Cognitive Development in the Adulthood

Adulthood is the period in our life when a person has gained maturity and is aware of its state and responsibilities, but according to Sigmund Freud, adulthood is a time for work and love (Cherry, 2019). Our lives center throughout our careers and relationships, leaving less time for anything else. Adulthood has been part in three different stages, young adulthood (18-40), middle adulthood (41-65) and late adulthood (65 to death) according to Levinson’s Seasons of Life (Boundless Psychology, n.d.). During young adulthood, major temperamental transformations occur. At the beginning of young adulthood essence, we tend to separate from our parents and family and no longer count on them. When I think of major challenges in young adulthood, I think of everything I have gone through and why I am the woman I am today. Through relationships, family and friends, I begin to reflect on how much all of those have changed as I have gotten older.

Growing up, I always had a family who was loving, caring, and there for one another. Of course, my mom’s side of the family was a different relationship than my dad’s; however, that never seemed to bother us. My Moms side of the family was always more loving than my fathers side. I am extremely close to my grandparents on my mothers side, we go on family vacations together, I call them just about everyday and talk about how our days went or what we plan to do. They live four hours away from us so it has always been very difficult to see them, but when we do, we always have a great time. My grandma on my dads side died at a young age and I remember very little of her, once she passed we stopped getting together for family events. My dads father has never been that loving and blames everyone else for his problems. No matter the difference between my grandparents they all showed me that cared and loved me. My parents have taught me so much about life, I would be lost without them. I have two younger siblings who I get along with pretty good. Me and my sister are very close and talk about everything, not so much as my brother. Family is the most important thing to me, if I never had them I would not be the person I am today.

My parents taught me many things by how to treat others and how I should treat/respect myself. I always struggled by being different with body type and academically. I have always looked and being different and I never wanted to get older, because I knew everyone sleep could notice it. I have always been extremely sensitive and there's nothing I can do about it. My parents always talked to me when Something would happen. I can talk to people extremely well, but when it comes to talking in a group I choke up and start crying. I have never talked to anyone about it beside my parents, due to the fact it is super embarrassing. I later found out reading an article you can lower your anxiety by writing down everything you think about in a journal. I have found it very beneficial to me. Expectations for me becoming an adult was to find a good career path so I can support my own family someday. I honestly never thought about adulthood, I was always so busy with school and sports, then all of a sudden it hits you. The responsibilities of me becoming an adult is by paying for my gas, college and my phone. I have it better than most people my age, with the help of my parents. Being an adult is very scary, you take on so many things at such a young age knowing you will mess up at one point.

Something I have learned over the years is, people come, and people go. I have had so many friends in different parts of my life, and a couple who have been there from the beginning. The people who were my friends in elementary school are no longer, middle school, no longer, High School, we are talking on occasion, and in college… well those friends seems to stick a little more. We tend to hangout with people who share the same interests or are in the same majors. As you grow up and transition into an adult, you realize who your true friends are; and those who were only your friends because you saw them every day or because of the relationships you were in. The older I get, the more I realize I do not need that many friends to be happy. There are people who thrive on other people and then there are people who tend to keep to themselves. I fall into that category. Luckily I have gotten really close with some friends after high school that I could not live without.

Looking back, I have not had much luck with relationships. I have only been in one relationship which lasted a little over three years. He was my first love and we did everything together, we broke up a little over a year ago and it impacted me tremendously. I was very emotional and did not know what to do with myself at the time. Luckily, I had many great friends both male and female help me through it all, I received so much encouragement and thoughtful words.. I never talked to my parents about what happened because I would not know what to say. I am currently 18, and that period of time is crucial for somebody to find who they are and grow up. It was devastating and also a relief to be out of that relationship. I believe what you go through helps you mature and grow as a person, making that transition worth it. That relationship was very toxic at the end we would argue, go back and forth with breaking up and him cheating constantly. These past months helped me heal and process this experience. I am a very stressful point in my life and it made me realize I do not need someone negative in my life. I learned so many things about that relationship and many ways I needed to change if I ever get into another relationship. We learn so many things as we grow up and it is what you do to change or deal with it. I make, yet again, another transition to a life without this person; another transition in becoming who I am meant to be.

Cognitive development refers to the way the brain is able to think, learn, be aware, use judgment and process information. Piaget believed that young adults were quantitatively advanced in their thinking however, they are qualitatively similar (Seifert, K., & Sutton, R. n.d.). He also believed that adults increase their knowledge in a specific area (Boundless Psychology, n.d.). Also According to Schaie, adults progress beyond adolescents only in their use of intellect. We typically switch from actually acquiring knowledge to applying that knowledge in our everyday lives. In his theory of development, Schaie includes achieving and responsibility stage to describe the cognitive changes in adults. The Achieving Stage involves applying one’s intelligence to situations that have profound consequences on achieving long term goals, such as those necessitating careers. This stage of development includes mastering the cognitive skills needed to monitor one's own behavior. Young adults in this stage will also attain a considerable amount of independence (Boundless Psychology, n.d.). Responsibility Stage begins in early adulthood and continues into middle adulthood. This is the time when a family is founded and attention is given to the needs of a spouse and children (Lally, M., & Valentine-French, S, 2017). Young adults incur social responsibilities, deal with starting a career, and must take on some level of responsibility for others at work and in the community.