Deck 14: Socioemotional Development in Adult-Hood

Question 1

Personality development continues into and through middle adulthood.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Compared to emerging and young adulthood, the Big Five traits are relatively:

A) absent.
B) dominant.
C) stable.
D) unsteady.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In middle adulthood, spending time _____________________ can facilitate personality change consistent with the maturity principle.

A) eating dinner with family
B) connecting with self and others
C) shopping with friends
D) traveling in groups

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to Erikson, the psychosocial crisis of middle adulthood is generativity versus stagnation.

Question 5

While some changes in personality in middle adulthood are associated with influences close to a person's life __________________ also shapes personality development through middle adulthood.

A) social norms related to education and work
B) social norms related to gender roles
C) robustness of the economy
D) all of the choices

Question 6

Personality traits and change in personality traits are associated with well-being, specifically, ___________________ in middle adulthood.

A) self-reported health and work absences
B) self-reported health and weight-loss goals
C) work absences and weight-loss goals
D) work absences and marital status

Question 7

According to Erikson, generativity is the positive resolution of the psychosocial crisis associated with middle adulthood.

Question 8

Significant life-altering events (e.g., divorce) encourage personality development because major life changes require:

A) dissonance.
B) divergence.
C) accommodation.
D) assimilation.

Question 9

The generative adult is someone who, earlier in his life, was able to:

A) take care of himself.
B) put others' needs first.
C) balance investments in self and other.
D) gain social support.

Question 10

Classmates who get together for their 30th high school reunion are likely to notice that since their 10th high school reunion, personalities of their friends have become:

A) more similar to others.
B) more different from others.
C) more easygoing.
D) less easygoing.

Question 11

Psychosocial development through middle adulthood follows the maturity principle, which explains why adults become:

A) less neurotic and more conscientious.
B) less neurotic and less conscientious.
C) more neurotic and less agreeable.
D) more agreeable and less conscientious.

Question 12

Life events challenge and require construction of past ________________ about one's own life, resulting in personality change in middle adulthood.

A) psychosocial deficits
B) psychosocial strengths
C) cognitive schemas
D) cognitive distortions

Question 13

The redemptive self describes ______________ adult generativity.

A) two factors related to
B) twelve factors predictive of
C) a pathway that leads to
D) a chance opportunity associated with

Question 14

An adult who can be described as "stagnating" is failing to successfully resolve the:

A) psychosocial crisis of middle adulthood.
B) psychodynamic crisis of middle adulthood.
C) identity crisis.
D) midlife crisis.

Question 15

The generative adult, according to McAdams, was _________________ earlier in the lifespan.

A) exposed to suffering
B) was not exposed to suffering
C) financially stable
D) was not financially stable

Question 16

Generativity can be understood as

A) increasing sharply after emerging adulthood through middle adulthood.
B) increasing only at the beginning of middle adulthood.
C) peaking at the beginning of middle adulthood then decreases.
D) accelerating at the end of middle adulthood.

Question 17

According to McAdams, the emerging adulthood of the generative adult involves:

A) service or volunteer work.
B) focus on educational attainment.
C) development of a consistent worldview.
D) making connections with one's community.

Question 18

The __________ emerging adults choose has a significant influence on the way personality changes through middle adulthood.

A) type of university?
B)type of summer internship
C) number of roommates
D) adult role commitments

Question 19

Personality development in midlife is often an outcome of experiencing major life events.

Question 20

In middle adulthood, a generative person has found a way to dedicate self to:

A) the health of society and future generations.
B) a financially rewarding career.
C) a large, intergenerational family.
D) a spiritual path.

Question 21

Developmental tasks of a family are typically organized by the age of the oldest child.

Question 22

The redemptive self describes a pathway of someone's life that begins with ______________ that sets an individual on a pathway toward generativity.

A) a flexible personality
B) a creative mind
C) financial resources
D) an innate strength

Question 23

In middle adulthood, there are a wide-range of family arrangements, for example, married parents, stepfamilies, and adult children living with parents.

Question 24

In middle adulthood, women who never had children and will never have a biological child report ____________ negative feelings compared to women who have had at least one child.

A) significantly fewer
B) significantly more
C) slightly elevated
D) no differences in the level of

Question 25

The _______________ is a term used to describe feelings of distress and depression in midlife as a result of the loss of the parental role as a part of one's identity.

A) launching stage
B) midlife crisis
C) empty nest syndrome
D) identity instability syndrome

Question 26

In middle adulthood, adults are parenting:

A) young children, elementary school age.
B) tweens, middle-school age.
C) teens and emerging adults.
D) any of the choices

Question 27

Childlessness at midlife has little, if any, influence on the well-being of:

A) men.
B) women.
C) neither a nor b; childlessness affects neither.
D) both a and b; childlessness affects them in the same way.

Question 28

The majority of adults share the same marital status in middle adulthood.

Question 29

In middle adulthood, the well-being of mothers is ______________ the well-being of women who never became mothers.

A) double
B) slightly higher than
C) lower than
D) the same as

Question 30

Pablo and Priscilla have three emerging adult children. They have mixed feelings about parenting their adult children. Their oldest son is established in his field and is doing well for himself. The middle son often requires a great deal of support and often confuses his parents because he is doing well sometimes, but at other times he is not. The youngest child has a number of personal problems, and the parents spend a great deal of time and other resources trying to help him. The counselor recognizes that Pablo and Priscilla are experiencing low well-being due to the fact that

A) they have too many children to care for.
B) there is a huge discrepancy between the highest and lowest functioning of their adult children.
C) they don't get to spend enough time with their successful daughter.
D) midlife well-being of parents is associated with having even one adult child who has problems.

Question 31

For the majority of families, middle adulthood intersects with the ______________phase of the family life cycle.

A) sunrise
B) gathering
C) launching
D) sunset

Question 32

Getting information about a middle-aged single person's marital __________________ is essential before setting up your friend, who is certain to want to know: Has she been married before; if so, how long?; and how long has she been single?

A) dossier
B) biography
C) status
D) plans

Question 33

In the United States, from 2000 to 2010, the rate of adult children living with their middle-aged parents had _______ by _________ .

A) decreased; 50%
B) decreased; 100%
C) increased; 50%
D) increased 100%

Question 34

Not all relationships between parents and their adult children are positive, and not all are negative. In fact, approximately _____ of adults report ___________, or mixed feelings about their relationships with their children.

A) 25%; relational ambivalence
B) 50%; relational ambivalence
C) 25%; relational apathy
D) 50%; relational apathy

Question 35

Elizabeth prepared her children to navigate their own social worlds take responsibility for their school and work goals. Based on what you know about predictors of different reactions to launching adult children, it is most likely that Elizabeth feels a sense of _________________ with respect to her children and _______ with her husband.

A) pride; reconnection
B) loss; disconnection
C) disconnection; loneliness
D) loneliness; disconnection

Question 36

Very few adults have their first baby in middle adulthood; almost 100% of first births take place by what age?

A) 37
B) 40
C) 42
D) 45

Question 37

By middle adulthood, approximately 50% of couples who married in their 20s are still married.

Question 38

Alexis didn't want to attend her uncle's 60th birthday party because she didn't view him as a role model. Rather, she viewed him as an immature person due to his extreme:

A) self-centeredness.
B) self-indulgence.
C) self-sufficiency.
D) self-determination.

Question 39

When middle-aged parents launch adult children, this is often a trigger for loneliness and depression.

Question 40

By middle adulthood, approximately _____ of the population has been divorced.

A) 25%
B) 40%
C) 50%
D) 65%

Question 41

Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual who do get married are likely to experience less _____________ due to feeling marginalized.

A) financial stress
B) health stress
C) sexual stress
D) minority stress

Question 42

When 56-year-old Alexis finally tried online dating, she wasn't surprised to find that ____________ of middle-aged singles-looking-to-mingle had been divorced at least once.

A) only a small percentage
B) approximately 25%
C) over 50%
D) almost 90%

Question 43

James is 60. Among his group of married friends, the majority of them have:

A) remarried.
B) been married for a long time to the same person.
C) divorced at least once.
D) divorced at least twice.

Question 44

Over the past two decades, the divorce rate has ________________ among middle-aged adults.

A) increased
B) decreased
C) held steady
D) fluctuated

Question 45

In middle adulthood, couples seek help for a number of reasons, including:

A) resolving ambivalence.
B) reducing stress.
C) lack of intimacy and emotional distance.
D) all of the choices

Question 46

Middle-aged caregivers are those who take responsibility for a family member with a chronic illness or someone who is approaching the natural end of life.

Question 47

Those in middle adulthood, a time when individuals are often providing care for both their children and their aging parents, are referred to as the _____________________ generation.

A) Baby Boomer
B) sandwich
C) Greatest
D) "in-between"

Question 48

Commonly, a middle-aged family member takes on the role of ________________, the person who organizes family communication, maintains family traditions, and so on.

A) caretaker
B) manager
C) kinkeeper
D) overseer

Question 49

From 2005 to 2012, the sandwich generation increased support in the following way. Middle-aged adults now provide:

A) aging parents with more financial support.
B) adult children with more financial support.
C) aging parents with health insurance.
D) adult children with unemployment insurance.

Question 50

In middle adulthood, about ___ of adults are caring for both children and aging parents.

A) 15%
B) 35%
C) 50%
D) 65%

Question 51

One difference between Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) and Family Life Education (FLE) is that an MFT assumes that the therapeutic relationship will facilitate desired changes, whereas the FLE assumes that:

A) the therapeutic relationship cannot facilitate change.
B) the therapeutic relationship undermines change.
C) learning about family relationships will promote change.
D) learning about family relationships should not facilitate change.

Question 52

About ______ of middle-aged adults are remarried.

A) 5%
B) 20%
C) 40%
D) 60%

Question 53

Some middle-aged adults continue to receive support from their aging parents.

Question 54

Middle-aged caregivers report that their role is:

A) stressful.
B) joyful.
C) both a and b
D) neither a nor b

Question 55

A relatively recent partnership arrangement understood to be an alternative to remarriage in middle adulthood is:

A) cohabitation.
B) living with multiple roommates.
C) living in the same apartment building.
D) living together apart.

Question 56

In middle adulthood, shifting into the caregiver role inverts the distribution of _______________ inherent in the parent-child relationship.

A) power
B) independence
C) authority
D) all of the choices

Question 57

The effect of increased legal and social support for same-sex marriage is _________________, indicating that same-sex marriage is associated with _______________.

A) promising; mental health
B) promising; fewer health problems
C) disappointing; legal problems
D) disappointing; health problems

Question 58

Middle adulthood is the life stage during which most adult children shift from support-recipients to support-givers in relation to their aging parents.

Question 59

A couple that wants to reduce relationship problems or deal with mental illness are well suited to seek help from a:

A) psychiatrist.
B) marital and family therapist
C) family life educator.
D) whole-life educator.

Question 60

A couple that wants to learn about healthy relationships, learn new skills, and find ways to share their strengths are well suited to seek help from a:

A) psychiatrist.
B) marital and family therapist.
C) family life educator.
D) whole-life educator.

Question 61

Significant sibling conflict in adulthood is more likely if, as children, siblings experienced:

A) parental divorce.
B) child abuse.
C) problems with the law.
D) any of the choices

Question 62

Relationships with siblings remain relatively steady through middle adulthood.

Question 63

Adults report increasingly positive emotions with age.

Question 64

Despite physical and physiological declines in health, older adults tend to report increased feelings of well-being.

Question 65

Sibling rivalry in adulthood, as in childhood, is a symptom of battling for:

A) parental resources.
B) control over future inheritance.
C) love from one another.
D) respect from one another.

Question 66

The National Alliance for Caregiving is a useful resource because family caregivers don't always know how to provide:

A) emotional support (e.g., fears about being ill)
B) practical support (e.g., how to shower another)
C) medical support (e.g., how to make medical decisions).
D) all of the choices

Question 67

When adults over-rely on ________________________________, they miss opportunities to prevent distress and increase exposure to distressing events.

A) antecedent-focused emotion regulation
B) response-focused emotion regulation
C) defense mechanism initiation
D) coping mechanism initiation

Question 68

Adult siblings get along best when they perceive their parents as:

A) financially wealthy.
B) traditional and religious.
C) honest about favoritism.
D) fair and equitable.

Question 69

Carstensen's ________________ theory explains why aging is associated with biased recall.

A) socioemotional availability
B) socioemotional selectivity
C) selective emotion
D) selective attention

Question 70

In middle adulthood, individuals use unique strategies to keep their siblings close to them, such as:

A) using affection in communications.
B) avoiding conflict when communicating.
C) fairly dividing parental caregiving responsibilities.
D) all of the choices

Question 71

Through middle adulthood, we see an increase in bias in the direction of recalling positive memories over negative or neutral memories.

Question 72

Sibling relationships in adulthood can be a source of positive or negative exchanges and feelings.

Question 73

In adulthood, sibling relationships may be characterized by:

A) affection.
B) conflict.
C) apathy.
D) any of the choices

Question 74

Middle-aged adults get better at using the appropriate coping strategy to manage their emotions, including the ability to anticipate a response before facing a stimulus, referred to as:

A) antecedent-focused emotion regulation.
B) response-focused emotion regulation.
C) defense mechanism initiation.
D) coping mechanism initiation.

Question 75

The quality of adult sibling relationships is often __________________childhood sibling relationships.

A) quite similar to
B) very different from
C) slightly different from
D) much more complex than

Question 76

Adult friendships can fill a __________________ role in the lives of adults who have very little or no spousal or family-of-origin support.

A) dysfunctional
B) detrimental
C) compensatory
D) celebratory

Question 77

As adults get older, the way they see the world appears rosier because they tend to shift their value system and behavior by investing more socioemotional energy in experiences they perceive as:

A) life-altering.
B) meaningful.
C) financially valuable.
D) socially normal.

Question 78

In adulthood, friendships tend to have fewer negative qualities than relationships with partners and children.

Question 79

Through later adulthood, the coincidence of physiological and physical decline along with an increase in positive emotions is referred to as the:

A) rule of synchrony.
B) rule of asynchrony.
C) paradox of well-being.
D) paradox of unrelated adjustments.

Question 80

Jon and Chris were never that close. However, as adults, their anger and conflict with one another escalated when they ____________________, a common trigger for the escalation of adult sibling rivalry.

A) both got married
B) both had sons
C) had to make caregiving decisions about their parents
D) both wanted to host holidays