Lecture 10 - Adult Development Flashcards
Why look at lifespan development
Why look at lifespan development?
Many early theorists focussed on infancy and childhood
E.g. Piaget and Vygotsky – focus on how knowledge is acquired…
We develop during our whole lives e.g. relationships, work, old age
Ageing population in the UK!
Early adulthood -> physical development
Golden age of physical fitness: Peak of muscular strength Manual dexterity most efficient Senses at their sharpest Healthiest of all age groups Death primarily accidental
Intellectual development -> longitudinal studies
Longitudinal studies show general intelligence relatively stable until after 60
Early adulthood development -> intellectual development
Different kinds of intellectual abilities
Horn (1970) and Cattell (1965) distinguish:
Crystallized intelligence ➢ Skills, knowledge
Fluid intelligence ➢ Abstract thinking, reasoning
Middle adulthood -> physical development
Middle adulthood: physical development Slight (often undetectable) deterioration in physical function → loss of reserve capacity Senses become less acute: Presbyopia Hearing loss Taste
Middle adulthood -> intellectual development
Increase in crystallised, decrease in fluid and little change in general measures of intelligence
40s – 50s are best at practical problem-solving (Denney & Palmer, 1981)
Late adulthood -> physical development
Continuing, accelerated deterioration of physical capabilities
But, wide variation in both the extent and the nature of physical deterioration
Life expectancy
Increasing in almost all societies
But differences in gender (more in women), ethnicity (white higher than black), social class (more deprived = lower expectancy)
Theories of ageing
Pre-programmed theory of ageing (or Dev-Age)
Predetermined ageing, in our genes
Wear-and-tear theory
Damage-based theory – body is worn out by use and the environment
Probably some combination of the two?
Primary ageing: gradual deterioration
Secondary ageing: disease, abuse, illness etc.
Late adulthood - intellectual development
Drop in fluid intelligence and problemsolving ability
But very wide variation… many “mentally active” people aged 80+
Notable declines in memory and information processing abilities
Late adulthood - memory
Biological hypotheses
Neurological deterioration in the brain
Processing hypotheses
Less efficient at processing, encoding, binding etc.
Contextual considerations
E.g. SES and IQ predict memory performance
Variability rather than inescapable decline
Dementia
A loss of cognitive function severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities and social relationships
Caused by diseases affecting the CNS including cardiovascular disorders
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia
Early signs: loss of memory for recent events or familiar tasks
Later on: changes in personality, cannot perform basic everyday functions
Dementia diagnosis
New diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 reclassified dementia as “Major Neurocognitive Disorder”
Earlier stages of decline classed as “Mild Neurocognitive Disorder”
Characterised by cognitive impairment in six domains: attention, executive function, learning and memory, language, perceptual-motor function, social cognition
Diagnosis of Major Neurocognitive Disorder (NCD):
Evidence of significant decline in one or more cognitive domain
Cognitive deficits must be sufficient to interfere with independence in every day life → This is the key distinction with mild NCD
Cognitive deficits must not be attributable to another mental disorder
Examples of subtypes:
➢ Major or mild NCD due to Alzheimer’s disease
➢ Major or mild NCD with Lewy bodies
➢ Major or mild NCD due to traumatic brain injury
➢ Major or mild NCD due to Parkinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s causes
Protein build-up: Plaques and tangles
Genetic causes
Only 50% of early onset and 40% of late onset explained by genetic factors
Environmental factors
Study of 3700 men born in Japan 1900-1919 but lived in Honolulu during adulthood (White et al., 1996)
Alzheimer’s treatment and prevention
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s
But we can support people with Alzheimer’s to live well:
Drugs
Cognitive stimulation
Life story work
Prevention?
Exercise (Ahlskog et al., 2011)
Diet – fish, dairy, alcohol (Solfrizzi et al., 2011)
Social engagement (Fratigilioni et al., 2004)
