Adult development Flashcards
outline the stages of adult development
physical and intellectual development: • Early adulthood • Mid adulthood • Late adulthood • Dementia social development: Stages of social development • Attachment successful ageing: • Characteristics of successful ageing
Why lok into lifespan development?
- Many early theorists focussed on infancy and childhood E.g. Piaget and Vygotsky – focus on how knowledge is acquired…
- We develop during our whole lives e.g. relationships, work, old age
- Ageing population in the UK!
Outline early adulthood physical develpment
Early adulthood: physical development •Golden age of physical fitness: Peak of muscular strength Manual dexterity most efficient Senses at their sharpest Healthiest of all age groups Death primarily accidental
early adulthood intellectual development
general intellegence increased overtime
May be due to cohort effects- A cohort effect occur when a commonly aged group of people in research indirectly affect results due to their common age-related influences
•Longitudinal studies show general intelligence relatively stable until after 60
•Different kinds of intellectual abilities
•Horn (1970) and Cattell (1965) distinguish: Crystallized intelligence ➢ Skills, knowledge
Fluid intelligence ➢Abstract thinking, reasoning
General= stable
crystal= increases from14-17 and 40-61
fluid decreases from 14-17 and 40-61
what arethe 2 types of intellectual abilities as defined by horn?
•Horn (1970) and Cattell (1965) distinguish: Crystallized intelligence ➢ Skills, knowledge
Fluid intelligence ➢Abstract thinking, reasoning
explain middle adulthood: physical development
•Slight (often undetectable) deterioration in physical function → loss of reserve capacity
•Senses become less acute:
Presbyopia -a condition associated with the aging of the eye that results in progressively worsening ability to focus clearly on close objects
Hearing loss
Taste
what about middle adulthood intellectual development?
intellectual development
- Increase in crystallised, decrease in fluid and little change in general measures of intelligence
- 40s – 50s are best at practical problem-solving (Denney & Palmer, 1981)
give the physical developments of late adulthood
Continuing, accelerated deterioration of physical capabilities
•But, wide variation in both the extent and the nature of physical deterioration
•Life expectancy increasing in almost all societies, but differences in:
Gender
women live longer than men
Ethnicity
white female> black female> white man> black man
Social class
lower social classes, smoke more, have more alcohol related death(2/3rd more) (scottish statistic)
what are the theories of ageing that cause the signs in late adulthood?
Pre-programmed theory of ageing (or Dev-Age) Predetermined ageing, in our genes
•Wear-and-tear theory
Damage-based theory – body is worn out by use and the environment
•Probably some combination of the two?
Primary ageing: gradual deterioration
Secondary ageing: disease, abuse, illness etc.
outline the intellectual abilities in late adulthood?
Drop in fluid intelligence and problem solving ability •But very wide variation… many “mentally active” people aged 80+
•Notable declines in memory and information processing abilities
give the memory issues of late adulthood
•Biological hypotheses
Neurological deterioration in the brain
•Processing hypotheses
Less efficient at processing, encoding, binding etc. •Contextual considerations
E.g. SES and IQ predict memory performance •Variability rather than inescapable decline
explain dementia
A loss of cognitive function severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities and social relationships
•Caused by diseases affecting the CNS including cardiovascular disorders
•Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia
Early signs: loss of memory for recent events or familiar tasks
Later on: changes in personality, cannot perform basic everyday functions
explain the dementia diagnosis
New diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 reclassified dementia as “Major Neurocognitive Disorder”
- Earlier stages of decline classed as “Mild Neurocognitive Disorder”
- Characterised by cognitive impairment in six domains: attention, executive function, learning and memory, language, perceptual-motor function, social cognition
what is NCD?
Diagnosis of Major Neurocognitive Disorder (NCD): Evidence of significant decline in one or more cognitive domain
Cognitive deficits must be sufficient to interfere with independence in everyday life → This is the key distinction with mild NCD
Cognitive deficits must not be attributable to another mental disorder
gie the sub-types of NCD`
Examples of subtypes:
➢Major or mild NCD due to Alzheimer’s disease
➢Major or mild NCD with Lewy bodies
➢Major or mild NCD due to traumatic brain injury
➢Major or mild NCD due to Parkinson’s disease
