This is important information, although not really surprising. And
a shift in the focus of concerns is something quite different from theevolution of adult consciousness. We might argue, for example, that ir -
rational beliefs would be a dominant feature of the consciousness of
only a small minority of individuals—those who require psychiatrictreatment. We might grant that all individuals show some of the in -
sights outlined by Gould, but we maintain that these changes are trivial
readjustments in thinking and not the stuff on which life decisions aremade. We might contend that the order of the stages is essentially arbi -
trary , a result of the most frequent course of events encountered by
Americans. A 20-year-old diagnosed as having cancer may deal with is -
sues of destruction and death before taking on other illusions. If this is
the case, then development seems to be an inappropriate word. Instead,
we might view the whole process as one of adaptation to the challengesof living as an adult.
Because Gould’s theory is more elastic than Levinson’s, it is harder
to test. But one of the deductions that can be made from it is that thereought to be notable differences between the young and the old in basicadjustment and also in openness to feelings. As Chapter 4 showed,there is mixed support for that hypothesis: Adults are indeed lower inNeuroticism than adolescents, but they are also lower—not higher—inOpenness. A second deduction would be that there are specific periodsin adulthood when the struggle with irrational beliefs is particularlystrong and overt crisis is likely . For Gould, this is most likely to be inthe midlife period, from 35 to 45. We consider that possibility next.
IN SEARCH OF THE MIDLIFE CRISIS
Of all the features of adult development, the most celebrated is themidlife crisis. Jacques (1965) studied the lives of artists and decidedthat they all went through a period of crisis precipitated by the recogni -
tion of their own mortality . “Time since birth” was replaced by “time left
to live” in the mind of the middle-aged man. Peter Chew (1976) wrote apopular account of the crisis, suggesting that marriage stales and thequest for a lost youth leads men to intensified sexual yearnings. Amongwomen, menopause and the departure of children from home wereviewed as likely causes of a period of depression and crisis. Levinson etal. (1978) wrote that “for the great majority of men . . . this period178 PERSONALITY IN ADULTHOOD