Late Adulthood Flashcards
Activity theory
A theory of aging that holds that older people who remain active and involved experience greater life satisfaction.
Advance directives
Instructions for doctors and other medical providers that describe the kind of care a person would like to have if unable to make medical decisions due to physical incapacitation.
Ageism
Prejudice against and stereotypes applied to people on the basis of their age.
Anhedonia
A mood characterized by a pervasive inability to perceive and experience pleasure in action and events that are normally satisfying or pleasurable.
Crystallized intelligence
Accumulated information and verbal skills.
Dementia
Impairment or loss of cognitive abilities, including memory impairment.
Disengagement theory
A theory of aging that holds that people and society withdraw from each other in old age—people because of their diminished capacity and society to make room for younger people.
Durable power of attorney
A document that allows a person appointed by you to act as your agent to continue to act on your behalf even after you have become incapacitated.
Elder abuse
Maltreatment of older people, which can include physical abuse, psychological abuse, material abuse, active neglect, and passive abuse.
Executive functioning
The brain’s capacity to absorb and interpret information and make decisions based on it.
Life expectancy
The number of years the average person born in a particular year may expect to live.
Life span
The upper limit of years humans can live.
life-course perspective
A concept and a perspective for looking at developmental issues that takes into account macro contributions to developmental outcomes.
Living will
A document that allows a terminally ill person to state that he or she does not want to be kept alive by artificial means.
Palliative care
Care directed primarily at providing relief to a terminally ill person through symptom management and pain management; also called “comfort care.”
