ASU Chapter 18: Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood Flashcards
- Hardware of the mind, reflecting the neurophysiological architecture of the brain
- Involve speed and accuracy of the processes
Cognitive mechanics
- Culture-based software programs of the mind
- Include reading and writing skills, language comprehension, educational qualifications, professional skills, and types of knowledge that help to master or cope with life
Cognitive pragmatics
Considerable individual variation in this ability due to a decline in functioning of the brain and central nervous system
Speed of processing
Focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others
Selective attention
Concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
Divided attention
Focused and extended engagement with an aspect of the environment
Sustained attention
Aspects of thinking that include planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances
Executive attention
- Facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state
- Declines as the person ages
Explicit memory
Retention of information about the where and when of life’s happenings
Episodic memory
Person’s knowledge about the world
Semantic memory
- Memory without conscious recollection that involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed
- Less likely to be adversely affected by aging
Implicit memory
Cognitive resource mechanisms that decline as the person ages
Working memory and perceptual speed
Ability to remember where one learned something
Source memory
Remembering to do something in the future
Prospective memory
Aspects of working memory that decline in older adults involve:
- Updating memory representations that are relevant for the task at hand
- Replacing old, no longer relevant information
Preserved rather well in older adults
Decision making
Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters
Wisdom
TRUE or FALSE:
Cognitive factors are better predictors of wisdom than personality-related factors.
FALSE. Personality-factors are better predictors of wisdom.
Best described as slow and steady
Terminal decline
Research suggests that mental exercise may:
- Reduce cognitive decline
- Lower the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease
Discipline that studies links between the brain and cognitive functioning
Cognitive neuroscience
Reasons for decline in language
- Slower information processing speed
- Decline in working memory
One of the best predictors of job performance in older adults
Cognitive ability
On average, workers will spend __ to __ percent of their lives in retirement
10 to 15 percent
__ percent of those in their sixties and __ percent in their seventies are still working
- 33 percent
- 11 percent
- Mood disorder in which the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored
- Less common among older adults than younger adults
Major depression
Common predictors of major depression among older adults
- Earlier depressive symptoms
- Poor health or disability
- Loss events
- Low social support
Neurological disorder in which primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning
Dementia
__ percent of women and __ percent of men __ years and older are at risk for developing dementia
- 23 percent
- 17 percent
- 85 years and older
- Gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually, physical function
- Formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
Alzheimer’s disease
TRUE or FALSE:
Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease because they live longer than men.
TRUE
Alzheimer’s involves a deficiency in the brain of messenger chemical ______________
Acetylcholine
Represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early disease
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
TRUE or FALSE:
fMRI shows bigger brain regions involved in memory for individuals with MCI.
FALSE. They show smaller brain regions.
Slow the downward progression of Alzheimer’s
Cholinerase inhibitors and other drugs
Services that provide temporary relief for those who are caring for individuals with disabilities, illnesses, or the elderly
Respite care
- Chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement, and partial facial paralysis
- Triggered by the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain
Parkinson’s disease
TRUE or FALSE:
Older adults receive disproportionately fewer mental health services.
TRUE
