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LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH > Week 12: Ageing and functioning > Flashcards

Week 12: Ageing and functioning Flashcards

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1
Q

What are some maintenance functions of the body?

A

Repairing damaged tissue

Cancerous cells destroyed by the immune system

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2
Q

When does maintenance function start to diminish?

A

From 50 years

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3
Q

What is senescence?

A

A degenerative phase of ageing

- The body tries to maintain itself but can’t keep up

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4
Q

What is the cellular theory of ageing?

A

Continuous exposure to toxins, pollutants etc leads to generic errors in replicating cells
With age, more cells have errors and with cell inefficiency comes cell death - leading to eventual death of the organism

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5
Q

What are programming theories of ageing?

A

Suggests there is a max lifespan preset by genetic factors

You can shorten this, but the max is preset and cannot be extended

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6
Q

What are cross-sectional studies?

A

Comparing the performance of different age groups at the same time

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7
Q

What are the cons of a cross-sectional design?

A

Cohort effects (may be a reason for differences across generations) - may over estimate age decline

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8
Q

What are longitudinal studies?

A

Tests the same participants across time

Minimises cohort effects

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9
Q

What could be a potential issue with longitudinal studies?

A

Individuals that are in poorer health may not return for alter testing - may lead to an overestimation of skills as those that are in better health are the ones providing the data

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10
Q

What kind of things decline with age?

A

Motor, sensory and intellectual functioning
Skin, bone and muscular declines
Cardiovascular and respiratory changes

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11
Q

What physical changes occur to the brain?

A

Brain weight decreases, with declines accelerating after 60 years

Neuronal loss

Blood flow to the brain is decreases (furthering neuronal loss)

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12
Q

Losses in sensation and perception are said to occur in 2 ways, what are these?

A

Increased sensory thresholds (something has to be louder or brighter for you to notice)
Decreased sensitivity to low-level stimulation

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13
Q

Explain changes in vision?

A

All components of the visual system change with age
Pupils become smaller and less adaptive (takes longer to adapt when you go out in the light)
Lens becomes denser and less flexible (can’t accommodate for close things like you used to)

Visual acuity declines steadily

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14
Q

What percentage of adults aged over 75 have good corrected vision?

A

75%

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15
Q

non-corrected poor visual acuity leads to….

A

Reduced quality of life

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16
Q

What are the different kinds of visual problems? (% in those age 70+)

A 
Glaucoma 9%
Cataracts 57%
Macular degeneration 6%
Retinopathy (diabetes) 4%
Other 20%
Workplace eye injuries 4%
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17
Q

Explain attention in older adults

A

Older adults are less able to divide attention

Problems selectively attending to stimuli while ignoring distractions

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18
Q

Processing visual information is the hardest when it is

A

Complex and novel

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19
Q

How much more likely are hearing impairments compared to vision?

A

3x more likely

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20
Q

Where do most hearing problems physically originate from?

A

The inner ear

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21
Q

Are there any gender differences in hearing declines with age?

A

Men lose hearing sensitivity earlier and faster than women - may be because of industrial jobs

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22
Q

For older individuals to understand conversation, what is important

A

Listening conditions

No increased attention demands (e.g. an accent)

Auditory perception is more difficult when the task is novel or complex and listening conditions are poor

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23
Q

There is a general decline in the perception of odour, what makes it worse?

A

Disease, smoking, some medications

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24
Q

Explain touch sensitivity across the lifespan

A

Begins to gradually decline from middle childhood

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25
Q

How many sensory impairments are associated with difficulties in basic everyday activities?

A

2 or more

Although most older adults have these sensory impairments and are engaged in a range of activities and live full lives (can compensate to manage living)

26
Q

What are some of the reasons (physical or psychosocial) for older adults doing poorly on intelligence tests

A

Could be nervous, have visual loss, arthritis

27
Q

As basic memory processes decline in older adults can memory improving strategies help?

A

Mnemonics can help but in a limited way

This is because they rely on cognition and memory processes themselves

28
Q

What is episodic memory?

A

The retention of information about events

29
Q

Is episodic memory affected with age?

A

There are declines in older adulthood, especially for more recent events

30
Q

What is semantic memory?

A

Knowledge about the world

31
Q

Is semantic memory affected with age?

A

No. Older adults do however take longer to retrieve it but are eventually successful

32
Q

Working memory and perceptual speed…

A

decline with age

33
Q

What is explicit memory? what happens to it with age?

A

Memory of facts and experiences that individuals CONSCIOUSLY know

  • declines with age
34
Q

What is implicit memory? what happens to it with age?

A

Memory without conscious recollection eg. procedural memory

  • declines with age
35
Q

What non-cognitive factors can influence older adults performance on memory tasks

A

Health
Education
socioeconomic status

36
Q

Explain use it or lose it in terms of adult cognition

A

Certain mental activities can benefit from the maintenance of cognitive skills
- Some research suggests that mental exercise can reduce cognitive decline (controversial)

37
Q

Problem solving with age?

A

Real world problems: increases

Experimental: decreases

38
Q

Intelligence tests do not test…

A

Do not measure qualities more important for the real world

e.g. practical intelligence, expertise and wisdom

39
Q

On what kind of tests do older individuals perform better at?

A

If they are practical and based on familar situations

40
Q

What is dementia?

A

A collective term for a syndrome associated with neurodegenerative diseases that cause the deterioration of brain function

41
Q

What is the most common dementia?

A

Alzheimer’s disease

42
Q

What are the causes of AD?

A

No clear cause

  • chromosomes
  • amyloid
  • toxin exposure
  • alcohol abuse
  • physical risk factors (head injury)
43
Q

What symptoms are associated with different stages of AD

A

Early: problems remembering recent info
After several years: speech problems
Middle stages: personality changes and irritability
Later stages: motor movement difficulties

44
Q

What percentage of those with dementia get informal, unpaid care?

A

91%

45
Q

What percentage of those with dementia get ONLY informal, unpaid care?

A

22%

46
Q

Where does unpaid, informal care come from?

A

Family members - typically spouse, adult offspring

47
Q

Are there any gender differences in informal care?

A

Are often females

48
Q

What does the quality of family care predict

A

Longer duration before they need to be transitioned to a home, leading to better health and well being

49
Q

How do most informal carers find their roles?

A

Rewarding, however their efforts can go unrecognised

50
Q

What do informal carers report deficits in of their own?

A 
Health 
Quality of life 
Economic security (often had to quit their jobs)
Moods (at least 30% have depression) 
Stress 
Social isolation
51
Q

What can be used to help improve informal carers moods? what are the cons of this and how can it be fixed?

A

CBT - but expensive! and need to take time away to do it

Group CBT is becoming a thing, and over technology meaning carers do not have to leave the house to do it

52
Q

What is the most common mental health problem affecting older people?

A

Depression

Followed by anxiety

53
Q

What forms a critical part of adult identity?

A

Work roles
Gives structure, meaning and purpose
Provides financial input
Establishes a context for relating to others

54
Q

What do we see in older workers?

A

Lower absenteeism
Fewer accidents
Higher job satisfaction

55
Q

Retirement is…

Why?

A

one of the most important later life status transitions

Marks passage into the later stages of adulthood

56
Q

What factors do we see in older adults that adjust well to retirement?

A 
If healthy and active 
Adequate income 
Are educated 
Extended social network 
Satisfied with life pre-retirement
57
Q

Who scores lower than married people on measures of psychological wellbeing?

A

Widowers

58
Q

Which gender have higher depression rates following becoming widowed

A

Men

59
Q

Why do men struggle more following loss of their partner (windowed)?

A

Because women live longer than men, it is more likely to find a bereaved women than it is a man for social support

Sometimes the wife was the one that did all social engagement with friends so they may lose these interactions

Widowed women interact more with family than widowed men

60
Q

Health differences following widowhood?

A

Declines in health are stronger in men

May have poorer nutrition if wife did the cooking
may have higher frequencies of unhealthy behaviour
may be distressed about needing to assume domestic tasks

These all relate to gender based roles

61
Q

What rises in older adult hood after a dip in early-mid adulthood?

A

Life satisfaction

LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH (12 decks)

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