolescence is a transitional period, it is characterized by problems

and feelings of instability. The developmental tasks of adolescence center on
making the transition to adulthood

 The physical changes begun during puberty are completed during the early
part of adolescence.

 Adolescence is usually a period of heightened emotionality, "storm and

stress." Only when the individual achieves control over his emotions is he
regarded as emotionally mature.

 There are marked changes in the adolescent's social interests and behavior,
as shown by increased peer-group influence, new patterns of social
groupings, new values in the selection of friends and leaders, and
characteristics that lead to social acceptance or rejection.
 The adolescent develops new interests related to recreation, social activities,
his appearance, independence, religion, education, and his future vocation.

 One of the major developmental tasks of adolescence is that of achieving

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 control over behavior so that it will conform to standards approved by the
social group. The adolescent who fails to achieve this control will be guilty of
misdemeanors or may become a juvenile delinquent if he violates laws.

 The adolescent's interest in members of the opposite sex develops in a fairly

predictable pattern, and he learns to play the socially approved sex role.

 Family relationships, which began to deteriorate during childhood, normally

reach a low point in early adolescence and then begin to improve as parents,
siblings, grandparents, and other relatives treat the adolescent as an adult or
a near-adult.

 Awareness of the role personality plays in social relationships motivates the

adolescent to try to improve his personality. When he cannot do so because
environmental conditions are unfavorable or because his aspirations are
unrealistic, he becomes self-reject-ant. This often leads to personality malad-
justments, such as irresponsibility, feelings of insecurity, regression, or the
use of defense or escape mechanisms.

 Physical hazards during adolescence are less numerous and less serious than
psychological hazards, which are mainly the result of poor foundations laid
earlier. The adolescent may behave immaturely or show signs of maladjusted
behavior.

 Happiness normally increases as adolescence progresses and as the

adolescent's personal and social adjustments improve, an improvement that
paves the way for the three basic essentials of happiness at any age-accep-
tance, affection, and achievement.

9.18 EXERCISE QUESTIONS

 What are the general characteristics of adolescence.
 What are the social changes occurring in adolescence.
 What are the recreational interests of adolescents.
 Discuss the adolescent attitudes towards education.
 Discuss the various social groups in adolescence.
 Discuss the development of morality in adolescence.
 Discuss the stages of heterosexual development in adolescence.
 Discuss the religious interests of an adolescent.

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  Discuss the development of adolescent self concept.
 Why is adolescence a period of storm and stress.

9.19 REFERENCE BOOKS

Caplan G & Lebovici S (1969). Adolescence : Psychosocial Perspectives. New York,
Basic Books.
 Coleman JS (1961). The Adolescent Society. New York, Free Press.
 Rogers D (1969). Issues in Adolescent Psychology. New York, Appleton &
Lange.
 Hechinger G & Hechinger FM (1953). Teenage tyranny. New York, Morrow
Publishers.
 Weiner IB (1970). Psychological problems in Adolescence. New York, Wiley.
 Sebald H (1970). Adolescence : a sociological analysis. New York, Appleton
Century Crofts.
 Rubin I & Kirkendall LA (1968). Sex in adolescence. New York, Association
Press.
 Peck RF & Havighurst RJ (1962). The Psychology of Character Development.
New York, Wiley.

UNIT 10 - ADULTHOOD

Contents

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10.1 Unit Objectives.
10.2 Introduction to Adulthood.
10.3 Subdivisions of Adulthood.
10.4 Characteristics of Early Adulthood.
10.5 Mastery over Developmental Tasks of Adulthood.
10.6 Interest Changes in Adulthood.
10.7 Role of Clothes in Early Adulthood.
10.8 Religious Interests in Early Adulthood.
10.9 Factors Influencing Adult Recreation.
10.10 Popular Amusements in Adulthood.
10.11 Social Participation in Early Adulthood.
10.12 Qualities of Adult Leaders.
10.13 Conditions facilitating upward social mobility.
10.14 Concepts of Adult Sex Roles.
10.15 Stumbling blocks in Adulthood.
10.16 Vocational Adjustments in Adulthood.
10.17 Factors making a Vocational choice difficult.
10.18 Occupational Satisfaction in adults.
10.19 Difficulties in Marital Adjustment.
10.20 Factors influencing adjustment to a mate.
10.21 Factors influencing In Laws adjustments.
10.22 Sexual adjustments in adults.
10.23 Adjustment to Parenthood.
10.24 Factors influencing adjustment to Parenthood.
10.25 Successful Marital Adjustment.
10.26 Reasons why people remain single.
10.27 Conditions that affect the stability of a Marriage.
10.28 Chapter Summary.
10.29 Exercise Questions.
10.30 Reference Books.

10.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand the developmental changes in adulthood.
 To understand the social and religious interests in adulthood.
 To understand the sexual adjustments and roles in adulthood.
 To understand vocational choices and adjustments in adulthood.

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  To understand adjustment in marriage and parenthood.

10.2 INTRODUCTION TO ADULTHOOD

The term adult comes from the same Latin verb as the term
adolescence adoles-cere which means "to grow to maturity." However, it derives
from the past participle of that verb adultus which means "grown to full size and
strength" or "matured." An adult is, therefore, an individual who has completed his
growth and is ready to assume his status in society along with other adults.
Adulthood is legally reached in the American culture today at the age of eighteen,
and with the gradual increase in longevity, it is by far the longest period in the total
life span.
During the long period of adulthood certain physical and psychological
changes occur at predictable times. Like childhood and adolescence —also long
periods during which certain physical and psychological changes occur at
predictable times adulthood is customarily subdivided on the basis of the times at
which these changes take place and the adjustment problems and cultural
pressures and expectancies stemming from them.

10.3 SUBDIVISIONS OF ADULTHOOD

Early Adulthood
Early adulthood extends from age eighteen to approximately age forty,
when the physical and psychological changes which accompany the beginning of the
loss of reproductive capacity appear.
Middle Adulthood (Middle Age)
Middle adulthood, or middle age, begins at forty and extends to age
sixty, when both physical and psychological decline become apparent in the average
person.
Late Adulthood (Old Age)
Late adulthood senescence, or old age—begins at sixty and extends to
death. While physical and psychological decline speed up at this time, modern
medical techniques, as well as careful attention to clothing and grooming, enable
many men and women to look, act, and feel much as they did when they were
younger.
10.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY ADULTHOOD
Early adulthood is a period of adjustments to new patterns of life
and new social expectations. The young adult is expected to play new roles, such as
that of spouse, parent, and breadwinner, and to develop new attitudes, interests,
and values in keeping with these new roles. These adjustments make early

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adulthood a distinctive period in the life span, the most important characteristics of
which are described below.
Early Adulthood Is the "Reproductive Age"
Parenthood is one of the most important roles in the lives of most
young adults. Those who were married during the latter years of adolescence
concentrate on the role of parenthood during their twenties and early thirties; many
become grandparents before early adulthood ends. Those who do not marry until
they complete their education or get started in their careers spend the major part
of early adulthood playing the role of parents. This is especially true of those who
have large families.
Early Adulthood Is the "Settling-down Age"
It has been said that childhood and adolescence are the periods of
"growing up" and that adulthood is the time for "settling down." As he settles down,
the individual develops a pattern of behavior which will be characteristically his for
the remainder of his life. Any need to change this pattern, in middle or old age, will
be difficult and emotionally disturbing for him. The average adult has established
his life pattern by his mid-thirties, although many do so before this time.
Early Adulthood Is a "Problem Age"
The early adult years present many new problems, different in
their major aspects from the problems experienced in the earlier years of life. From
the beginning of adulthood until the early or mid-thirties, the average American of
today is preoccupied with problems related to adjustments in the different major
areas of his life. These adjustments will not all be made at the same time, nor will
their final forms be accepted simultaneously.
The young adult is often markedly preoccupied with an area in
which he is making an adjustment. When the adjustment has been satisfactorily
made, his attention shifts to another area. It is difficult, for example, for a young
adult to deal with the choice of a career and a mate simultaneously. Adjustment to
marriage and parenthood makes it difficult for the individual to adjust to work if he
marries when still a student. He therefore solves one problem and then turns his
attention to another.
Early Adulthood Is a Period of Emotional Tension
While the individual is trying to get the lay of the new land in
which he finds himself, he is likely to be upset emotionally. By the early or mid-
thirties, however, he should have solved these problems well enough so that he is
generally emotionally stable and calm. Emotional tension is often expressed in
worries. What the young adult worries about, however, will depend on what adjust-
ment problems he is facing at the time and how much success or failure he is ex -

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periencing in meeting these problems.
Early Adulthood Is a Period of Social Isolation
With the end of formal education and the entrance into the
adult life pattern of work and marriage, associations with the peer groups of
adolescence wane and, with them, opportunities for social contacts outside the
home. As a result, for the first time since babyhood, the individual is likely to
experience social isolation, or what Erikson has referred to as an "isolation crisis".
Many young adults, having become accustomed throughout
childhood and adolescence to depend on peers for companionship, experience
loneliness when responsibilities at home or at work isolate them from groups of
their peers. Those who were most popular during their school and college days and
who devoted much of their time to peer activities find the adjustment to social iso-
lation in adulthood especially difficult. Whether the loneliness that comes from this
isolation will be temporary or persistent depends on how quickly and how
satisfactorily the young adult can establish new social contacts to replace those of
his school and college days.
Isolation is intensified in the case of young adults with a
competitive spirit and a strong desire to rise on the vocational ladder. To achieve
success, they must compete with others —thus replacing the friendliness of
adolescence with the competitiveness of the successful adult —and they must also
devote most of their energy to their work, which leaves them little time for the
socialization that leads to close relationships.
Early Adulthood Is A Time of Value Changes
Many of the values developed during childhood and
adolescence are revised in adulthood as the individual's social contacts with people
of different ages broaden and as he considers his values from a more mature
standpoint. Changes in values are usually toward more conservative and traditional
views than toward new, more radical ones, as was true during adolescence.
Adults who assume the role of parenthood not only change
their values earlier and more radically than those who are unmarried or childless
but also shift to more conservative and traditional values. For example, the
individual who approve of premarital intercourse when he was an adolescent may
now strongly condemn such behavior in his own children.
Similarly, the adult who used to consider school a
necessary evil may now recognize the value of education as a stepping -stone to
social and vocational success and to personal fulfillment. Many adults who drop ped
out of school or college decide to finish their education, and some find studying so
stimulating that they continue to take courses even after receiving a high school or

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college diploma.
Early Adulthood Is a Creative Age
No longer shackled by the restrictions placed on his behavior
by parents and teachers, the young adult is free to be himself and to do what he
wants to do. What form creativity will take in adulthood depends upon the
individual's interests and abilities and the activities that give him the greatest per-
sonal satisfaction. Some find a creative outlet in hobbies, while others choose a
vocation in which they can express their creativity.
The individual's creative achievements often do not reach
their peak until middle age. This is due to the fact that creativity is more often
discouraged than encouraged in the early years of life. Thus it is during early
adulthood that he must not only discover where his creative interests and talents lie
but also develop his capacities, which in many cases remained dormant while the
pattern of his life was prescribed by parents and teachers. As he approaches middle
age, however, he should have overcome these obstacles sufficiently to achieve the
maximum of which he is capable.

10.5 AIDS TO MASTERY OF DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS

Physical Efficiency
The peak of physical efficiency is generally reached in the mid-
twenties, after which there is a slow and gradual decline into the early forties. Thus
during the period when adjustment problems are the most numerous and difficult,
the individual is physically able to meet and solve them.
Motor Abilities
The individual reaches the peak of his strength between the ages
of twenty and thirty. Maximum speed of response comes between twenty and
twenty-five years, after which decline begins at a slow rate. In learning new motor
skills, the adult in his early twenties is superior to the one who is approaching
middle age. Furthermore, the young adult can count on his ability to perform in a
given situation, which he could not do in adolescence when rapid and uneven
growth often caused him to be awkward and clumsy.
Mental Abilities
The most important mental abilities needed for learning and for
adjustment to new situations, such as recall of previously learned material,
reasoning by analogy, and creative thinking, reach their peak during the twenties
and then begin a slow and gradual decline. Even though the young adult may not
learn quite as fast as he did earlier, the quality of his learning does not deteriorate.

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10.6 INTEREST CHANGES IN ADULTHOOD
Changes in Life Pattern
The young adult must reassess his old interests in terms of the
time, energy, money, and companionship they entail to see whether they fit into his
new life pattern and can give him as much satisfaction as they did earlier.
Changes in Values
The new values the individual acquires influence his already-
existing interests or lead to new ones.
Sex-Role Changes
The pattern of adult women's lives differs markedly from that
of adult men's lives, with the result that sex differences in interest s become greater
than they were earlier.
Changes from Single to Married Status
Because their life patterns differ, unmarried adults develop
different interests from those of married adults of the same age level.
Changes in Preferences
Likes and dislikes, which have a profound influence on
interests, tend to become stronger with age, and this leads to increased stability of
interests in adulthood.
Changes in Cultural and Environmental Pressures
Because at every age interests are influenced by pressures
from the social group, as social-group values change, so do interests.

10.7 ROLE OF CLOTHES IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

Improvement of Appearance
The young adult selects clothes that enhance his good features and camouflage his
less attractive ones. When the telltale signs of aging begin to appear, he chooses
clothes that make him look younger than he actually is.
Indication of Status
Young adults, especially those who are socially and vocationally mobile, use clothes
as status symbols that will identify them with a particular socioeconomic group.
Material Possessions
Because the individual's clothes, home, cars, and other possessions are indications
of his social and economic status, the typical young man of today is eager to rise as
fast as possible in the business world in the hope of acquiring material possessions
that will proclaim high status.
While an automobile is a major status symbol for the
adolescent, a home is the most important material possession of the young adult.

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Money
The young adult is interested in money because of what it can do for him now,
rather than in the future. He believes that if he can have and do the things that
other young adults he wants to be identified with have and .do, this will increase his
chances for acceptance and solidify the acceptance and has already achieved.
Some of the problems relating to money that young adults
face come from lack of knowledge of how to use money wisely or from values they
have carried over from the peer-group standards of adolescence. As adolescents,
they were concerned primarily with earning enough money for their needs or
getting enough from their parents. They showed little interest in the management
of the family finances and little desire to learn about the costs involved in family
living.
Furthermore, as adolescents or even as young adults
living with their families before marriage, they had little training in the use of
money. Parents may advise younger adolescents on the use of their allowances but
older adolescents usually have complete freedom to use their money as they wish.
As a result, they are ill prepared, as young adults, to budget the income they have
to live on, and they frequently buy on credit or use installment plans, thus putting
themselves in a position where they are always in debt.

10.8 RELIGIOUS INTEREST IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

Sex
Women tend to be more interested in religion than men and to take a more active
part in religious observances and church affairs.
Social Class
Members of the middle class are, as a group, more interested in religion than those
of the upper and lower classes; they participate more in church functions of all
kinds, and they assume leadership roles in different church organizations. Adults
who ire anxious to improve their social status in the community are more active in
religious organizations than those adults who are satisfied with their status.
Place of Residence
Adults who live in rural and suburban areas tend to show a greater interest in
religion than those who live in urban areas.
Family Background
Adults who were brought up in homes where religion played an important role and
who became affiliated with a church tend to continue to show a greater interest in
religion than those whose early religious experiences were less important to them.
Religious Interests of Friends

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Adults are more likely to be interested in religion if their neighbors and friends are
active in religious organizations than if their friends have little religious interest.
Spouses of Different Faiths
Husbands and wives of different faiths tend to be less active in religious affairs than
those of the same faith.
Concern about Death
Adults who are concerned about death or who have a morbid preoccupation with
death tend to be far more interested in religion than those whose attitude is more
realistic.
Personality Pattern
The more authoritarian the personality pattern of the adult, the more preoccupied
he is with religion per se and the more intolerant he is of other religions. The better
adjusted he is, the more tolerant he is of other religions and the more he partici-
pates in religious activities.

10.9 FACTORS INFLUENCING ADULT RECREATION

Time
In spite of a shorter workweek, most young adults find that
they have less time for recreation than they had as adolescents because of work or
family responsibilities, obligations to community organizations, or the necessity of
taking a second job so that they can acquire the status symbols they consider
important. They engage in those forms of recreation which give them the greatest
satisfaction or which are most practical from the point of view of time and money.

Marital Status
Young unmarried men and women not only have more time
and money for different forms of recreation than those who are married but also
spend more of their recreational time outside the home. In large families, much of
the family-centered recreation is also home-centered—watching television and
playing games with family members, for example.
Socioeconomic Status
Middle class adults have more time for recreation,
engage in a wider variety of recreational activities, spend more of their recreational
time as spectators, and devote more of their recreational time to activities related
to their work, such as reading, than those of the lower classes. Recreational
activities of middle-class families are generally home-oriented, while those of lower-
class adults involve commercial entertainments outside the home.
Sex

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 Regardless of marital status, young men and women must make
radical changes in their recreational activities. Most of the recreational activities of
women with children must be home-centered, for example.

10.10 POPULAR AMUSEMENTS AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Reading
Because of his many responsibilities, the young adult has limited time for reading
and thus becomes more selective about what he reads. Young adults spend more
time reading newspapers and magazines than books.
Listening to Music
Young adults listen to records and to music on the radio, often as a way of relieving
feelings of boredom or loneliness. Some prefer popular music, a carry -over from
adolescence, while others may develop a taste for classical music.
Movies
Young unmarried adults often go to the movies on dates, as they did i n
adolescence. Married adults go to the movies less frequently, especially if they
have children, in which case they must either hire baby-sitters or limit their choice
of movies to those which are suitable for children.
Radio
Many women listen to the radio while doing housework, and men may listen as they
drive to and from work. The radio provides both news and entertainment.
Television
Television watching, especially in the evenings, is a favorite amusement of adults
with children. The larger the family and the lower the income, the more time is
spent watching television.

10.11 SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

Social Mobility
The more anxious the adult is to improve his social status, the more he tries to
become affiliated with the community organizations that will help him rise on the
social ladder.
Length of Residence in the Community
Many young adults who must move to a new community become active participants
in community organizations as a way of meeting people and forming friendships.
Social Class
Upper- and middle-class adults belong to more community organizations, are more
active in these organizations, and assume more leadership roles in them than
lower-class adults. They also have more intimate friends, entertain and visit more,

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and spend less time with relatives than do members of the lower classes.
Environment
The social life of young adults living in cities may center more around relatives than
that of young adults who live in rural and suburban areas, where there is more
"neighborliness" and social participation.
Sex
Married men are freer to engage in social activities outside the home than married
women who often must limit their social participation to the home or immediate
neighborhood. Unmarried women, however, are often more active in community life
than men.
Age of Sexual Maturing
Men who matured early are more active in community affairs and more often play
leadership roles than men who matured late. Women who were early maturers
continue to be socially active in adulthood if circumstances in their lives permit this.
Birth Order
Firstborns, many of whom suffer from feelings of insecurity, tend to be "joiners"
and are more active in community affairs than those who were born later.
Changes in Friendships
The craving for popularity and for a large number of friends, which started to wane
during the latter part of adolescence, wanes still further during early adulthood.
This is especially true of married men and women, who have each other for com -
panionship and whose lives center around home and family responsibilities. Even
unmarried adults, however, are more selective in their choice of friends than they
were earlier. As a result, the individual has fewer but more intimate friends than he
did when he was younger.
As is true at every age, friends in adulthood are selected
on the basis of congeniality. The adult finds people whose interests and values are
similar to his more congenial than those whose interests are different or who do not
use the same values in judging people and behavior. As Packard has emphasized,
"For better or worse, most people feel more at ease with their own kind".
Change in Value /Placed on Popularity
Popularity, so important to the adolescent, becomes increasingly less important as
the adult approaches middle age. A few congenial friends mean more to him than a
large group with whom he has less in common.
Social acceptance or the lack of it affects the adult much as it
does the adolescent, but to a lesser extent. The more he is accepted by a group
with which he would like to be identified, the more he conforms to group pressures.
When he enjoys somewhat less than complete acceptance but sees the possi bility of

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improving this situation, there will be a high degree of adherence to group stan -
dards. If, on the other hand, his acceptance is low, he has little motivation to
conform to group standards except in public, and then only to forestall the
possibility of complete rejection.

10.12 QUALITIES OF ADULT LEADERS

 A high socioeconomic status
 A higher level of education than the majority of the group
 A realistic self-concept
 Realistic goals
 A high frustration tolerance
 The ability to express hostility tactfully
 The ability to accept success or failure gracefully
 The ability and willingness to accept authority
10.13 CONDITIONS FACILITATING UPWARD SOCIAL MOBILITY
 A high level of education, which lays the foundation for success in business
or a profession and brings the individual into contact with higher-status
people
 Marriage to a higher-status person
 Family "pull" in the vocational world
 Acceptance and adoption of the customs, values, and symbols of a higher-
status group
 Money, either inherited or earned, with which to buy a better home in a
better neighborhood and other material possessions that proclaim high status
 Transfer of membership to a higher-status church
 Active participation in prestigious community affairs

10.14 CONCEPTS OF ADULT SEX ROLES

Traditional Concepts
Traditional concepts of sex roles emphasize a prescribed pattern of behavior,
regardless of individual interests or abilities. They emphasize masculine supremacy
and intolerance toward any trait that hints of femininity or any work that is consid-
ered "woman's work."
Men
Outside the home the man holds positions of authority and prestige in the social
and business worlds; in the home he is the wage earner, decision maker, adviser
and disciplinarian of the children, and model of masculinity for his sons.
Women

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Both in the home and outside, the role of the woman is other-oriented in that she
gains fulfillment by serving others. She is not expected to work outside the home
except in cases of financial necessity, and then she does only work that serves
others, such as nursing, teaching, or secretarial work.
Egalitarian Concepts
Egalitarian concepts of sex roles emphasize individuality and the egalitarian status
of men and women. Roles should lead to personal fulfillment and not be considered
appropriate for only one sex.
Men
In the home and outside, the man works with the woman in a companionship
relationship. He does not feel "henpecked" if he treats his wife as an equal, nor
does he feel ashamed if she has a more prestigious or remunerative job than he
does.
Women
Both in the home and outside, the woman is able to actualize her own potentials.
She does not feel guilty about using her abilities and training to give her
satisfaction, even if this requires employing someone else to take care of the home
and children.

10.15 STUMBLING BLOCKS OF EARLY ADULTHOOD

Inadequate Foundations
The more unfinished business, in the form of un-mastered earlier developmental
tasks, the individual carries into adulthood, the longer and harder his adjustment to
adulthood will be.
Physical Handicaps
Poor health or physical defects that prevent the individual from doing what others
of his age can do make mastery of the developmental tasks of adulthood difficult or
impossible.
Discontinuities in Training
When training received at home or in school has little or no relationship to the
individual's pattern of life in adulthood, he will be ill prepared to meet the demands
of adult life.

Over protectiveness
The adult who was overprotected during childhood and adolescence may find
adjustment to adult life extremely difficult. Many parents continue to over -protect
their grown sons and daughters.
Prolongation of Peer-Group Influence

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The longer the young adult continues his education, the longer peer-group
influences will prevail and the more the individual will continue in behav ior that
conforms to peer-group values. Because he has become accustomed to behaving as
an adolescent, learning to behave as an adult is more difficult than it otherwise
would be.
Unrealistic Aspirations
The adult who was extremely successful athletically, academically, or socially in
high school or college is likely to have unrealistic concepts of his abilities and
expect to be equally successful in the adult world. Parental aspirations during
adolescence often add to the adjustment problems of adulthood.

10.16 VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS IN ADULTHOOD

To the average adult man, happiness depends largely on a
satisfactory vocational adjustment. In speaking of the importance of vocations,
Abramovitz has said, "Religion apart, no aspect of human affairs has such
pervasive and penetrating consequences as does the way a society makes its
living—and how large a living it makes". This is also true of the individual becaus e
his whole pattern of life is influenced by how much he earns and how he earns it.

Because an increasing number of women, both single and

married, now work, women today must also make vocational adjustments. These
are likely to present an even more serious problem for women than for men
because most women can find employment only in low-paying jobs and in lines of
work which hold little prestige and require limited ability and training.

Some women adjust to the frustrations and resentments that are

inevitable when occupational doors are shut to them or opened only slightly to
comply with laws against discrimination. Many do this by wishing for their
husbands the success they would have liked to achieve. Such women may have
higher ambitions for their husbands than their husbands have for themselves.

10.17 FACTORS MAKING VOCATIONAL CHOICE DIFFICULT

 The ever-increasing number of different kinds of work from which to choose

 Rapid changes in work skills due to increased use of automation

 Long and costly preparation, which makes job shifts impossible

 Unfavorable stereotypes of some occupations

 A desire for a job that will give the individual a sense of identity, rather than

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 one that makes him feel like a cog in a large machine

 The individual's ignorance of his own capacities due to lack of job experience
or vocational guidance

 Unrealistic vocational aims carried over from adolescence

 Unrealistic vocational values, especially concerning prestige and autonomy

10.18 CONDITIONS INFLUENCING OCCUPATIONAL SATISFACTION

Opportunity to Choose Work
An adult who can choose a job in the area in which he is interested and can use his
abilities and training is usually better satisfied than the one who must take what is
available.
Vocational Expectations
The adult who expects his work to give him the autonomy he did not have when he
was younger and to rise rapidly on the vocational ladder will become discouraged
and dissatisfied with his job if his expectations are not met.
Degree of Career Orientation
A career-oriented worker is willing to work up tc his capacities, to try to improve his
skills, and to make personal sacrifices in terms of time and effort in the hope of
achieving success.
Vocational Security
A reasonable amount of job security will contribute to the worker's satisfaction,
while uncertainty-if he fears that he may be put out of work because of automation
or that he may be fired, for example-makes him feel that he is "sitting on top of a
volcano."
Opportunities for Advancement
The worker who sees a possibility of advancement will be far more satisfied than
one who knows he is in a "dead-end" job.
Stereotypes about Jobs
A worker may be dissatisfied with his job if it is regarded unfavorably by the social
group.

Nature of the Work

Work that is challenging or satisfies some need of the worker leads to satisfaction,
while automated or highly routinized work leads to boredom and dissatisfaction.
Working Conditions
A reasonable amount of autonomy, the chance for congenial associations with

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coworkers, lack of discrimination, fair treatment and consideration from superiors,
and liberal fringe benefits add to the worker's job satisfaction.
Attitudes of Significant People
The worker's satisfaction is increased when family members are proud of his job
and satisfied with the salary he receives and when members of the social group
regard the job favorable.

10.19 DIFFICULTY IN MARITAL ADJUSTMENT

Limited Preparation for Marriage
Although sexual adjustments may be easier now than in the past because of more
readily available sex information in the home, schools, and colleges, most couples
have received little preparation in the areas of domestic skills, child rearing, getting
along with in-laws, and money management.
Roles in Marriage
The trend toward changes in marital roles for both men and women and the
different concepts of these roles held by different social classes and religious groups
make adjustment problems in marriage more difficult now than in the past, when
these roles were more rigidly prescribed.
Early Marriage
Early marriage and early parenthood deprive the young couple of the opportunity to
have many of the experiences that their unmarried contemporaries have and to
become economically independent before they assume the responsibilities of
marriage and parenthood.
Mixed Marriage
Adjustments to parenthood and to in-laws-which are important to marital
happiness-are much more difficult in the case of, mixed marriages.
Shortened Courtships
The courtship period is shorter now than in the past, and thus the couple has less
time to solve many of the problems related to adjustment before they are actually
married.
Romantic Concepts of Marriage
Many adults have a romantic concept of marriage developed in adolescence. Overl y
optimistic expectations of what marriage will bring often lead to disenchantment,
which increases the difficulties of adjusting to the duties and responsibilities of mar -
riage.
Lack of Identity
If an individual feels that his family, friends, and associates treat him as "Jane's
husband," for example, he may resent the loss of his identity as an individual,

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which he strove hard to achieve and valued highly before marriage.
Sexual Adjustments
Sexual adjustment is unquestionably one of the most difficult adjustments to mar-
riage, and it is the one most likely to lead to marital discord and unhappiness if it is
not satisfactorily achieved. Usually the couple has had less preliminary experience
related to this adjustment than to the others, and they may be unable to make it
easily and with a minimum of emotional tension.

10.20 FACTORS INFLUENCING ADJUSTMENT TO A MATE

Concept of an Ideal Mate
In choosing a marriage partner, both men and women are guided to some extent by
a concept of an ideal mate built up during adolescence. The more the individual
must readjust his ideal to fit reality, the more difficult his adjustment to his mate
will be.
Fulfillment of Needs
If good adjustments are to be made, a mate must fulfill needs stemming from early
experiences. If the adult needs recognition, a sense of achievement, and social
status to be happy, his mate must help him meet these needs.
Similarity of Backgrounds
The more similar the backgrounds of husband and wife, the easier the adjustment.
However, even when their backgrounds are similar, each adult has acquired a
unique outlook on life, and the more these outlooks differ, the more difficult the
adjustment will be.
Common Interests
Mutual interests in things the couple can do or enjoy together lead to better
adjustments than mutual interests that are not easily shared.
Similarity of Values
Well-adjusted couples have more similar values than those who are poorly adjusted.
Similar backgrounds are likely to produce similar values.
Role Concepts
Each mate has a definite concept of the role a husband and wife should play, and
each expects the other to play that role. When role expectations are not fulfilled,
conflict and poor adjustment result.
Change in Life Pattern
Adjustment to a mate means reorganizing the pattern of living, revamping
friendships and social activities, and changing occupational -requirements,
especially for the wife. These adjustments are often accompanied by emotional
conflicts.

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10.21 FACTORS INFLUENCING IN-LAW ADJUSTMENTS
Stereotypes
The widely accepted stereotype of the "typical Mother-in-law" can lead to
unfavorable mental sets even before marriage. Unfavorable stereotypes about the
elderly-that they are bossy and interfering—can add to in-law problems.
Desire for Independence
Young married adults tend to resent advice and guidance from their parents, even if
they must accept financial aid, and they especially resent such interference from in-
laws.
Family Cohesiveness
Marital adjustments are complicated when one spouse devotes more time to
relatives than the other spouse wants to, when a spouse is influenced by family
advice, or when a relative comes for an extended visit or lives with the family
permanently.
Social Mobility
A young adult who has risen above his family's status or that of his in-laws may
want to keep them in the background. Many parents and relatives resent this, and
hostile relationships with the young couple as well as marital friction may result.
Care of Elderly Relatives
Caring for elderly relatives is an especially complicating factor in marital
adjustments today because of present unfavorable attitudes toward older people
and the belief that young people should be independent of relatives, especially
when there are children in the family.

10.22 FACTORS INFLUENCING SEXUAL ADJUSTMENTS

Attitudes toward Sex
The individual's attitudes toward sex are greatly influenced by the way he received
sex information during childhood and adolescence. Once unfavorable attitudes are
developed, it is difficult to eradicate them completely.
Past Sexual Experiences
The way adults and peers reacted to masturbation, petting, and premarital
intercourse when the individual was younger and the way he felt about them
himself affect his attitude toward sex. If a woman's earlier experiences with petting
were unpleasant, for example, this may have colored her attitude toward sex
unfavorably.
Sexual Desire
Sexual desire develops earlier in men than in women and tends to be persistent,

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while that of women is periodic, fluctuating during the menstrual cycle. These
variations affect interest in, and enjoyment of sex, which in turn affects sexual
adjustments.
Early Marital Sexual Experiences
The belief that sexual relations produce states of ecstasy unparalleled by any other
experience causes many young adults to be so disillusioned at the beginning of
their married lives that later sexual adjustments are difficult or even impossible to
make.
Attitudes toward Use of Contraceptives
There will be less friction and emotional conflict if husband a nd wife agree
concerning the use of contraceptives than if they feel differently about this matter.

10.23 ADJUSTMENT TO PARENTHOOD

As LeMasters has pointed out, "Parenthood not marriage marks the
final transition to maturity and adult responsibility." For many young adults, as he
further explains, the birth of a child is a "crisis" — "sharp and decisive changes
must be made for which old patterns are inadequate". The family is temporarily
upset, and all family members are under varying degrees of stress.
Although the arrival of every child in the family is a crisis, the arrival
of the firstborn is generally the most upsetting, partly because both parents may
feel inadequate for the parental role, partly because they have highly romanticized
concepts of parenthood, and partly because of the personal, social, and economic
privations that parenthood brings. Mothers with professional training and
experience often suffer extremely severe crisis shock because they must give up a
role that was highly important to them in favor of one for which they feel
inadequate.
Many fathers show a general disenchantment with the parental
role by becoming less sexually responsive to their wives, worrying about economic
pressures, or developing feelings of resentment at being "tied down" or excluded
from the mother-child relationship. These unfavorable reactions color the father's
attitudes toward fatherhood and toward his wife.

10.24 FACTORS INFLUENCING ADJUSTMENT TO PARENTHOOD

Attitudes toward Pregnancy
The woman's attitude toward parenthood is colored by her physical and emotional
condition during pregnancy. In most cases, if her attitude has been unfavorable, it
improves after the baby's birth.

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Attitudes toward Parenthood
Adults adjust better to parenthood if they want children because they feel they are
essential to a happy marriage, rather than because of family or social pressures.
Age of Parents
Young parents tend to take their parental responsibilities lightly and not _allow
them to interfere too' much with their other interests and pleasures. Older parents
tend to be more anxious and concerned. Thus younger parents often make better
adjustments.
Sex of Children
Adults' attitudes toward parenthood are more favorable if they have a child or
children of the sex they prefer.
Number of Children
When adults have the number of children they consider "ideal," their adjustment to
parenthood will be better than if they have more or fewer children than they want.
Parental Expectations
If parents have a "dream-child" concept, their adjustment to parenthood will be
affected by how well the child measures up to this ideal.
Feelings of Parental Adequacy
Conflicts about child-training methods lead to confusion and to feelings of anxiety
about doing the job well. This has an unfavorable effect on the adult's adjustment
to parenthood.
Attitudes toward Changed Roles
Parenthood means that both the man and the woman must learn to play family-
centered rather than pair-centered roles. See Figure 10-2. How the individual reacts
to this role change will have a profound influence on his adjustment to parent hood.
The Child's Temperament
A child who is easy to manage and who is responsive and affectionate makes
parents feel rewarded for their time and effort.

10.25 CRITERIA OF SUCCESSFUL MARITAL ADJUSTMENT

Happiness of Husband and Wife
A husband and wife who are happy together derive satisfaction from the roles they
play. They also have a mature and stable love for each other, have made good
sexual adjustments, and have accepted the parental role.
Good Parent-Child Relationships
Good parent-child relationships reflect successful marital adjustment and contribute
to it. If parent-child relationships are poor, the home climate will be marked by
friction, which makes marital adjustment difficult.

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Good Adjustment of Children
Children who are well adjusted, well liked by their peers, successful in school, and
happy are proof of their parents' good adjustment to marriage and parental roles.
Ability to Deal Satisfactorily with Disagreements
Disagreements between family members, which are inevitable, generally end in one
of three ways: There is a temporary truce with no solution, one person gives in for
the sake of peace, or all family members try to understand the others' point of
view. In the long run, only the latter leads to satisfactory adjustments though the
first two help to reduce the tension that friction gives rise to.
"Togetherness"
When marital adjustments are successful, the family enjoys spending time together.
If good family relationships are built up during the early, formative years, the
individual will retain close ties with his family after he grows up, marries, and es -
tablishes a home of his own.

10.26 REASONS WHY PEOPLE REMAIN SINGLE

 An unattractive or sex-inappropriate appearance
 An incapacitating physical defect or prolonged illness
 Lack of success in the search for a mate
 Unwillingness to assume the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood
 A desire to pursue a career that requires working long and irregular hours or
much traveling
 Residence in a community where the sex ratio is unbalanced
 Lack of opportunity to meet eligible members of the opposite sex
 Responsibilities for aging parents or younger siblings
 Disillusionment as a result of unhappy earlier family experiences or unhappy
marital experiences of friends
 Homosexuality
10.27 CONDITIONS AFFECTING STABILITY OF MARRIAGE
Number of Children
There are more divorces among childless couples and those with few children than
among couples with big families, mainly because the former can manage better
after divorce than the latter.
Social Class
Desertion is more common among the lower social classes, and divorce among the
upper-middle and upper classes.
Similarity of Background
Divorce is much more common among couples who have different cultural, racial,

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religious, or socioeconomic backgrounds than among those whose backgrounds are
more similar. This is especially true of couples with different religious backgrounds.
Time of Marriage
The divorce rate is very high among couples who marry early. There are three
reasons for this: First, young people know that it will be relatively easy for them to
remarry; second, those who marry early are likely to be plagued by financial
problems, which make marital adjustment difficult; and third, young people often
have overly romantic concepts of marriage, which inevitably lead to
disenchantment.
Reason for Marriage
Those who are forced to marry because of pregnancy have a higher-than-average
divorce rate.
Time at Which the Couple Become Parents
The shorter the interval between marriage and the birth of the first child, the higher
the divorce rate. Couples who become parents early have not had time to adjust to
marriage, which complicates their adjustment to parenthood.
Economic Status
The lower the economic status of the family, the higher the rate of desertion and
divorce. This is true of couples of all ages.
Parental Model
Marital success or failure tends to run in families. Children of happily married
parents are far less likely to be divorced than children of unhappily married or
divorced parents.
Ordinal Position in Childhood Family
Men who were only children have the highest divorce rate, while women who were
only children have the lowest. This can be attributed to the fact that only boys tend
to be spoiled, while only girls learn to assume responsibilities. Firstborn men, who
also assumed responsibilities when they were young, have a low divorce rate;
firstborn women, who may have been domineering toward younger siblings, have a
high divorce rate.
Maintenance of Identity
The individual who can maintain his identity as a person after marriage and who
has opportunities for self-actualization is far less likely to be divorced than one
whose life is completely submerged in that of his spouse.
10.28 CHAPTER SUMMARY
 Early adulthood extends from age eighteen until approximately age forty,
when the physical and psychological changes that accompany the beginning
of the loss of the reproductive capacity start to appear.

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  Early adulthood is the "reproductive age" and the "settling-down" age. It is
also a time of many personal, social, and vocational problems leading to
emotional tension; a time of social isolation and loneliness; a time of value
changes; and a time when the individual ordinarily approaches the peak of
his achievement and creativity.

 To become personally and socially well adjusted, the individual must master
the developmental tasks of adulthood. For the most part, these are
continuations of the developmental tasks of adolescence.
 As the adult's role in life changes, he acquires new interests or puts greater
emphasis on those acquired earlier, especially interests in appearance,
clothes, symbols of maturity, material possessions, money, and religion.

 Even though young adults have more leisure time today than in the past,
their opportunities for recreation are often limited by environmental or
economic obstacles. Thus they usually concentrate on such recreational
activities as entertaining friends and relatives, watching television, pursuing
hobbies that can be carried out alone, and reading.

 Social activities, so important during adolescence, must often be limited

during early adulthood because of family obligations, economic pressures, or
conditions arising from social mobility.

 The young adult wants a smaller number of friends whose interests and
values are similar to his, rather than many friends, as he did in adolescence.

 As changes in friendship values occur, there are changes in social groupings

and in the value attached to popularity.

 Leaders in adult vocational or social life are generally those who played
leadership roles in adolescence.

 Social mobility, more common in early adulthood than later, is facilitated by

such factors as a high level of education, money, family "pull" in the
vocational world, and participation in prestigious community affairs.

 Sex-role adjustments are especially difficult for women during early

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 adulthood if their roles during their school and college years were similar to
those of boys.

 The major personal and social hazards of early adulthood stem from a failure
to master the most important developmental tasks for this age level. Such
failure can be the result of inadequate foundations, overprotection during
childhood and adolescence, prolongation of peer group influences, and
unrealistic aspirations.

 The developmental tasks of early adulthood relating to vocational and family

adjustments are the most numerous, the most difficult to master, and the
most important.

 Vocational adjustments in adulthood involve selecting a vocation, becoming

vocationally stable, and adjusting to work. The individual's vocational
adjustment can be assessed by his achievements and by the satisfaction he
derives from his work.

 Marital adjustment involves adjustment to a mate, sexual adjustment,

adjustment to economic conditions, in-law adjustments, and adjustment to
parenthood.

 Marital adjustment can be assessed by the happiness of the husband and

wife, the quality of parent-child relationships, the adjustments the children
make, the methods used to settle disagreements, and the degree to which
the family enjoys being together.

 It is more difficult for women to adjust to remaining single than for men
because fewer women are single by choice.

 The vocational and marital hazards of early adulthood result mainly because
the individual has fewer foundations on which to build in these areas than in
others and because he receives little guidance and help in making these
adjustments.

 The most common vocational hazard of early adulthood is job dissatisfaction.

This dissatisfaction is expressed in underachievement, complaining, careless,
slipshod work, accident proneness, absenteeism, job shifting, and lack of

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 loyalty to employer.

 Unemployment in early adulthood is a less common vocational hazard for

men than for women and minority-group members.

 The most common marital hazards in early adulthood are in the areas of
adjustment to a mate, sexual adjustments, role changes, and economic
conditions below the individual's expectations.

 Adjustments to in-laws and to parenthood are hazardous for many young

adults, partly because they are inadequately prepared in these areas and
partly because they have unrealistic expectations.
 Divorce and remarriage are greater marital hazards today than in the past,
though their frequency varies markedly. Their effects on children are
especially serious.

 The individual's adjustment to adulthood can best be assessed by his

achievements, the satisfaction he derives from the pattern of his life, and the
effect his adjustment has on his personality.

10.29 EXERCISE QUESTIONS

 Discuss the characteristics of adulthood.
 What are the interest changes in adulthood.
 Discuss the religious interests in early adulthood.
 Discuss the popular amusement and recreational interests of adults.
 Discuss the qualities of adult leaders.
 Discuss the various sex roles perceived by adults.
 What are the stumbling blocks in adulthood.
 Discuss the various vocational adjustments in adulthood.
 Discuss the various marital adjustments in adulthood.
 Discuss the various adult adjustments to parenthood.
 Discuss the sexual adjustments of adults.

10.30 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Bischof LJ (1969). Adult Psychology. New York, Harper & Row.

 Dahlstrom E (1971). The Changing Social Roles of Men and Women. Boston,
Beacon Press.

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  Eisdorfer C & Lawton MP (1973). The Psychology of Adult Development and
Aging. Washington, APA.
 Martin PC & Vincent EL (1960). Human Development. New York, Ronald
Press.
 Parker E (1960). The Seven Ages of Woman. Baltimore, John Hopkins Press.
 Pressey SL & Kuhlen RG (1957). Psychological Development Through The Life
Span. New York, Harper & Row.
 Freidman EA & Havighurst RJ (1954). The Meaning of Work & Retirement.
University of Chicago Press.

UNIT 11 - MIDDLE AGE

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 Contents
11.1 Unit Objectives.
11.2 Introduction to Middle Age.
11.3 Characteristics of Middle Age.
11.4 Categories of Stress in Middle Age.
11.5 Developmental Tasks of Middle Age.
11.6 Adjustment to physical changes in Middle Age.
11.7 Tell Tale Signs of Aging.
11.8 The Menopausal Syndrome.
11.9 The Male Climacteric Syndrome.
11.10 Changes in interests in Middle Age.
11.11 Status Symbols and Middle Age.
11.12 Religion and Middle Age.
11.13 Community Affairs.
11.14 Popular Recreational Activities in Middle Age.
11.15 Conditions against Good Social Adjustment in Middle Age.
11.16 Adjustments in Middle Age.
11.17 Changed Working Conditions that affect Middle Age Workers.
11.18 Vocational Adjustments in Middle Age.
11.19 Vocational Satisfaction in Middle Age.
11.20 Adjustment to changed Family Patterns in Middle Age.
11.21 Difficulties in Adjustment to Children’s Spouses.
11.22 Adjustment in the Care of Aging Parents.
11.23 Roles played by Today’s Grandparents.
11.24 Adjustments to the Loss of a Spouse.
11.25 Areas of preparation for Old Age.
11.26 Vocational Hazards in Middle Age.
11.27 Role Changes in Middle Age.
11.28 Chapter Summary.
11.29 Exercise Questions.
11.30 Reference Books.

11.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To understand the characteristics of middle age.
 To study the developmental tasks of middle age.
 To understand menopause and climacteric.

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  To study changing interests in middle age.
 To study the various adjustments needed in middle age.
 To study vocational adjustments in middle age.
 To study various family adjustments in middle age.

11.2 INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AGE

Middle age is generally considered to extend from age forty to
age sixty. The onset is marked by physical and mental changes, as is the end. At
sixty, there is usually a decline in physical vigor, often accompanied by a lessening
of mental alertness. Although many adults experience these changes later now than
in the past, the traditional boundary lines are still recognized. The increasing trend
toward voluntary or involuntary retirement at age sixty rather than age sixty -five
also justifies considering sixty to be the boundary line between middle and old age.
Because middle age is a long period in the life span, it is
customarily subdivided into early middle age, which extends from age forty to age
fifty, and advanced middle age, which extends from age fifty to age sixty. During
advanced middle age, physical and psychological changes that first began during
the early forties become far more apparent.
Individuals differ in the ages at which the physical changes
marking off middle age from early adulthood at one end, and old age at the other
end, occur.
There are two different philosophies about how a person
should adjust to middle age: the philosophy that he should try to stay young and
active and the philosophy that he should grow old gracefully, deliberately slowing
down and taking life comfortably the "rocking-chair" philosophy. People of the
middle class tend to adhere to the former, and those of the lower classes, to the
latter; members of the upper class are evenly divided between the two. Women, on
the whole, are more likely to adopt the rocking-chair philosophy than men.
11.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE AGE
Fried has said that "Life is not the same at forty-five as at
twenty-five; nor are we the same kind of people". Like every period in the life span,
middle age has associated with it certain characteristics that make it distinctive.
Middle Age Is a Dreaded Period
Next to old age, middle age is the most dreaded period in the
life span and the one the adult will not admit he has reached until the calendar and
the mirror force him to do so. As Desmond has pointed out, "Americans slump into
middle age grudgingly, sadly and with a tinge of fear".
The many unfavorable stereotypes of the middle-aged person,

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the traditional beliefs concerning the physical and mental deterioration which is
believed to accompany the cessation of the adult's reproductive life, and the
emphasis on the importance of youth in our culture, as compared with the
reverence for age found in many other cultures, all influence the adult's attitudes
unfavorably as he approaches this period in his life. Most adults dread middle age
and become nostalgic about their younger years as it draws closer.
Middle Age Is a Time of Transition
Just as puberty is a period of transition from childhood to
adolescence and then to adulthood, so middle age is a time when the individual
leaves behind the physical and behavioral characteristics of adulthood and enters
into a period in life when new physical and behavioral characteristics will prevail. As
Muelder has pointed out, "Men undergo a change in virility and women a change in
fertility".
Sooner or later, every adult must make adjustments to the
physical changes that come with middle age and must realize that the behavioral
patterns of his younger years have to be radically revised. Adjustment to changed
roles is even more difficult than adjustment to changed physical conditions. Men
must adjust to the changes that impending retirement and their changed physical
condition necessitate in their work, while women must adjust to exchanging the role
of housewife for that of a worker in business or industry or of an "isolate" in a
formerly busy home.
Radical adjustments to changed roles and changed
patterns of life, when accompanied by physical changes, tend to disrupt the
individual's physical and psychological homeostasis. Most women experience a
disruption in homeostasis during their forties, when normally they go through the
menopause and their last children leave home, thus forcing them to make radical
readjustments in the pattern of their entire lives. For men, by contrast, the
climacteric comes later generally in the fifties as does the imminence of retirement
with its necessary role changes.
Middle Age Is a "Dangerous Age"
The most common way to interpret "dangerous age" is in terms
of the male who wants to have a last fling in life, especially in his sex life, before
old age catches up with him. Middle age can be and is dangerous in other respects
also. It is a time when individuals break down physically as a result of overwork,
worry, or careless living. The incidence of mental illness rises rapidly in middle age
among both men and women, and it is also a peak age for suicides, especially
among men. These matters will be discussed later.
The threats to good adjustment that make middle age

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dangerous are intensified by sex differences in the time when upsets in physical and
psychological homeostasis occur. As Muelder has pointed out, middle age is a time
when there is an "unfortunate synchronization of woman's change in life and man's
middle-aged revolt". This not only strains the husband-wife relationship, sometimes
leading to separation or divorce, but also predisposes both men and women to
physical and mental illness, alcoholism, use of narcotics, and suicide.
Middle Age Is an "Awkward Age"
Just as the adolescent is neither a child nor an adult, so the
middle-aged person is no longer "young." nor is he yet "old." As Franzblau has put
it, he "stands between the younger 'Rebel Generation' and the 'Senior Citizen
Generation' —both of which are continuously in the spotlight," and suffers from the
discomforts and embarrassments associated with both age groups.
Feeling that he has no recognized place in society, the
middle-aged person tries to be as inconspicuous as possible. A Time magazine
report has said that the middle-aged population in the American culture of today is
"cloaked in a conspiracy of silence. It is a generation that dares not, or prefers not,
to speak its name middle age".
The middle-aged person's desire to be inconspicuous is
reflected in his clothing. Most middle-aged people try to dress as conservatively as
possible and yet adhere to the prevailing styles. This conservatism rules their
choice of material possessions, such as homes and cars, and their patterns of be-
havior whether it is the way they entertain or the way they dance. The more
inconspicuous they are, the less out of place they feel in a society that worships
youth.
Middle Age Is a Time of Achievement
Middle age, according to Erikson, is a crisis age in which
either "generativity" or "stagnation" will dominate. The person will either become
more and more successful or will stand still and accomplish nothing more. If he has
a strong drive to succeed, he will reach his peak at this age and reap the benefits of
the years of preparation and hard work that preceded it. Middle age should be a
time not only for financial and social success but also "for authority and prestige.
Normally a man reaches his peak between forty and fifty years, after which he rests
on his laurels and enjoys the benefits of his hard-won success until he reaches the
early sixties, when he is regarded as "too old" and usually must relinquish his job to
a younger and more vigorous person. Earnings normally reach a peak during middle
age.
Middle age is the period when leadership in business, industry, and
community organizations is the reward for achievement. Most organizations,

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especially the older ones, elect presidents who are in their fifties and older. The
fifties are also the years when individuals are granted recognition from the various
professional societies.
Neugarten has explained this attitude on the part of middle-aged
people: "The successful middle-aged person often describes himself as no longer
'driven' but as now the 'driver' in short, 'in command'.
Middle Age Is a Time of Evaluation
Since middle age is the time when the individual normally
reaches his peak of achievement, it is also a time when he evaluates his
accomplishments in light of his earlier aspirations and the expectations of others,
especially family members and friends. As Archer has pointed out, "It is in the
twenties that we commit ourselves to an occupation and to a marriage. During the
late thirties and early forties, it is common for men to review those early
commitments".
Middle Age Is a Time of Boredom
Many, if not most, middle-aged men and women
experience boredom during the late thirties and forties. Men become bored with the
daily routine of work and with a family life that offers little excitement. Women,
who have spent most of adulthood caring for the home and raising children, wonder
what the will do for the next twenty or thirty years. The unmarried woman who has
devoted her life to a job or career is bored for the same reasons men are.
11.4 CATEGORIES OF STRESS IN MIDDLE AGE
 Somatic stress, which is due to physical evidences of aging
 Cultural stress, stemming from the high value placed on youth, vigor, and
success by the cultural group
 Economic stress, resulting from the financial burden of educating children
and providing status symbols for all family members
 Psychological stress, which may be the result of the death of a spouse, the
departure of children from the home, boredom with marriage, or a sense of
lost youth and approaching death

11.5 DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF MIDDLE AGE

Tasks Relating to Physical Changes
These include the acceptance of, and adjustment to, the physical changes that
normally occur during middle age.
Tasks Relating to Changed Interests
The middle-aged person often assumes civic and social responsibilities and develops
an interest in adult-oriented leisure-time activities in place of family-oriented

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activities, which prevailed during early adulthood.
Tasks Relating to Vocational Adjustments
These tasks revolve around establishing and maintaining a relatively stable
standard of living.
Tasks Relating to Family Life
The important tasks in this category include relating oneself to one's spouse as a
person, adjusting to aging parents, and assisting teen-age children to become
responsible and happy adults.

11.6 ADJUSTMENTS TO PHYSICAL CHANGES

One of the most difficult adjustments middle-aged men and
women must make is to changed appearance. They must recognize that the body is
not functioning as adequately as it formerly did and may even be "wearing out" in
certain vital areas. They must accept the fact that their reproductive capacity is
waning or coming to an end and that they may be losing some of their sex drive
and sexual attractiveness. Like the pubescent child who has a childhood ideal of
what he wants to look like when he grows up and who must adjust to the reality of
his appearance, the middle-aged person must adjust to changes which he dislikes
and which, even worse, are telltale signs of aging.
The adjustment to physical changes is made doubly hard by
the fact that the individual's own unfavorable attitudes are intensified by
unfavorable social attitudes toward the normal changes that come with advancing
years.

11.7 TELLTALE SIGNS OF AGING

Weight Gain
During middle age, fat accumulates mainly around the abdomen and on the hips.
Loss and Graying of Hair
The middle-aged man's hairline begins to recede, the hair becomes thinner, and
baldness on the top of the head is very common. Hair in the nose, ears, and
eyelashes becomes stiffer, while facial hair grows more slowly and is less luxuriant.
Women's hair becomes thinner, and there is an increase of hair on the upper lip and
chin. Both men and women have a predominance of gray hair by fifty, and some
have white hair before middle age ends
Skin Changes
The skin on the face, neck, arms, and hands becomes coarser and wrinkled. Bags
appear under the eyes, and dark circles become more permanent and pronounced.
Bluish-red discolorations often appear around the ankles and on the mid-calf.

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Body Sag
The shoulders become rounded, and there is a general sagging of the body which
makes the abdomen appear prominent and causes the person to look shorter.
Muscle Changes
Most middle-aged people's muscles become soft and flabby in the areas of the chin,
upper arms, and abdomen.
Joint Problems
Some middle-aged people develop problems in their joints and limbs that cause
them to walk with difficulty and to handle things with an awkwardness rarely found
in younger adults.
Changes in Teeth
The teeth become yellowed and must often be replaced with partial or complete
dentures.
Changes in Eyes
The eyes look less bright than they did when the individual was younger, and there
is a tendency for mucous to accumulate in the corners of the eves.
Sexual Changes
By far the most difficult physical adjustment men and women must make in middle
age is to changes in their sexual capacity. Women go through the menopause, or
change of life, at which time the menstrual periods cease, and they lose their
childbearing ability. Men experience the male climacteric.
Both the menopause and the male climacteric are surrounded by
mystery for most men and women, and there are many traditional beliefs which
heighten the dread people feel as they approach the period in life when these
physical changes occur. The years during which the woman goes through the
menopause, for example, are often referred to as "critical".
Far more is known today about the causes and effects of the sexual
changes that occur during middle age than in the past. Furthermore, there is
growing evidence that these changes are a normal part of the life pattern and also
that marked psychological changes during middle age are more the result of
emotional stress than of physical disturbances. This is true of men as well as of
women.

11.8 THE MENOPAUSAL SYNDROME

Cessation of Menstruation
The woman may experience a sudden cessation of menstruation; regular periods
with a gradual diminution of the menstrual flow; increased irregularity, with the

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periods coming further and further apart; or shorter cycles with profuse flow.
Generalized Atrophy of the Reproductive System
There is a generalized atrophy of the genital tract, with the result that neither
mature ova nor the ovarian hormones estrogen and progestin, are produced.
Decline in Feminine Appearance
As production of the ovarian hormones ceases, the typically feminine secondary sex
characteristics become less pronounced. Facial hair becomes coarser, the voice
deepens, the curves of the body flatten out, the breasts appear flabby, and pubic
and axillary hair become scantier.
Physical Discomforts
The most common physical discomforts experienced during the menopause are
flushes, involving the head, neck, and upper thorax; sweating that accompanies or
immediately follows the flush; hot flashes, typified by tingling over the entire body;
headaches; fatigue; nervousness and irritability; heart palpitations; restlessness;
and frigidity.
Weight Gain
Just as many pubescent children go through a "fat" period, many women gain
weight during the menopause. Like the fat acquired during puberty, it is
concentrated mainly around the abdomen and hips, making the woman seem
heavier than she actually is.
Knobbiness
The joints, especially those of the fingers, often become painful with the decline in
ovarian functioning. This causes them to become thickened, or "knobby."
Personality Changes
Many women experience personality changes during the menopause. They become
depressed, hostile, and self-critical and have wide mood swings. With the
restoration of endocrine balance as the menopause ends, these changes normally
disappear.

11.9 THE MALE CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME

Decline In Functioning of the Sex Organs
After fifty, there is a gradual decline in gonadal activity, although men in their
seventies and eighties occasionally father children.

Decline in Sexual Desire

A decline in sexual desire parallels the decline in sex-organ functioning. This is due
partly to the decline in gonadal functioning and partly due to psychological causes,
such as unfavorable marital relationships or business, economic, or family worries.

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Decline in Masculine Appearance
With the decline in gonadal activity, the man loses some of his typically masculine
characteristics and takes on some that are more feminine. The voice, for example,
becomes somewhat higher in pitch, there is less hair on the face and body, and the
body becomes slightly more rounded, especially the abdomen and hips.
Anxiety about Virility
The man whose appearance and behavior seem less masculine may become
concerned about this virility. This often leads to impotence.
Physical Discomforts
Many middle-aged men complain of depression, anxiety, irritability, tingling
sensations in their extremities, headaches, insomnia, digestive disturbances,
nervousness, flushes, fatigue, and many minor aches and pains.
Decline in Strength and Endurance
This decline is due in part to poor health and in part to gonadal deficiency. Because
of the high social value placed on strength and endurance, men may feel they are
losing their virility when decline in these areas sets in.
Personality Changes
Concern about loss of virility causes some middle-aged men to behave almost like
the adolescent who is "sowing his wild oats." This can be a dangerous period for
men, during which they may have extramarital affairs, engage in other behavior
that leads to the breakup of the family, or cease caring about their business
responsibilities.

11.10 CHARACTERISTIC CHANGES IN INTERESTS IN MIDDLE AGE

 Interests are more commonly narrowed down with advancing age than
expanded.
 There is a shift in emphasis on already-present interests—the middle-aged
person now chooses clothes that will make him look younger, for example—
and a shift toward interests that are more solitary in nature, such as
hobbies.
 The middle-aged person develops an increased interest in cultural pursuits,
such as reading, painting, and attending lectures.
 There is a lessening of sex differences in interests. Men are less interested in
sports, for example, and increasingly interested in more feminine activities,
such as reading or attending concerts.
 There is increased interest in activities leading to self-improvement, such as
attending lectures and taking courses, and a decreased interest in activities
that are purely for enjoyment, such as dancing and playing cards.

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11.11 STATUS SYMBOLS
Because middle-aged people like to think of themselves as
the "command generation"—the group that exercises the most power—they want
certain material possessions that will proclaim their status to others. As Packard
has pointed out, "The status arises from the evaluations many people have in the
backs of their heads as to the social worth of such things —address, home, etc. —as
status symbols".
Although most middle-aged people have known since
adolescence how important a role status symbols play in the judgments others
make of them, many were unable to afford these status symbols earlier, when the
family income was smaller and the children were a heavy drain on the family
budget. When the financial strains of early adulthood lessen, middle-aged people
become keenly interested in status symbols.
While any material possession of value can be used as a
status symbol, a home, a car, and clothing are most valuable because they are
most visible. A home is generally considered the most important status symbol
because others are impressed more by its cost than by the cost of a car or clothing.
If it has a "proper" address, its status-symbol value is enhanced. Furthermore, it
offers opportunities for the use of other status symbols such as expensive fur-
nishings, antiques, and art objects.
The more anxious the individual is to move up the social
ladder, the more important status symbols become. When a socially mobile
individual moves to a new neighborhood or a new community, neighbors and
business associates appraise him on the basis of status symbols before accepting or
rejecting him. The more status symbols he has, especially visible ones, the better
his chance of gaining acceptance.

11.12 RELIGION IN MIDDLE AGE

Middle-aged men and women show a greater interest in church and
church-related activities than they did when they were younger, though this interest
may be for reasons other than religious ones. For example, many middle-aged
people, especially women, who have more free time and fewer family
responsibilities find that religious activities fill their needs, whether religious or
social. Increased interest in religion may also develop after the death of a family
member or a close friend.
Many middle-aged men and women find that religion is a much
greater source of comfort and happiness than it was during their younger years. On

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the whole, middle-aged people are less worried by religious questions, less
dogmatic in their beliefs, less sure that there is only one true religion , and more
skeptical about the devil and hell and about miracles than college students. They
are not religiously disturbed at this time in their lives, and they are more tolerant in
their attitudes toward other religions than they were when they were young er.

11.13 COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Middle-aged men and women, who feel that they are in
command of community life as well as their homes and businesses, also regard
middle age as a time for service. The middle-aged man is well established in his
work, and the average woman's home responsibilities have decreased. Thus they
can devote more time to community affairs; they may serve on committees, on
church or professional boards, or in leadership roles in different community
organizations, for example. In addition, most middle-aged people can now afford to
belong to various clubs and lodges.
The middle-aged person may participate in different formal
community groups in order to enjoy himself, to be of service to the community, to
help others, or to advance culturally or professionally. For example, he may serve
on the school board, be active in the church or Red Cross, or participate in
recreational activities at a branch of the YMCA or a lodge.
11.14 POPULAR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE MIDDLE-AGED
Sports
The middle-aged person spends increasingly more time watching sporting events
than participating in them. The sports he does engage in are the less strenuous
ones fishing, boating, swimming, golf, and bowling.
Reading
The middle-aged person spends more time reading newspapers and magazines than
books and is more selective about what he reads than he was earlier He may prefer
reading about world events, for example, than about crime or sex.
Movies
Movies are less popular in middle age than earlier, partly because many movies are
slanted to the interests of adolescents and young adults and partly because the
middle-aged couple got out of the habit of movie going when their children were
young.
Radio and Television
Many middle-aged women listen to the radio while doing housework, and many men
listen while driving to and from work. Many prefer news or discussion programs,
rather than programs of popular music, as they did earlier. Middle-aged people also

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enjoy television, but may have become more selective about their viewing.
Entertaining
Middle-aged people have more time and money for entertaining than they did
earlier. Middle-aged friends of the same sex also like to get together informally to
talk or play cards, for example.
Taking Trips
Now that they have fewer parental responsibilities and increased income, middle-
aged people are able to take more trips to visit friends or relatives or to sightsee.
Hobbies
The hobbies of middle-aged people are mainly of a constructive nature—gardening,
sewing, painting, cooking, and woodworking, for example
Taking Courses
Middle-aged people take courses for enjoyment rather than for vocational
advancement. They like the intellectual stimulation, the social contacts, an d the
opportunity to get away from the home that adult education provides.

11.15 CONDITIONS MILITATING AGAINST GOOD SOCIAL ADJUSTMENTS

The "Rocking-Chair" Philosophy
The person who subscribes to the philosophy that an aging person should be
inactive and remain on the sidelines contributes little to the enjoyment of others in
social situations.
Unattractive Appearance
The middle-aged person who allows his appearance to deteriorate and makes little
or no effort to improve it is more likely to be ignored or rejected than one whose
clothing and grooming make him look more youthful and attractive.
Lack of Social Skills
The person who never learned proper social skills in adolescence or who allowed his
social skills to become rusty during early adulthood, because of vocational or
household pressures, feels ill at ease in social situations and either withdraws from
them or plays an onlooker role.
Preference for Family Contacts
The individual who has found family members more congenial than outsiders and
family social activities more enjoyable than community activities will not be
motivated to broaden his social horizons in middle age to include outsiders and
community activities.
Desire for Popularity
Some middle-aged men and women, especially those who married early and were
deprived of the social experiences their unmarried contemporaries enjoyed, now

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want an active social life as evidence of their popularity. This can be dangerous if
the individual, in his effort to achieve the goal of popularity, breaks up the
established pattern of his family life, seeks adventure and excitement outside the
home, and neglects his work.
Social Mobility
A socially mobile person who finds it difficult to break into the close -knit social
networks of the middle-aged must play the role of involuntary isolate or affiliate
himself with any group that will accept him, regardless of congeniality of interests.

11.16 VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS IN MIDDLE AGE

Adjustments that center around work and he family are even
more difficult in middle age than personal and social adjustments, discussed in the
preceding chapter. Establishing and maintaining a comfortable standard of living,
for example, has become increasingly difficult in recent years. As a result of
increased use of automation and because of the trend toward the merging of small
companies with larger ones, many middle-aged persons are thrown out of work.
They may find that the jobs for which their training and experience have fitted them
no longer exist and that they lack the training and experience for jobs that do exist;
thus they are forced into the ranks of the unemployed.
Adjustments to changed patterns of family life are equally
difficult. It is never easy to adjust to playing the role of adviser to grown or nearly
grown children after many years of caring for them and supervising their activities.
These difficulties are intensified and prolonged when parents must subsidize a
child's early marriage or extended education.
In addition to these areas of adjustment, the middle-aged
person is faced with a totally new problem, that of adjusting to impending old age.
Like all adjustments for which the individual has had no previous ex perience, this
one is often difficult and gives rise to strong emotional tension.

11.17 CHANGED WORKING CONDITIONS THAT AFFECT MIDDLE-AGED

WORKERS
Unfavorable Social Attitudes
While older workers used to be respected for the skills they had acquired through
years of experience, today the tendency is to regard them as too old to learn new
skills or keep pace with modem demands, as uncooperative in their relations with
coworkers, and as subject to absenteeism and accidents because of failing health.
Hiring Policies
Because of the widespread belief that maximum productivity can be achieved by

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hiring and training younger workers and because employers want to spend the
minimum amount for retirement pensions, middle-aged workers have greater
difficulty getting jobs than younger ones, although this varies for different kinds of
work. Thus changing jobs becomes increasingly more hazardous with each passing
year.
Increased Use of Automation
Automated work requires a higher level of intelligence and greater speed than work
that is not automated, and this has an adverse effect on middle-aged people who
have low levels of intelligence or are in poor health.
Group Work
Training in the home, neighborhood, and school puts more stress on social
adjustments now than in the past; thus younger workers can get along better with
their superiors and coworkers than middle-aged workers can.
Role of the Wife
As the man becomes .more successful, the wife must act as a sounding board for
his business problems, she must be an asset to him at social functions related to his
work, and she must become active in community affairs.
Compulsory Retirement
With compulsory retirement now coming in the early to mid-sixties, the chances of
promotion after fifty are slim, and the chances of getting a new job are even
slimmer, except at a lower level and with lower pay.
Dominance of Big Business
Many small organizations are now being taken over by larger ones. A middle-aged
worker whose company merges with another may find that he has no place in the
new organization or that his job is on a lower level than before.
Relocation
With the consolidation of small businesses into big corporations, many workers are
forced to relocate as factories and offices are moved near the parent company. The
middle-aged worker who must move in order to keep his job may have more dif-
ficulty adjusting to a new location than a younger worker.

11.18 VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS IN MIDDLE AGE

Satisfaction with Work
The middle-aged person who likes his work will make far better vocational
adjustments than one who has stayed at a job he dislikes because of earlier family
responsibilities and who now feels "trapped."
Opportunities for Promotion
Each year, as the worker approaches the age of compulsory retirement, his chances

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of promotion grow slighter, and he is more likely to be pushed aside to make way
for a younger worker. This has an adverse effect on his vocational adjustments.
Vocational Expectations
As retirement becomes imminent, the middle-aged worker assesses his
achievements in light of his earlier aspirations; this assessment has a profound
effect on his vocational adjustments.
Use of Automation
Certain aspects of automation militate against good vocational adjustment on the
part of the middle-aged worker, such as boredom and lack of pride in his work; the
possibility of losing his job to a younger worker; increased speed required on the
job, which makes older workers nervous; and unwillingness to retrain because of
the imminence of retirement.
Attitude of Spouse
If the wife is dissatisfied with her husband's status at work, his pay, or the fact that
she is left alone now that the children are grown, he may become dissatisfied too.
Women whose husbands object to their working may also experience job dissatis-
faction.
Attitude toward a Big Company
The worker who takes pride in being associated with a big, prestigious company will
make better adjustments to his work than one who regards himself as merely a
little cog in a big machine.
Attitude toward Coworkers
The middle-aged worker who resents the treatment he receives from his superiors
or his subordinates and who regards younger workers as shiftless and careless will
have a less favorable attitude toward his work than one who is on friendlier terms
with his coworkers.
Relocation
How the worker feels about moving to another community in order to keep his
present job or be promoted to a better one will have a profound influence on his
vocational adjustments.

11.19 VOCATIONAL SATISFACTION IN MIDDLE AGE

 Achievement or near achievement of a vocational goal set earlier
 Satisfaction on the part of family members, especially the spouse, with the
worker's vocational achievements
 Opportunities for self-actualization on the job
 Congenial relationships with coworkers
 Satisfaction with treatment from management and direct superiors

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  Satisfaction with the provisions made by management for illness, vacations,
disability, retirement, and other fringe benefits
 Feelings of security about the job
 Not being forced to relocate to hold a job, advance in it, or get a new job
11.20 ADJUSTMENT TO CHANGED FAMILY PATTERNS IN MIDDLE AGE
Physical Changes
The physical and psychological disturbances that accompany the menopause and
the male climacteric often intensify the other adjustment problems of middle age
which, in turn, heighten these physical and psychological disturbances.
Loss of Parental Role
Like all habits, that of centering one's life around one's home and children is hard to
break. Middle-aged people who are able to occupy their time with activi ties they
find satisfying will be able to adjust to the loss of the parental role.
Lack of Preparation
While most middle-aged people are prepared for the physical changes that
accompany middle age, few are prepared for the role changes that take place in
both their family and vocational lives. Adjustment problems are greatly intensified if
role changes and physical changes occur simultaneously.
Feelings of Failure
The middle-aged person whose marriage has not turned out as he had hoped or
whose children have not come up to his expectations often blames himself and feels
that he is a failure.
Feelings of Uselessness
The more child-centered the home was earlier, the more useless the middle-aged
person will feel when parental responsibilities diminish or come to an end.
Disenchantment with Marriage
Disenchantment with marriage is often caused or intensified by unforeseen changes
in the marital situation, such as the husband's loss of a job or lack of success or the
failure of children to come up to parental expectations.
Care of Elderly Relatives
Most middle-aged people resent having to care for an elderly relative because they
do not want to be tied down, as they were when their children were young, and
because they fear that strained relationships with the spouse or adolescent children
will result.
Sexual Adjustments
Women, it has been found, can enjoy coitus without orgasm more during middle
age than they could during the early years of marriage.
While poor sexual adjustment does not necessarily lead to

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marital unhappiness and divorce, it has been found to be an important contributing
factor to the disenchantment with marriage that so often occurs during middle age.
Thus poor sexual adjustment is a serious interference with good marital
adjustment.
One of the major causes of poor sexual adjustment in
middle age is differences in the sex drive at this time. Studies of the pattern of
development of the sex drive have shown that the male's sex drive is stronger in
adolescence and reaches its peak earlier than the female's sex drive. The woman's
sex drive and interest in sex, by contrast, become stronger as she approaches
middle age. The fact that husband and wife are at different stages of development
of the sex drive during middle age, combined with differences in interest in sexual
behavior, may result in marital discord.
Poor sexual adjustments also result the man
becomes concerned about his sexual vigor. He may develop feelings of inadequacy
or go to the opposite extreme and have sexual relations with younger women to
prove to himself that he is still virile.
During the forties and early fifties, many women lose
their earlier inhibitions and develop more interest in sex. Because this occurs at the
time when the man's interest in sex is declining, middle-aged women may be
sexually unsatisfied and unhappy.
Some middle-aged women, knowing that it is their last
chance, decide to have a child. This often complicates their adjustments to their
husbands, who may not want a baby now that they have won freedom from their
parental responsibilities or who may be embarrassed at having a baby the age of
their grandchildren.

The middle-aged woman who derives little satisfaction from intercourse or

who feels that it is no longer interesting to her husband or a necessary part of
marriage may take the initiative in stopping it. This intensifies an already-existing
belief that she is no longer needed or wanted, a belief that neither adds to her
happiness nor contributes to good adjustments with her husband.
In spite of the difficulties involved in sexual
adjustment during middle age, there is evidence that many middle-aged men and
women make satisfactory sexual adjustments, which contributes to their marital
satisfaction. A woman's decline in satisfaction from sex during middle age is due
primarily to the attitudes and behavior of her husband. By contrast, a man's
lessening of satisfaction with sex is due primarily to conditions within himself.

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11.21 DIFFICULTIES IN ADJUSTING TO CHILDREN'S SPOUSES

 The expectation on the part of the middle-aged couple that they will continue
to have the same relationship with their children that existed before
marriage and that their relationship with a son- or daughter-in-law will be
the same as their relationship with their own children
 The necessity for married children to live with their parents or in-laws
 The tendency of the middle-aged couple to offer too much advice to a son- or
daughter-in-law
 Dissimilarity of socio-cultural background of in-laws, leading to criticisms and
strained relationships
 Elopement, which leads to parental embarrassment and resentment
 Residential propinquity, which encourages frequent contacts and parental
over protectiveness and interference
 Psychological dependency of a married daughter on her parents, which may
make her husband resent them
 A lack of grandchildren, which may be a disappointment to the middle-aged
parents and which may also give the married children more independence
and thus cause them to neglect their parents, which adds to parental
resentment

11.22 ADJUSTMENT TO CARE OF AGING PARENTS

Role Reversal
The elderly parent does not find it easy to relinquish the authority and autonomy he
enjoyed in his or her own home, even to a grown child, especially not to an in-law.
Place of Residence
The adjustment to care of elderly parents is eased if the parents can remain in their
own home and receive only financial aid from their children, rather than moving in
with them or living in a home for the aged.
Degree of Responsibility
Many middle-aged people become resentful if the care of elderly parents represents
a heavy financial burden or greatly restricts their activities.
Relationship of Aging Parent to Middle-aged Person
Although both husbands and wives are more resentful about caring for an in-law
than a parent, the wife is especially resentful because she has the major
responsibility for this care.
Role Played by Elderly Parent
When the elderly parent is physically able to help with household chores and does

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not disrupt the family routine, the adjustment will be far better than if he expects
to be waited on and interferes in the lives of other family members.
Sex of Elderly Parent
Regardless of whose home the elderly parent lives in, men cause less work and
interfere less than women.
Earlier Experiences with Elderly Parent
Middle-aged people whose earlier experiences with their parents or in-laws have
been favorable make far better adjustments to the care of these elderly relatives
than those whose earlier experiences have been unfavorable.
Attitude toward Elderly Parent
The middle-aged person's adjustment to the care of an elderly relative depends
greatly on his attitude toward him, which may range from loathing to love,
depending partly on earlier experiences an partly on the behavior of the elderly
person now.

11.23 ROLES PLAYED BY TODAY'S GRANDPARENTS

The Formal Role
The grandparents follow a "hands-off" policy as far as care and discipline are
concerned, although they may enjoy providing treats for special occasions.
The Fun-seeking Role
The grandparents enjoy an informal, playful relationship with their grandchildren,
but do not want to assume any responsibility for them.
The Surrogate-Parent Role
The grandparents assume responsibility for the care of grandchildren in the event of
divorce or the death of a parent, if the mother must work outside the home, or
when the parents want to take a short vacation from the children. Usually the
grandmother is more active in this role.
The "Reservoir of Family Wisdom" Role
The grandparents dispense special knowledge to the grandchildren or teach them
certain skills. The grandfather is usually more active in this role.
The Distant-Figure Role
The grandparents appear only on special occasions and have fleeting and infrequent
contacts with their grandchildren. This role is especially common when
grandparents are geographically or socially remote.
11.24 ADJUSTMENT TO LOSS OF A SPOUSE
The loss of a spouse, whether as a result of death or divorce,
presents many adjustment problems for the middle-aged man or woman, but
especially for the woman. The middle-aged woman whose husband dies or who is

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divorced experiences extreme feelings of loneliness. This is intensified by frustra -
tions of the normal sexual desires, which are far from dormant. A person who loses
a spouse and remains alone for ten or more years generally makes satisfactory
adjustments to being single, although he may tend to be lonely and to find the
single state unsatisfactory.
Loss of a spouse as a result of divorce affects middle-aged
people very differently, depending primarily upon who wanted the divorce. A
woman whose husband divorced her to marry someone else will have very different
reactions from those of a woman who found her marriage intolerable and initiated
the divorce herself. This will be discussed in more detail later in connection with the
hazards of middle age.
The man whose wife dies or who is divorced experiences a
disruption in his pattern of living unless a relative can manage the home for him. A
woman who is widowed or divorced in middle age often must give up her home, go
to work, and live very differently from the way she did when her husband was alive
or before her divorce. The woman alone also encounters social complications which
men do not face. She may be reluctant to go out by herself, and the problem of
entertaining is likewise awkward.
For the divorced woman, the social complications are
even greater. Not only may she be excluded from social activities, but, even worse,
she often loses old friends. While some will remain her friends, many will ostracize
her or rally around her husband.
Perhaps the most serious problem that loss of a
spouse in middle age presents to women stems from the fact that their chances for
remarriage become slimmer as they grow older. And since women can expect to live
longer than men, this means a long period of loneliness complicated by fi nancial
and social problems.

11.25 AREAS OF PREPARATION FOR OLD AGE

Health
Preparation for old age should include health measures that will prevent or mitigate
the effects of the chronic and debilitating diseases of old age.
Retirement
The older person who has prepared for retirement or for loss of the parental role by
acquiring new interests and engaging in new activities makes better adjustments to
old age than the one who has made no such preparation.
Use of Leisure Time
The middle-aged person should pursue hobbies and acquire interests that will be

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satisfactory during old age, when he must give up his more strenuous leisure -time
activities.
Role Changes
The middle-aged person must prepare for the role changes which are inevitable in
old age, whether in business, in the home, or in community activities. It is
especially important that he learn gradually to relinquish leadership roles and play
the role of follower and to be content with this change.
Life Patterns
Middle-aged people should recognize that circumstances in old age may force them
to move from their homes and change their life patterns. Those who are unprepared
to make such changes necessitated by poor health or reduced income, for example
will be unable to adjust to a new pattern of life and will be unhappy.

11.26 VOCATIONAL HAZARDS

While many vocational hazards of middle age are similar to those of
early adulthood, the following are particularly characteristi c of this period.
First, failure to have reached a goal set earlier is an ego-deflating
experience for the middle-aged person because he knows that this is the peak time
for achievements and that he is unlikely to attain his goals in old age. His reaction
to such a failure will affect his attitude toward himself and the kind of personal and
social adjustments he makes now and also when he reaches old age.
Not all men and women cling to their early aspirations. Some
revise them because they have become more realistic, while others do so because
their values have changed. Whatever motivates this revision, it is important
because it eliminates the potential hazard stemming from failure to come up to
earlier aspirations and expectations. In a forty-year follow-up of Terman's "gifted
group," Oden pointed out that some of the "C men" —those least successful voca-
tionally—fell below their expectations because of value changes as they grew older.
As she pointed out, "It should not be overlooked that a few of the C men have
deliberately chosen not to seek 'success,' expressing a preference for a less
competitive way of life with greater opportunity for personal happiness and freedom
from pressure to pursue their avocational interests".
The second vocational hazard that middle-aged people face is a
decline in creativity, even though their level of productivity may remain the same or
even improve. A decline in vocational creativity makes the middle-aged person less
satisfied with his achievements, and he no longer is acclaimed for his creativity, as
he was earlier. This decline may be due not to a lessening of mental abilities or to
mental rigidity, as is widely believed, but rather to the fact that the middle-aged

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person has less time for creative work than he did before as a result of the added
responsibilities and pressures that come with success. As has already been
pointed out, those who were successful earlier are usually assigned leadership roles
when they reach middle age, and this leaves them little free time for the mental
"play" essential to creativity.
While boredom a third vocational hazard in middle age is also
a hazard during early adulthood, it affects the middle-aged worker more because
his chances of finding a more stimulating job grow slimmer with each passing year.
Boredom is especially common among industrial workers, who find that automation
is increasingly replacing individual workmanship.
The fourth vocational hazard facing the middle-aged worker of
today involves the tendency toward "bigness" in business, industry, and the
professions. A middle-aged person who has been accustomed to working in a
friendly, informal atmosphere may derive less satisfaction from working in a large,
impersonal organization.
The fifth vocational hazard of middle age is a feeling of being
"trapped." While a younger worker who is dissatisfied or bored with his job knows
that he can always get another one, many middle-aged men and women feel that
they must stay in a line of work they dislike because it is too late to train for
another one.
The sixth vocational hazard of middle age unemployment
is always very serious, though more so in times of economic recession than in times
of prosperity. Teen-age workers or young adults who lose their jobs or give them up
can count on getting another job in a relatively short time. However, finding a new
job becomes increasingly difficult with each passing year, and the period of
unemployment grows increasingly longer.
Even during periods of prosperity, women and men of
minority groups are more subject to unemployment than men who are not minority-
group members, and they are far more likely to be laid off during periods of
economic recession or depression. Middle-aged women who want to reenter the
business world after their children are grown up and who try to prepare for this by
learning new skills or brushing Up on old ones often find that the available jobs go
to younger women.
Unemployment is a serious psychological hazard for any
worker, regardless of age, sex, race, or minority-group status. Those who have
been unemployed for a long time often develop feelings of inadequacy and of being
unwanted, which result in either aggressiveness or extreme passivity, both of which
are handicaps to possible future employment.

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 Unfavorable attitudes toward one's job the seventh
vocational hazard of middle age can have detrimental effects on both the worker's
achievements and his personal adjustments. Like the student who dislikes
school or college, the dissatisfied worker becomes an underachiever and a
complainer who can undermine the morale of those around him. If he is dissatisfied
because he feels trapped in a job he dislikes or because he thinks that hi s race,
sex, or some other condition over which he has no control is blocking his path to
success, he will develop feelings of martyrdom, which will intensify his unfavorable
attitude. This militates against his holding the job he already has and makes getting
and holding a new job far more difficult than it otherwise might be.

11.27 ROLE CHANGES IN MIDDLE AGE

As has been pointed out role changes are a serious hazard for
the woman. When the children leave home, she finds herself in much the same po-
sition that the typical man does at retirement—unemployed. Few women, however,
receive preparation for this, as many men now do from their employers. As one
woman has put it, "Freshman have their advisers to help them to adjust to the
changes that college life brings, but who helps the parent emeritus?".
While most mothers want their children to be independent when
they are developmentally ready, to have homes and families of their own, and to be
successful in their work, many put roadblocks in their children's paths when the
time actually comes for them to be on their own. Instead of gladly relinquishing the
burden they have carried for so many years, many mothers cling to it because they
fear that their lives will now seem empty and futile. For such women, the ending of
the parental role is a traumatic experience, and neurotic difficulties are often the
aftermath.
Opposition to a Child's Marriage
Another serious problem arises when a child marries someone
of whom his middle-aged parents do not approve. They will oppose the marriage,
which militates against their making satisfactory adjustments to the child's
departure from the home. This opposition also generally creates a barrier between
them and their child, with the result that their contacts with the child after marriage
are few and their relationships with the child's family are unfavorable.

Inability to Establish Satisfactory Relationships with the Spouse as a

Person
One of the important developmental tasks of middle age is
that of establishing satisfactory relationships with a spouse. This is especially

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difficult for the woman because of the problems she faces in making satis factory
adjustments to the new role she must play now that the children have left home.
This hazard to good marital adjustment affects men as well, however.
While many men and women do make this adjustment
successfully and are even happier in their marriages than they were during the
child-rearing years, for others it is a hazardous transition. Many of these
unfavorable "attitudes have developed over the years, and by middle age they are
often so deep-rooted that they are impossible to eradicate.

11.28 CHAPTER SUMMARY

 Middle age is commonly subdivided into early middle age, which extends
from age forty to age fifty, and advanced middle age, which extends from
age fifty to age sixty.

 Middle age is a dreaded period, a time of transition, a "dangerous" age, an

"awkward" age, a time of achievement, a time of evaluation, and a time of
boredom.

 The developmental tasks of middle age are related to physical changes,

changed interests, vocational adjustments, and changes in family life.

 Adjustments to physical changes in middle age include adjustments to

changes in appearance, in sensory abilities, in physiological functioning, in
health, and in sexual drive and behavior.

 Of all the physical changes that occur in middle age, the menopause and the
male climacteric are the most traumatic and also the most difficult to adjust
to.

 The middle-aged person's adjustment to physical changes can best be

assessed by the effect of these changes on his self-concept.

 Contrary to popular belief, intellectual abilities do not decrease in middle

age, but may even increase slightly, especially among those of high
intelligence.

 Changes in interests during middle age are due primarily to role changes
resulting from social expectations or from physical changes or reduced

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 income.

 The middle-aged person's interests most commonly change in the areas of

appearance and clothes, money, status symbols, religion, community affairs,
and recreational activities.

 Because there is often a renewed interest in social life during middle age,
adjustment to a changed pattern of social life becomes a major
developmental task for many middle-aged people.

 The major personal hazards of middle age come from acceptance of the
cultural stereotypes about middle age, from-rebellion against the restrictions
age places on the individual's usual pattern of behavior, and from the neces-
sity for changing roles.

 The major social hazards of middle age are conditions that militate against
good social adjustments, such as an unattractive appearance, a lack of social
skills, social mobility, and a preference for family contacts.

 Adjustments centering around work and the family are even more difficult
during middle age than during early adulthood because many conditions over
which the individual has little or no control arise to interfere with these
adjustments.

 Vocational adjustments during middle age are complicated by increased use

of automation, problems arising from the merging of small companies with
larger ones, group work, the necessity for the wife to play a role in her hus-
band's climb up the vocational ladder, and unfavorable social attitudes
toward older workers, which affect hiring policies.

 Vocational adjustments in middle age are far more difficult for women than
for men, partly because of unfavorable social attitudes toward them and
partly because they have less work experience, as a result of having devoted
the years of early adulthood to child rearing.
 The most important conditions contributing to vocational satisfaction in
middle age are the worker's satisfaction with the work itself, his
opportunities for promotion, the attitude of his spouse, his ability to adjust to
automation and group work, and his attitudes toward coworkers, toward

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 working in a large organization, and toward the necessity of relocating in
order to keep his present job or be promoted to a better one.

 How well the worker makes vocational adjustments during middle age can be
determined by his achievements and by the degree of satisfaction he derives
from his work.

 The most important conditions complicating adjustment to family life in

middle age are physical changes which interfere with adjustment to other
changes; the difficulty of changing a habitual pattern of life; lack o f
preparation for the changes in family life that occur during middle age;
feelings of failure or of uselessness; disenchantment with marriage; and
problems arising from the necessity of caring for elderly relatives.

 The major adjustments to family life that the middle-aged person must make
are in the areas of changed family roles; new relationships with the spouse,
necessitated by these changed roles; sexual relationships; relationships with
in-laws, especially the children's spouses; caring for aged parents; and
problems of grandparenthood.

 By middle age, most unmarried men and women have made reasonably good
adjustments to being single and are happy with the pattern of life they have
established for themselves.

 Loss of a spouse, whether due to death or divorce, disrupts the pattern of life
for middle-aged men and women, and many try to adjust to this change by
remarrying.

 Some of the adjustment problems of old age can be minimized by proper

preparation during middle age, especially in the areas of health, retirement,
use of leisure time, and plans for family living.

 The seven common vocational hazards that middle-aged men and women
face are failure to reach goals they set for themselves earlier; a decline in
creativity; the difficulty of shifting to a job that would be more to their liking;
a feeling of being trapped in a job they dislike; unemployment, which
becomes increasingly serious as the person grows older; and an unfavorable
attitude toward the job. The common marital hazards of middle age include

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 changing one's accustomed role in the family, the inability to establish
favorable relationships with the spouse as a person, poor sexual
adjustments, caring for an elderly parent in the home, divorce, and
remarriage following divorce.

 The four criteria used to assess the individual's adjustment to middle age are
is achievements, his emotional states, the effect of physical and role changes
on his self-concept, and how satisfied and happy he is with the pattern of his
life.

11. 29 EXERCISE QUESTIONS

 What are the characteristics of Middle Age.
 What are the developmental tasks of Middle Age.
 Write briefly about the Menopause and Climacteric Syndromes.
 Discuss the role of religion and status symbols in Middle Age.
 Discuss the vocational adjustments in Middle Age.
 Discuss the adjustments to take care of aging parents.
 Discuss the roles played by grandparents.
 Discuss the various family adjustments in Middle Age.
 Discuss the adjustment to the loss of a spouse.
 Discuss the vocational hazards in Middle Age.

11.30 REFERENCE BOOKS

 Bergler E (1954). The revolt of the middle-aged man. New York: Wyn.
 Franzblau RN (1971). The middle generation. New York, Holt.
 Fried B (1967). The middle-age crisis. New York, Harper & Row.
 Neugarten BL (1968).Middle age and aging: A reader in social psychology.
University of Chicago Press.
 Simon AW (1968). The new years: A new middle age. New York. Knopf.

UNIT 12 - OLD AGE

Contents

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12.1 Unit Objectives
12.2 Introduction to Old Age.
12.3 Subdivisions of Old Age.
12.4 Characteristics of Old Age.
12.5 Problems Unique to Old Age.
12.6 Common Changes in Appearance in Old Age.
12.7 Changes in Sensory Function in Old Age.
12.8 Changes in Motor Abilities in Old Age.
12.9 Changes in Interests in Old Age.
12.10 Changes in Recreational Activities.
12.11 Sources of Social Contacts affected by aging.
12.12 Religious Changes in Old Age.
12.13 Interest in Death.
12.14 Physical Hazards of old age.
12.15 Adjustments in old age.
12.16 Work Attitudes of Older Workers.
12.17 Employment Opportunities in Old Age.
12.18 Adjustments to Retirement.
12.19 Factors affecting sexuality in old age.
12.20 Adjustments to the Loss of a Spouse.
12.21 Adjustments to Re-marriage.
12.22 Factors affecting adjustment to Re-marriage.
12.23 Choice of Living Arrangements.
12.24 Physical & Psychological Needs for Living in Old Age.
12.25 Factors influencing adjustment to old age.
12.26 Good and Poor Adjustment to old age.
12.27 Conditions contributing to Happiness in Old Age.
12.28 Exercise Questions.
12.29 Reference Books.

12.1 UNIT OBJECTIVES

 To study the various characteristics of Old Age.
 To study the various physical and psychological changes in old age.
 To study various adjustments in old age.

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  To study issues like religion, death, re-marriage, retirement and vocational
adjustments in old age.
 To study good and poor adjustment with happiness in old age.

12.2 INTRODUCTION TO OLD AGE

Old age is the closing period in the life span. Henry and Cumming
have pointed out, it is a "period of moving away from some previous and more
desirable period —'the prime of life' or 'the years of usefulness'". As the individual
moves away from the earlier periods of his life, he looks back on them, often
regretfully, and tends to live in the present, ignoring the future as much as
possible.
As has been stressed repeatedly, the individual is never static:
instead, he constantly changes. During the early part of life the changes are
evolutional in that they lead to maturity of structure and functioning. In the latter
part of life they are mainly involutional, involving a regression to earlier stages.
These changes are the natural accompaniment of what we commonly refer to as
aging, and they affect physical as well as mental structures and functioning.
Age sixty is usually considered the dividing line between middle
and old age. However, it is recognized that chronological age is a poor criterion to
use in marking off the beginning of old age because there are such marked
differences among individuals in the age at which aging actually begins.
Because of better living conditions and better health care, most
men and women today do not show the mental and physical signs of aging until the
mid-sixties or even the early seventies. For that reason, there is a gradual trend
toward using sixty-five—the age of compulsory retirement in many businesses —to
mark the beginning of old age..

12.3 SUBDIVISIONS OF OLD AGE

Old age is usually subdivided into early old age, which extends
from age sixty to age seventy, and advanced old age, which begins at seventy and
extends to the end of life

12.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD AGE

Like every other period in the life span, old age is characterized
by certain physical and psychological changes, and the effect of these changes on
the individual determines, to a large extent, whether he will make good or poor
personal and social adjustments. The characteristics of old age, however, are far
more likely to lead to poor adjustments than to good ones and to unhappiness

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rather than to happiness. That is why old age is even more dreaded in the American
culture of today than middle age.
Old Age Is a Period of Decline
The period during old age when physical and mental decline is
slow and gradual and when compensations can be made for it is known as
senescence. The individual may become senescent in his fifties or not until his early
or late sixties, depending upon the rate of this decline.
The term senility is used to refer to the period during old age
when a more or less complete physical breakdown takes place and when there is
mental disorganization. The individual who becomes eccentric, reless,
absentminded, socially withdrawn, and poorly adjusted is usually described as
senile. Senility may come as early as the fifties, or it may never occur because the
individual dies before deterioration sets in.
Decline comes partly from physical and partly from
psychological factors. The physical cause of decline is a change in the body cells
due not to a specific disease but to the aging process. Decline may also have psy-
chological causes. Unfavorable attitudes toward oneself, other people, work, and life
in general can lead to senility, just as changes in the brain tissue can. Individuals
who have no sustaining interests after retirement are likely to become depressed
and disorganized. As a result, they go downhill both physically and mentally and
may soon die. How the individual copes with the strains and stresses of living will
also affect the rate of his decline.
Motivation likewise plays a very important role in decline.
The individual who has little motivation to learn new things or to keep up to date in
appearance, attitudes, or patterns of behavior will deteriorate much faster than one
whose motivation to ward off aging is stronger. The new leisure time, which comes
with retirement or with the lessening of household responsibilities, often brings
boredom which lowers the individual's motivation.
There Are Individual Differences in the Effects of Aging
Individual differences in the effects of aging have been
recognized for many centuries. Cicero, for example, in his De Senectute, stressed
this in his reference to the popular belief that 'aging makes people difficult to live
with. According to him, "As it is not every wine, so it is not every disposition that
grows sour with age". Today, even more than in the past, it is recognized that aging
affects different people differently. Thus it is impossible to classify anyone as a
"typically" old person or any trait as "typical" of old age. People age differently
because they have different hereditary endowments, different socioeconomic and
educational backgrounds, and different patterns of living. These differences are

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apparent among members of the same sex, but they are even more apparent when
men and women are compared because aging takes place at different rates for the
two sexes.
As differences increase with age, they predispose individuals
to react differently to the same situation. For example, some men think of
retirement as a blessing, while others regard it as a curse.
As a general rule, physical aging precedes mental aging,
though sometimes the reverse is true, especially when the individual is,
concerned about growing old and lets go mentally when the first signs of physical
aging appear.
Aging Requires Role Changes
Just as middle-aged people must learn to play new roles, so
must the elderly. In the American culture of today, where efficiency, strength,
speed, and physical attractiveness are highly valued, elderly people are often
regarded as useless. Because they cannot compete with young people in the areas
where highly valued traits are needed, the social attitude toward them is
unfavorable.
Furthermore, it is expected that old people will play a
decreasingly active role in social and community affairs, as they do in the business
and professional worlds. As a result, there is a marked reduction in the number of
roles the elderly person is able to play, and there are changes in some of the
remaining roles. While these changes are due in part to the individual's preferences,
they are due mainly to social pressures.
Because of unfavorable social attitudes, few rewards are
associated with old-age roles, no matter how successfully they are carried out.
Feeling useless and unwanted, elderly people develop feelings of inferiority and
resentment —feelings that are not conducive to good personal or social adjust-
ments. As Busse and Pfeiffer have pointed out, "It is difficult to maintain a positive
identity when one's usual props for such an identity, such as one's social and
occupational roles, have been taken away".
There Are Many Stereotypes of the Aged
Role changes among the aged are markedly influenced by the
cultural stereotypes of old people, which in turn have led to unfavorable social
attitudes toward them. There are three main sources of stereotypes about old age.
First, folklore and fairy tales, handed down from one generation to another, tend to
depict the aged unfavorably. Although it is true that some of these picture old
people as kindly and understanding, many depict them as wicked and cruel, es -
pecially women.

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 Second, the elderly are often characterized unfavorably in
literature as well as in the mass media.

12.5 PROBLEMS UNIQUE TO OLD AGE

 Physical helplessness, which necessitates dependency on others
 Economic insecurity severe enough to necessitate a complete change in
pattern of living
 Establishing living conditions in accordance with changes in economic or
physical conditions
 Making new friends to replace those who have died or moved away or who
are invalided
 Developing new activities to occupy increased leisure time
 Learning to treat grown children as adults

12.6 COMMON CHANGES IN APPEARANCE DURING OLD AGE

Head Region
 The nose elongates.
 The mouth changes shape as a result of tooth loss or the necessity of
wearing dentures.
 The eyes seem dull and lusterless and often have a watery look.
 A double or triple chin develops.
 The cheeks become pendulous, wrinkled, and baggy.
 The skin becomes wrinkled and dry, and dark spots, moles, or warts may
appear.
 The hair on the head becomes thin and turns gray or white, and tough,
bristly hair appears in the nose, ears, and eyebrows.
Trunk Region
 The shoulders stoop and thus seem smaller.
 The abdomen bulges and droops.
 The hips seem flabbier and broader than they did earlier.
 The waistline broadens, giving the trunk a sacklike appearance.
 The woman's breasts become flabby and droop.
Limbs
 The upper arm becomes flabby and heavy, while the lower arm seems to
shrink in diameter.
 The legs become flabby and the veins prominent, especially around the
ankles.
 The hands become scrawny, and the veins on the back of the hand are

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 prominent.
 The feet become larger as a result of sagging muscles, and corns, bunions,
and callouses often appear.
 The nails of the hands and feet become thick, tough, and brittle.
Sexual Changes
The male climacteric comes later than the menopause and requires
more time. Generally there is a decline in sexual potency during the sixties, which
continues as age advances. Like the menopause, it is accompanied by a decline in
gonadal functioning, which is responsible for the changes that occur during the
climacteric.
The male climacteric has two common effects on the aging man.
First, there is a waning of the secondary sex characteristics. The voice, for example,
becomes higher in pitch; the hair on the face and body becomes less luxuriant; and
the heavy musculature gives way to a general flabbiness. In general, older men are
less "masculine" than they were in the prime of life, just as women are less
"feminine" after the menopausal changes have taken place.
Second, the male climacteric affects sexual functioning.
However, even though sexual potency has declined, there is not necessarily a
decline in sexual desire or in the ability to have intercourse. There is evidence that
cultural influences are more important in the waning of the sex drive than physical
changes. Cultural influences produce anxieties, which in turn affect attitudes toward
sex and sexual behavior. Men and women often refrain from continuing sexual
relations in bid age or from remarrying because of unfavorable social attitudes
toward sex among older people and because of doubts about their sexual capacities.
To avoid having their pride hurt, men especially are likely to refrain from sexual
activity as they grow older.
The strength of the sex drive in old age will depend largely
upon the individual's general health and the kind of sexual adjustments he made
earlier in life. Those who made poor sexual adjustments when they were younger
have been found to lose the sex drive earlier than those who made better
adjustments.
12.7 CHANGES IN SENSORY FUNCTIONING IN OLD AGE
Vision
There is a consistent decline in the ability to see at low levels of illumination and a
decline in color sensitivity. Most old people suffer from presbyopia farsightedness
which is due to the diminishing elasticity of the lenses.
Hearing
Old people lose the ability to hear extremely high tones, as a result of atrophy of

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the nerve and end organs in the basal turn of the cochlea, although most can hear
tones below high as well as younger people. Men tend to experience greater hearing
loss in old age than women.
Taste
Marked changes in taste in old age are due to atrophy of the taste buds in the
tongue and the inner surface of the cheeks. This atrophy becomes progressively
more widespread with advancing age.
Smell
The sense of smell becomes less acute with age, partly as a result of the atrophy of
cells in the nose and partly because of the increased hairiness of the nostrils.
Touch
As the skin becomes drier and harder, the sense of touch becomes less and less
acute.
Sensitivity to Pain
The decline in the sensitivity to pain occurs at different rates in different parts of
the body. There is a greater decline, for example, in the forehead and arms than in
the legs.

12.8 COMMON CHANGES IN MOTOR ABILITIES IN OLD AGE

Strength
Decline in strength is most pronounced in the flexor muscles of the forearms and in
the muscles which "raise the body. Elderly people tire quickly and require a longer
time to recover from fatigue than younger people.
Speed
Decrease in speed with aging is shown in tests of reaction time and skilled
movements, such as handwriting.
Learning New Skills
Even when the individual believes that learning a new skill will benefit him
personally, he learns more slowly than a younger person, and the end result is less
satisfactory.
Awkwardness
Old people tend to become awkward and clumsy, which causes them to spill and
drop things, to trip and fall, and to do things in a careless, untidy manner. The
breakdown in motor skills proceeds in inverse order to that in which the skills were
learned, with the earliest-learned skills being retained longest.

12.9 CONDITIONS AFFECTING CHANGE OF INTERESTS IN OLD AGE

Health

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Changes in health and energy are reflected in an increased int erest in sedentary
pursuits and a decreased interest in activities requiring strength and energy.
Social Status
Older people of the higher social groups usually have a wider range of interests
than those of the lower groups. Many of these are carry-overs of interests
developed earlier in life.
Economic Status
The older person who has inadequate money to meet his needs may have to give up
many interests that are important to him and concentrate on ones that he can
afford, regardless of whether they are meaningful to him or meet his needs.
Sex
Women have more interests in old age, just as they do throughout adulthood. Men
who are retired often find it difficult to cultivate interests to occupy their time.
Values
Older people may come to value social contacts, rather than hobbies as a
compensation for the loneliness that retirement or loss of a spouse brings.

12.10 CHANGES IN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Health
As health gradually fails and as physical disabilities such as poor eyesight set in,
the individual acquires an interest in recreational activities that require a minimum
of strength and energy and can be enjoyed in the home.
Economic Status
Reduced income after retirement may force the individual to cut down on or
eliminate recreational activities, such as movie going, that cost money. This is
especially true of older people in the lower socioeconomic groups.
Education
The more formal education a person has, the more intellectual recreational
activities, such as reading, he cultivates. Because these require little energy, they
can be enjoyed in old age. Those with limited education must often depend mainly
on television for recreation.
Sex
Women tend to cultivate a wide range of recreational interests throughout life,
many of which are sedentary in nature and thus can be carried into old age. Men,
by contrast, tend to limit their recreational interest to sports, which they must give
up when their health fails. Thus they have a paucity of recreational interests in old
age and may depend mainly on television.
Living Conditions

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Elderly persons who live in a home for the aged have recreations provided for them
that are suited to their physical and mental abilities. Those who live in their own
homes or with a married child have fewer opportunities for recreation, especially if
their economic status is poor or if failing health or transportation problems prevent
them from participating in community-sponsored recreational activities.

12.11 SOURCE OF SOCIAL CONTACT AFFECTED BY AGING

Close, Personal Friendships
Close, personal friendships with members of the same sex, many of which date
back to adolescence or the early years of marriage, often end when one of the
friends dies or moves away, and it is unlikely that the old person will be able to es-
tablish another such relationship.
Friendship Cliques
These cliques are made up of couples who banded together when they were
younger because of mutual interests stemming from the husbands' business
associations or because of the wives' mutual interests in their families or
community organizations. As men retire and women's home and community
activities dwindle, the members have little left in common and gradually drift apart.
Formal Groups or Clubs
As leadership roles in formal groups and clubs are taken over by younger members
and as the activities are planned mainly around their interests, older people feel
unwanted in these organizations and discontinue their membership in them.

12.12 RELIGIOUS CHANGES DURING OLD AGE

Religious Tolerance
With advancing age, the individual adheres less strictly to religious dogmas and
adopts a more lenient attitude toward the church, the clergy, and people of
different faiths.
Religious Beliefs
Changes in religious beliefs during old age are generally in the direction of
acceptance of the traditional beliefs associated with the individual's faith.
Religious Observances
Decline in church attendance and participation in church activities in old age is due
less to lack of interest than to factors such as failing health, lack of transportat ion,
embarrassment about not having proper clothing or being able to contribute money,
and feeling unwanted by the younger members of the church organizations. Women
continue to participate in church activities more than men do because of the
opportunities they offer for social contacts.

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12.13 INTERESTS IN DEATH
During childhood, adolescence, and to a lesser extent early
adulthood, interest in death revolves more around life after death than on what
causes a person to die. As a result of religious training in the home, Sunday school,
church, or synagogue, many young people have distinct concepts of heaven or hell
and about the afterlife.
As the person grows old, he often becomes less interested in life
after death and more concerned about death per se and about his own death. This
is especially true of elderly people whose physical or mental condition has begun to
deteriorate. When the elderly person's health fails, he often concentrates his
attention on death and becomes preoccupied with it. This is in direct contrast to
younger people, to whom death seems very far away and is of little concern.
When interest in death shifts from interest in the afterlife to
interest in the individual's own death, it is usually concentrated on three questions,
discussed below. Even when these questions dominate the elderly person's interest
in death, he may still fear it because of uncertainty about whether there is an
afterlife and what it will be like.
The first question about death that is of profound interest to
many elderly people is: When will I die? While they know that no one can predict
this with any degree of accuracy not even the ablest doctors or life insurance
actuaries they try to estimate approximately how much longer they have to live on
the basis of the longevity of family members and the present state of their
health.
Even elderly people who have no fear of death may want to
know how much time they have left because of what they regard as "unfinished
business" in their lives a trip they had always planned to take or a project they
want to complete, for example. Many older people want their doctors to be frank
about impending death so that they can tend to this unfinished business or settle
their affairs.
The second question about death that concerns many elderly
people is: What is likely to cause my death? While statistics show that heart
disease, cancer, strokes, and accidents are the most common causes of death
among the elderly, many die from other causes.
Interest in the question of what will lead to the individual's
death centers around four major areas of concern. First, he wonders whether he
can do anything to ward off his death, even for a short time. For example, if he
knows that he is in danger of having a stroke because of high blood pressure, he
may try to lower it by relaxing, by losing weight, and by taki ng proper medication.

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 The individual's second concern about what will cause his
death stems from his desire to take care of unfinished business, as discussed
above. Knowing what the probable cause of his death will be gives him some idea of
the time remaining to him, since some diseases progress more rapidly than others.
Financial considerations are the individual's third concern
relating to the question of what will cause his death. If he has reason to suspect
that he may die as a result of a heart attack, for example, which comes quickly and
is not likely to involve a long period of invalidism, he may have an "eat, drink, and
be merry" philosophy about his money, as opposed to a person who believes that
his death will be a slow and lingering process and will involve great medical ex -
penses for him and his family.
Fourth, the individual wants to know what the cause of his
death will be because this determines whether his last days will be debilitating and
painful or whether he has a good chance of remaining mentally alert and physically
active until the end.
The third question about death that most elderly
people ask is: What can I do to die as I wish to die? In the past, many men and
women accepted the belief that death is a matter of "God's will" and that the in -
dividual should have no voice in the matter. Today there is a growing tendency, fos -
tered by those who believe in euthanasia and backed by the theories of some
members of the medical, psychological, psychiatric, and legal professions, as well
as by some members of the clergy, that the individual should have some say about
how he will die and even when he will die. Proponents of euthanasia, or "mercy
killing," believe that those who are suffering from a painful, incurable disease or
who are hopelessly injured should be put to death or allowed to die peacefully, by
doing nothing to prolong their lives, such as performing surgery or giving artificial
respiration or blood transfusions. However, such solutions to the problem of
the hopelessly ill or injured person are the subject of heated legal, religious,
and medical debate.
The elderly person who believes that he has the right to
determine the manner of his death is urged to make a "living will," in which he
spells out his wishes in this matter. A living will differs from a traditional will in
three major respects. First, it contains information about how the individual wishes
to die and about what he wants done with his body, rather than information about
what he wants done with his material possessions; second, its contents are always
known to the next of kin before his death so I that they will be able to carry out his
wishes; and third, a living will is not a legal document, as a traditional will is.
The elderly person who believes that he has the right to

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die in dignity and peace and to be spared a long, debilitating illness that may sap
the energies and financial resources of family members sometimes believes that he
is justified in taking his own life while he is still physically and mentally able to do
so, after a careful and accurate medical diagnosis has shown that there is no hope
of recovery. Even if his earlier moral and religious training has emphasized the
wrongful nature of suicide, his personal belief that he has a right to determine the
time and manner of his death may be strong enough to counteract any feelings of
guilt he may have about committing such an act.

12.14 COMMON PHYSICAL HAZARDS OF OLD AGE

Diseases and Physical Handicaps
Elderly people are most commonly afflicted by circulatory disturban ces, metabolic
disorders, involutional mental disorders, disorders of the joints, tumors (both
benign and malignant), heart disease, rheumatism, arthritis, visual and hearing im-
pairments, hypertension, gait disorders, and mental and nervous conditions.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition in old age is due more to psychological than to economic causes. The
most common psychological causes are lack of appetite resulting from anxiety and
depression, not wanting to eat alone, and food aversions stemming from earlier
prejudices. Even when their food intake is not deficient qualitatively or
quantitatively, many older people do not get the full value from their food because
of malabsorption resulting from digestive or intestinal disturbances or failure of the
endocrine system to function as it formerly did.
Dental Disorders
Sooner or later, most elderly people lose some or all of their teeth. Those who must
wear dentures often have difficulty in chewing foods that are rich in proteins, such
as meat, and may concentrate on those high in carbohydrates. Chewing difficulties
also encourage the swallowing of larger and coarser food masses, which may lead
to digestive disorders. Ill-fitting dentures or the absence of teeth often causes
lisping and slurring, which interferes with the older person's speech and causes him
embarrassment.
Sexual Deprivation
Sexual deprivation or unfavorable attitudes toward sex in old age affect the old
person in much the same way that emotional deprivation affects the young child.
Happily married elderly people are healthier and live longer than those who never
married or who have lost a spouse.
Accidents
Older people are generally more accident-prone than younger ones. Even when the

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accidents they have are not fatal, they frequently leave the individual disabled for
life. Falls, which may be due to environmental obstacles or to dizziness, gid diness,
weakness, or defective vision, are the most common accidents among older women,
while older men are most commonly involved in motor-vehicle accidents, either as a
driver or as a pedestrian.

12.14 ADJUSTMENTS IN OLD AGE

Two of the most difficult developmental tastes of old age relate to
areas which are especially important for all adults —work and family life. The
elderly person faces adjustment problems in these areas which are similar in some
respects to those he faced earlier but which are unique in many ways. Not only
must he adjust to his working conditions, but he must also adjust to the realization
that his usefulness is lessened as he grows older and that his status in the work
group decreases. Furthermore, he has the problem of adjusting to retirement when
the time comes.
In the family, older men and women must adjust to depending on
each other for companionship; to the lack of contact with, and influence over, their
children; and often to the loss of a spouse. Unmarried elderly people often face
adjustment problems that are more serious than the ones confronting those who
are married or who have lost a spouse.
Vocational and family adjustments in old age are
complicated by economic factors which play a far more important role "now than
they did earlier. Although government aid, in the form of social security, old -age
benefits, and Medicare, and the gradual spread of retirement benefits from business
and industry alleviate the elderly person's financial problems to some extent, they
by no means solve them. This is especially true during periods of spiraling inflation.

12.16 WORK ATTITUDES OF OLDER WORKERS

Society-maintaining Work Attitudes
The worker whose attitude is society-maintaining has little or no interest in his work
per se and gains little personal satisfaction from it. His main interest is in his
paycheck, and he often regards his job as a heavy and unpleasant burden and looks
forward to retirement.

Ego-involving Work Attitudes

The individual who finds his work ego-involving derives great personal satisfaction
from it. Work is the basis of self-respect and a sense of worth for some workers;
others find that it is a means of gaining prestige, a locus of social participation, or a

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source of intrinsic enjoyment or creative self-expression, as well as a way of
making time pass in a pleasant, routine manner. Because his work means so much
to a worker with such an attitude, he may become preoccupied with it to the exclu-
sion of other interests and dread the time when he will be forced to retire.

12.17 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR OLDER WORKERS

Compulsory Retirement
Most industries, businesses, and governmental bureaus and agencies require men
to retire at ages sixty-two to sixty-five, and many force women to retire at sixty.
There is a rapidly growing tendency toward even earlier retirement.
Hiring Policies
When the personnel departments of business and industry are in the hands of
younger people, the older worker's difficulties in finding employment are greatly
increased.
Pension Plans
There is a close correlation between the existence of a pension plan in busine ss and
industry and the failure to make use of workers over sixty-five years of age.
Social Attitudes
The widespread belief that older workers are accident-prone, that they are too slow
to keep pace with younger workers, and that retraining them to use modern-
techniques is too costly militates against employing older workers.
Fluctuations in Business Cycles
When business conditions are poor, older workers are generally the first to be laid
off and are then replaced by younger workers when the situation improves.
Kind of Work
Thee period of employment of workers in executive positions is limited by
retirement policies. Skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers find that their
strength and speed decrease with age and that their usefulness to their employer s
also decreases as a result. Only a person who owns his own business or who is in a
profession can continue to work as long and as much as he wishes.
Sex
Women generally find it more difficult to hold their jobs or to get new ones as they
grow older than men do. Part-time work in offices or stores and domestic work are
among the few vocational opportunities open to older women.
12.18 ADJUSTMENT TO RETIREMENT
Until recently, retirement was a problem that affected relatively few
workers. Today, however, with the widespread acceptance of compulsory-
retirement policies and the growing tendency for men and women to live longer

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than ever before, retirement is becoming one of the major social problems of our
culture. Each year, the gap between the total life span and the span of the working
life for men and women is widened. As a result, the length of the retirement period
grows longer and longer for more people.
To the younger person, whose days are so often overly crowded
with duties and responsibilities, the years of retirement or semiretirement seem like
a golden period of life. By middle age, thoughts of retirement grow increasingly
strong, not only because the individual finds the burden of work becoming heavier
and heavier as his strength and energy diminish, but also because he realizes that
he is waging a losing battle in his competition with younger workers.
When retirement actually comes, however, it may seem far less
desirable than it did earlier. For most elderly people, there is j a marked difference
between the expectations before retirement and the realities of retirement.
Certain conditions facilitate adjustment to retirement. First, the
person who retires voluntarily will adjust better than one who is forced to retire,
especially if he wants to continue to work. Second, poor health at the time of
retirement facilitates the adjustment, while good health is likely to militate against
it. Third, most workers find that tapering off is better than abruptly ending patterns
of work and living established many years earlier.
A fourth factor in adjustment is preretirement planning. The
individual who has developed an interest in substitute activities which are
meaningful to him and which provide many of the satisfactions he formerly derived
from his work will not find adjustment to retirement emotionally disturbing. As Back
has pointed out, "The more retirement is looked on as a change to a new status,
and the less it is perceived as the giving up of a prized status, the better the
transition will be accomplished".
Because one of the most difficult aspects of retirement is
that of severing social ties at work, a fifth aid to good adjustment to retirement is
the provision for social contacts. Those who spend their retirement years in homes
for the aged have more opportunities for social contacts and recreational activities
than those who remain in their own homes or live with relatives. However, unless
such institutions provide opportunities for activities that will promote a feeling of
usefulness, they will not contribute to good adjustment to retirement.
Sixth, because changing a pattern of living becomes
increasingly difficult with each passing year, the less change retirement
necessitates, the better the individual will adjust to it. It has been reported that
those who can stay in their community and who have enough money to live just
about as they lived before retirement make the best adjustment to it.

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 Women, as a whole, adjust more easily to retirement than
men. The role change is not as radical for them because they have always played
the domestic role, whether they were married or single, throughout their working
lives, in addition to their vocational role. Furthermore, because few have held
executive positions, they do not feel that they have suddenly lost all thei r power
and prestige. Men, on the other hand, have less readily available means of deriving
satisfaction to replace that which their work provided, and as a result, they adjust
less Well to the role change necessitated by retirement.

12.19 FACTORS AFFECTING SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN OLD AGE

Pattern of Earlier Sexual Behavior
People who derived enjoyment from sexual behavior and were sexually active
during the earlier years of their marriage continue to be sexually more active in old
age than those who were less active earlier.
Compatibility of Spouses
When there is a close bond between husband and wife built on mutual interests and
respect, the desire for intercourse is much stronger than when a frictional
relationship exists.
Social Attitudes
Unfavorable social attitudes toward sex in old age make many elderly men and
women feel that interest in sexual matters not only is "not nice" but may even be
perverted.
Marital Status
Married people are more likely to continue sexual activity into old age. Those who
are single or divorced or whose spouses have died usually do not have a strong -
enough sex drive to make them seek partners.
Preoccupation with Outside Problems
When either spouse is preoccupied with financial, family, or other problems, it tends
to weaken his sexual desire. If he eats or drinks excessively in order to escape from
these problems, his sexual desire is further weakened.
Overfamiliarity
Being together too much over a long period of time tends to deaden a couple's
sexual desire in old age.

Impotence
Many men who find themselves impotent on one occasion, regardless of the
condition that gave rise to it, withdraw from further sexual activity to avoid the
ego-shattering experience of repeated episodes of sexual inadequacy.

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12.20 ADJUSTMENT TO LOSS OF A SPOUSE
Loss of a spouse in old age may be due to death or divorce,
though it is far more likely to be due to the former. Because it is customary for
women to marry men their own age or older than they and because men, on the
average, die sooner than women, widowhood in old age is far more common than
widowerhood.
People in their sixties and seventies do get divorces, but far
less frequently than younger people. No matter how unsatisfactory marriage may
be to elderly people, most of them do not contemplate ending it in a divorce court.
When they do decide to get a divorce in old are, it is generally not a new decision,
but rather something they have contemplated since the early days of m arriage but
have put off for their children's sake or for economic reasons.
It has been estimated that 50 percent of sixty-year-old
women are widows, while 85 percent of women age eighty-five are widows. There
are no statistics available concerning the number of men of comparable ages who
are widowers, but there is reason to believe that because widowers at every age
remarry more than widows do, the percentages would be far less. Thus widowhood
is a greater problem than widowerhood during old age.
Adjustment to the death of a spouse or to divorce is
difficult for men and women in old age because at this time all adjustments are
increasingly difficult to make. When a man's wife dies shortly after he retires, this
greatly increases his difficulties in adjusting to retirement. Furthermore, because
old age is a period during which interests narrow, especially social interests, the el -
derly person who is left alone cannot compensate for this by developing new
interests as readily as he could earlier.
The widow usually has the additional problem of a greatly
decreased income, which frequently necessitates giving up interests which she
might otherwise have retained and which would provide her with opportunities for
social contacts. Decreased income often means moving into new, smaller, and less
desirable living quarters; going to live with a married child; or living in an institu -
tion, all of which require adjustment and further complicate adjustment to the lone-
liness which widowhood brings.
For the widower, the economic problem is far less
serious than the problem of loneliness. Even though he may not always have been
satisfied with his marriage, he still could count on his wife to provide com panionship
and to take care of his physical needs and manage the home. Furthermore, in are
more reluctant than women about becoming dependent on their grown children and

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living in their homes, unless it is an absolute necessity. They also resist going to
homes for the aged, partly because it implies loss of independence and partly
because they do not like to be surrounded by people who are a constant reminder
of their own advancing age. Therefore, they often solve the loneliness and
dependency problems of widowerhood by remarrying.
Elderly people, especially women, often try to solve the
problem of loneliness in old age by getting a pet, usually a dog or a cat. While a pet
undoubtedly provides some of the companionship the lonely person craves, he
should also attempt to establish social contacts, although this becomes more dif -
ficult with each passing year.

12.21 ADJUSTMENT TO REMARRIAGE

One of the ways older people solve the problem of loneliness
after the loss of a spouse is by remarrying. However, adjusting to a new spouse, to
a new set of relatives, to a new pattern of life, and sometimes to a new community
or a new home in the same community is far from easy. And, as is true of younger
people's marriage, it is the woman rather than the man who is expected to make
most of the adjustments.
The adjustment problem of remarriage is often complicated
by age differences, which militate against congeniality of interests and similarity of
values at any age. Older men, it has been reported, usually select younger women
when they remarry. Up to middle age," women usually marry older men or men of
approximately the same age. After that, a reverse trend appears, and the tendency
for older women to marry younger men increases with age. Often the man in a
second or later marriage is fifteen to twenty years younger than the woman. While
both men and women in the later years of their lives do marry individuals of
approximately their own age, the number of those who marry people younger than
they has been reported by Bossard to be "surprisingly large" (10).
While some remarriages in old age do not work out
satisfactorily for those involved or for the other members of their families,
remarriage late in life is reported to be usually very successful.
While remarriage is a common solution among elderly
people for the problems of loneliness or sexual deprivation, some try to solve these
problems by living together without marrying. Unlike young people, who usually live
together to determine whether they are compatible before actually marrying, older
people are more often motivated by practical financial considerations.
For example, if a woman's inheritance from her dead
spouse is in the form of a trust fund that will end if she remarries or if her s ocial

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security or other sources of income will cease with her remarriage, it might be
impossible for her to marry a retired man and live on his social security and pension
benefits. However, if the couple's combined incomes would make a comfortable life -
style possible, they may accept living together without marriage as a solution to
their problems.
Older couples who live together face the possibility of
the strong disapproval of grown children, relatives, friends, and neighbors. Some
cope with this problem by moving to another community, where new friends and
neighbors will not know of their marital status, while others remain in their home
community, ignoring the attitudes of others and maintaining that the enjoyment
and satisfaction they derive from their chosen life-style more than compensates for
its disadvantages.

12.22 ADJUSTMENT TO REMARRIAGE IN OLD AGE

 A happy first marriage
 Knowing what traits and behavior patterns to look for in a potential mate.
 A desire to marry because of love and a need for companionship, rather than
for reasons of convenience or financial support
 An interest in continuing sexual behavior
 A similarity of educational and social backgrounds
 Adequate income
 Approval of the marriage by offspring and friends
 Reasonably good health and a lack of disabling physical condition on the part
of both spouses

12.23 CHOICE OF LIVING ARRANGEMENTS IN OLD AGE

Economic Status
If they are financially able to do so, most elderly people continue to live in their
homes or move to smaller, more convenient homes of their own in a comparable
neighborhood. If his economic status deteriorates, the elderly person is forced to
move into less desirable living quarters or into the home of a married child.
Marital Status
When both spouses are living, their living arrangements are usually determined by
their economic status and their health. Single men and women, as a rule, live with
family members or friends, in clubs, or in institutions for the aged.
Health
When the elderly person's health makes it impossible for him to maintain his home,
he must live with a relative or friend or in an institution.

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Sex
Widows generally live in their own homes or with a married child, while widowers
are more likely to live in a club, a hotel, or an institution for the elderly.
Children
If they have children, elderly people live either near one of them in a home of their
own or with a married child. Those who are childless usually live in Institutions if
they have lost a spouse or are unable to maintain their own homes.
Desire for Companionship
The elderly person whose health is good, and who wants companionship may move
either to a home of his own near a married child or relative or to a retirement
community, where he can count on social contacts with contemporaries. If his
health is poor, he may prefer living in a home for the aged, where he can have
contacts with his contemporaries, rather than living with a married child, which
limits his opportunities for such contacts.

12.24 PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS IN LIVING

Physical Needs
 The house temperature should be comparatively even from floor to ceiling
because poor circulation makes the elderly person especially sensitive to
chilling.
 The elderly person needs large windows to ensure plenty of light because of
the gradual impairment of his vision.
 Provisions should be made for the safety of the elderly person. He should
have to climb few steps, and floors should be unwaxed.
 There should be adequate space for indoor and outdoor recreation, a
condition best met in multiple housing developments or homes for the aged.
 Noise should be controlled, especially during the night. This can be done by
locating the elderly person's sleeping quarters in a quiet part of the house.
 The elderly person should have laborsaving devices, especially for cooking
and cleaning.
 The living quarters should be on one floor to avoid possible falls on steps.
Psychological Needs
 The elderly person should have at least one small room of his own so that he
can have an opportunity for privacy. The living arrangements should include
space for sedentary recreations, such as reading and television watching.
 There should be provision for storage of cherished possessions.
 The elderly person should live close to stores and community organizations
so that he can be independent in his activities, and he should also be near

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 relatives and friends so that frequent contacts are possible

12.25 FACTORS INFLUENCING ADJUSTMENT TO OLD AGE

Preparation for Old Age
Those who have not prepared themselves psychologically or economically tor the
changes that old age inevitably brings often find adjusting to these changes a
traumatic experience.
Earlier Experiences
The difficulties experienced in adjusting to old age are often the result of earlier
learning of certain forms of adjustment that are not appropriate to this period of the
life span.
Satisfaction of Needs
To be well adjusted in old age, the individual must be able to satisfy his personal
needs and live up to the expectations of others within the framework of life
provided for him.
Social Attitudes
One of the greatest handicaps to good adjustment in old age is society's
unfavorable attitude toward the elderly.
Personal Attitudes
A resistant attitude is a serious obstacle to successful adjustment in old age.
Method of Adjustment
Rational methods include accepting the limitations of age, developing new interests,
learning to give up one's children, and not dwelling on the past; irrational methods
include denying the changes that come with age and trying to continue as before,
becoming preoccupied with the pleasures and triumphs of bygone days, and
wanting to be dependent on others for bodily care.
Health Conditions
Chronic illness is a greater handicap to adjustment than temporary illnesses, even
though the latter may be more severe while they last than the former.
Living Conditions
When an elderly person is forced to live in a place that makes him feel inferior,
inadequate, and resentful, this has an unfavorable effect on the kind of adjustment
he makes to old age.

Economic Conditions
It is especially difficult for the elderly person to adjust to financial problems
because he knows that he will have no opportunity to solve them, as he could when
he was younger.

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12.26 GOOD AND POOR ADJUSTMENT IN OLD AGE
Good Adjustment
 Strong and varied interests
 Economic independence, which makes independence in living possible
 Many social contacts with people of all ages, not just the elderly
 The enjoyment of work which is pleasant and useful but not overtaxing
 Participation in community organizations
 The ability to maintain a comfortable home without exerting too much
physical effort
 The ability to enjoy present activities without regretting the past
 A minimum of worry about self or others
Poor Adjustment
 Little interest in the world of today or the individual's role in it
 Withdrawal into the world of fantasy
 Constant reminiscing
 Constant worry, encouraged by idleness
 A lack of drive, leading to low productivity in all areas
 The attitude that the only activities available are "make-work" activities
 Loneliness due to poor family relationships and lack of interest in
contemporaries
 Involuntary geographic isolation
 Involuntary residence in an institution or with a grown child

12.27 CONDITIONS CONTRIBUTING TO HAPPINESS IN OLD AGE

 A favorable attitude toward old age developed as a result of earlier
pleasurable contacts with elderly people
 Happy memories of childhood and adulthood
 Freedom to pursue a desired life-style without outside interference
 A realistic attitude toward, and acceptance of, the physical and psychological
changes that aging inevitably brings
 Acceptance of self and present living conditions even if these fall below
expectations
 An opportunity to establish a satisfying, socially acceptable pattern of life
 Continued participation in interesting and meaningful activities
 Acceptance by, and respect from, the social group
 A feeling of satisfaction with present status and past achievements

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12.28 EXERCISE QUESTIONS
 Discuss the characteristics and problems unique to Old Age.
 Discuss the sensory and motor changes in Old Age.
 Discuss the interest in Death in Old Age.
 Discuss the various vocational adjustments in Old Age.
 Discuss the issue of Re-marriage in Old Age.
 Discuss the various needs with respect to Living facilities in old age.
 What is Good and Poor Adjustment in Old Age.
 Discuss the psychological adjustments to retirement.
12.29 REFERENCE BOOKS
 Botwinck J (1973). Aging and Behavior. New York, Springer.
 Birren JE (1964). The Psychology of Aging. New Jersey, Prentice Hall.
 Pfieffer EW (1969). Behavior and Adaptation in Late Life. Boston Press.
 Havighurst RJ & Glasser R (1954). Older People. New York, Longman.
 Koller MR (1972). Social Gerontology. Random House Press.
 Palmore EB (1970). Normal Aging. Duke University Press.
 Tibbitts C (1960). Handbook of Social Gerontology : Societal aspects of
Aging. University of Chicago Press.
 Johnson WM (1970). The Years After Fifty. McGrath Publishing.
 Kastenbaum R (1965). Contributions to the Psychobiology of Aging. New
York, Springer.
 Lawton G (1951). Successful Aging. New York, Columbia University
Press.
 Shock NW (1967). Trends in Gerontology. Stanford University Press.
 Veder CW & Leikowitz AS (1965). Problems of the Aged. Springfields,
Charlie Thomas.

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