Chapter 5 part 1

Question 1

Cognitive functioning refers to:

Answer 1

a) intelligence
b) learning
c) memory
Age-related physiological changes may affect these three elements

Question 2

Intelligence is difficult to define; it is:

Answer 2

a) the theoretical limit of a person’s performance (Jones, 1959)
b) to judge well, to comprehend well, and to reason well (Binet & Simon, 1905)
c) composed by 3 dimensions (Guilford, 1967, 1966):
1) content, 2) operations, and 3) products

Question 3

The content of knowledge includes
What are the operations to be performed with this knowledge?
The products derived from these operations are
This model, difficult to test, produces a total of

Answer 3

-includes figures, symbols and words
-The operations to be performed with this knowledge are to memorize, to evaluate, and to come up with 1 or > solutions
-systems and implications
120 separate components

Question 4

The primary mental abilities are:

Answer 4

a) number/mathematical reasoning
b) word fluency (description of the world by using the appropriate words)
c) vocabulary level/verbal meaning
d) ability to generalize from specific facts to concepts/inductive reasoning
e) ability to orient self in a 3D space/spatial orientation;
f) memory; and g) perceptual speed

Question 5

Fluid intelligence =

Answer 5

biologically determined skills, similar to “native intelligence”, requires flexibility in thinking (spatial orientation, perceptual speed & abstract reasoning)

Question 6

________ changes in ________ occur with aging

Answer 6

Structural changes in neural pathways

Question 7

Crystallized intelligence =

Answer 7

abilities and knowledge that people obtain through experiences and education (verbal comprehension, social judgment & word association)

Question 8

________ and _______ affects older adults’ test performance

Answer 8

Anxiety, time restraints

Question 9

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Answer 9

= 11 subtests, 6 are verbal scales & 5 are performance scales

Question 10

The Classic Aging Pattern =

Answer 10

older adults often perform worse on performance scales only

Question 11

Remember that _________ may be picking up ________, not ________

Answer 11

cross-sectional studies, cohort differences, age changes

Question 12

Intellectual functioning peaks

Answer 12

In the late 40s and 50s

Question 13

Test performance is affected by many factors, such as:

Answer 13

a) poor health in general
b) nutritional deficits
c) cardiovascular disease
d) sensory deficits (hearing & vision loss)
e) hypertension
f) education
g) conducting mechanistic vs. complex work

Question 14

Maybe younger people perform better at tests due to

Answer 14

to higher educational attainment

Question 15

Lawyers & teachers

Architects & engineers

Answer 15

practice their verbal skills more

as they age, are still strong on performance tests

Question 16

Terminal decline hypothesis =

Answer 16

there is a quick deterioration in cognitive functioning within 5 years of death

Question 17

Learning =

Answer 17

process of encoding/putting into memory skills or new information

Question 18

Memory =

Answer 18

process of recalling/retrieving information stored in the brain when needed
Recall is often a problem for older adults

Question 19

Sensory memory =

Answer 19

people receive information through the sense organs & this memory passes it on to primary or secondary memory

Question 20

Primary memory =

Answer 20

a working memory, a temporary stage of organizing and holding information (7 + or - 2 words, letters or digits)

Question 21

Secondary memory =

Answer 21

permanent memory store; information must be rehearsed actively to be retained