Old Age Flashcards
prejudice or discrimination based on age
o Ageism
– gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration that begins early in life and continues through years irrespective of what people do to stave it off (nature
o Primary Aging
results from disease, abuse, and disuse – factors that are often within a person’s control (nurture)
o Secondary Aging
65-74 yrs old
o Young Old
75-84 yrs old
o Old Old
85 and above
o Oldest old
how well a person functions in a physical and social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age
o Functional Age
study of the aged and aging processes
o Gerontology
branch of medicine concerned with aging
o Geriatrics
the age to which a person born at a certain time and place is statistically likely to live, given his or her current age and health status
o Life Expectancy
actual length of life of members of a population
o Longevity
death rates
o Mortality Rates
longest period that members of our species can live
o Human Life Span
– the decline in body functioning associated with aging
o Senescence
propose that people’s bodies age according to instructions built into genes and that aging is a normal part of development
o Genetic Programming Theories
aging also may be influenced by specific genes “switching off” after age-related losses occur (Epigenesis)
o Programmed Senescence Theory
o Telomeres become shorter as the cell divides (cells can divide for no more than 50 times
Hayflick Limit
– biological clocks act through hormones to control the pace of aging
o Endocrine Theory
programmed decline in immune system functions leads to increased vulnerability to infectious disease and thus to aging and death
o Immunological Theory
Aging is an evolved trait thus genes that promote reproduction are selected at higher rates than genes that extend lives
o Evolutionary Theory
aging is the results of random processes that vary from person to person (Error theories
o Variable-Rate Theories –
– cells and tissues have vital parts that wear out
o Wear-and-Tear Theory
Accumulated damage from oxygen radicals causes cells and eventually organs to stop functioning
o Free-Radical Theory –
the greater an organism’s rate of metabolism, the shorter its life span
o Rate-of-Living Theory
Immune system becomes confused and attacks its own body cells
o Autoimmune Theory
represents the percentage of people or animals alive at various age
o Survival Curve
– backup capacity that helps body system function to their utmost limits in times of stress
o Reserve Capacity
cloudy or opaque areas in the lends of the eyes, are common in older adults
o Cataracts
– leading cause of visual impairment in older adults; the retinal cells in the macula degenerate over time, and the center of the retina gradually loses the ability to sharply distinguish fine details
o Age-Related Macular Degeneration
irreversible damage to the optic nerve caused by increased pressure in the eye
o Glaucoma
exercises or activities that improve daily activity
o Functional Fitness
the general term for physiologically caused cognitive and behavioral decline sufficient to interfere with daily activities
o Dementia
most common type, caused by specific changes in the brain (abnormal build up of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaque in the brain)
Alzheimer’s
a. Amnesia – memory loss
b. Aphasia – inability to express through speech
c. Agnosia – inability to recognize familiar objects, tastes, smells
d. Apraxia – misuse of objects because failure to identify them
e. Anomia – inability to remember the names of things
memory loss
a. Amnesia
inability to express through speech
b. Aphasia
inability to recognize familiar objects, tastes, smells
c. Agnosia
inability to recognize familiar objects, tastes, smells
c. Agnosia
inability to recognize familiar objects, tastes, smells
c. Agnosia
misuse of objects because failure to identify them
d. Apraxia
inability to remember the names of things
e. Anomia
– caused by strokes or other issues of blood flow in the brain; may be due to diabetes and high cholesterol; have strokes like episodes
Vascular
have movement or balance (stiffness or trembling); daytime sleepiness, confusion, or staring; trouble sleeping at night and visual hallucinations
Lewy Bodies
leads to personality and behavior changes and problems in language skills
Frontotemporal
resulted from gene mutation which impacts movement, behavior, and cognition; personality also changes, loss of coordination, difficulty in swallowing and speaking
Huntington’s
uncontrollable movements, tremor, stiffness, slow movement, prevalent in men than women; nerve cells in basal ganglia become impaired; L-Dopa as treatment
Parkinson’s
measure the intelligence of older adults
o Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Older adults tend not to perform as well as younger adults in WAIS but the difference is primarily processing speed and nonverbal performance
– scores drop with age in performance scale and slightly on other scales
Classic Aging Pattern
brief storage of sensory information
o Sensory Memory
short-term storage of information being actively process
o Working Memory
– linked to specific events; most likely to deteriorate with age
o Episodic Memory
consists of meanings, facts, and concepts accumulated over lifetime learning; little decline
o Semantic Memory
motor skills and habits that once learned; relatively unaffected by age
o Procedural Memory
exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge about the conditions of life and human affects and reflective judgement about the application of knowledge
o Wisdom
May involve the lead to transcendence, detachment from preoccupation with the self
The ability to navigate the messiness of life
Older adults tend to make the most of their abilities, often exploiting gains in one area to offset declines in another
the hardware of the mind and reflect the neurophysiological architecture of the brain that was developed thru evolution
o Cognitive Mechanics
Speed and accuracy, visual and motor memory, discrimination, comparison, and categorization
Decline begins as soon as early midlife
culture-based software program of the mind
o Cognitive Pragmatics
Reading and writing, language, educational qualifications, professional skills, life skills
Decline in old age
– focusing on specific aspect of experience that is relevant and ignoring irrelevant info
o Selective Attention
concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
o Divided Attention
focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or some other aspect of the environment
o Sustained Attention
– involves planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks, etc
o Executive Attention
ability to remember where one learned something
o Source Memory
remembering to do something in the future
o Prospective Memory
informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself
o Wisdom
presumes ego integrity without actually facing the difficulties of old age
o Maladaptive Tendency: Presumption
contempt of life, one’s own or anyone’s
o Malignant Tendency: Disdain
older adults are more likely to pay attention to and then remember positive events than negative events
o Positivity Effect
rapid decline in well-being and life satisfaction approx. 3-5 yrs before death
o Terminal Drop
adaptive thinking or behavior aimed at reducing or relieving stress that arises from harmful, threatening, or challenging conditions
o Coping
people respond to stressful or challenging situations on the basis of two types of analyses:
o Cognitive-Appraisal Model
1. Primary Appraisal – people analyze situation and decide
2. Secondary Appraisal – people evaluate what can be done to prevent harm
– normal part of aging involves gradual reduction in social involvement and greater preoccupation with the self
o Disengagement Theory
the more active older people are, the better they age
o Activity Theory
– people’s need to maintain connection between past and present is emphasized, and activity is viewed as important, not for its own sake but because it represents continuation of previous lifestyle
o Continuity Theory
– involves developing abilities that allow for maximum gain as well as developing abilities that compensate for decline and could lead to loss
o Selective Optimization with Compensation
Older adults conserve resources by selecting meaningful goals, optimizing the resources they have to achieve it, and compensating for the losses by using resources in alternative ways to achieve their goals
o Phases of Retirement
- Pre-Retirement – begin to think seriously about the life they want for themselves in retirement and whether they are financially on track to achieve it
- Retirement – makes the transition from full-time work to retirement they’ve planned
- Contentment – positive phase when retirees get to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of labor (Honeymoon period)
- Disenchantment – they may experience some of the emotional downsides of retirements such as loneliness, disillusionment, and a feeling of uselessness
- Reorientation – people try to figure who they are and map their place in the world as a retiree
- Routine – people accept their situation and settle into a new set of routines
– begin to think seriously about the life they want for themselves in retirement and whether they are financially on track to achieve it
- Pre-Retirement
– makes the transition from full-time work to retirement they’ve planned
Retirement
positive phase when retirees get to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of labor (Honeymoon period
Contentment
they may experience some of the emotional downsides of retirements such as loneliness, disillusionment, and a feeling of uselessness
Disenchantment –
– people try to figure who they are and map their place in the world as a retiree
Reorientation
people accept their situation and settle into a new set of routines
Routine
– staying in their own home
o Aging In Place
o Group living arrangements for Older Adults
a. Retirement Hotel
b. Retirement Community
c. Shared Housing
d. ECHO (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity) Housing
e. Congregate Housing
f. Assisted-Living Facility
g. Foster-Care Home
h. Continuing Care Retirement Community
aging adults maintain their level of social support by identifying members of their social network who can help them
o Social Convoy Theory
as remaining time becomes short, older adults choose to spend time with people and in activities that meet immediate emotional needs
o Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
