L1 - Ageing Lectures Flashcards
The is the “hill metaphor of development”
youth = growth
middle age = plateu
old age = decline
We start out growing but once we get to a certain age we can expect cognitive and physical decline (over the hill)
Paul Bates - Lifespan Development Perspective suggests that development is a _____ process
lifelong
In the Lifespan development perspective (Paul Baltes), what is development like in regards to individuals?
Varies between and within individuals
What does plasticity and modifiability mean in the Lifespan Development Perspective (Paul Baltes)?
Difference in skill within individuals grows as we age
your best and worst skill when you are young is far less different that your best and worse skill when you are older
What does historical embeddedness mean in the Lifespan Development Perspective (Paul Baltes)?
We see things through a historical lens and we don’t notice this lens until we look back at historical trends of th epast
What does joint occurrence of growth and decline refer to in the Lifespan Development Perspective (Paul Baltes)?
Development is not about grwoth or decline, rather that while some things are growing others are declining
The streotypical view of agining is the _________ view
“over the hill” decline as we age view
In the Lifespan Development Perspective (Paul Baltes) - what are the 3 major influences that are interacting as we age that influence how we age?
“interaction of 3 major influences”
- Normative age-graded influences
- Normative history-graded influences
- Non normative life events
What are normative age-graded influences?
- Occur in similar way, for similar groups
- Closely related to chronological age
- Eg puberty, menopause, starting school, retiring*
- normative = typical of what happens to most people*
What are Normative history-graded influences?
Common to people of a generation or cohort
- • Eg War, Great Depression, changing role of women*
- influences in development that are common in certain generations or cohorts*
What are non-normative life events?
More unique to the individual rather than common to group
- unique things that happen to you that are not the norm*
- Eg Lottery win, Frequently moving schools*
Explain which interactive influence is most impactful at what age of the life span?
Age-graded normative - most impact at beginning and end
History-graded - most impact in adolescence and young adulthood
Non normative - cumulative effect
Chronological age is?
Time elapsed since birth
Is chronological age good at explaining behaviour?
No, seen as a dummy variable
What is better to use than chronological age?
Distance to death
What are the multifaceted aspects to age? (3 variables) - what are the 3 types of age
Biological age
Psychological age
Social age
What is biological age?
Your age
What is psychological age
Your maturity (your resilience)
What is your social age?
Social milestones that you have achieved
What is “longevity”
Number of years a person lives
What is “life expectancy”
Age at which individual born into a particular cohort is expected to die”
Do men or women live longer?
Women (84-80 compared to men)
What is the lifespan difference for indigenous Australians?
10 years less
Between 2004 and 2101 the proportion of men aged 85+ will increase from 32% to _____ of the population
45%
What is a supercentinarian?
someone over the age of 110
What does the “rectangularisation of age structure” in our society mean?
We used to have an “age triangle” but as older are living longer and people are having less children this is more a rectangle
What is senescence in aging?
Senescence – breakdown in surveillance, repair and replacement process in the body
Why has lifespan increased?
Improved healthcare (vaccines), less wars, babies aren’t dying as much etc.
What are the four cellular theories for ageing?
‘Wear and tear’
Programming theories;
Hayflick limit
Telomere hypothesis
What is the wear and tear cellular theory for ageing?
Ageing is happening at the cellular level and don’t reproduce as well as we age - this is due to errors in transmission (e.g. next cell wont be as perfect as starting cells)
As cells die they become impacted by things in the environment such as pollutants and oxygen free radicals.
What is the programming theory of cellular theory for ageing?
Our cells are programmed to die at roughly a certain age
The number of times a cell produces is roughly 50 (Hayflick limit)
What is the hayflick limit?
The number of times a cell can successfully reproduce
50 times
What are the leading causes of death in Australia for women and men?
M: Heart disease, trachea & lung cancer, stroke
W: Heart disease, dementia, stroke
What changes can we make to our diet to increase longevity?
Reducing caloric intake while providing essential vitamins and nutrients
- CRON (calorie restriction optimal nutrients)
What are blue zones?
Areas with high rates of healthy centenarians
e.g. sardina, okinawa, nicoya
What are common features of lifestyle of people living in blue zones?
- High physical activity
- Purposeful life
- Family and Social Engagement
- Good diet
- Contribute to society
- Good stress management
Is social engagement important for healthy ageing?
Very important
- need to have a sense of purpose and optimism
How can social support be a “double edged sword”?
mid-life people do most social support and can get burned out if looking after elderly and young members of society
What is CRON and how is it related to ageing?
CRON = calorie restriction optimal nutrients
Animals who had a restricted diet lived longer and had a more youthful look and maintained cognitive function for longer.
What is a telemere?
At the tip of every cell there is a telemere gene which produces telemorays, which is necessary for cell devision.
What is the telomere hypothesis
After every cell replication a bit of the telomere ‘snips off’
Once this happens too many times it runs out and can no longer replicate - this leads to ageing
What things influence telomere length?
Damaged by stress
Maintained through exercise and active functioning
What impact does exercising have on healthy ageing?
Reduces depression
Increses happiness
Reduces risk of dimentia
Increases telomere length
important to exercise throughout the day
What is the biggest predictor for fatality in elderly people?
If they have a fall and break their hip
- makes them not self sustaining, they lose purpose and don’t exersise and deteriorate
