PSYCHOLOGY 100
January 29/30, 2003
“Lifespan Development”
Chapter 11 (continued)
Kathy Pichora-Fuller
What Happens as a Person Ages?

Positive Change?

Negative Change?
When is a Person “Old(er)”?
Continuity vs Stages
Figure 11.7
Stage theories of development. Some theories view development as a
relatively continuous process, albeit not as smooth and perfectly linear as
depicted on the left. In contrast, stage theories assume that development is
marked by major discontinuities (as shown on the right) that bring
fundamental, qualitative changes in capabilities or characteristic behavior.
Adolescence
 Developmental
period ~ ages 12 to 18
 Many biological, perceptual, cognitive,
social, and personality traits change from
childlike to adultlike
 Puberty

Developmental period between the ages of 9
and 17 when the individual experiences
significant biological changes that result in
developing secondary sex characteristics and
reaching sexual maturity
Erikson’s Ages of Human
Development

Young Adulthood


Young adults come to terms with the importance of companionship
and connection
“Shall I share my life with another person or live alone?”

The central conflict of early adulthood is that of intimacy
versus isolation.

But consider an example framed in terms of continuity:
Teen suicide in aboriginals (Chandler)
http://www.cheos.ubc.ca/Urban/healthChandler.html
Young Adulthood

The beginning of young adulthood is marked by
commitments in the areas of career,
relationships and lifestyle.

Knowledge gathering

Expanding social networks/roles

The quality of the period known as middle age is
influenced in part by the outcome of these early
adult decisions.
Erikson’s Ages of Human
Development
 Middle Age

In the middle of adulthood one wants to feel
that they have contributed to society in some
meaningful way –
• “Will I add anything of real value to the world as a
worker and a parent?”
 The
conflict of middle adulthood is the
desire to achieve generativity versus
stagnation.
Middle Adulthood
 The

Midlife Transition
The “midlife crisis” is a dramatic expression
for the reassessment of personal goals that
many people experience.
• A more low-key and accurate term is midlife
transition.
• Some abandon unrealistic goals set in youth and
set new goals that fit with their current lives.
• Others try to fulfill some of those early life dreams,
or set new ones.
Erikson’s Ages of Human
Development
 Old Age

The reality that time is growing short forces
people to face a final and profound question –
• “Have I lived a full and meaningful life, or have I
squandered my time?”
 As
older adults we struggle to determine
whether we have arrived at a stage of ego
integrity versus despair.
Old Adulthood

Despite the stereotypes we hold, old age is not a
uniform experience for humans





Some deteriorate rapidly physically and/or intellectually
Shrinking social networks/roles (isolation)
Others remain active and alert into their 80s and later
Knowledge giving
In general, the elderly in our society have been
experiencing improved health, activity and intellect.
Erikson’s Stages
Lifespan Perspective: Defining Age

Chronological Age




Generational Cohort


Growth vs Decline
Activity Profile (Cognitive)


Available Time
Physical Status


Peer Comparisons
Self-perception


Legal (retirement/pension)
Experiences (world events)
Genetic clocks
Quantity/Quality
Participation (Social)

[In(ter)]dependence?
World Health Organization Model
http://www3.who.int/icf/
Health Condition
(disorder or disease)
Body
Functions
& Structure
Activity
Environmental
Factors
Participation
Personal
Factors
Demographics: Booms & Echoes
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/demo31b.htm
0-14 years old
15-64 years old
65 and over
Total Number
Median Age
Canada
5,808,745 (19%)
21,616,049 (69%)
3,989,196 (13%)
31,413,990
38 years
Ontario
2,232,750 (20%)
7,705,130 (67%)
1,472,170 (13%)
11,410,050
37 years
Mississauga
130,465 (21%)
430,310 (70%)
52,150 ( 9%)
612,925
35 years
The Shape of the Population
The “Aging Population”:

Prevalence: How many in the
total population affected by a
condition at a given time

Incidence: How many new
cases in a given time

Longevity
Health





Education/Literacy
Career
Wealth
Happiness (Quality of Life)
Longevity
Life Expectancy
Disability-Free
Canada
Male
75 years
67 years
Female
81 years
70 years
Ontario
Male
76 years
67 years
Female
81 years
70 years
Research Questions

What changes with age?


Why does it change with age? (Is it really “aging”?)



Positive and/or negative change?
Causes (genetic, environmental)
Predisposing conditions (genetic, environmental)
What could counteract change?




Early intervention to prevent (e.g., diet, education, lifestyle)
Cure (e.g., drugs, surgery)
Assistive technology (e.g., glasses, walker)
Rehab to cope/compensate (e.g., retraining, counselling)
Fountain of Youth
Longevity – Preservation and/or Regeneration of Function
Research Designs
 Cross-sectional
• (between subjects comparisons)
• Simulations?
 Longitudinal
• (within subjects process over time)



 Hybrid
Retrospective
Prospective
Intervention
Figure 11.4
Longitudinal versus cross-sectional research. In a longitudinal study of development between ages 6
and 10, the same children would be observed at 6, again at 8, and again at 10. In a cross-sectional
study of the same age span, a group of 6-year-olds, a group of 8-year-olds, and a group of 10-yearolds would be compared simultaneously. Note that data collection could be completed immediately in
the cross-sectional study, whereas the longitudinal study would require four years to complete.
Table 10.5 (Kalat, Introduction to Psychology)
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies
Sources of Bias
 Selective


differential survival
increased probability of some kinds of
subjects dropping out.
 Cohort

attrition
effects
bias created because groups of
contemporaries all have the same experience,
knowledge or behaviors.
Hybrid Design
Victoria Longitudinal Study
(http://web.uvic.ca/psyc/VLS/index-projects.html)
Research Approaches
 Experimental


Group
Correlational
 Case


Study
Observation
Interviews/Narratives
 Population

Survey
Stats Canada
Healthy (“Successful”) Aging

Maturity


Strength/Skill


Wisdom
Independence


Experience/Expertise
Knowledge


Growth Completed
Wealth
Contribution to Others

Leadership
Negative Aspects:
Ageist Stereotypes?
Aging Mind and Brain



Same Performance
More widespread activation ~ brain reorganization
Deterioration or Compensation?
http://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/content/people/profiles/grady.html
Predicament & Enchancement
Models of Communication & Aging

Ageist Stereotypes fuel
communicative incompetence.

Dependent behaviours are
reinforced and independent
behaviours are ignored by
nurses in residents of care
facilities (Margaret Baltes).

Ryan EB, Giles H, Bartolucci G, Henwood K.
Psycholinguistic and social psychological components
of communication by and with the elderly. Language
and Communication 1986;6:1-24.

Ryan EB, Meredith SD, Maclean MJ, Orange JB.
Changing the way we talk with elders: Promoting health
using the Communication Enhancement Model.
International Journal of Aging and Human Development
1995;41:89-107.
Key Finding:
 Early

experiences influence latter life
http://www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/research.htm
 Example

from aging research: “Nun’s Study”
Those who wrote more complex language
did not show symptoms of dementia in
Alzheimer’s disease
Snowdon, D.A., Kemper, S., J.A. Greiner, L.H., Wekstein, D.R., Markesbery, W.R.
(1996). Cognitive ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer's disease in late
life: Findings from the Nun Study. J American Medical Association, 275, 528-532.
Key Finding:
Age differences in memory are diminished when
contextual support is available.
Free recall “What did you learn last week?”
>
Cued recall “Last week you learned about which
two experimental designs?”
>
Recognition recall “Last week did you learn
about cross-sectional and longitudinal designs?”
Key Finding:
 Knowledge
is enhance/preserved
 Processing is slowed


Perception
Cognition
 Performance
varies with time/timing of
task components
Key Finding: Sensory & Cognitive Aging Linked
Sensory and cognitive processing both
decline with age: Coincidence or not?
Hypotheses:
1. Deprivation
2. Information Degradation
3. Cognitive Load on Perception
4. Common Cause
Lindenberger U, Baltes PB. Sensory functioning and intelligence in old age: A
strong connection. Psych Aging 1994;9:339-55.
Older Listeners: Models & Hypotheses
Modular vs Integrated Systems
Schneider BA, Pichora-Fuller MK. Implications of perceptual deterioration for cognitive
aging research. In: Craik FIM, Salthouse TA, eds, The Handbook of Aging and
Cognition, 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000; 3: 155-219.
UTM Research:
Equating for Perceptual Difficulty during
Cognitive Processing to Test the
Information Degradation Hypothesis
http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3cihrsc/Cihr/index.htm

Would old do as well as young if cognitive
measures were tested under enhanced
perceptual conditions?
 Would young do as poorly as old if cognitive
measures were tested under degraded
perceptual conditions?
 Is it really aging or just hearing loss?
Speech Perception in Noise Test
Pichora-Fuller MK, Schneider BA, Daneman M. How young and old adults
listen to and remember speech in noise. J Acoust Soc Am 1995; 97:593-608.

8 lists of 50 sentences

Half low-context
John did not talk about the feast.

Half high-context
The wedding banquet was a
feast.

Repeat last word of sentence

Vary S:N




Conversation at 65 dB SPL
Noise in home at 50 dB SPL
+ 15 dB S:N in quiet living room
- 2 dB S:N in subway/aircraft
Effect of Simulated Auditory Aging on
Working Memory Span
Brown S, Pichora-Fuller MK. Temporal jitter mimics the effects of aging on word
identification and word recall in noise. Canadian Acoustics 2000;28:126-128.
Noise and Discourse Comprehension
Schneider BA, Daneman M, Murphy D, Kwong See S. Listening to discourse in
distracting settings: The effects of aging. Psych Aging 2000;15:110-125.
Final Comment
 Should
we think about older adults like
younger adults performing under stressful
conditions?