Adulthood Observation

Background Information
Persons age: Adulthood: age 20
Fictitious name: Jamie (The persons name has been changed to protect privacy.)
Location: Utah
Brief Interview with a young adult on questions referring to development.
Description:

Biological Development

Jamie described herself to be an athletic but average girl. When asked what her definition
of average was, she explained that she thought of herself to have average height, average
weight, and average fitness. She thought that she would fit into the norm of what a twenty-year-
old female should be like. Although, she confessed that when she started her job on a college
campus that required physical work, that she excelled and noticed some of her other co-workers
struggling to keep up with the work. Biologically, the years from ages 18 to 25 are prime time
for hard physical work and safe reproduction. (Berger, 2016, p. 390).
Jamie confessed to her lack of sleep and explained how she felt like she did not rebound
as quickly the next day like she would have in her teenage years. I believe the reason she was
more tired the next day was because of her body trying to keep up with her. It did not get its
usual amount of rest and it was trying to balance itself. Consider sleep. One nights poor sleep
makes a person tired the next day- that is homeostasis, the bodys way to maintain equilibrium.
(Berger, 2016, p. 393).
Jamie said that one of her favorite stress relievers and hobbies was to run. She explained
that after a long day of studying and doing homework, that she would make time for exercise and
it would calm her down and give her more energy. She said her favorite part about running was
that she could fill her lungs with fresh air and feel her heart pumping. When Jamie runs she is
having a homeostatic response. After a few minutes of exercise, the heart beats faster and
breathing becomes heavier- these are homeostatic responses (Berger, 2016, p. 167).
Cognitive Development

As a teenager, Jamie thought that she was never in control of her emotions. She explained
that it was easy for her to make irrational decisions on impulse. Having those kinds of emotions
as a teenager is totally normal and is actually healthy because it is showing development or lack
of development. Alternatively, they think spontaneously and emotionally about personal issues,
such as what to wear, whim to befriend, whether to skip class. For personal issues, they prefer
quick actions and reactions, only later realizing the consequences. (Berger, 2016, p. 399). In
Jamies case what she was experiencing in her teenage years was extremely typical. However,
she expressed that as a twenty year old she feels more in control of her reactions and she can
think through what action to take.
Although Jamie graduated high school only two years prior to her age now, she said that
about twenty five percent of the students she graduated with have gotten married or are planning
their weddings. She felt however that she did not want to be married until she had graduated
from her desired degree in college unlike her parents who got married less than a year out of high
school. The very fact that emerging adults did marry later than previous generations shows that,
couple by couple, thinking is not determined by childhood culture or by traditional norms. Early
experiences are influential, but postformal thinkers are not stuck by them (Berger, 2016, p.
400). Because Jamie does not want to follow the same path that her parents did with marriage is
an example that she has developed postformal thinking.
It became obvious to me that Jamie had developed stereotype threat, The thought that
ones appearance or behavior might confirm another persons oversimplified, prejudiced
attitudes, a thought that causes anxiety even when the stereotype is not held by other people
(Berger, 2016, p. 400). She said that most of her life she had thought that others did not like her.
It started in high school when she compared herself to popular girls and thinking she would
never fit into that group and then into college where she was afraid to seek help on subjects she
did not understand because of the fear that her peers would think she was not smart.
Psychosocial Development

Many young adults change their identity status in the years after age twenty-five.
(Berger, 2016, p. 202, 414). Although, Jamie is only twenty years old, she felt like she knew
herself better than a few years ago. She said she had more of an idea of who she was and what
she wanted, however she felt like she was still trying to discover her purpose. I believe that
Jamie still needs a few more years until she will fully feel sure of herself and her identity.
In deciding her career, Jamie said that she had been struggling with committing to a
degree. She admitted that her lack of direction has made her afraid and anxious. Jamies feelings
are due to the fact of her age and not having a clear sense of her identity. Even though she is
feeling anxious about her lack of direction, it is actually very normal due to her age and she will
probably feel this way for a few more years. Readiness to seek a new job is less problematic for
young workers themselves, since exploration is part of their identity search. However, prolonged
unemployment is a problem (Berger, 2016, p. 414).
Because emerging adults are entering the worlds of work, college, and community, they
have more friends at this time of life than at any other period. They need friends to navigate all
their new experiences (Berger, 2016, p. 416). In high school Jamie only had two main friends
and for the most part she was content with only having those two friends until she went to
college. She started to branch out more and found more connections with people which in return
formed new relationships. I believe that she became friends with more people because her peers
were all experiencing the same things that she was. They all new exactly what she was feeling
and going through, which added comfort and created friendships.

*As noted above, I changed the name of the girl in this observation to protect her privacy.

Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation to the life span (3rd ed.) [with Salt Lake Community College
supplement]. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.