Late Adulthood

Question 1

Functional Aging

Answer 1

• How abilities and competencies change with age

Question 2

Cellular Aging

Answer 2

• Cell loss begins in early adulthood and is a very slow process
• Cell loss is not made obvious until around year 60
• Cell replacement becomes less efficient as we grow older

Question 3

Primary Aging

Answer 3

• The genetic and biological processes that contribute to aging in all beings

Question 4

Secondary Aging

Answer 4

• Refers to the aging that is caused by an interaction of genetics and negative environmental influences
  (smoking, obesity, lack of exercise)

Question 5

Aging senses

Answer 5

The physical decline of the senses

Question 6

Ageism

Answer 6

Discrimination or placing stereotypes on groups of people of a certain age

Question 7

Stereotype Threat

Answer 7

Occurs when people are i a situation where they worry about confirming a negative stereotype against them

Question 8

Fluid Intelligence

Answer 8

Refers to the abilities involved in learning and acquiring new information or drawing new inferences or relationships from existing information

Question 9

Crystallized Intelligence

Answer 9

Growth in crystallized areas seems to come from experience, in particular, ongoing, engaged experience in areas of interest

Question 10

Wisdom

Answer 10

Wise people are expected to be good at reasoning and decision making, while being reflective and good at practical problem solving. Although life experience can be valuable for teaching lessons, wisdom does not always come with age (contrary to popular belief) and can be demonstrated by people of various ages.

Question 11

Integrity vs Despair

Answer 11

Final stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory: Late adults come to terms with their life and feel complete (integrity) or they look back on their life decisions with regret/disappointment (despair)

Question 12

The Big Five

Answer 12

Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Openness
Extraversion 

All relate to personality traits

Question 13

Continuity Theory

Answer 13

Suggest that older adults attain life satisfaction by maintaining an identity and personality and roles and activities that are consistent with their younger selves

Question 14

Disengagement Theory

Answer 14

Suggests that older adults naturally disengage from the world around them and from social contact

Question 15

The social convoy

Answer 15

The social group with whom they go through life. One problem for older adults is that their social convoy tends to dwindle.

Question 16

Socioemotional Selectivity

Answer 16

Suggests that we choose relationships that maximize reward and minimize risk. Older adults look for emotional support in relationships. In social problems, older adults are more likely to remove themselves from the situation to avoid conflict

Question 17

Selective Optimization with compensation

Answer 17

Older adults select activities in which they try to compensate for skills that they may lack