1) Adult development theorists propose that development occurs through age/stage theories, life events, or transitions between stages. 2) Age/stage theorists like Levinson and Erikson proposed that development occurs in distinct stages as people age, such as early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. 3) Life events theorists like Neugarten and Baltes proposed that major life events like marriage, death of a spouse, or historical events like wars trigger development. 4) Transitions theorists like Bridges and Sugarman proposed that development occurs through transitions between stages, which involve an ending phase, neutral zone, and new beginning.

1. Adult Development
Theories
Class 5
ADLT 671, Theory and Practice of Adult
Learning

2. Personal Development Theorists
O Age / Stage
O Development proceeds according to a series of
stages adults pass through as they age
O Life Events
O Development coincides with major life events such
as marriage, death of spouse, etc
O Transitions
O Development marked by periods of transition from
one stage to another

3. Age – Stage Theorists
Levinson (1978, 1996)
Gilligan (1982)
Havighurst (1981)
Maslow (1968)
Gould (1978)
Erikson (1959)

4. Daniel Levinson
O Life cycle composed of 4 developmental periods
O Childhood – Adolescence (birth – age 20)
O Early Adulthood (ages 17-45)
O Middle Adulthood (ages 40 – 65)
O Late Adulthood (ages 60 – onward)
O Each transition takes 3-6 years to complete
O Concept of individuation – changing relationship
between self and the world
O Conceived of the midlife crisis

5. Carol Gilligan
O Feminist perspective on age-stage theories
O Highly critical of Levinson’s concept of “the
dream”
O Male identity build upon contrast and
separateness to primary care-giver
O Female identity based on perceptions of
sameness and attachment to primary caregiver

6. Gilligan, con’t
O Women’s moral judgment proceeds through three levels
O Focus on self (Level 1)
O Caring for others equated with good (Level 2)
O Caring for others and responsibility for individual
needs (Level 3)
O Two transitions
O Movement from selfishness to responsibility
O Movement from goodness to truth

7. Havighurst
Chickering and Havighurst
O Concept of the “teachable moment” when
the learning opportunity coincides with the
life task at hand
O Identified developmental tasks specific to
white, middle-class North Americans

8. Abraham Maslow
O Highest level of development is reaching
self-actualization
O Accepting of themselves and others
O Problem-centered not self-centered
O Have spontaneity
O Have had mystical or spiritual experiences
O Resist conformity to culture
O Need for privacy
O Deep relationships with a few special others
O Express creativity

9. Roger Gould
O Development is a process of
confronting layer upon layer of
childhood pain
O Development involves separation from
childhood assumptions

10. Erik Erikson
O Development occurs as demands of society
provoke struggle or crisis within the
person
O Eight psycho-social stages: five in
childhood based on Freudian concepts
O Adult stages
O Intimacy
O Generativity
O Integrity

11. Life Events Theorists
Neugarten (1976)
Baltes et al. (1980)
Riegel (1976)
Merriam and Clark (1991)

12. Neugarten
O Adult development defined by time
factors
O Social time
O Development situations are not experienced
as crises if they occur “on time” as socially
appropriate
O Crises come from “off time” life events when
experience differs from expectations
O Historical time – creates age
appropriate norms
O Chronological age – increases ability to
interpret experience in more refined

13. Baltes et al.
O Normative age-graded developmental
influences
O Physical maturity, commencement of education,
death of parents
O Normative, historically-determined events
O Economic depressions, wars, etc
O Non-normative influences of great impact
O Experiences unique to the individual such as
contracting rare disease, winning the lottery, etc

14. Riegel
O Individual is a changing person in a changing
world
O Human development moves along 4
dimensions
O Inner-biological (maturation, health)
O Individual-psychological (self-concept, self-
esteem)
O Cultural-social (rules, regulations, social
rituals)
O Outer physical (natural world events)
O When any 2 dimensions are in conflict,

15. Merriam and Clark
O To be able to love and to work are the two
goals of successful adult development
O Found 3 patterns unrelated to age or
gender
O Divergent (when one is good, other is not)
O Steady/Fluctuating (one steady, other
fluctuates)
O Parallel (love and work happiness coincide)

16. Transitions Theorists
Bridges (1980)
Sugarman (1986)

17. William Bridges
O Life marked by a series of transitions
O Each individual has a characteristic way
of dealing with transitions which will be
repeated throughout life
O Three recurring events
O Endings first
O Neutral zone
O New beginning

18. Sugarman
O Change experience follows a characteristic
pattern
O Immobilization – sense of being overwhelmed
O Reaction – sharp mood swings from elation to
despair
O Denial - minimizing the impact
O Letting go of the past
O Testing – exploring new options
O Searching for meaning – a conscious effort to learn
from the experience
O Integration – feeling at home with the change