Introduction

Ever think much about your biological clock—the timing of significant biological events in your life, such as birth, puberty, and perhaps the birth of your first child? Now how do such events relate to the social clock—that time when your culture says these things are supposed to occur? Our bodies pull us in some ways, our cultures pull us in others. What are the relative effects of each, how do they interact, how are they changing? How does it feel to be a late-maturing teenager, for instance? How does it feel to go into your 40's without any children of your own, or to be going to college well past the "traditional" 18- to 22-year-old age span? What are the effects of earlier and earlier onset of puberty with later and later average age of marriage?

This activity gives you the opportunity to explore some of these issues in your own life, and compare your responses with those of other students on The Psychology Place and to existing cross-cultural statistics.

Birth and Life Expectancy.