Ch. 16: Emotional & Social Development
in Middle Adulthood
Chs. 17 & 18: Late Adulthood
with a review of
Ch. 15: Physical and Cognitive Development
In Middle Adulthood
Physical Development in Middle
Adulthood – eyes and ears
• Describe the general trend of physical development in
middle adulthood.
• “By the 40s, difficulty reading small print is common …
by age 50, the accommodative ability of the lens is 1/6
of what it was at age 20 … (and) the eye rapidly
becomes more farsighted between the ages of 40 and
60.” Why? What do we call this?
• Most adult-onset hearing impairments are (age-related
/ hereditary), a condition called
___________________________.
Physical – skin, muscle-fat makeup and
skeleton
• In middle adulthood, it is common for body fat to
(decrease / increase) and lean body mass to
(decrease / increase).
• (Men / Women) are especially susceptible to loss
in bone mass in middle adulthood. Explain your
answer.
Physical – reproduction and sexuality
• (Climacteric / Menopause) is the midlife transition in
which fertility declines. In women, this transition
concludes with (climacteric / menopause), the end of
menstruation and reproductive capacity.
• True or False: Men’s reproductive capacity does not
change as they age.
• Frequency of sexual activity declines (slightly /
dramatically) in middle adulthood.
• “(T)he best predictor of sexual frequency is marital
happiness, an association that is probably
bidirectional.” What does this mean?
Physical – death and staying healthy
• True or False: The leading causes of death
show little change from early adulthood to
middle adulthood.
• What are three things one can do throughout
adulthood to stay as healthy as possible?
• What is meant by hardiness?
Cognitive Development in Middle
Adulthood – changes in abilities
• What general trend in cognition did many
cross-sectional studies find? Why?
• How did the finding change with a
longitudinal design was added?
• What is the difference between crystallized
intelligence and fluid intelligence? How does
the development of these two differ in middle
adulthood?
Cognitive – Information Processing
• Response time on both simple and complex
reaction time tasks (decreases / remains stable /
increases) from early to late adulthood.
• Middle-aged adults show
(declines/improvements) in their ability to divide
their attention, focus on relevant stimuli, and
switch from one task to another.
• Adults in midlife show (declines/improvements)
in the amount of information they can retain in
working memory.
Cognition – practical problem solving,
expertise, and creativity
• What is practical problem solving?
• Expertise (peaks / declines) in midlife.
• Indicate which of the following changes in creativity
occur in middle adulthood.
– Is often spontaneous and intensely emotional
– Appears more deliberately thoughtful
– Combines extensive knowledge and experience into
unique ways of thinking
– Focuses on generating unusual products
– Reflects a largely egocentric concern with self-expression
– Reflects altruistic goals
Social & Emotional Development in
Middle Adulthood
Ch. 16: Social & Emotional
• Erikson’s Theory: Generativity vs. Stagnation
• Other Psychosocial: Levinson and Valliant
• Midlife crisis
• Self-concept and personality
• Relationship at midlife
• Vocational life
Ch. 17: Physical and Cognitive
Development in Late Adulthood
Physical Development
• Life expectancy
• Physical changes: nervous
system, sensory system,
cardiovascular and
respiratory systems,
immune system, sleep,
appearance and mobility,
adaptations
• Health, fitness and
disability: nutritional and
exercise, sleep, physical
disability, mental disability
Cognitive development
• Memory
• Language
• Problem solving
• Wisdom
• Cognitive change
• Lifelong learning
Ch. 18 Social & Emotional
Development in Late Adulthood
Emotional & Social
• Erikson’s theory
• Other psychosocial
• Self-concept & personality
• Elder suicide
• Communities, neighborhoods & housing
• Maltreatment
• retirement
Quiz 17
1. Average life expectancy refers to the number of years that an
individual (born in a particular year / with certain health
characteristics) can expect to live, starting at (any given age / birth).
2. The most common form of dementia is
________________________________, in which structural and
chemical brain deterioration is associated with gradual loss of many
aspects of thought and behavior.
3. True or False: Research shows that memory for remote memory is
clearer than recent events in late life.
4. _______________ was summed up by one researcher as
“expertise in the conduct and meaning of life.”
Quiz 18
1.
The final psychological conflict of Erikson's theory involves
a) improving relations with significant others.
b) the development of a close relationship with a higher power.
c)
coming to terms with one's life.
d) overcoming a sense of stagnation
2.
True or False: Older adults are at greater risk of suicide than are adolescents.
3. Match the following types of residential communities for seniors with their descriptions.
________ Has been modified to suit elders’ capacities;
A. Congregate housing
otherwise resembles ordinary homes
B. Housing development for
________Offers many housing alternatives, guarantees
the aged
that elders’ needs will be met within the same
C. Life-care community
facility as they age
________Provides a variety of support services, including
common meals and watchful oversight of residents
4. Over the course of the lifetime, most people's social networks (expand/shrink/remain
constant).
Quiz 19
1.
2.
(Few / Most) Americans would prefer to die at home. (Few / Most) Americans experience home
death.
Indicate the order of the stages identified by Kübler-Ross, then match them to the example
statements a dying patient might make.
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
3.
Depression
Denial
Acceptance
Bargaining
Anger
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
A. “This can’t be happening to me.”
B. “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
C. “Make this not happen, and in return I will ________”
D. “I’m too sad to do anything.”
E. “I’m at peace with what happened.”
True or False: The primary purpose of hospice care is to prolong a patient’s life.
4.
Match each term with its definition.
_____ Intense physical and psychological distress
_____ The experience of losing a loved one by death
_____ The culturally specified expression of a person’s
thoughts and feelings in response to the loss of a loved
one by death
A. Bereavement
B. Grief
C. Mourning