Late Adulthood (Ch. 17-19) Flashcards
The number of years that the average person born in a particular year will probably live
Life Expectancy
US trends: 81.2 years for women and 76.2 for men
Brain trends in late adulthood
~Weight decreasing about 5-10% (between 20-90)
~Volume of the brain was 15% less in older adults than in younger adults
Region of the brain that shrinks most in late adulthood?
Prefrontal Cortex
this is associated with decreases in working memory and motor behaviors
How does the brain adapt to declines in late adulthood?
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
Two most common chronic disorders in late adulthood?
- Arthritis
2. Hypertension
In late adulthood, THIS is linked to increased longevity, immune system, mental health, and cognitive functioning.
Exercise
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.
Cognitive Mechanics (Declines in midlife)
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.
Cognitive Pragmatics
Increasing until very old age
Is memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.
Explicit Memory (or Declarative Memory)
Is memory without conscious recollection; it involves skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically. Ex. driving or typing
Implicit Memory
more resilient to aging than Explicit Memory
The retention of information about the details of life’s happenings.
Ex. thinking about your first date or what you had for breakfast yesterday
Episodic Memory
the older the memory, the less accurate
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.
Semantic Memory
well preserved in late adulthood
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.
Working Memory
typically decreasing in late adulthood, but can be imporoved though training
Involves remembering to do something in the future, such as remembering to take your medicine or remembering to do an errand.
Prospective Memory
declines with age
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.
Wisdom
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
Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory
Two main conclusions can be derived from research on training cognitive skills in older adults:
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
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.
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
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.
Integrity vs Despair
States that the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives.
Activity Theory
