Adulthood

"Adulthood" is an accessible text combining detailed accounts of the main theories and evidence on the psychology of adulthood with thorough discussion and commentary. It includes some modern slants on the classic research and the up-to-date theories. Cross-cultural issues and examples have been included in every chapter, and various biases are identified and explained. Evie Bentley has here provided a guide to this topic for students studying the OCR A-level specification. The book should also be relevant to those studying the Edexcel specification and to those with a general interest in developmental psychology. The book begins with a definition of lifespan psychology and then is divided into sections dealing with early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. The theories of Erikson, Levinson and Gould and others are covered, and life events such as marriage and partnering, parenting and divorce are discussed. There is a commentary on the cognitive changes that occur with ageing, and various alternative theories are explained which take a psychodynamic view, or focus on continued development rather than crises and failing. Finally there is a study aids section with sample

"This text is one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date sources for lifespan development in adulthood currently on the market. Although primarily aimed at the A-level market (and primarily the AQA-A specification), it has a wider audience including undergraduate students of psychology." - Peter Allen, Head of Psychology, Newbury College, UK

Evie Bentley is Head of Psychology at Hillview School for Girls and at Hugh Christie Technology College, Tonbridge, Kent. She is also an Adult Education Psychology Tutor, West Sussex (Burgess Hill and Crawley), and Tutor and Second Year Module Leader in Developmental Psychology for International Correspondence School's online Psychology degree. She has chaired the Association for the Teaching of Psychology (1999 - 2002), and edited the ATP Newsletter and Journal.