The Three C's:

Control - how you react "never let them see you sweat."

Commitment - to life routine

Challenge - vs. defeat

Optimistic appraisals predict health-promoting behaviors.

High-Hardy Individuals: problem-centered coping

Low-Hardy Individuals: emotion-centered coping

Type A Behavior Pattern: extreme competitiveness, ambition, impatience, hostility, angry outbursts, and sense of time pressure.

Type B Behavior Pattern: more relaxed disposition

1. Neuroticism
2. Extroversion
3. Openness to Experience
4. Agreeableness
5. Conscienciousness

Big 5 Personality Traits

Neuroticism

High - worrying, tempermental, self-pitying, self-conscious, emotional, vulnerable

Low - calm, even-tempered, self-content, comfortable, unemotional, and hardy

Big 5 Personality Traits

Extroversion

High - affectionate, talkative, active, fun-loving, and passionate.

Low - reserved, quiet, passive, sober, emotionally unreactive

Big 5 Personality Traits

Openness To Experience

High - imaginative, creative, original, curious, liberal

Low - down-to-earth, uncreative, conventional, uncurious, and conservative

Big 5 Personality Traits

Agreeableness

High - soft-hearted, trusting, generous, acquiescent, lenient, good-natured

Low - ruthless, suspicious, stingy, antagonistic, critical, and irritable.

Big 5 Personality Traits

Conscienciousness

High - consciencious, hard-working, well-organized, punctual, ambitious, perservering

Low - negligent, lazy, disorganized, late, aimless, non-persistent

Erikson

Psychosocial Development in Middle Adulthood

Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation

-Ability to look outside oneself and care for others (ex. parenting).

-Adults need children as much as children need adults--need to create a living legacy.

Positive Outcome - Having/nurturing children, or helping next generation in other ways.

Negative Outcome - If crisis not successfully resolved, person will remain self-centered and experience stagnation later in life.

-Societally imposed "Social Clock" for generativity.

Midlife Transition 40-45/Entry Life Structure 45-50/Age-50 Transition 50-55/Culminating Life Structure 55-60

-Evaluation of successes--more time lies behind than ahead.

-Young/Old: giving up certain youthful qualities, find positive meaning in being older.

-Destruction/Creation: focuses on ways that he/she has been destructive, turn towards strong desire to participate in advancing human welfare (legacy).

-Masculinity/Femininity: create better balance, accept traits in self of the other.

-Engagement/Separateness: better balance between themselves and the external world.

Generativity

Keeper of Meaning

-"Passing the torch"

-Focus on longer-term, less personal goals

• Turning points paled in comparison to Early Adulthood.
• "Crisis" was anticipated.
• Less time to make life changes--regretts
• Life evaluation common during middle age.
• "Silver Linings"