ASU Chapter 18: Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood

Question 1

• Hardware of the mind, reflecting the neurophysiological architecture of the brain
• Involve speed and accuracy of the processes

Answer 1

Cognitive mechanics

Question 2

• 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

Answer 2

Cognitive pragmatics

Question 3

Considerable individual variation in this ability due to a decline in functioning of the brain and central nervous system

Answer 3

Speed of processing

Question 4

Focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others

Answer 4

Selective attention

Question 5

Concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

Answer 5

Divided attention

Question 6

Focused and extended engagement with an aspect of the environment

Answer 6

Sustained attention

Question 7

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

Answer 7

Executive attention

Question 8

• Facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state
• Declines as the person ages

Answer 8

Explicit memory

Question 9

Retention of information about the where and when of life’s happenings

Answer 9

Episodic memory

Question 10

Person’s knowledge about the world

Answer 10

Semantic memory

Question 11

• Memory without conscious recollection that involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed
• Less likely to be adversely affected by aging

Answer 11

Implicit memory

Question 12

Cognitive resource mechanisms that decline as the person ages

Answer 12

Working memory and perceptual speed

Question 13

Ability to remember where one learned something

Answer 13

Source memory

Question 14

Remembering to do something in the future

Answer 14

Prospective memory

Question 15

Aspects of working memory that decline in older adults involve:

Answer 15

• Updating memory representations that are relevant for the task at hand
• Replacing old, no longer relevant information

Question 16

Preserved rather well in older adults

Answer 16

Decision making

Question 17

Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters

Answer 17

Wisdom

Question 18

TRUE or FALSE:
Cognitive factors are better predictors of wisdom than personality-related factors.

Answer 18

FALSE. Personality-factors are better predictors of wisdom.

Question 19

Best described as slow and steady

Answer 19

Terminal decline

Question 20

Research suggests that mental exercise may:

Answer 20

• Reduce cognitive decline
• Lower the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease

Question 21

Discipline that studies links between the brain and cognitive functioning

Answer 21

Cognitive neuroscience

Question 22

Reasons for decline in language

Answer 22

• Slower information processing speed
• Decline in working memory

Question 23

One of the best predictors of job performance in older adults

Answer 23

Cognitive ability

Question 24

On average, workers will spend __ to __ percent of their lives in retirement

Answer 24

10 to 15 percent

Question 25

__ percent of those in their sixties and __ percent in their seventies are still working

Answer 25

• 33 percent
• 11 percent

Question 26

• Mood disorder in which the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored
• Less common among older adults than younger adults

Answer 26

Major depression

Question 27

Common predictors of major depression among older adults

Answer 27

• Earlier depressive symptoms
• Poor health or disability
• Loss events
• Low social support

Question 28

Neurological disorder in which primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning

Answer 28

Dementia

Question 29

__ percent of women and __ percent of men __ years and older are at risk for developing dementia

Answer 29

• 23 percent
• 17 percent
• 85 years and older

Question 30

• Gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually, physical function
• Formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

Answer 30

Alzheimer’s disease

Question 31

TRUE or FALSE:
Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease because they live longer than men.

Answer 31

TRUE

Question 32

Alzheimer’s involves a deficiency in the brain of messenger chemical ______________

Answer 32

Acetylcholine

Question 33

Represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early disease

Answer 33

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Question 34

TRUE or FALSE:
fMRI shows bigger brain regions involved in memory for individuals with MCI.

Answer 34

FALSE. They show smaller brain regions.

Question 35

Slow the downward progression of Alzheimer’s

Answer 35

Cholinerase inhibitors and other drugs

Question 36

Services that provide temporary relief for those who are caring for individuals with disabilities, illnesses, or the elderly

Answer 36

Respite care

Question 37

• 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

Answer 37

Parkinson’s disease

Question 38

TRUE or FALSE:
Older adults receive disproportionately fewer mental health services.

Answer 38

TRUE