Chapter 8 Definitions: Middle Adulthood

Question 1

Osteoporosis:

Answer 1

A condition, often brought about by a lack of calcium in the diet which the bones become brittle, fragile and thin

• Women have a greater risk
• Genetic

Question 2

Presbyopia:

Answer 2

• A nearly universal change in eyesight during middle adulthood that results in some loss of near vision

Question 3

Glaucoma:

Answer 3

• A condition in which pressure in the fluid of the eye increases, either because the fluid cannot drain properly or because too much fluid is produced

Question 4

Presbycusis:

Answer 4

Loss of ability to hear sounds of high frequency

Question 5

Female Climacteric:

Answer 5

The period that marks the transition from being able to bear children to being unable to do so
- age 45- lasting 15 to 20 years

Question 6

Menopause:

Answer 6

the ceasing of the menstraul cycle

Question 7

Male Climacteric:

Answer 7

The period of physical and psychological change relating to the male reproductive system that occur during late middle age

Question 8

Type A behaviour pattern:

Answer 8

Behaviour characterized by competitiveness, impatience and a tendency toward frustration and hostility
- Multitaskers

Question 9

Type B behaviour pattern:

Answer 9

Behaviour characterized by non competitiveness, patience, and a lack of aggression
- little sense of time urgency

Question 10

Fluid Intelligence:

Answer 10

Information processing capabilities, reasoning and memory

- genetic factors

Question 11

Crystallized Intelligence:

Answer 11

• The accumulation of information, skills and strategies that people have learned through experience and that they can apply in problem- solving situations

Question 12

Schemas:

Answer 12

Organized bodies of information stored in memory

• allowing people to categorize and interpret new information
• e.g schemas for eating at a restaurant -> we know what is like and how to treat the service

Question 13

Normative- crises models:

Answer 13

• The approach to personality development that is based on fairly universal stages tied to a sequence of age related crises
• People move through a series of stages and crises in their lifespan

Question 14

Life Events Models:

Answer 14

The approach to personality development that is based on the timing of particular events in an adults life rather than on age per se
- eg. women age 21 having her first child will have the same psychological event as someone going through it at age 39

Question 15

Generativity versus stagnation:

Answer 15

According to Erikson, the stage during middle adulthood in which people consider their contributions to family and society

• > generativity: making a contribution to family, community and work/ society
• > Stagnation

Question 16

Midlife Crises:

Answer 16

• A stage of uncertainty and indecisions brought about by the realization that life is finite
• People tend to skip this and actually feel quite content with their lives

Question 17

Empty Nest Syndrome:

Answer 17

• The experience that relates to parents feelings of unhappiness, worry, loneliness, and depression resulting from their children’s departure from home

Question 18

Boomerang Children:

Answer 18

Young adults who return, after leaving home for some period to live in the homes of their middle-aged parents

Question 19

Sandwhich Generation:

Answer 19

Adults who, in middle adulthood, must fulfill the needs of both children and aging parents
- marrying later and having children later, and people are living longer

Question 20

Cycle of violence hypothesis:

Answer 20

The theory that abuse and neglect of children leads them to be predisposed to abusiveness as adults

Question 21

Burnout:

Answer 21

A situation that occurs when highly trained professionals experienced dissatisfaction, disillusionment, frustration, and weariness from their jobs
- occurs most often in jobs that involve helping others