positive adult development

Examples of positive adult development in the following topics:

• Levinson

  • Levinson was one of the founders of the field of positive adult development.
  • Levinson, an American psychologist, was one of the founders of the field of positive adult development.
  • Positive adult development is one of the four major forms of adult developmental study.
  • More recently, researchers have begun to experiment with hypotheses about fostering positive adult development.
  • Summarize Daniel Levinson's theory of positive adult development and how it influenced changes in the perception of development during adulthood

• Theoretical Perspectives on Childhood Socialization

  • Theories of childhood socialization and development study the elements of the cognitive and social development that occur in childhood.
  • Piaget posited that children learn actively through play.
  • He suggested that the adult's role in helping a child learn is to provide appropriate materials for the child to interact and construct.
  • He encouraged adults to make childhood learning through play even more effective by asking the child questions to get them to reflect upon behaviors.
  • This video explains Piaget's theory of cognitive development and includes footage of the type of experiments Piaget performed to develop his theory.

• Activity Theory

  • Activity theory proposes that successful aging occurs when older adults stay active and maintain social interactions.
  • The theory assumes a positive relationship between activity and life satisfaction.
  • Activity theory reflects the functionalist perspective that the equilibrium, that an individual develops in middle age, should be maintained in later years.
  • The theory was developed by gerontologist, or, scholar of aging, Robert J.
  • Also, some older adults do not desire to engage in new challenges.

• Continuity Theory

  • The continuity theory proposes that older adults maintain the same activities, behaviors, personalities, and relationships of the past.
  • " He continued to expound upon the theory over the years, explaining the development of internal and external structures in 1989 and publishing a book in 1999 called Continuity and Adaptation in Aging: Creating Positive Experiences.
  • The theory distinguishes between normal aging and pathological aging, so it neglects older adults who suffer from chronic illness.
  • Older adults hold on to many of the beliefs, practices, and relationships they had in the past as they continue to age.
  • Examine the pros and cons of the continuity theory of aging, specifically in terms of how it neglects to consider social institutions or chronically ill adults

• Peer Groups

  • Peer pressure can also work in positive ways by encouraging teenagers to practice, study, or engage in other positive behaviors.
  • A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social positions, and age in common.
  • Unlike the family and the school, the peer group lets children escape the direct supervision of adults.
  • Members inside peer groups also learn to develop relationships with others in the social system.
  • In spite of the often negative connotations of the term, peer pressure can be used positively.

• Adolescence

  • Within all of these disciplines, adolescence is viewed as a transitional period between childhood with the purpose of preparing children for adult roles.
  • Peer groups are especially important during adolescence, a period of development characterized by a dramatic increase in time spent with peers and a decrease in adult supervision.
  • They can have positive influences on an individual, including academic motivation and performance.
  • Emotional autonomy is the development of more adult-like close relationship with adults and peers
  • Discuss the influences on, and significance of, adolescent socialization and development, culminating in the development of autonomy

• The Interactionist Perspective

  • For example, when a child and an adult engage in conversation, the adult establishes their power by claiming knowledge and authority that the child cannot.
  • Social roles refer to one's position and responsibilities in society, which are largely determined in modern developed nations by occupation.
  • When the receptionist hangs up the CEO's jacket, he takes on a subservient position; when the receptionist makes excuses for the CEO missing a deadline, he accepts responsibility for the CEO's mistake; when the receptionist laughs at jokes that he does not find funny, he flatters the CEO because he recognizes that his job depends on doing so.

• Adolescent Socialization

  • Adolescence is a transitional stage of biological, cognitive and social development that prepares individuals for taking on adult roles.
  • In studying adolescent development, adolescence can be defined biologically as the physical transition marked by the onset of puberty and the termination of physical growth; cognitively, as changes in the ability to think abstractly and multi-dimensionally; and socially as a period of preparation for adult roles.
  • As they make the transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescents ponder the roles they will play in the adult world.
  • Peer groups are especially important during adolescence, a period of development characterized by a dramatic increase in time spent with peers and a decrease in adult supervision.
  • Overall, positive romantic relationships among adolescents can result in long-term benefits.

• Gender Messages in the Family

  • Gender role theory posits that boys and girls learn the appropriate behavior and attitudes from the family with which they grow up.
  • Gender role theory posits that boys and girls learn the appropriate behavior and attitudes from the family and overall culture in which they grow up, and that non-physical gender differences are a product of socialization.
  • Socialization theory tells us that primary socialization - the process that occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values and actions expected of individuals within a particular culture - is the most important phase of social development, and lays the groundwork for all future socialization.
  • Therefore, the family plays a pivotal role in the child's development, influencing both the attitudes the child will adopt and the values the child will hold.
  • Children learn continuously from the environment that adults create, including gender norms.

• Eye Contact

  • Eye contact develops in a cultural context and different gazes have different meanings all over the world.
  • People, perhaps without consciously doing so, probe each other's eyes and faces for signs of positive or negative mood.
  • As adults, Japanese tend to lower their eyes when speaking to a superior as a gesture of respect.