Ch. 12 Flashcards
Senescence
A gradual physical decline that is related to aging and during which the body becomes less strong and efficient.
The Aging Brain
Brain size decreases, multitasking gets harder, processing takes longer
Complex working memory tasks may become impossible
Severe brain loss in middle age is usually due to:
Severe brain loss in middle age is usually due to:
-Drug abuse: psychoactive drugs, excessive alcohol use.
-Poor circulation: anything that impairs blood flow, hypertension, smoking.
-Viruses: HIV, mad cow disease
-Genes: anything that affects the brain such as Alzheimer Disease which destroys memory
Physical Appearance
-Collagen decreases by about 1%per year
-By age 30: Skin is becoming thinner and less flexible; wrinkles become visible
-By age 60: All faces are wrinkled
-Hair turns gray and gets thinner
-Muscles weaken
-Height decreases by late middle age: loose an inch in height by age 65
-Many changes occur more slowly in people who exercise.
Sense Organs
Vision
Vision
-Peripheral vision narrows faster than frontal vision
-Color vision shifts from vivid to faded more quickly than does black and white
-Nearsightedness: Increases gradually beginning in one’s 20s.
Presbycusis
Presbycusis
A loss of hearing that is associated with senescence and that usually does not become apparent until after age 60
Fertility
United States: 15% of all couples are infertile
-Partly because many postpone childbearing
-Half of those trying to conceive in their 40s are infertile and the other half risk various complications
Causes of Infertility
in males:
in females:
In males:
Multiple factors can reduce sperm number, shape, and motility.
In females:
-Fertility can be affected by anything that impairs physical functioning
-Pelvic inflammatory disease can block the fallopian tubes, preventing sperm from reaching an ovum.
Menopause
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Menopause
-Time in middle age (around age 50) when a woman’s menstrual periods cease completely and the production of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone drops considerably.
-Dated to one year after a woman’s last menstrual period.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
-Treatment to compensate for hormone reduction at menopause or after removal of the ovaries.
-Usually involves estrogen and progesterone
-Minimizes menopausal symptoms and diminishes the risk of osteoporosis in later adulthood.
-Involves health risks.
Men in Middle Age
Andropause
Andropause (male menopause)
-Significant drop in testosterone levels in older men
-Effectiveness of HRT is questionable.
HRT-testerone not estrogen-less depression more sexual desire, leaner bodies
-adding hormones do not necessarily help
Health Habits and Age
Drug Abuse
Tobacco
Alcohol Abuse
Overeating
Inactivity
two clusters of intelligence
fluid and crystalized
Robert: three forms of intelligence: analytic, creative, practical(adaptive)
selective optimization with compensation
describe the general process of systematic functioning. People maintain a balance in their lives as they grow older
This is referred to as selective optimization with compensation. For example, a person who can no longer drive, is able to find alternative transportation.
expert
not innate, may begin with inherited abilities that are later developed.
expert thought is:
1. intuitive
2. automatic
3. strategic
4. flexible
-relationship between age and expertise is not straightfoward
-expertise- needs time, practice, and years of maturity
-as with all aspects of adult cognition, variation is apparent, and age and gender do not guarantee intelligence. but experience on the job or in the family may help.
primary infertility
not able to conceive naturally
