Psyhology of Adolescence and Adulthood

Life-span psychology: basic principles and chronological division of developmental (sub)periods from adolescence through the end of life; basic types of developmental change (e.g., progressive, regressive, qualitative, quantitative); basic approaches to developmental research and basic factors of development. Adolescence: evaluation of difficulties in this period; developmental tasks; biological change; changes in the domains of cognitive, emotional (e.g., mood, emotional expression, defense mechanisms) and personality characteristics (e.g., traits, personality profiles); identity formation; the development of social relationships (e.g., family, peer, psychological separation-individuation), social cognition and moral judgement (e.g., changes in perspective-taking, understanding of moral issues, forms of egocentrism). Emerging adulthood: distinctive features, subjective criteria for adulthood (perceived, societal, achieved), developmental tasks, characteristics of adjustment. Adulthood: developmental tasks over the three adult periods (early, middle, late); physical change, change in perception, and cognition (e.g., general intelligence, specific intellectual abilities, post formal thought, expertise, wisdom-related knowledge, creativity, life management strategies, everyday competence); personality development (the normative-crisis model, the timing of life events model, the dimensional model - traits and types, subjective age, subjective well-being, coping strategies), and changes in the domain of social development (adult-parent relationships, peers relationships, development of intimate relationships and parenthood; new social roles and adjustment, such as mid-generation squeeze; grandparenthood; retirement; grieving), stereotypes about elderly (factors and effects on adjustment, and facts about the old age).