Adulthood/Aging Vocab

Question 1

What is the Social Clock?

Answer 1

Culturally preferred timing of social events

Question 2

What are the five features of Emerging Adulthood (ages 18-29)?

Answer 2

1. Age of identity exploration
2. Age of instability
3. Age of self-focus
4. Age of feeling between
5. Age of possibilities

Question 3

What are the physical changes in Middle Adulthood (ages 36-64)?

Answer 3

1. More gray hair/losing hair
2. More wrinkles
3. Menopause (women’s menstrual cycle ends)
4. Men’s testosterone levels drop
5. Mid-life crisis (exception, not the norm)

Question 4

What are the physical changes in Later Adulthood (ages 65 and older)?

Answer 4

1. Sight, smell, and hearing rapidly decline
2. Muscle strength and stamina decrease and body takes longer to heal
3. Immune system weakens, but antibodies increase
4. Age slows neural pathways
5. Portions of the brain will atrophy

Question 5

What are diseases related to aging?

Answer 5

1. Alzheimer’s disease (progressive and irreversible brain disorder)
2. Senile dementia (mental disintegration, can lead to Alzheimer’s)

Question 6

What is fluid intelligence?

Answer 6

Ability to reason speedily and abstractly (decreases with age)

Question 7

What is crystallized intelligence?

Answer 7

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills (increases with age)

Question 8

What do most first or second year college students experience?

Answer 8

1. Change initial major
2. Cannot accurately predict your future career
3. Change careers after your first job

Question 9

What factors contribute to lasting and satisfying love?

Answer 9

1. Intimate self-disclosure
2. Shared emotional support (empathy and monetary support)
3. Similar interests and values

Question 10

How does marriage affect happiness?

Answer 10

Married people are happier than unmarried

Question 11

What indicates marital success?

Answer 11

Couples interaction indicates marital success (5 positive to 1 negative)

Question 12

What is the impact of children on happiness?

Answer 12

Children provide great happiness and require serious investment

Question 13

What contributes to couple happiness?

Answer 13

Couples with spread workload are happier

Question 14

What is empty nest syndrome?

Answer 14

When children move out, it brings more happiness

Question 15

How does age affect happiness?

Answer 15

Older people are just as happy as younger

Question 16

How do older people’s emotions change?

Answer 16

Old people’s emotions tend to mellow

Question 17

How do older people experience life?

Answer 17

Older people experience life more evenly

Question 18

What is ageism?

Answer 18

Ageism is the tendency to categorize and judge people by age

Question 19

How does ageism impact self-esteem?

Answer 19

Ageism impacts self-esteem

Question 20

What is the societal trend regarding ageism?

Answer 20

We are changing negative perceptions of ageism

Question 21

What is the societal attitude towards dying and death?

Answer 21

Greater openness to inevitability of death

Question 22

What are the stages of grief?

Answer 22

Stages of grief = myth? Denial, bargaining, anger, depression, acceptance.

Question 23

What do people tend to do in relation to important relationships?

Answer 23

Tend to important relationships, resolve differences, and express appreciation