Early Adulthood

• Friendships


  • Affective or emotional: self-disclosure, expressions of intimacy, appreciation, and support; requires trust and commitment
  • Shared or communal nature: mutual interests
  • Sociability and compatibility: source of fun and entertainment
• Friendship quality


  Satisfaction one derives from the relationship
• Online friendships


  • Trust is an important factor and develops on the basis of reputation, performance, precommitment, and situational factors
• Friendships in adulthood


  1. Acquaintanceship

  2. Buildup

  3. Continuation

  4. Deterioration

  5. Ending
• Sternberg's three basic components of love


  • Passion
  • Intimacy
  • Commitment
• Couples are happier when each feels the same types of love to a similar degree
• The longer a relationship lasts, the lower its intimacy and passion, but the greater its commitment
• Early in romantic relationships


  • Characterizes early stages of romance when passion is high, but intimacy and commitment are lower
• Higher divorce rates in couples who marry based primarily on infatuation
• Assortative mating


  Selecting one's partner based on similarity across many dimensions
• Homogamy


  Degree to which people are similar; greater when couples meet through school or religious setting
• Speed dating


  • Date selection and date satisfaction are higher when the date is attractive, outgoing, self-assured, and moderately self-focused
• Online dating is more common in the United States (1 in 5) than other countries (1 in 10-20)
• Physical attractiveness strongly affects partner selection in online and offline contexts
• Emerging hookup culture is increasing
• Both men & women are interested in having hookup sex
• Both men & women prefer a more romantic relationship
• Three-fourths of both men & women eventually expressed some level of regret at having hookup sex
• Preferences in traditional vs Western cultures


  • Traditional cultures emphasize chastity and homemaking in women and ambition, industry and financial prospects in men
  • Western cultures value these qualities to a much lesser extent
• Nearly all cultures place importance on love and attraction
• Love


  A distinct neurological emotion system, with different stages of love involving different neurochemicals
• Erikson


  Mature love is impossible without a capacity for intimacy
• Abusive relationship


  When one partner becomes violent or aggressive
• Battered woman syndrome


  When a women believes she cannot leave an abusive situation; may go so far as to kill abuser
• Aggression in relationships


  • Verbal aggression -> physical aggression -> severe physical aggression -> murder
• Causes of abuse in relationships

  • Verbal Abuse: Need to control, Misuse of power, Jealousy, Marital Discord
  • Physical Abuse: Acceptance of violence as means of control, Physically aggressive models, Abuse as a child, Aggressive personality style, Alcohol Abuse
  • Severe Physical Abuse: Personality Disorders, Emotional swings, Poor self-esteem
• Culture is also an important contextual factor in violence against women
• 70% of women and 80% of men are single between the ages of 20 and 24
• Twice as many African Americans as European Americans are single throughout adulthood
• Men tend to remain single longer than women, but men are likelier to marry
• Cultures differ in their expectations of marrying and marriage
• Millenials are remaining single longer and are more likely to forgo marriage and cohabitate
• Cohabitation


  When two people in a committed, intimate, sexual relationship live together but are not married
• In the United States, young adults usually cohabit as a step toward marriage
• Couples cohabitate part-time as a step toward marriage, and to replace marriage
• There are cross-cultural differences in cohabitation rates, higher in Scandinavian countries
• Couples who cohabitation first have a higher divorce rate, and tend to be less happy
• Couples that are happy share financial and child care responsibilities
• Marital success


  An umbrella term referring to any martial outcome
• Marital quality


  Subjective evaluation of the couple's relationship