Middle Adulthood Flashcards
Vision Changes in Middle Adulthood
- Presbyopia
- Difficulties in dim light
- Reduced color discrimination
- Glaucoma risk
Presbyopia (Vision Changes in Middle Adulthood)
- Problems reading small print
- Bifocals if nearsighted
Hearing Changes in Middle Adulthood
Presbycusis
Presbycusis (Hearing Changes in Middle Adulthood)
“Old Hearing”
- Earliest, most loss in high frequencies
- Gender, cultural differences (Men lose more hearing)
- Hearing aids can help
Skin Changes in Middle Adulthood
- Wrinkles (Forehead: starting in 30s; Crow’s Feet: 40s)
- Sagging (Face, arms, legs)
- Age Spots (After age 50)
- Faster with sun exposure, for women
Muscle-Fat Makeupin Middle Adulthood
- Middle-age spread common (fat gain in torso) Men: upper abdomen, back; Women: waist, upper arms
- Very gradual muscle declines
- Can be avoided (Low-fat diet with fruits, vegetables, grains; Exercise: resistance training)
Climacteric and Menopause
- Gradual end of fertility
- Drop in estrogen
Gradual end of fertility (Climacteric and Menopause)
- Menopause follows 10–year climacteric
- Age range extends from late thirties to late fifties
Drop in estrogen (Climacteric and Menopause)
- Shorter monthly cycles, eventually stop
- Can cause problems including Sexual functioning/ Cholesterol
Individual differences (Reactions to Menopause)
- Importance of child-bearing capacity
- Other interests
Cultural differences (Reactions to Menopause)
- Medicalization in industrial West linked to complaints
- Ethnic differences in North America
- Social status of aging women linked to reactions
Male Reproductive Changes in Middle Adulthood
- Reduced sperm and semen after 40
- Gradual testosterone reduction
- Erection Problems
Gradual testosterone reduction (Male Reproductive Changes in Middle Adulthood)
Sexual activity stimulates production
Erection Problems (Male Reproductive Changes in Middle Adulthood)
- Frequent problems may be linked to anxiety, diseases, injury, loss of interest
- Viagra and other drugs
Health in Middle Age
- Over 80% rate as good or excellent (Decline from early adulthood)
- More chronic diseases than in early adulthood
Sexuality in Middle Adulthood
- Slight drop in frequency among married couples (Continue patterns from early adulthood, More sex in good marriages)
- Intensity of response declines (Slower arousal due to climacteric, Partner may seem less attractive)
- Sex still important, enjoyable to most
- Gender differences in partner availability
Osteoporosis
-Severe bone loss, fragile bones (Bone breaks can be life-threatening)
-Women develop earlier;
men often overlooked
Causes of Osteoporosis
- Normal aging (With age, bones more porous, lose bone mass; Menopause estrogen drop speeds loss)
- Heredity, size
- Lifestyle
Midlife Exercise
- Many physical and psychological benefits (Stress management)
- Barriers to beginning in middle age (Time, energy, health, lack of facilities)
- Self-efficacy (Both helps exercise and is improved by it)
- Choose activities that match personality, lifestyle
Double Standard of Aging
- Aging men rated more positively; women more negatively
- Evolutionary roots; media, social messages
- May be declining
Fluid Intelligence
Depends on basic information processing skills:
- Detecting relationships among stimuli
- Analytical speed
- Working memory
Crystallized Intelligence
Skills that depend on: -Accumulated knowledge -Experience -Good judgment -Mastery of social conventions Valued by person’s culture
Lifestyle (Individual and Group Factors in High Intelligence Scores)
- High education
- Complex job or leisure
- Lasting marriage
- High SES
Personal (Individual and Group Factors in High Intelligence Scores)
- Flexible personality
- Healthy
- Gender
- Cohort
- Perceptual speed
Neural Network View (Age-Related Slowing ofInformation Processing)
- Neurons in brain die, breaking neural connections
- Brain forms new connections
- New connections are less efficient
Information-Loss View (Age-Related Slowing ofInformation Processing)
- Information lost at each step through cognitive system
- Whole system slows down to inspect, interpret information
Attention in Middle Adulthood
- More difficulties in Multitasking, Focusing on relevant information, Switching attention, Connecting visual information, Inhibition
- May be linked to slower processing
- Experience, practice, training help adults compensate
Memory in Middle Adulthood
- Working memory decreases from 20s to 60s (Less use of memory strategies–may be due to slower processing, attention problems)
- Adults can compensate with Self-pacing, Strategy reminders, Relevant information
- Few changes in: Factual Knowledge, Procedural Knowledge, Metacognitive Knowledge
Factual Knowledge (Memory in Middle Adulthood)
xxx
Procedural Knowledge (Memory in Middle Adulthood)
xxx
Metacognitive Knowledge (Memory in Middle Adulthood)
xxx
Practical Problem Solving (Middle Adulthood)
- Evaluate real-world situations
- Achieve goals that have high uncertainty
- Helped by expertise
Expertise (Middle Adulthood)
- Extensive, highly organized knowledge base
- Provides efficient, effective approaches to solving problems
- Organized around abstract principles
- Result of years of experience
Erikson’s Theory (Middle Adulthood)
Generativity versus Stagnation
Generativity (Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation)
- Reaching out to others in ways that give to and guide the next generation
- Commitment extends beyond self
- Typically realized through child rearing
- Other family, work mentoring relationships also generative
Stagnation (Erikson’s Theory: Generativity versus Stagnation)
- Place own comfort and security above challenge and sacrifice
- Self-centered, self-indulgent, self-absorbed
- Lack of involvement or concern with young people
- Little interest in work productivity, self-improvement
Midlife Crisis?
- Research: Wide individual differences
- Gender differences: Men: changes in early 40s; Women: late 40s–50s, different directions
- Sharp disruption uncommon
- Differences in handling regrets (Changes or not; Interpretation, acceptance)
Stage View (Midlife: Stage or Life Events?)
Midlife changes are developmental transitions or crises
Life Events View (Midlife: Stage or Life Events?)
Midlife changes simply adaptation to normal life events
Midlife: Stage or Life Events?
Many researchers suggest a combination of continuity and stagewise change
Self-Perceptions in Midlife
- More complex, integrated self-descriptions
- Increases in feelings of: Self-acceptance, Autonomy, Environmental mastery
- Linked to increased well-being, happiness
- Varies with culture
Grandparenthood
-Become grandparent average late 40s (Can spend one-third of life)
-Highly meaningful to most
-Grandparenting styles vary
(Geography, age, gender, SES, ethnicity are factors)
Trends in Grandparenting
- Raising grandchildren
- Coping with divorce of grandchildren’s parents
Meanings of Grandparenthood
- Valued elder
- Immortality through descendents
- Reinvolvement with personal past
- Indulgence
Middle-Age Children andTheir Aging Parents
- More likely than in past to have living parents
- Reassess relationships with parents
- Proximity increases with age (Move closer or move in together)
- Children provide more help to parents (Financial, household aid, caregiving; Helping based on earlier relationships)
Caring for Aging Parents
- “Sandwich generation”
- Finances, location, gender, culture are factors
- Highly stressful (Average 20 hours/week, Often starts suddenly, duration uncertain, Work and costs increase, Hard to witness parent’s decline, Support needed)
