Late Adulthood (Ch. 17-19)

Question 1

The number of years that the average person born in a particular year will probably live

Answer 1

Life Expectancy

US trends: 81.2 years for women and 76.2 for men

Question 2

Brain trends in late adulthood

Answer 2

~Weight decreasing about 5-10% (between 20-90)

~Volume of the brain was 15% less in older adults than in younger adults

Question 3

Region of the brain that shrinks most in late adulthood?

Answer 3

Prefrontal Cortex

this is associated with decreases in working memory and motor behaviors

Question 4

How does the brain adapt to declines in late adulthood?

Answer 4

1) the possibility that the brain might be able to generate new neurons (neurogenesis)
2) the role of dendritic growth
3) the adaptive potential of delateralization

Question 5

Two most common chronic disorders in late adulthood?

Answer 5

1. Arthritis

2. Hypertension

Question 6

In late adulthood, THIS is linked to increased longevity, immune system, mental health, and cognitive functioning.

Answer 6

Exercise

Question 7

The “hardware” of the mind and reflect the neurophysiological architecture of the brain that was developed through evolution.
Consist of: speed and accuracy of the processes involved in sensory input, attention, visual and motor memory, discrimination, comparison, and categorization.

Answer 7

Cognitive Mechanics
(Declines in midlife)

Question 8

Culture-based “software programs” of the mind.
Includes reading and writing skills, language comprehension, educational qualifications, professional skills, and also the self-understanding and life skills that help us to master or cope with challenges.

Answer 8

Cognitive Pragmatics

Increasing until very old age

Question 9

Is memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.

Answer 9

Explicit Memory (or Declarative Memory)

Question 10

Is memory without conscious recollection; it involves skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically. Ex. driving or typing

Answer 10

Implicit Memory

more resilient to aging than Explicit Memory

Question 11

The retention of information about the details of life’s happenings.
Ex. thinking about your first date or what you had for breakfast yesterday

Answer 11

Episodic Memory

the older the memory, the less accurate

Question 12

Is a person’s knowledge about the world.
Includes a person’s fields of expertise, general academic knowledge of the sort learned in school, and “everyday knowledge” about a variety of topics.

Answer 12

Semantic Memory

well preserved in late adulthood

Question 13

Closely linked to short-term memory but places more emphasis on memory as a place for mental work.
Is like a mental “workbench” that allows people to manipulate and assemble information when making decisions, solving problems, and comprehending written and spoken language.

Answer 13

Working Memory

typically decreasing in late adulthood, but can be imporoved though training

Question 14

Involves remembering to do something in the future, such as remembering to take your medicine or remembering to do an errand.

Answer 14

Prospective Memory

declines with age

Question 15

Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters. Involves exceptional insight into human development and life matters, good judgment, and an understanding of how to cope with difficult life problems.

Answer 15

Wisdom

Question 16

States that successful aging depends on three main factors: selection, optimization, and compensation.
The theory describes how people can produce new resources and allocate them effectively to the tasks they want to master. Older adults may need to compensate in circumstances involving high mental or physical demands

Answer 16

Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory

Question 17

Two main conclusions can be derived from research on training cognitive skills in older adults:

Answer 17

1) training can improve the cognitive skills of many older adults, but often only on a specific task and not for broad effects on cognitive performance
2) there is some loss in plasticity in late adulthood

Question 18

States that motivation changes in response to narrowing time horizons.
When time horizons are limited, there is a shift to priorities that favor emotional meaning and satisfaction. Older adults become more selective about their social networks.

Answer 18

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

Question 19

Erikson’s eighth and final stage of development, which individuals experience during late adulthood. This stage involves reflecting on the past and either piecing together a positive review or concluding that one’s life has not been well spent.

Answer 19

Integrity vs Despair

Question 20

States that the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives.

Answer 20

Activity Theory