Middle Adulthood Essay

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Running head: Middle Katia Haney Haney 1 Psychology 103 Prof. King May 2, 2011 Introduction The definition of middle adulthood is development period between ages 40 and 65. For many, midlife is a time when one starts to think about how much time he or she has left. Individuals began to examine their lives, their relationships, their work, and the meaning of it all. This process is often referred to as a mid-life crisis. Middle adulthood is a time of change and development. During midlife adults make more responsible choices (carefully considering what to do and how to spend their time). They also evaluate their lives to incorporate any changes they may need to be made. Middle adulthood pertains to balancing their lives with the physical and cognitive changes associated with aging. Physical changes during Middle Adulthood For those in middle adulthood, aging is a part of life. Physical appearance is the most obvious change during middle adulthood, such as thinning and gray hair, wrinkles, the need for reading glasses, and some hearing loss. The hair may become thinner due to a decrease in the replacement rate, and grayer because of the production of melanin. Midlife physical changes take place more gradually. Because of the “loss of fat and collagen in underlying tissues” the skin will start to wrinkle and sag (Santrock, 2011). The need for reading glasses are due to presbyopia, which is an “age-related, progressive loss of the eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects due to Running head: Middle Haney 2 loss of elasticity in the lens." Myopia, which is nearsightedness also increases during middle age. (Papalia, Ols, &
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