Final Exam Flashcards
Covers RQ6-RQ9
Postformal Thought
- Ability to think logically, consistently, and reason according to rules; but in a
messy world. - Acceptance of contradictions.
Benefits/challenges of college
Benefits:
* 60% less likely to get divorced.
* Healthier – live longer
* Higher paycheck
Challenges:
* 9/10 college students think they will graduate in 4 years but only half do.
* U.S has highest rates of students who leave without a college degree.
The school-to-work transition
- Completed while completing other life transitions.
Chronic health conditions in adulthood
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Depression/anxiety
Brain plasticity in middle adulthood
- Helps be better at inductive reasoning, which allows them to make broad
generalizations from specific observations, and problem-solving.
Crystallized and fluid reasoning
Crystallized: The ability to use knowledge and experience that has been learned throughout life. Crystallized reasoning is used in tasks like crossword puzzles, Scrabble, memorizing the alphabet, and remembering the steps to a geometry proof.
Fluid: The ability to think flexibly and reason about new situations. Fluid reasoning is used to solve new problems, identify patterns, and use logic in new environments.
Midlife crisis
- Not a real thing —> only about 15% of adults have a period of emotional
turmoil at this time, but most of these adults have one or more chronic
mental illnesses. - There is a midlife “slump” in life satisfaction though.
Eudemonia
The pursuit of personal growth and a meaningful life. It’s associated with the consequences of self-actualization and self-growth.
Fictive kin
People who are considered family but are not related by blood, adoption, or marriage.
Young-old, middle-old, and oldest-old
Between the ages of 65 and 74 years as youngest-old, those between ages 75 and 84 years as middle-old, and those aged over 85 years as oldest-old
Aging senses in late adulthood
- Pupils shrink making it harder to see in dim lighting.
- Ear structures change making it harder to understand complex or rapid
speech. - Smell deteriorates and the nose produced less mucus.
- Taste declines and less saliva is produced.
- Reduced circulation might make it harder to feel pain.
- Inner ear’s function declines so balance is a problem.
Brain changes at end of life (aka the biology of death)
- Surge of brain activity and consciousness.
- Rhythmic brain wave patterns similar to when you are dreaming, doing
memory recall, or meditation.
Anticipatory and disenfranchised grief
Anticipatory: A unique type of grief that occurs before a loss, or while it’s happening.
Disenfranchised: A type of grief that occurs when a loss isn’t openly acknowledged or socially validated. This can happen when a loss goes against cultural norms, or when the circumstances surrounding the loss make it difficult to mourn openly.
Prolonged grief disorder
- Intense longing or preoccupation with the deceased, difficulty reintegrating
into relationships, and emotional numbness. Other symptoms include
disbelief about the death, avoidance of reminders, and intense emotional
pain. - Occurs after the death of a loved one.
Erikson’s psychosocial stages
Trust vs. Mistrust: Infant - 18 mo
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt: 18 mo - 3 yrs
Initiative vs. Guilt: 3 - 5 yrs
Industry vs. Inferiority: 5 - 13 yrs
Identity vs. Role Confusion: 13 - 21 yrs
Intimacy vs. Isolation: 21 - 39 yrs
Generativity vs. Stagnation: 40 - 65 yrs
Ego Integrity vs. Despair: 65+
This is what Erikson sees as the crisis or issue for early adulthood
Intimacy vs. Isolation
According to attachment researchers, this is a key feature of some insecure adult attachments:
Avoidance
This is caring and doing things for others beside yourself – research suggests this makes young people happier:
Being generative
This disorder, which emerges in young adulthood, involves unstable and intense feelings and significant difficulties with relationships.
Borderline Personality Disorder
Which factors have contributed to shifting the timeline of marriage from the late teens to the late 20s?
- A changing/challenging economy.
- Social roles of partners have changed.
- Expectations of marriage have changed.
- Many young adults no longer believe marriage should come before children.
Your book discusses five aspirational external markers of adulthood. Not all adults will meet all five of the external markers, but research shows that adults who do achieve all five markers are more likely to say they feel competent, accomplished, and satisfied with their lives - when compared to their counterparts who have not achieved all five markers. What is NOT one of these five external markers that your book describes?
Achieving financial freedom.
This is a term used by some scholars to describe the period between ~18-29 years old during which young people consciously postpone some of the milestones of adulthood to explore their identity.
Emerging adulthood
True or False: The human brain is fully developed by the time early adulthood begins.
False
This type of thinking in early adulthood acknowledges that there is no absolute truth, but rather a collection of different perspectives. Instead of assuming there is one right answer to life’s problems, these thinkers understand that their assumptions are biased and subjective.
Relativistic thinking
This type of thinking in early adulthood is characterized by the ability to look at the opposing sides to a problem, explore the contradictions between them, and accept that the solution may lie somewhere in between.
Dialectical thinking
This term refers to age-related declines in hearing:
Presbycusis
This term refers to age-related declines in vision:
Presbyopia
Early aging resulting from experiences of significant adversity and stress over time is called:
Weathering
Researchers think this factor contributes to the declines in memory scores among women experiencing menopause:
Lack of sleep or sleep disruption
This is enjoyment you receive from short-term pleasure:
Hedonia
This is a period of extreme strain in a relationship where family members no longer have contact:
Estrangement
In terms of emotional experience, many adults report this at midlife:
Emotional mellowing
In general, researchers see this change in personality at midlife:
Increased agreeableness
True or False: Researchers often attribute the midlife slump in life satisfaction typically seen in middle adulthood to stressful or traumatic experiences.
True
This is a hormonal change in midlife, in which the ovaries stop releasing hormones, causing menstrual periods to end.
Menopause
This structure in the brain is one of the earliest to degrade – it’s a major hub of brain networks:
Locus coeruleus
This structure of the brain, involved in the formation of new memories, also begins shrinking in late life:
Hippocampus
Which factor below accelerates brain aging?
Stress
Which factor below has been shown to enhance brain functioning in older adulthood?
Getting regular physical activity
What do most scientists agree contributes strongly to cognitive reserve and cognitive health?
Education
What group of older adults is most likely to struggle with social isolation and feeling lonely?
Low income men who immigrated to this country.
What definition of the positivity effect is most accurate?
On average, older adults recall more positive info than younger adults.
These are tasks encountered by humans every day that require planning, organization, and social skills:
Instrumental activities of daily living
Changes in cognition, processing, and/or personality, which signify that a person is nearing death are known as:
Terminal decline
A condition in which a dying person becomes restless, upset, and/or delirious is known as:
Terminal agitation
An unexpected return to consciousness or cognitive clarity in people who are at the end of life is known as:
Terminal lucidity
In the final hours of life, breathing tends to slow and people lose the ability to swallow, resulting in a “______________,” or a crackling sound when they breathe caused by buildup of saliva in their throat.
Death rattle
When are people MOST likely to die, even in affluent countries like the United States?
Early infancy and late adulthood
Death is a ________ process, and ________ practices help connect people to their community and provide comfort at the end of life.
Social; cultural
In nations across the world and in eight U.S. states, some people who are diagnosed with a terminal illness have the legal ability to receive medical assistance in planning their deaths. When a medical professional helps a dying person end their life by providing either medication or information that will hasten the end of life, it’s called:
Physician-assisted suicide
Hedonia
- The pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Hedonia is associated with immediate
sensory pleasure, happiness, and enjoyment
