Chapter 19
Cognitive
Development in
Late Adulthood
C o gn itive D evelo p men t
in Late Ad u lth o o d
C o gn itive
W o rk an d
Th e M en tal
R eligio n
F u n ctio n in g
R etiremen t
Health o f
in Late
O ld er Ad u lts
Ad u lth o o d
in O ld er Ad u lts
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Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Cognitive
Functioning
in Older Adults
3
The M ultidimensional,
Education, W ork,
Use It or
Training
M ultidirectional
and Health: Links
Lose It
Cognitive
Nature of
to Cognitive
Cognition
Functioning
Skills
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The Multidimensional,
Multidirectional Nature of
Cognition
Cognitive Mechanics
 Cognitive Pragmatics
 Sensory/Motor and Speed of
Processing Dimensions
 Memory
 Wisdom
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Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Cognitive Mechanics
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The hardware of the mind; reflect the
neurophysiological architecture of the brain
developed through evolution.
Involve the speed and accuracy of the
processes involving sensory input, visual and
motor memory, discrimination, comparison,
and categorization.
Due to the strong influence of biology,
heredity, and health on cognitive mechanics,
their decline with age is likely.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Cognitive Pragmatics
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The culture-based software programs of the
mind.
Include reading and writing skills, language
comprehension, educational qualifications,
professional skills, and also the type of
knowledge about the self and life skills that
help us to master or cope with life.
Because of the strong influence of culture on
cognitive pragmatics, their improvement into
old age is possible.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Sensory/Motor and Speed
of Processing Dimensions
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The speed of processing information declines
in late adulthood.
There is, however, considerable individual
variation in this ability.
It is not clear that this slowdown affects our
lives in substantial ways.
Studies indicate we may engage in
compensatory behaviors, so as to not be
hindered by the slowdown.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Memory
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Episodic Memory
Semantic Memory
Cognitive Resources: Working Memory
and Perceptual Speed
Explicit and Implicit Memory
Memory Beliefs
Noncognitive Factors
Conclusions about Memory and Aging
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Episodic Memory
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The retention of information about the where
and when of life’s happenings.
Younger adults have better episodic memory
than older adults, even though older adults
think that they can remember older events
better than more recent events.
Researchers have consistently found that in
older adults the older the memory, the less
accurate it is.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Semantic Memory
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A person’s knowledge about the world.
It includes a person’s fields of expertise,
general academic knowledge of the sort
learned in school, and “everyday knowledge.”
Semantic memory appears to be independent
of an individual’s personal identity with the
past.
For the most part, episodic memory declines
more in older adults than semantic memory.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Cognitive Resources: Working
Memory and Perceptual
Speed
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Working memory is the concept currently
used to describe short-term memory as a
place for mental work.
Perceptual speed is the ability to perform
simple perceptual-motor tasks such as
deciding whether pairs of two-digit or twoletter strings are the same or different.
Researchers have found declines in working
memory and perceptual speed during the late
adulthood years.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Explicit and Implicit Memory
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Explicit or declarative memory - memory of
facts and experiences that individuals
consciously know and can state.
Implicit memory - memory without conscious
recollection; it involves skills and routine
procedures that are automatically performed.
Implicit memory is less likely to be adversely
affected by aging than explicit memory.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Memory Beliefs
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Research shows that people’s beliefs about
memory play an important role in their actual
memory.
What people tell themselves about their
ability to remember matters.
Findings have shown a relationship between
positive and negative beliefs about one’s
memory and actual memory performance.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Noncognitive Factors
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Health, education, and SES can influence an
older adult’s performance on memory tasks.
Positive aspects of these noncognitive factors
are associated less with memory decline;
they do not eliminate it.
Researchers have found that using more
everyday life memory tasks in their studies
reduces age decrements in memory but does
not eliminate them.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Conclusions about Memory
and Aging
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Some, but not all, aspects of memory decline
in older adults.
The decline occurs primarily in episodic and
working memory, not in semantic memory.
A decline in perceptual speed is associated
with memory decline.
Successful aging does not mean eliminating
memory decline, but reducing it and adapting
to it.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Wisdom
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Expert knowledge about the practical
aspects of life that permits excellent
judgement about important matters.
Focuses on life’s pragmatic concerns
and human conditions.
Research shows no age differences in
wisdom.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Wisdom
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Wisdom involves solving practical
problems.
Research indicates that older adults are
quite competent in problem solving with
regard to everyday types of situations.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Education: Links to
Cognitive Functioning
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More older adults are returning to college today to
further their education.
Educational experiences are positively correlated with
scores on intelligence tests and information processing
tasks, such as memory.
Older adults seek more education to:
 remain competitive in the workforce
 learn about societal and technological changes
 enhance their self-discovery
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Work: Links to Cognitive
Functioning
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Successive generations have had work
experiences that include a stronger
emphasis on cognitive-oriented labor.
The increased emphasis on information
processing jobs likely enhances an
individual’s intellectual abilities.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Work: Links to Cognitive
Functioning
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One recent study linked substantive
complex work with higher intellectual
functioning in older adults.
Exposure to complex environments
increases intellectual functioning
throughout the life course.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Health: Links to Cognitive
Functioning
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In a recent study, physical health and
physical activity were positively related
to cognitive performance in older adults.
K. Warner Schaie concluded that some
diseases are linked to cognitive
dropoffs, most likely due to the lifestyles
of the individuals with diseases.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Health: Links to Cognitive
Functioning
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Overeating, inactivity, and stress are
related to both physical and mental
decay.
Walking or any other aerobic exercise
appears to get blood and oxygen
pumping to the brain, which may help
people think more clearly.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The Terminal Drop
Hypothesis
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The terminal drop hypothesis states that
death is preceded by a decrease in cognitive
functioning over approximately a 5-year
period prior to death.
Thus the negative findings for older adults in
some investigations that compare older
adults with younger adults may be due in part
to age from death rather than simply age from
birth.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Use It or Lose It
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Possibly changes in cognitive activity patterns
result in disuse and consequent atrophy of
cognitive skills.
In the Victoria Longitudinal Study, when
middle-aged and older adults participated in
intellectually engaging activities it served to
buffer them against cognitive decline.
The mental activities that likely benefit the
maintenance of cognitive skills in older adults
are reading books, doing crossword puzzles,
and going to lectures and concerts.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Training Cognitive Skills
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Two main conclusions from research in this
area:
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There is plasticity, and training can improve the
cognitive skills of many older adults.
There is some loss in plasticity in late adulthood.
Mnemonics can be used to improve older adults’
cognitive skills.
A recent study demonstrated that cognitive
training helped to remediate cognitive decline in
elderly adults and enhanced the performance of
individuals who were not showing decline.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
W ork and
R etirement
W ork
26
R etirement in
Adjustment to
the United S tates
and O ther C ountries
R etirement
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Work
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In men, good health, a strong
psychological commitment to work, and
a distaste for retirement were the most
important characteristics related to
continued employment into old age.
An increasing number of middle-aged
and older adults are embarking on a
second or third career.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Work
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Working affords opportunities for
productive activity, social interaction,
and a positive identity.
Cognitive ability is one of the best
predictors of job performance in the
elderly.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Retirement in the
United States
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In a recent survey, 80% of baby boomers said
that they expect to work during the retirement
years.
This is primarily due to their desire to work for
interest or enjoyment, followed by income, and
the desire to start a business.
In 1986, Congress voted to ban mandatory
retirement for all but a few occupations.
This enables older workers to decide on their
own when to retire rather than be forced into it.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Retirement in Other Countries
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In many European countries, officials have
experimented with various financial inducements
designed to reduce or control unemployment by
encouraging the retirement of older workers.
However, in the Netherlands, there is an effort to
recruit retired persons to reenter the workforce
because of low unemployment in the country.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Adjustment to Retirement
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Older adults who are healthy, have
adequate income, are active, are better
educated, and have extended social
networks adjust better to retirement.
Cultivating interests and friends unrelated
to work improves adaptation to retirement.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Adjustment to Retirement
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It is important to plan financially for
retirement, and to consider other areas of
your life as well.
Individuals who retire involuntarily are
more unhealthy, depressed, and poorly
adjusted than those who retire voluntarily.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The M ental
Health of
O lder Adults
The N ature of
M ental Health
in O lder Adults
33
D epression
D ementia and
Alzheimer's
F ear of
V ictimization,
M eeting the
M ental Health
D isease
C rime, and E lder
M altreatment
N eeds of
O lder Adults
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The Nature of Mental
Health in Older Adults
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Mental disorders make individuals
increasingly dependent on the help and care
of others.
The cost of mental health disorders in older
adults is estimated at more than $40 billion
per year in the U.S.
Although mental disorders in older adults are
a major concern, they do not have a higher
incidence of mental disorders than younger
adults.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Depression
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Major depression is a mood disorder in which
the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized,
self-derogatory, and bored.
The individual with major depression does not
feel well, loses stamina easily, has a poor
appetite, and is listless and unmotivated.
It can result in suicidal tendencies, as nearly
25% of individuals who commit suicide in the
U.S. are 65 years of age or older.
Depression is a treatable condition.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Dementia
 The
Basics of Dementia
 Alzheimer’s Disease
 Multi-Infarct Dementia
 Parkinson’s Disease
36
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The Basics of Dementia
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Dementia is a global term for any
neurological disorder in which the
primary symptoms involve a
deterioration of mental functioning.
Individuals with dementia often lose the
ability to care for themselves and may
lose the ability to recognize familiar
surroundings and people.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
The Basics of Dementia
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Over seventy types or causes of
dementia have been identified.
It is estimated that 20% of individuals
over the age of 80 have dementia.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Alzheimer’s Disease
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About Alzheimer’s Disease
Causes and Treatments
Tangles and Plaques
Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease
Stages
Caring for Individuals with Alzheimer’s
Disease
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
About Alzheimer’s Disease
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The most common form of dementia.
It is a progressive, irreversible disorder that
is characterized by gradual deterioration of
memory, reasoning, language, and
eventually physical functioning.
As Alzheimer’s disease progresses,
deterioration and shrinking of the brain
occurs.
Approximately 2.5 million people over the
age of 65 in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s
disease.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Causes and Treatments
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Efforts to identify the cause of Alzheimer’s
have not yet been successful.
What scientists now believe is that
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex unraveling
of neural structure and function that likely
involves many different molecular and cellular
dimensions.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Causes and Treatments
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The disease involves a deficiency in
acetylcholine, which plays an important
role in memory.
The main drug used to treat Alzheimer’s
disease works by blocking chemicals
that ordinarily cut acetylcholine apart.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Tangles and Plaques
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Tangles - tied bundles of protein that impair
the functioning of neurons.
Plaques - deposits that accumulate in the
brain’s blood vessels.
Tangle and plaque formation are a normal
part of aging; however, they are much more
pervasive in Alzheimer’s patients.
Alzheimer’s disease may have a genetic
basis in some individuals.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Early Detection of
Alzheimer’s Disease
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Brain scans such as an MRI (magnetic
resonance imaging) can detect changes in
the brain that are fairly typical of early
Alzheimer’s disease even before symptoms
develop.
Certain spinal fluids give reasonably good
clues of early signals of Alzheimer’s disease.
Recently a sophisticated urine test called the
neural thread protein has predicted the
occurrence of Alzheimer’s in some individuals
2 years before the symptoms appear.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Stages
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There is a predictable, progressive decline in
physical, cognitive, and social functioning
when individuals have Alzheimer’s disease.
Once diagnosed, most patients live
approximately 8 years.
They progress from early problems of
memory loss and declining intellectual
function to later stages in which
hospitalization in a near vegetative state
ensues.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Caring for Individuals with
Alzheimer’s Disease
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Psychologists believe the family can be an
important support system for Alzheimer’s
patients.
However, family support can have costs for
the family, who can become emotionally
drained by the extensive care required for a
person with Alzheimer’s disease.
Depression has been reported in 50% of
family caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients.
Respite care has been developed to help
people who care for Alzheimer’s patients.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Multi-Infarct Dementia
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Involves a sporadic and progressive loss of
intellectual functioning caused by repeated
temporary obstruction of blood flow in
cerebral arteries.
The result is a series of mini-strokes which
the individual usually recovers from quickly.
Symptoms include confusion, slurring of
speech, writing impairment, and numbness
on one side of the face, arm, or leg.
Approximately 35-50% of people who have
these attacks will have a major stroke within 5
years unless the underlying problems are
treated.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Parkinson’s Disease
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Parkinson’s disease is a chronic,
progressive disease characterized by
muscle tremors, slowing of movement,
and partial facial paralysis.
It is triggered by degeneration of
dopamine-producing neurons in the
brain.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Parkinson’s Disease
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Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is
necessary for normal brain functioning.
Why the degeneration of the production
of dopamine occurs is not known.
A drug called l-dopa is the main
treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Fear of Victimization
and Crime
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Some of the physical decline and
limitations that characterize
development in late adulthood
contribute to a sense of vulnerability
and fear among older adults.
Almost one-fourth of older adults say
they have a basic fear of being the
victim of a crime.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Fear of Victimization
and Crime
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They are, however, less likely than
younger adults to be the victim of a
crime.
Fear of crime may become a deterrent
to travel, attendance at social events,
and the pursuit of an active lifestyle.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Elder Maltreatment
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Elder maltreatment is primarily carried out by
family members.
The perpetrators are most likely to be male
spouses.
It can involve neglect or physical abuse.
Elderly women also are more likely to
experience property damage and robbery.
In these cases, though, the perpetrator is most
likely to be a young male unrelated to the victim.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Meeting the Mental Health
Needs of Older Adults
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Some common mechanisms of change that
improve the mental health of older adults are:
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fostering a sense of control, self-efficacy, and hope
establishing a relationship with a helper
providing or elucidating a sense of meaning
promoting educative activities and development of skills
Psychologists must be encouraged to include
more older adults in their client lists.
The elderly must be convinced that they can
benefit from therapy.
Mental health care must be made affordable.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
R eligio n in
Late Ad u lth o o d
54
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Religious Involvement
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Older women have been found to have a
stronger interest in religion than older men.
Individuals over 65 have reported being more
likely than younger people to claim religious
faith as the most significant influence in their
lives, that they try to put religious faith into
practice, and that they attend religious
services.
Older adults have also been found to have a
stronger interest in spirituality and to pray
more than younger adults.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Benefits of Religious
Involvement
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In one study of 836 older persons, religious
practices and religious feelings were
associated with a sense of well-being,
especially for those over 75.
Another study revealed that older adults’ selfesteem was highest when they had a strong
religious commitment.
Religion can help older adults face impending
death, find and maintain a sense of
meaningfulness and significance in life, and
accept inevitable losses of old age.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19
Religion and Longevity
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A recent study showed that individuals who
said they rarely or never prayed had about a
50% greater risk of dying during the 6-year
study compared with their counterparts who
prayed
or meditated at least once a
month.
Possibly the lower incidence of death in these
individuals occurred because prayer and
meditation reduce stress and dampen the
body’s production of stress hormones.
Black Hawk College Chapter 19