final exam

Question 1

sensory problems in middle age

Answer 1

hearing, vision, taste, smell, and touch, become less sharp.

Question 2

menopause

Answer 2

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Question 3

fluid intelligence

Answer 3

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Question 4

crystallized intelligence

Answer 4

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

Question 5

organizational careers

Answer 5

same job and same field for years

Question 6

protean career

Answer 6

a career that frequently changes based on changes in the person’s interests, abilities, and values in the work environment

Question 7

midlife crisis

Answer 7

a stage of uncertainty and indecision brought about by the realization that life is finite

Question 8

generativity vs stagnation

Answer 8

middle adulthood

Question 9

generativity

Answer 9

the desire, in middle age, to use one’s accumulated wisdom to guide future generations

Question 10

stagnation

Answer 10

a discontinuation of development and a desire to recapture the past

Question 11

marriage satisfaction middle age

Answer 11

many middle adults find themselves in a marriage typified by companionate love, which is both committed and intimate, but not passionate

Question 12

sex in middle adulthood

Answer 12

only decreases a little

men more likely to have difficulty with erections

sexual desire decreases because of a decrease in testosterone; decline begins around 30 in men

Question 13

functional age

Answer 13

measure of a person’s ability to function effectively in his or her physical and social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age

Question 14

primary aging

Answer 14

the universal and irreversible physical changes that occur to all living creatures as they grow older

Question 15

secondary aging

Answer 15

the specific physical illnesses or conditions that become more common with aging but are caused by health habits, genes, and other influences that vary from person to person

Question 16

neurological changes with aging

Answer 16

degeneration of nerve cells, decrease in neurotransmitters, decrease in rate of conduction of impulses

Question 17

causes of Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 17

formation of plaques or tangles in areas of the brain controlling memory or vital cognitive functioning

Question 18

selective optimization with compensation

Answer 18

the theory, developed by Paul and Margaret Baltes, is that people try to balance their lives by looking for the best way to compensate for physical and cognitive losses and become more proficient in activities they can already do well.

Question 19

socioemotional selectivity theory

Answer 19

social support/friendships dwindle in number, but remain as close, if not more close than in earlier years.

Question 19

Ego integrity vs. despair

Answer 19

(Erikson) people in late adulthood either achieve a sense of integrity of the self by accepting the lives they have lived or yield to despair that their lives cannot be relieved.

Question 20

filial piety

Answer 20

respect shown by children for their parents and elders.

Question 21

bridge jobs (retirement)

Answer 21

jobs that help make the transition from work to retirement

Question 22

sexuality in late adulthood

Answer 22

still important: less desire and frequency; fewer male partners for women. Married couples: regular, enjoyable sex. Continue patterns from earlier years. Enjoy activities other than intercourse: men sometimes stop all activities if erection problems. Cultural influences: disapproval in western cultures

Question 23

infant mortality

Answer 23

number of infant deaths per thousand live births

Question 24

heart disease

Answer 24

an abnormal organic condition of the heart or of circulation.

Question 25

telomeres

Answer 25

repeated DNA sequences at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes

Question 26

free radicals

Answer 26

chemical particles with an odd number of electrons

Question 27

antioxidants

Answer 27

organic molecules that help protect the body from harmful chemicals called free radicals

Question 28

hospice

Answer 28

a home providing care for the sick, especially the terminally ill

Question 29

palliation

Answer 29

to relieve or lessen without curing

Question 30

active euthanasia

Answer 30

death induced deliberately, as by injecting a lethal dose of a drug

Question 31

passive euthanasia

Answer 31

a situation in which a seriously ill person is allowed to die naturally, through the cessation of medical intervention

Question 32

prolonged grief disorder

Answer 32

intense, prolonged symptoms of grief, coupled with some form of functional impairment beyond 6 months post-loss

Question 33

kubler-ross theory

Answer 33

5 stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

Question 34

faith and anxiety about death

Answer 34

higher levels of religiosity were weakly linked with lower levels of death anxiety