According to Erikson’s theory, middle adulthood faces the main conflict between generativity and stagnation. Generativity may be defined as “the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation” that becomes a key developmental event for the middle adulthood stage. When people realize that half of their life has passed, they may start to think that they have not done everything that they planned. The underlying reasons for such a middle-age crisis can differ, including problems with children, divorce, difficulties at work, etc. This crisis may trigger personality development because some people feel the need to rethink their life values.
Cognitive development in middle adulthood changes its quality. Information processing speed decreases, and such cognitive processes as attention, memory and computation may decline. However, that does not mean that young adults and middle-aged adults cannot study at college or university. On the contrary, the majority of specialties require additional learning, and people aged 30–40 continue training to improve their professional skills.
Personality and cognitive development differ significantly at all stages of human life. The main reasons for the development are the biological timetable and social environment. As a rule, adolescents see the world as black and white and cannot consider people and phenomena from different perspectives like young and middle-aged adults do. At the same time, the majority of adults lack the intensity of emotions and sensation-seeking that is characteristic of adolescents. Cognition processes such as memory and attention are better at the adolescence and young adulthood stages. However, middle-aged adults have better skills in practical problem-solving.
If one considers the different stages of human development that are extended across the lifespan, one can see that development is a continual process. Erikson’s theory reflects the main points of each stage and puts these stages in a biologically fixed order, emphasizing the idea that a person cannot enter one stage without passing through the previous one. If a person does not develop a sense of identity in adolescence or emerging adulthood, it will be difficult for them to achieve intimacy with someone in the young adulthood stage. If a person does not have intimate relationships, they cannot make a family, or they can, but the marriage eventually ends with divorce. This may lead to problems in middle adulthood when children and heritage are the main interests of a person.
A person also experiences constant cognitive change as the adolescents acquire the ability to operate with abstract notions, young adults broaden their ability to see everything from different perspectives, middle-aged adults become better at practical problem-solving, etc. Judging from my experience, I can conclude that a person constantly changes, and it may be observed on physical, cognitive, and psychological levels. Having entered the emerging adulthood stage, I feel that my view of life is starting to change. It is easier to understand other people while sticking to my point of view, easier to control my emotions, and easier to realize the responsibility for my decisions.
I’m learning to consider different perspectives and accept that my point of view is not the only one that may be correct. Personality and cognitive developments are the necessary and natural conditions of life since progress affects everything in the world, from evolution to scientific and technological advances.