Ch. 15-17 Flashcards
What are some of the physical changes expected in middle adulthood?
- Wrinkles, sags, age spots, thinner and grayer hair, losing height, lose eye sight, age 70
- Eye sight: at 60, 1/3 amount of light
- Hearing also declines by age 60..
- Lungs: Also start changin
What are some cognitive changes?
-Can’t sleep as well,
What are some cultural or non biological influences on health?
-Stress and sense of control, income, social status, education, physical environment
What is the main cause of death in middle adulthood?
- Chronic diseases (cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease)
- men have higher mortality rates than women on these
What are some gender/ethnic differences in chronic diseases?
-Men have higher mortality rates
-
What is menopause? What are some associated symptoms?
When a women’s menstrual cycle stops.
-Hot flashes, nausea, fatigue, rapid heartbeat.
What are some changes in male hormones and their effects?
- Testosterone begins to decline 1% per year
- Most men do not lose the ability to father children
- Modest decline in sexual hormone level and activity
- Erectile dysfunction is common in middle-aged men
Crystalized vs fluid intelligence? How do they change with age?
Crystallized: An individuals accumulated information and verbal skills. Increases in middle adulthood
Fluid Intelligence: The ability to reason abstractly. May decrease in middle adulthood.
What is the role of religion in middle age for men and women?
-Plays a bigger role in women’s lives - helps them cope when they think about dying
What is Frankls theory?
-Thinks the study of death and the finiteness of life will add meaning. Why do we exsist and what we want the maning of life to be! Not spiritual
What is Levingstons theory of transitioning into early adulthood? What “conflicts” do men come to grips with?
The stage between 40-45 and requires that men come to grips with conflicts:
- young vs. old
- destructive vs. constructive
- masculine vs. feminine
- being attached to others vs. being separated from them
What is midlife crisis vs midlife consciousness?
Crisis: Freak out that can occur in middle age
Consciousness: Increase in awareness, interests, and concern at middle life that can lead to midlife transition
What is the daily hassels vs. major life event stressors?
Daily Hassles: Weight, health, housekeeping, to do lists, losing things, investments, appearance
Major Life event stressors: Death, job loss, divorce
What is the fight vs flight tend-and befriend theory?
Fight or flight - become agressive, withdraw from social contact, or drink alcohol
Tend-and-befriend: Seek social allies with others
How do different cultures respond to aging? Which cultures have more respect for their elders?
Unindustrialized countries usually don’t have a middle age, and have more respect for their elders
What are the big 5 personality characteristics?
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
What is the empty nest syndrome?
Decline in marital satisfaction after the children leave home.
What are different types of grandparents?
- Biological
- Reward and continuity
- Emotional self fulfillment
- Remote
- Dominant-formal
- Funseeking, distant
What is the sandwich generation?
-Generation who gives care to parent and children at the same time.
What are some of the responsibilities of middle adults?
jobs, kids, old parents
What is the difference between life span and life expectancy?
Life span: Maximum number of years someone can live
Life expectancy: The number of years that an average person born in a particular year will live.
Who are the young-old, old-old, and oldest old?
Young old: 65-84
Old-Old- 85+
What are the different theories regarding the causes of aging?
Evolutionary theory
Cellular clock theory - our bodies become less capable of dividing
Mitochondrial: Decline in mitochondriac
Hormonal Stress: lower resistance to stress, and makes risk greater
How does brain size change with age?
5 to 10 % of weight loss by 90.
Which neurotransmitters are involved in aging diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons?
Alzheimer’s: Acetylcholine, tau’s, and amyloid plaques
What are some of the things young and older people can do to protect their neurological/cognitive health? Physical health?
- Get enough sleep
- Keep the brain busy
- Exercise
what factors in middle adult predict a happy later life?
-Marriage, exercise,
Which brain area is involved in making new explicit memories?
Temporal lobe
What are changes in eye sight with age? What are the 3 common diseases?
-Visual acuity, color vision, and depth perception declines
Cataracts: Thickening of lens that makes vision cloudy
Glaucoma: Buildup of fluid in eye that damages the optic nerve
Macular Degeneration: The macula degenerates which corresponds to the focal center of the eyeball
What are changes in hearing? What percentage of older adults are hearing impaired or deaf?
After 75 it declines greately
15%
What are some chronic health problems of older adults and their symptoms?
arthritis, hypertension, heart conditions, diabeties, asthma, osteoperosis
What are the leading causes of death?
Cancer and cardiovascular disease
What is the difference between cognitive mechanics and cognitive pragmatics?
Cognitive mechanics: hardware of the mind that was developed through evolution, speed, and accuracy, attention, visual and motor memory
Cognitive pragmatics: Culture based software programs, reading and writing skills language, comprehension, education, professional skills
What cognitive processes decline most with age? Which are the most stable?
Verbal is the most constant, episodic memory declines the mose