120 Summary
Dinesh Ramoo
Key Takeaways
- Emerging adulthood is the period between ages eighteen and twenty-five, although some researchers have included age twenty-nine in the definition.
- Young adults between the ages of twenty and thirty-four in Canada are more likely to be living with their parents than in the past.
- By the time we reach early adulthood, our physical maturation is complete, although our height and weight may increase slightly.
- Body mass index (BMI), expressed as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2), is commonly used to classify whether someone is overweight.
- The top five causes of death in emerging and early adulthood are non-intentional injury, homicide, suicide, cancer, and heart disease.
- Sex refers to physical or physiological differences between males, females, and intersex persons, including both their primary and secondary sex characteristics.
- Gender refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with a given sex.
- Human sexuality refers to people’s sexual interest in and attraction to others, as well as their capacity to have erotic experiences and responses.
- Sexual motivation, often referred to as libido, is a person’s overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity.
- The sexual response cycle is a model that describes the physiological responses that take place during sexual activity.
- The hypothalamus is the most important part of the brain for sexual functioning.
- Adults learn to base decisions on what is realistic and practical, not idealistic, and can make adaptive choices, which is referred to as postformal thought.
- Temperament is defined as the innate characteristics of the infant, including mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity, noticeable soon after birth.
- Attachment styles of adults are categorized as secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent.
- Erikson’s sixth stage focuses on establishing intimate relationships or risking social isolation.
- Love relationships vary depending on the presence or absence of each of these components: passion (intense, physical attraction partners feel toward one another), intimacy (the ability the share feelings, personal thoughts and psychological closeness with the other), and commitment (the conscious decision to stay together).
