Chapter 13: Physical and cognitive development in middle adulthood

Question 1

What’s a new finding about aging and age identity

Answer 1

As adults become older, their age identity is younger than their chronological age.

Question 2

How did Carl Jung refer to midlife

Answer 2

He referred to it as “the afternoon of life”.

Midlife serves as an important preparation for late adulthood “the evening of life”.

Question 3

What’s an issue with the fact that people are increasingly living to older ages

Answer 3

It’s getting harder to pin down what constitutes middle age/adulthood

Question 4

What is rectangularization of the age distribution

Answer 4

In the past, the age structure of the population could be represented by a pyramid, with the largest percentage of the population in the childhood years.

Today the percentages of ppl at diff ages are more similar creating what is called rectangularization

Question 5

What are the approx age boundaries for middle adulthood

Answer 5

Begins at approx 40 years of age and extends to 60-65 years of age.

Question 6

What is it a period of for many people

Answer 6

A time of declining physical skills and expanding responsibility.

People also become more conscious of the young-old polarity and the shrinking amount of time left to live.

A point when individuals seek to transmit something meaningful to the next generation

A time when people reach and maintain satisfaction in their careers.

Question 7

In sum, what does middle adulthood involve

Answer 7

Balancing work and relationship responsibilities in the midst of the physical and psychological changes associated with aging.

Question 8

In midlife, what may be a “serious accident, loss, or illness”

Answer 8

= a major restructuring of time and a reassessment of life’s priorities

Question 9

What do a growing number of experts on middle adulthood describe the age period of 55 to 65

Answer 9

They describe it as late midlife

Question 10

What is late midlife compared to earlier midlife

Answer 10

More likely to be characterized by the death of a parent, the last child leaving the parental home, becoming a grandparent, preparing for retirement, and in most cases actual retirement

Question 11

Is physical change relatively similar for people in middle adulthood

Answer 11

No, although everyone experiences some physical changes due to aging.

-> the speed of the aging process varies considerably from one individual to another.

Question 12

What plays an important role in whether chronic disease will appear and when

Answer 12

Genetic makeup and lifestyle

Question 13

What is one of the most visible signs of change in middle adulthood

Answer 13

Physical appearance, usually apparent by the forties or fifties.

Question 14

What are the visible -physical- signs of aging

Answer 14

• Skins begins to wrinkle and sag because of a loss of fat and collagen in underlying tissue
• Small + localized areas(esp. the ones exposed to sunlight-hands and face) of pigmentation in the skin produce age spots
• Hair becomes thinner and grayer
• Fingernails and toenails develop ridges and become thicker and more brittle

Question 15

What happens to height and weight in middle age

Answer 15

Individuals lose height in middle age and many gain weight.

• From 30 to 50, men lose about 1/2 inch in height
• 3/4 (possibly) from 50 to 70 years.
• For women, can be as much as 2 inches over a 50-year span

Question 16

What causes the decrease in height in middle adulthood

Answer 16

Bone loss in the vertebrae

Question 17

How much % does body fat account for body weight in middle age

Answer 17

In adolescence it’s 10%, it makes up 20% or more in middle age

Question 18

Why is being overweight in middle adulthood problematic?

Answer 18

Because it increases the risk that individuals will develop chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.

Question 19

What’s the probability of drying in middle adulthood for those who are 30% overweight

Answer 19

Probability of dying increases by 40%

Question 20

What does the term sarcopenia refer to

Answer 20

It refers to age-related loss of muscle mass and strength

Question 21

What’s the rate of muscle loss past 50 years of age

Answer 21

1 or 2% per year

Question 22

Where does the loss of strength primarily occur

Answer 22

Back and legs

Question 23

When does bone loss begin

Answer 23

After the maximum bone density (that occurs in mid- to late 30s)

Rate of bone loss begins slowly but accelerates during the 50s

Question 24

How is vision affected in middle adulthood

Answer 24

Accommodation of the eye- the ability to focus and maintain an image on the retina- declines sharply between 40 and 59.

Esp, viewing close objects becomes difficult- individuals have to wear bifocal lenses.

Question 25

When does hearing start to decline

Answer 25

By the age of 40.

• Sensitivity to high pitches usually declines first. (men usually first, may be due to greater exposure to noise in occupations like automobile work etc)

But ability to hear low-pitched sounds does not seem to decline much.

Question 26

What happens with blood pressure and cholesterol

Answer 26

Level of cholesterol in the blood increases through adult years and in midlife begins to accumulate on the artery walls
= increasing the risk for
cardiovascular disease

High blood pressure also happens in 40s and 50s

Question 27

What are the 7 strategies for improving cardiovascular disease

Answer 27

1) manage blood pressure
2) control cholesterol
3) blood sugar
4) get active
5) eat better
6) lose weight
7) quit smoking

Question 28

An increasing problem in middle and late adulthood is metabolic syndrome, what is it

Answer 28

= A condition characterized by hypertension, obesity and insulin resistance

It often leads to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Question 29

What aspects of sleep become more problematic

Answer 29

Beginning 40s, wakeful period are more frequent and there is less of the deepest type of sleep (stage 4).
Amount of time spent lying awake in bed at night begins to increase in middle age

Question 30

What was the main cause of death until the middle of the 20th century

Answer 30

Infectious diseases.

Question 31

What are chronic disorders

Answer 31

Health conditions characterized by a slow onset and a long duration.

Question 32

Difference between death in middle age and death in old age

Answer 32

In middle age many deaths are caused by a single, readily identifiable condition.

In old age, death is more likely to result from combined effects of several chronic conditions.

Question 33

What were the leading causes of death in middle adulthood

Answer 33

Heart disease followed by cancer.
but cancer is the leading cause in ages 55-74.

Question 34

What does Climacteric mean

Answer 34

Climacteric is a term used to describe the midlife transition during which fertility declines.

Question 35

What is menopause

Answer 35

Time in middle age (late 40s or 50s) when a woman’s menstrual periods cease completely.

Question 36

What happens to the production of estrogen by the ovaries

Answer 36

It declines dramatically.

This decline produces uncomfortable symptoms in some women: hot flashes, nausea, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, …

Question 37

What are hormonal changes in men during middle adulthood.

Answer 37

Most do not lose their ability to father children
but there is a modest decline in their sexual hormone level and activity.

Testosterone production begins to decline about 1% per year during middle adulthood
Sperm count has a slow decline.

Question 38

What is male hypogonadism

Answer 38

used to describe a condition in which the body does not produce enough testosterone.

Question 39

What has been used to treat ED (erectile dysfunction)

Answer 39

Viagra, Low-intensity shockwave therapy

Question 40

What is John Horn’s fluid and crystallized intelligence

Answer 40

Crystallized intelligence: an individual’s accumulated information and verbal skills - continues to increase in middle adulthood.

Fluid intelligence: one’s ability to reason abstractly, begins to decline during middle adulthood.

Question 41

What is K.Warner Schaie’s Seattle longitudinal study

Answer 41

The main focus in this study has been on individual change and stability in intelligence.

The main cognitive abilities tested are:
1. Verbal comprehension
2. Verbal memory
3. Numeric ability *
4. Spatial orientation
5. Inductive reasoning
6. Perceptual speed *

only * showed decline in middle age

Question 42

When is the peak of functioning for many intellectual skills achieved

Answer 42

In middle adulthood, not early adulthood.

Question 43

What are cohort effects

Answer 43

In a recent analysis, Schaie concluded that the advances in cognitive functioning are likely due to a combination of factors:

increased educational attainment, diff occupational structures, changing in health etc.

Question 44

What are the information-processing changes that take place in middle adulthood involved in

Answer 44

• Speed of processing info
• memory
• expertise

Question 45

What’s a common way to assess speed information processing

Answer 45

Through a reaction-time task
= in which individuals press a button as soon as they see a light appear.

Question 46

What does the reaction-time task assess

Answer 46

Speed of information processing (perceptual speed for Schaie)

Question 47

How does memory change in middle adulthood

Answer 47

In Schaie’s seattle long. study, verbal memory peaked in 50s.

Reality is, there still is controversy about whether memory declines, although most experts conclude that it does decline (at least in middle age)

Question 48

What is working memory

Answer 48

Closely related to short-term memory but places more emphasis on mental work.

Question 49

What does Denise Park say about cognitive changes in adulthood

Answer 49

• More time is needed to learn new information
• In late middle age, working memory capacity - the amount of info that can be immediately retrieved and used becomes more limited

Question 50

How might middle-aged individuals improve their memory?

Answer 50

By organizing things and imagining things + physical exercise

Question 51

Why is it more likely for expertise to show up in middle adulthood

Answer 51

Because it takes a long time to attain.

Question 52

What is expertise, what does it involve

Answer 52

It involves having extensive, highly organized knowledge and understanding of a particular domain.
Becoming an expert takes many years of experience, learning, effort

Question 53

Do middle-aged workers perform their work as competently as younger adults?

Answer 53

For most jobs, no differences has been found in the work performance of young adults and middle-aged adults.

Question 54

What is leisure

Answer 54

Leisure refers to the pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests of their own choosing- hobbies, sports, ..

Question 55

Is there a link between leisure activities and cognitive decline

Answer 55

Yes, engaging in physical and cognitive leisure activities during retirement showed less cognitive decline.

Question 56

What might be some of the effects of religion/spirituality on physical health?

Answer 56

• Some cults or religious sects encourage behaviors that are damaging to healthe.g ignored medical adavice.
• But religion was also associated with better longevity

Question 57

Why might religion promote physical health?

Answer 57

• Lifestyle issues: they’re less likely to use drugs
• Social networks: Well-connected individuals have fewer health problems
• Coping with stress: religion offer a source of comfort and support when individuals are confronted with stressful events.