Development
Through the Lifespan
Chapter 15
Physical and Cognitive
Development in
Middle Adulthood
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Vision Changes
in Middle Adulthood
 Presbyopia
 Problems reading small print
 Bifocals if nearsighted
 Difficulties in dim light
 Reduced color discrimination
 Glaucoma risk
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Hearing Changes
in Middle Adulthood
 Presbycusis - “old hearing”
 Earliest, most loss in high frequencies
 Gender, cultural differences
 Men lose more hearing
 Hearing aids can help
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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
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Muscle-Fat Makeup
in 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
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Should You Cut Calories?
 Restricted diet helps diverse animals
 Longer life
 Less disease
 Natural human experiments show
benefits
 Okinawa
 Biosphere
 Hard for many people to do
 Calorie-restriction mimetics may work
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Climacteric and Menopause
 Gradual end of fertility
 Menopause follows 10–year
climacteric
 Age range extends from late
thirties to late fifties
 Drop in estrogen
 Shorter monthly cycles,
eventually stop
 Can cause problems
 Sexual functioning
 Cholesterol
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Menopausal Symptoms
Research shows
menopause link
 Hot flashes/night sweats
 Sexual problems
Not linked to
 Irritability
menopause, other
 Sleep difficulties
causes should be
 Depression
investigated
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Menopause Symptoms
Around the World
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Hormone Therapy
for Menopause
 Reduces hot flashes, vaginal dryness
 May help mood
Benefits
 Bone benefits
Heart attack, stroke, blood clots
 Cancer
Risks
 Cognitive declines, Alzheimer’s
 Gabapentin for hot flashes
Alternatives  Antidepressants
 Black cohosh
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Reactions to Menopause
 Individual differences
 Importance of child-bearing capacity
 Other interests
 Cultural differences
 Medicalization in industrial West linked
to complaints
 Ethnic differences in North America
 Social status of aging women linked to
reactions
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Male Reproductive Changes
in Middle Adulthood
 Reduced sperm and semen after 40
 Gradual testosterone reduction
 Sexual activity stimulates production
 Erection Problems
 Frequent problems may be linked to anxiety,
diseases, injury, loss of interest
 Viagra & other drugs
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Health in Middle Age
 Over 80% rate as good
or excellent
 Decline from early
adulthood
 More chronic diseases
than in early adulthood
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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
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Leading Causes of Death
in Middle Adulthood
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Cancer in Middle Adulthood
 One-third of U.S. midlife deaths, half in Canada
 More in lower SES
 Results from mutations
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Oncogenes
Tumor suppressor genes
Stability genes
Can be germline (genetic) or somatic
 Often curable
 Treatment and survival
emotionally challenging
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Most Common Types of Cancer
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Reducing Cancer Risks
 Know 7 warning
signs
 Do self-exams
 Get regular checkups & screenings
 Weigh risks of
hormone therapy
 Healthy diet
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 Avoid:
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Tobacco
Too much sun
Unnecessary X-rays
Industrial
chemicals,
pollutants
Cardiovascular Disease
 Symptoms
 Heart attack
 Angina pectoris – chest pain
 Arrhythmia
 Risk Conditions
 High blood cholesterol
 High blood pressure
 Atherosclerosis
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Reducing Heart Attack Risk
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Quit smoking
Reduce cholesterol
Treat high blood pressure
Maintain ideal weight
Exercise regularly
Occasional wine or beer
Low-does aspirin
Reduce hostility, stress
Osteoporosis
 Severe bone loss, fragile bones
 Bone breaks can be life-threatening
 Causes:
 Normal aging
 With age, bones more porous, lose bone mass
 Menopause estrogen drop speeds loss
 Heredity, size
 Lifestyle
 Women develop earlier;
men often overlooked
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Preventing and Treating
Osteoporosis
 Diet
 Vitamin D
 Calcium
 Avoid too much alcohol
 Avoid smoking
 Weight-bearing exercise
 Treatment:
Bone-strengthening medications
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Hostility and Health
 Expressed Hostility
 Frequent angry outbursts
 Rudeness, contempt
 Disagreeable verbal and nonverbal
behavior
 Health Effects
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Cardiovascular problems
Health complaints, illnesses
Depression, dissatisfaction
Unhealthy behaviors
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Managing Stress
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Reevaluate the situation
Focus on events you can control
Consider alternatives
Exercise regularly
Relaxation techniques
Constructively reduce anger
Seek social support
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Problem- versus
Emotion-Centered Coping
Problem-Centered
Coping
 Identify and appraise
problems
 Choose and
implement potential
solutions
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Emotion-Centered
Coping
 Control distress when
situation can’t be changed
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
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Hardiness
 Control
 Regard most experiences as
controllable
 Commitment
 Find interest and meaning in
daily activities
 Challenge
 View as normal part of life,
chance for growth
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Double Standard of Aging
 Aging men rated more positively;
women more negatively
 Evolutionary roots; media, social
messages
 May be declining
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Cohort Effects
in Intelligence Studies
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Fluid and Crystallized
Intelligence
Fluid
 Depends on basic
information processing
skills:
 Detecting relationships
among stimuli
 Analytical speed
 Working memory
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Crystallized
 Skills that depend on:
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Accumulated knowledge
Experience
Good judgment
Mastery of social
conventions
 Valued by person’s culture
Individual and Group Factors in
High Intelligence Scores
 Lifestyle
 High education
 Complex job or
leisure
 Lasting marriage
 High SES
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 Personal
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Flexible personality
Healthy
Gender
Cohort
Perceptual speed
Age-Related Slowing of
Information Processing
Neural Network
View
Information-Loss
View
 Neurons in brain die,
 Information lost at each
breaking neural
step through cognitive
connections
system
 Brain forms new
 Whole system slows
connections
down to inspect, interpret
information
 New connections are less
efficient
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Changing Correlations of
Processing Speed with Intelligence
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Attention in Middle Adulthood
 More difficulties in
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Multitasking
Focusing on relevant information
Switching attention
Connecting visual information
Inhibition
 May be linked to slower processing
 Experience, practice, training help adults compensate
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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
 Self-pacing
 Strategy reminders
 Relevant information
 Few changes in:
 Factual Knowledge
 Procedural Knowledge
 Metacognitive Knowledge
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Practical Problem Solving and
Expertise
 Practical Problem Solving
 Evaluate real-world situations
 Achieve goals that have high uncertainty
 Helped by expertise
 Expertise
 Extensive, highly organized knowledge base
 Provides efficient, effective approaches to
solving problems
 Organized around abstract principles
 Result of years of experience
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Changes in Creativity
 More deliberate, thoughtful
 Less spontaneous, intensely
emotional
 Sum up or integrate ideas
 Less focus on unusual
new ideas
 Goals more altruistic
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Vocational Life and
Cognitive Development
 Cognitive and personality
characteristics affect job choice
 Job, in turn, affects cognition
 Complex work increases cognitive
flexibility
 Link to SES
 Also seek intellectually stimulating
leisure
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Becoming a Student in Midlife
 40% of North American college students over age 25
 60% are women
 Reasons diverse
 Job change, better income
 Life transition
 Personal achievement, self-enrichment
 Concerns
 Academic abilities
 Aging, gender stereotypes
 Role overload - balancing demands outside school
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Possible Sources of Support for
Midlife College Students
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Partner
Children
Extended family
Friends
Educational institution
Workplace
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