2: cognitive and social ageing

Question 1

where is brain volume most lost In the brain

Answer 1

frontal lobes, also widespread, e.g. hippocampus in temporal lobe

Question 2

how many neurons does the hippocampus lose by 80

Answer 2

20-30%

Question 3

what is fluid cognitive ability

Answer 3

think logically without relying on learned knowledge or experience.

Question 4

how does fluid cognitive ability age

Answer 4

peaks in early adult hood and declines in age

Question 5

crystallised intelligence

Answer 5

involves knowledge accrued throughout life and experience. e,g, through education. involves general knowledge

Question 6

how does crystallised intelligence react to age

Answer 6

tends to improve pr remain stable with age

Question 7

which memory tasks decline at a steep rate and why

Answer 7

working memory tasks, like digit span, as it relies on fluid ability

Question 8

working memory with age

Answer 8

digit span shows minimal declines with age
- when relied upon by executive processes, the decline tends to be greater

Question 9

prospective memory and age

Answer 9

• ability to remember to do something in the future
• declines with age

Question 10

episodic memory and age

Answer 10

ability to recall specific events or expeirnves from life
- declines with age

Question 11

semantic memory and age

Answer 11

involves knowledge of facts and general info
- stable and could increase over life

Question 12

Associative deficit hypothesis

Answer 12

reduced processing capacity for binding information together in memory rather than general memory loss

Question 13

example of associative deficit hypothesis

Answer 13

for example, older adults may be able to remember specific words from list, but not the voice that called them. cannot bind the item with the voice

Question 14

study to back up associative deficit hypothesis

Answer 14

Naveh-Benjamin 2004

compared ability of younger and older adults to remember individual items and associations between items

Question 15

Results of Naveh-Benjamin (2004)

Answer 15

OAs showed significant deficit in tasks requiring them to remember connections between items e.g. which face was paired with a name

Aging affects the ability to form and retrieve associations - contributes to real world tasks like remembering peoples faces and names

Question 16

what is the most common type of dementia

Answer 16

• Alzheimer’s (50%)

Question 17

what does an Alzheimers diagnosis require

Answer 17

requires a memory impairment and 2 other cognitive deficits e.g executive functions and language difficulties

Question 18

Where does Alzheimers effect

Answer 18

medial temporal lobes, hippocampus, episodic memory e.g verbal and visual material

semantic memory begins to decrease with progression

Question 19

how does physical activity effect cognitive ageing

Answer 19

regular exercise increases blood flow and supports growth of neurons in areas like the hippocampus. can help natural decline in brain volume in ageing.

it helps delay onset of cognitive decline and may reduce risk of developing dementia

Question 20

study to back up physical activity and cognitive ageing

Answer 20

harvard ageing brain study

• people who stay physically active tend to maintain better cognitive function into older age compared to those who don’t

Question 21

mental activity and cognitive ageing

Answer 21

ingoing in intellectual stimulating tasks e.g. staying socially active, cross words, life long learning

older adults may be able to delay decline with mental activity

Question 22

describe park et al (2004) study

Answer 22

assessed active learning against a passible (but social) group placebo as well as a wait list control

participants who engaged in active learning showed significant improvements in episodic memory compared to placebo group

Question 23

multiple stereotypes

Answer 23

isn’t one type of older person who comes to mind

age-related sterotyping

Question 24

Schmidt and bolan (1986)

Answer 24

asked YAs to list traits they associate with OAs

clusters were chronological e.g. wrinkles, retired

negative e.g. sick and sad

positive e.g.wise and wealthy

there were more negative than positive words

Question 25

what is perceived incompetence

Answer 25

older people are perceived as high In warmth and low incompetence

Question 26

what emotional response does this predict

Answer 26

this predicts a response of pity in others

this can result in helping behaviours from others or passive harm e.g neglect

can be insulting e.e people speak slower

Question 27

what is self stereotyping and how does thus impact health

Answer 27

assimilate behaviours consistent with stereotypes. can operate unconsciously

can affect mental and physical functioning and health, as well as cardiovascular

Question 28

study to back up self sterotyping

Answer 28

Levy (1996)- OAs exposed to negative sterotypes- reduced memory performance

Question 29

what is stereotype threat

Answer 29

• operates unconsciously
• stereotype behaviour brought about by anxiety associated with confirming stereotype

Question 30

hess et al (2023) stereo type threat

Answer 30

YA’s and OAs shown newspaper articles about ageing and memory to induce sterotypes

OAs in high threat conditions performed worse in memory tasks

YAs showed no variation in performance at all

Question 31

positive sterotypes

Answer 31

those with positive views show better health

Question 32

retirement and health

Answer 32

• neither harms or benefits health
• no clear relationship between retirement and mental health
• most people experience a small increase in life satisfaction following retirement.

Question 33

retirement and volunteering

Answer 33

• positive effects on OAs
• increased well-being
  -social interaction