Ch 12: Midlife Flashcards
When are people middle aged?
Age 40 to 65, in US surveys half of all people in their late sixties and early 70s call themselves middle aged
In middle age, do people feel worse about their looks and are less interested in sex?
People feel just as good about their looks as they do in their 20s
In middle age, do people grow more intelligent?
We reach our intellectual peak in Midlife but ability to master new tasks declines
How does personality change in middle age?
Increase in being conscientious and having different priorities such as nurturing the next generation
Do people become wise in middle age?
Not necessarily, age does not produce wisdom, but adults get wiser after traumatic events
Are people happy in middle age?
Depending on level of generativity
What are the changes in sexual performance in aging women and men?
Men change the most, erectile dysfunction and menopause
What is the impact of menopause on women during sex?
More painful
How do people have good body image and gratifying sex in middle and later life?
Not having unrealistic expectations, slow down sex, stay healthy, be conscious of your appearance, find a partner who appreciates you as a sexual being, use lube or hormone replacement therapy
What tips does the text offer for keeping Midlife intellectual capacities fine tuned?
take care of physical health, exercise, be passionate about learning new things, search for careers that involve people oriented work, adopt selective optimization with compensation
What is the Seattle Longitudinal Study?
Definitive study of the effect of aging on intelligence, conducting and comparing the results of cross sectional and longitudinal studies
What is crystallized intelligence?
Knowledge base, storehouse of accumulated information
What is fluid intelligence?
The ability to quickly master new intellectual activities
What is selective optimization with compensation?
Paul Balte’s 3 principles for successful aging and living: focus on our most important activities and shed less important ones , work hard in these top ranking areas, rely on external aids when we cannot cope on our own
What are the big 5 dimensions?
5 basic temperamental qualities used to measure personality
Neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness
What does conscientiousness have to do with promoting adult success?
They have more stable marriages, less likely to be unemployed, are healthier and live longer
What fosters wisdom and what are the attributes of wisdom?
embrace uncertainty, sensitive to other perspectives, self transcendence, humility
What does research say about happiness during adulthood?
People are happiest in their 60s and 70s, money can’t buy happiness but you need to be financially comfortable, success does not necessarily make you happy, government affects well-being
What is generativity?
finding meaning from nurturing the next generation, caring for others, or enriching the lives of others through their work
What primary task is during middle adulthood?
Generativity vs stagnation
What is hedonic happiness?
well-being defined as pure pleasure
What is eudaimonic happiness?
well-being defined as having a sense of meaning and life purpose
What is a commitment script?
Type of autobiography produced by highly generative adults that involve childhood memories of feeling special, being unusually sensitive to the misfortunes of others, having a strong enduring mission from adolescence and redemption sequences
What are redemption sequences?
Characteristic theme of highly generative adult autobiographies in which they describe tragic events that turned out for the best
What is post formal thought?
adult form of intelligence, being sensitive to different perspectives, making decisions based on feelings, and being interested in exploring new questions
What are the functions grandparents serve in families?
Family watchdogs, caregivers
What problems do contemporary grandparents face?
Their children are unable to be effective parents, physical overwhelm
What situations make parent care particularly stressful?
What are family watch dogs?
basic role of grandparents, monitoring younger family members well-being and intervening to provide help in crisis
What are caregiving grandparents?
grandparents who have taken full responsibility for raising their grandchildren
What is parent care?
adult children’s care for their disabled older parents
