Physical, Cognitive and Psychosocial Changes in Middle Adulthood

This essay discusses the physical, cognitive and psychosocial changes that occur in middle adulthood. It covers topics such as Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial changes, social intelligence, social competence, cognitive development, menopause, and sexual changes. The essay also emphasizes the importance of effectively mastering each stage of development in order to avoid personal stagnation.

Running head: ESSAY 0
PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE
AND PSYCHOSOCIAL
CHANGES
STUDENT DETAILS:

ESSAY 1
The stage of midlife is defined according to various perceptions made by many philosophers.
There are some problems arise in middle adult hood. The mid phase crises and recognition
crises are connected to midlife. It is require to be discussed in the context of happenings of
life. The psychosocial changes in the middle age influence the connection with spouse. The
changes also influence the relations with children. The middle adulthood is a time between
the young adulthood and the old age. This time lasts from the twenty years to forty years on
the basis of stages, age, and the defined actions. The most common age is defined as age of
forty years to age sixty-five years. However, there may a range up to ten years on either side
of this number.
The Lachman gives a complete detail of the issues, problems and the challenges to be face by
adults in their middle age of life period (Pain, 2015). These challenges involve losing
guardian, feeling life time pain, creating children in their own way, managing the life of
home in the absence of children, becoming grandparents and making preparation of old age
in their life. The psychological changes enable the future performance of a person and
specific community. There are many significant stages of life of human being. During the
stage of middle age, a person experiences in several number, giving contribution in the
personality growth (Pal, 2011).
The personal behaviour cannot be considered in respect of external aspects alone. There are
some external elements, which help in the development of personality of adult. These
external factors include status in the society, background of family, education in an early
period, relation with guardian or family, relationship with their children. The philosophers
have categorised the stages into three significant types. These types are physical changes,
cognitive changes and psychosocial changes. The physical change refers to a change of
presence, change of look and psychological health of a person and physical health of a
person. The cognitive changes are connected with the change in view and the cognitive

ESSAY 2
changes of health. The social changes are changes in feelings and socializing of person. The
social development includes the two significant areas of the social talent and social skills.
There are many theories developed for the psychosocial changes in the middle adulthood.
The main theory of psychosocial changes in middle adulthood was made by the Erik Erikson.
The Erik Erikson was the German developmental psychologist. The Erik Erikson made the
division of the procedure of psychological and the social development in the eight levels,
which correspond to the level of the physical development. It is said by Erik Erikson that a
person handles the psychological issue, which are required to be solved in respect of growth
developmentally. When coming in the old age from young age, some issues may arise. These
issues are faith versus mistrust, the autonomy versus disgrace and disbelief, scheme versus
guilt, business versus inadequacy, recognition versus dispersal and the closeness versus
separation (Bastable, 2006).
The stage of middle adulthood leads to centre on establishing a sense of object and giving the
contribution to the society. The Erikson defined it as the confliction between the generativity
and stagnation. Those who involve in the humanity, give things, which will outlive them and
put down the mark for upcoming generation appear with a sense of object. There are some
things that can give contribution to the feelings of generativity. These things include careers
of a person, family, relatives, group memberships, friends and the society. The generativity
versus stagnation is the seventh stage out of eight stages of the theory of psychological
development (Berger, 2011). The generativity refers to the creating own mark on the
humanity by caring of other people as well as making and completing things, which make the
earth as good place. On the other hand, the stagnation means the failure to search a manner to
give contribution. These people may not feel connected with society. They may not involve
in the society wholly. If people do not success in achieving the skills, then they will not be so
productive. They do not get involvement in the world. On the other hand, if people become

ESSAY 3
successful, then they will feel that they are giving contribution to the world. From the way,
they became active in their house and their society.
The philosophers have focused on psychosocial changes in middle age. They make focus on
the understanding of the areas of public intelligence and public competency (Sparks, 2016).
These are detailed as below-
Social intelligence- The social intelligence refers to the ability to notice and make the
differences between the individuals. It makes differences between individuals on the basis of
humour, nature, inspiration, and intensions. These aspects such as humour, nature,
inspiration, and the intensions have major role in framing the human behaviour. These factors
also affect the manner of interactions with another people. An individual affects the level of
maturity in his middle age. In middle age, an individual becomes publicly intellectual to
understand other individual in the given circumstances. Social competence- The next area is
social capability. The social competence is capacity to interact adaptive responses to several
personal requirements. The social competence refers to the acceptance of social behaviour in
a manner to advancing the person in according with common norms and beliefs. There are
following five competencies which provide the social growth-
1. Self-awareness- the first competency is the self-awareness. The self- awareness means
the capability to know someone. The self-awareness is depended on the self-
assurance. It is the true valuation of own behaviour.
2. Social awareness- the second competency is the social awareness. The social
awareness refers to the way to know the beliefs and react in a specific manner. The
social awareness is ability of thinking, knowing and cooperating efficiently.
3. Self-management-The next competency is the self-management. The self-
management means control of feelings and responses in the particular conditions. The

ESSAY 4
self-management is capability to enable someone and others to complete the targets in
a difficult situation.
4. Relationship skills- The relationship skill is another competency. The relationship
skills means to establish the positive and healthy relationships with others. A person
develops the interaction skills based on proper communication, management and the
teamwork.
5. Decision making- The last competency is decision making. It is based on the proper
deliberation of the related characteristics and anticipated significances of decision.
The cognitive growth refers to the acquisition of the capacity to cause and resolve the issues.
There are some theories of the cognitive development (Richard, 2018). The Piaget made the
childhood cognitive development into four stages across the birth through teenage years. A
child who comes through the levels advances from easy sensor motor reacts to the capability
to categorize and make series of objectives and eventually to involve in theoretical reasoning
and deductive reasoning (Freud, 2012).
It is very essential to analyse whether cognitive status and cognitive changes in the middle
age are predictive of rate of succeeding decline. The cognition changes take place at the age
of thirty-five and decrease in subsequent adulthood. There are many cognitive changes in the
period of adulthood. The adult cognitive development is a difficult. It is found that the adults
who involve in emotionally and substantially stimulating actions experience less cognitive
decline in subsequent time of adulthood and have decreased occurrence of slight cognitive
loss and dementia (Kindon, 2007).
When there is no possibility of longer growth and changes because of hormones at some age,
it starts to alter in some other manners. The age starts to take its toll much earlier on the body
of human than most of person think. The physical changes, psychological changes and

ESSAY 5
emotional changes are made in adult’s middle life. The middle hood is a mid-point of life of
person from age of thirty-five to sixty-four. The middle period is same distance from starting
to end. The adult refers to an individual who is completely mature or developed. Some people
attain happiness in their lifetime. Some persons think that they are closer to death without
completing anything. The adulthood makes many changes and stresses to manage on regular
basis. The question of individual manages the problems that whether people achieve
complete happiness in their lifetime (Andrew, 2018).
The middle period is period in life of person when persons have many duties and
responsibilities of their dependent parents and children. The women have to face many
physical changes in their life. Menopause is considered as a very first stage of aging of
woman. The menopause is a process, which generally starts with few years of turning fifty.
The menopause is considered as very active period in life of woman with hormonal changes,
which can disturb the normal balance of life. The physical signs of menopause are swings of
mood, emotional outburst, and sleeplessness. The medications help in the effects of
menopause. The problems related to health induce during menopause are asthma, arthritis,
hypertension and rheumatism. In United States, the forty percent of adults are affected by the
high blood pressure (Kesby, 2016).
The disorder leads to a person having heart attacks and strokes. The heart attack screening
may discover the disorder. It is considered efficiently with the medication. The death may
come to the person between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four because of three reasons.
The first reason is cancer. The second reason is heart diseases. The third reason is accidents.
The changes of the hormones of women are called menopause. The man climacteric is called
reduce in hormones related to sex. This is fact that both males and females face hormonal
changes and physical growth in the middle age (Hampson, 2014). Both males and females
face feelings of worry, tenseness, exhaustion and reduce in sexual diaries. When men and

ESSAY 6
women start to get older, the hairs of men and women start to get thin and grey. They got
wrinkles in this age. Generally, these changes make the men good-looking. It is observed as
ugliness or over hill for the females (Lancaster and Ross, 2010).
The males and females pass through several physical changes during the adulthood as they
age which may influence relationship of sex and sexuality. In common, the health or wellness
has an important result on sexual growth in the males and females during the middle age. The
men and women in adulthood pass through the diminish in sexual actions could advance from
any cure (Sherry and Mike, 2005). These treatments involve the hormone replacement
therapy, five alpha reductase inhibitors, sex therapy and selective enzyme inhibitors. In the
age of 25 or after the age of 25, the men and women have a reduce in testosterone making.
The stages of testosterone are lesser that may lead to a lack of sexual passion and problems
functioning erection. The sexual functions are very general to be happen in middle age or old
age (Oakley, 2004).
The females in adulthood, from the age of forty-five to sixty, the periods stop. This process is
called menopause. The ovaries end to generate hormone estrogens. There are some side
effects of menopause. The menopause influences the sexuality that may cause vaginal
dryness and tenderness. The menopause also decreases the cravings of sex. Some habits like
eating as per diet chart, doing exercise or yoga on regular basis, and ignoring smoke permit
the people to continue their wishes of sex. These habits help the person to make the
relationship through the course of their life cycle. The partners in sex upholding the frank
interaction along with specific treatment may permit the older adults keep friendliness stage
of life in old age (William, 2017).
There can be many changes in the life of men and women. These changes may be horrifying
for the people in their adulthood. There are many individuals, who pass through this period

ESSAY 7
be likely to search outlets and the manners to go about handling with these changes. It may
called as midlife crisis that permit them to put off feeling like their life is already finish or
permit them to come to provisions with growing older and permitting them to sense more at
harmony with it. It is saying that ‘old is beautiful’ or it is also saying that forty is the new
twenty. An individual has searched healthy and positive outlets to permit them to be happy
with being old (Wilson, 2018).
As per the United States of Health and Human Services, the growth is the product of
describing interaction of the biological effects, psychological effects and the social effects.
The children became more complicated cognitively at the time of growing physically and
attaining control of higher psychomotor and enhancing function of the brain. It is more
adopted to think and make actions in the environment. The physical changes and cognitive
changes are permitted to establish the psychologically, creating the recognition of an
individual and the connecting efficiently and properly with another people. It is defined that
development of human being is a long lasting procedure of the development, maturation and
the changes (Kuh and Cooper, 2013).
The significance of the physical development, cognitive development and the psychological
development becomes the clear in the situation where an individual does not effectively
master one stage or more than stages of development. For example, if a child fails in getting
primary basic targets of the growth of physics, can be diagnosed with the delay in growth. As
per the same example, learning disabled children can fail to master the difficult cognitive
procedure of a distinctive complex teenager (Devrie and Smith, 2007). If any middle-aged
person fails to solve Erikson’s stage of generativity versus stagnation, can experience deep
personal stagnation covered by various escapisms like alcohol, drugs, abuse and sexual
infidelities and other infidelities. The human being may handle the tasks related to the
development at every stage of his life (Neil, 2015).

ESSAY 8
As per the above analysis, it is concluded that there are many changes in the life of human
being such as physical changes, psychosocial changes and cognitive changes. Many
philosophies have been developed in respect of these changes. The stage of growth in the
middle period is a stage of a life where great changes happen in human being. It is found that
the degree of these developmental changes in order to proper psychological development,
physical development, and cognitive development domains are decided by specific interplay
of effects or aspects. These changes are depend on some factors namely social perspective,
living style of life and choices of the person. The various developed theories in the previous
time in respect of the middle adulthood have been seen to be wrong. The phase of middle age
of life is presently experiencing helpful contribution in order to conduct research or study.

ESSAY 9
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Pain, R. (2015) The middle adulthood. London: Routledge.

ESSAY 10
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