Running head: INTERVIEW 1

Interview: Emerging/Early Adulthood

Bailey Knudsen

Salt Lake Community College

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Abstract

Emerging adulthood/early adulthood is a time of exploration, growth, autonomy, and

opportunity. In this paper, the typical physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of

emerging/early adults is described. Then, interview responses from an emerging adult (23-year-

old male) are compared to the typical development described by current trends and varying

theorists. Results show that the individual’s development follows most of the norms of his age

group, with only slight variations.

Keywords: Emerging adult, early adult, adulthood

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Introduction

Emerging adulthood is a transitional time in life when one leaves adolescence and enters

early adulthood. According to Jeffrey Arnett (2006), there are five key characteristics that

represent emerging adulthood: First, emerging adults explore their identity, especially in work

and love. Second, there is often instability and change in many aspects of their lives (love, work,

education, etc.). Third, they are autonomous and mostly focused on themselves. Fourth, they feel

that they don’t identify as adolescents anymore, but also don’t identify as adults yet. Fifth,

emerging adults see this time of their life as an opportunity to orient/reorient their lives in a

positive direction. According to research of many theorists and developmental psychologists,

there are general stages and expectations about how emerging/early adults develop physically,

cognitively, and socioemotionally.

Emerging/Early Adult Development

Physically, most people reach their peak of physical performance during early adulthood

(usually anywhere from 19-26). Around this time too however, physical performance begins to

move downhill (around 30). Emerging adults have higher death rates than adolescents, but don’t

have many chronic health problems. A major health problem that encompass this time of time of

life is failing to consider how current lifestyle choices will affect later health. For example, many

young adults may: smoke, drink/binge drink, do drugs, make poor diet choices (skip breakfast,

excessively snack), not get enough exercise (less than the recommended 30 minutes of aerobic

exercise per day), and not get enough sleep.

There are a couple of varying ideas about the cognitive development of young adults.

Well known psychologist, Jean Piaget, classified young adults as being in the cognitive stage of

“formal operational thought”. This stage begins anywhere from 11-15 years old, then lasts for the
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remainder of life. The formal operational stage is characterized by logical, abstract, and realistic

thinking. While this stage begins before early adulthood, Piaget mentions that it isn’t until

adulthood that individuals become more quantitatively advanced and have advanced knowledge

in specialized areas. Another professional, Dr. Sinnot, has proposed that another stage exists in

early adulthood called “Postformal thought”. This stage is characterized by thinking that is

“reflective, relativistic, and contextual; provisional; realistic; and influenced by emotions”

(Santrock, 312).

Socioemotionally, young adults endure a lot of learning and adapting. Attachment styles

(secure, avoidant, anxious) reflect childhood patterns as well as affect relationships throughout

adulthood. For example, secure attachments are linked to positive relationships. Erik Erikson, a

well-respected developmental psychologist, classified young adults as being in a stage called

“intimacy versus isolation”. This can include a battle between intimacy and commitment versus

independence and freedom from parents. Friends play an important role in early adulthood

development. Also, while being single is becoming more prominent, divorce rates are increasing

dramatically, and people are getting married at older ages; most Americans still marry. Research

carried out by John Gottman showed that successful married couples nurture fondness and

admiration for one another, accept the influence of their partner, and create shared meaning.

Interview

I had the opportunity to interview Joe (pseudonym for the protection of the individual), a

23-year-old male. I enjoyed sitting down with him and asking him questions, listening to him,

observing him, and comparing his development to that of a typically developing young adult.

First, I asked Joe to simply tell me about himself at this point in his life. He mentioned

that he is happily married, living with his in-laws, working part-time, and going to school full-
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time to become a physical therapist. He stated that most of his time is occupied by school and

homework, but when he has free time he enjoys watching movies, hiking, and boating with his

family. After some small talk, I asked Joe some more specific questions about himself so that I

could compare his experiences to those which I have read in the textbook.

First, when asked about his health, Joe’s responses included the following: He feels that

overall, he is a healthy person. He enjoys active activities like basketball and running, and is in

pretty good shape, but probably not the best he has ever been in. He thinks he could put more of

an effort into eating healthier, but it can be difficult while being so busy with school as well as

sharing a kitchen with his in-laws. He also feels that the stress of school and work doesn’t allow

him the amount of sleep he would prefer. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs due to his

religious beliefs and he tries to keep safety in mind (seatbelt wearing, etc.) because he wants to

be able to always provide for his present and future family. Physically, Joe seems to be

developing quite normally. While he is not eating or sleeping as well as he would like, he seems

to be very conscientious about his health choices and realizes that they are important for his

future, which is not always common among adults of his age.

Next, Joe was asked questions regarding his cognitive development. Because Joe has a

somewhat rigorous academic schedule, he is constantly pushing himself to think in many ways.

Since he is finished with his general education courses in college, his education is becoming

more specialized toward his chosen major of kinesiology. While he no longer is learning much

about history, English, or other various subjects, his knowledge of the human body is continually

expanding. Joe, being a young and married man, is also having to learn to think more

realistically. For example, he said that he had no problem going out and spending a few hundred

dollars on whatever he wanted during high school. However now that he works to pay for his
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school and to save money for a home, he realizes that money does not grow on trees and he

should think more realistically about his finances. Compared to normal cognitive development,

Joe seems to be fairly on track. Joe is capable and well-practiced in thinking abstractly, critically,

logically, and realistically; and his knowledge is becoming more and more specialized with time.

These qualities are right on track with Piaget’s stage of formal operational thought. While

interviewing Joe, I noticed less similarity with Sinnott’s proposed postformal thought stage.

While Joe thinks realistically, I didn’t notice that his thoughts were strongly influenced by

emotion or that he was provisional.

Finally, Joe discussed socioemotional factors in his life. He told me that he felt that he

had secure relationships with his parents growing up. He has a great relationship with his family,

and he thinks that has helped him to be a better husband and man. He feels great about his

relationship with his immediate family and his in-laws. He has been married for a couple of

years and has a good and healthy relationship with his wife. While he feels so content to be

married to his wife and adores her, he doesn’t feel that he is fully independent yet because he is

living with his in-laws to save money. While he loves his in-laws, and appreciates the

opportunity to save money during school, he looks forward to a time when he and his wife can

be fully on their own as adults. When comparing Joe’s socioemotional development to what is in

the textbook, he lines up almost exactly with the “norm”. His secure attachments from childhood

have positively affected his relationships in adulthood. Joe has committed fully to his wife, but

still struggles knowing that he is not yet fully independent from his wife’s parents. This situation

represents Erik Erikson’s stage of “intimacy versus isolation”. In the book, Santrock mentions

that early adulthood is typically characterized by working less, and going to school more with the

goal of becoming economically independent. He also notes that it is becoming more and more
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common for emerging adults to co-reside with their parents while they try to finish school, so

Joe’s situation is quite common.

Personal Reflection

I appreciated being able to take an individual’s experience from the real world and

compare it with the facts and theories that I have been learning about throughout the semester. I

learned that although a lot of research about development norms exist and is helpful, every

individual is different and may not follow the exact same path. Interviewing another young adult

has also made me reflect on my own life and how close my experiences align with the theories

and statistics laid out in the textbook. I look forward to continuing to learn about the human life

span development for all stages of life.

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References

Santrock, JW. (2017). ESSENTIALS OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT (5th ed.). NY:

MCGRAW-HILL, 300-334.