Chapter 15

Which of the following is the finding of the longitudinal and cross-sectional assessment of intellectual abilities conducted by Schaie?

Decline in intellectual abilities was more likely in the cross-sectional assessments than in the longitudinal assessments.

Which of the following is an outcome of the reduced blood supply to the eye during late middle-age?

Decrease in the visual field's size

Which of the following is at fault in many erectile problems in middle-aged men?

Diabetes

Which of the following is most typical of the vision-related issues faced by middle-aged individuals?

Difficulty viewing close objects

Which of the following strategies would be most helpful in improving memory in middle age?

Use an organization strategy to categorize information to be remembered.

According to the Seattle Longitudinal Study of individuals aged 25 to 95, which of the following abilities showed the least decline with age?

Verbal comprehension

_____ refers to the ability to understand ideas expressed in words.

Verbal comprehension

_____ refers to the ability to encode and recall meaningful language units, such as a list of words.

Verbal memory

Which of the following statements is TRUE about metabolic syndrome?

Weight loss and exercise are strongly recommended as part of the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

Which of the following statements about cardiovascular disease is TRUE?

When HDL is high and LDL is low, the risk of cardiovascular disease is lessened.

Which of the following statements about spirituality is TRUE?

Women have consistently shown a stronger interest in religion and spirituality than men have.

Which of the following statements about the changes in bone mass and density is TRUE?

Women lose bone mass twice as fast as men do.

As per the study conducted by Lachman, Maier, & Budner in 2000, it was found that _____ of the individuals 65 to 69 years of age considered themselves middle-aged.

almost half

Crystallized intelligence is:

an individual's accumulated information and verbal skills.

Apart from chronological age, individuals may have all of the following age categorizations EXCEPT:

anthropological age.

Compared to men, women have a higher incidence of _____ during middle age.

arthritis

Landon has a metabolic syndrome. His doctor is concerned because in many patients this leads to:

diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

At present, the main causes of death in middle adulthood in the United States are:

chronic diseases.

During middle age, the ability to hear _____ sounds declines first.

high-pitched

Sensitivity to _____ sounds usually declines first among _____.

high-pitched; men

Many experts on middle adulthood describe the age period of 55 to 65 as:

late midlife.

The Seattle Longitudinal Study concluded that middle age is a time of:

peak performance for verbal ability.

Fluid intelligence is the ability to:

reason abstractly.

A man in his mid-forties is most likely to notice:

joint stiffness.

Accommodation of the eye experiences its sharpest decline between:

40 and 59 years of age.

LDL is often referred to as _____ cholesterol.

"bad"

HDL is often referred to as _____ cholesterol.

"good"

What percentage of the U.S. population is older than 65 years?

12 percent

On average, body fat accounts for about _____ of body weight in middle age.

20 percent

In a Canadian study of 40- to 64-year-olds conducted by Wright in 2006, only _____ percent reported that their sexual life was less satisfying than it had been when they were in their twenties.

30

What was the average life expectancy in 1900?

47 years

Today, the average life expectancy in the United States is:

78 years.

In the United States, approximately _____ of individuals 40 to 59 years of age are employed.

80 percent

In Patricia Cohen's analysis, which of the following has fueled the emergence of thinking about middle age?

Advances in health and more people living to older ages.

Which of the following is TRUE about the immune system and stress?

Aerobic fitness is related to the presence of a lower level of senescent T cells.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about work in midlife?

Age related declines occur in some occupations such as air traffic controllers and professional athletes.

Which of the following is the result of reduced blood supply to the eye in the fifties and sixties?

An increase in the eye's blind spot

Which of the following is a consistent finding regarding age identity?

As adults become older their age identity is younger than their chronological age.

Which of the following is the reason for the decrease in height with age advancement?

Bone loss in the vertebrae

Which of the following is a sign of aging for the average adult in middle adulthood?

Brittle fingernails

Which of the following is an example of a nonfatal chronic disorder?

Bursitis

Which of the following statements about bone and joint functioning is TRUE?

By the end of midlife, bones break more easily and heal more slowly.

Which of the following are the most common chronic disorders for men during middle age?

Cancer, heart disease, and stroke

Which of the following is an example of a fatal chronic disorder?

Cardiovascular disease

Which of the following statements is TRUE about chronic conditions?

Chronic disorders are rare in early adulthood.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about the role of stress on the human immune system?

Chronic stressors are usually linked to a downturn in immune system functioning.

_____ is a term that is used to describe the midlife transition in which fertility declines.

Climacteric

Identify a possible reason for the changes in fluid and crystallized intelligence of different age groups in John Horn's cross-sectional study.

Cohort effects

Which of the following types of hormones is most commonly administered during hormone replacement therapy?

Estrogen

Which of the following is NOT one of the factors that could be related to erectile problems in middle-aged men?

Excessive sexual activity

Which of the following statements about novices and experts is TRUE?

Experts process information more automatically than novices.

What is the consistent finding regarding age identity of 60- to 75-year-olds?

Half of them viewed themselves as being middle-aged.

Which of the following is TRUE about Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl?

He argued that examining the finiteness of our existence and the certainty of death adds meaning to life.

Which of the following symptoms is NOT associated with menopause?

High blood sugar

Why is LDL referred to as "bad" cholesterol?

High levels of LDL cause atherosclerosis.

An adult in middle age will be most likely to do POORLY on which of the following tasks?

Hitting the brakes of a car when the light suddenly turns red

_____ refers to the ability to recognize and understand patterns and relationships in a problem and use this understanding to solve other instances of the problem.

Inductive reasoning

_____ was the main cause of death in the United States until the middle of the twentieth century.

Infectious disease

Cholesterol comes in two forms _____ and HDL.

LDL

According to studies, which of the following is one of the most common sexual problems of older women?

Lack of sexual interest

Treatment for men with erectile dysfunction has focused on Viagra and similar drugs, such as:

Levitra and Cialis.

Compared to middle age, which of the following BEST describes late middle age for many individuals?

Losses may begin to outnumber gains

Which of the following statements regarding the immune system is TRUE?

Lower levels of NK cells in stressful situations indicate a weakened immune system.

Which of the following statements about bone density is TRUE?

Maximum bone density occurs by the mid- to late thirties.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about mortality rates in United States and the world?

Men usually have higher mortality rates than women for all of the leading causes of death.

Which of the following observations regarding sexual attitudes and behaviors of middle-aged women is FALSE?

Menopausal transition was linked to changes in sexual arousal

_____ is the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age.

Middle adulthood

What percentage of Americans considers themselves to be religious?

More than 70 percent

The type of white blood cell that is more likely to be present in low-stress circumstances are _____.

NK cells

Which of the following is TRUE of the Seattle Longitudinal Study?

New waves of participants are added periodically.

Which of the following is one of the outcomes of the restructuring, downsizing, and outsourcing resulting from globalization?

Offering incentives to middle-aged employees to retire early

Which of the following statements about late midlife is NOT true?

People in late midlife are less likely to experience their last child leaving home than people in early midlife.

Which of the following BEST explains why middle adulthood comes later and lasts longer now than in the early 1900s?

People today have healthier lifestyles than people in the early 1900s.

According to the Seattle Longitudinal Study, which of the following abilities showed signs of early decline?

Perceptual speed

_____ refers to the ability to quickly and accurately make simple discriminations in visual stimuli.

Perceptual speed

_____ is the transitional period from normal menstrual periods to no menstrual periods at all.

Perimenopause

According to studies, which of the following is one of the most common sexual problems of older men?

Premature ejaculation

Which of the following is a common way to assess speed of information processing?

Reaction-time task

Which of the following is most likely to cause difficulty for a middle-aged adult without glasses?

Reading a newspaper

Which of the following is a reason for the reduction in light received by the retina during middle adulthood?

Reduced size of the pupil

Which of the following statements is supported by Crystal Park's research on chronic stress and religious experiences?

Religion can serve as a meaning system through which the bereaved are able to reframe their loss.

Which of the following is TRUE about research by Schaie and Salthouse?

Salthouse agrees with Schaie that cognitive functioning involving accumulated knowledge, such as vocabulary and general information, does not show early age-related decline but rather continues to increase at least until 60 years of age.

Which of the following are prematurely aging cells that result from persistent immune activation?

Senescent T cells

Lillian is 50 years old. Her doctor has noticed a sharp decrease in her estrogen levels, and Lillian is complaining of nausea and fatigue. Based on these symptoms, what could be her initial diagnosis?

She is going through menopause.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about lung capacity in middle age?

Stiffening of the chest wall decreases the lungs' capacity to shuttle oxygen.

Which of the following is typical of the health condition during early and late middle age?

Susceptibility to colds and allergies decreases

Which of the following statements about the onset of menarche and menopause is TRUE?

The timing of menarche has significantly decreased in the twentieth century.

What is the most common change in sleep patterns of adults during middle age?

There is a decrease in the deepest type of sleep.

Which of the following statements about menopause is NOT true?

The age at which menopause occurs has increased dramatically in recent years.

Which of the following is one of the reasons why many middle-aged workers are delaying their retirement plans?

The decline in defined-benefit pensions

Which of the following statements is TRUE about cholesterol levels in humans?

The level of cholesterol in the blood increases during the adult years and in midlife begins to accumulate on the artery walls.

Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs believe that a meaningful life can be understood in terms of four main needs. Which of the following is NOT one of those needs?

The need for shelter

What is the notable finding of Schaie's assessment of intellectual abilities of parents and their children?

The second generation showed higher levels of cognitive functioning in inductive reasoning.

Why is menopause an important marker for women?

They have to make final decisions about having children.

Which of the following is TRUE about Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs's need for efficacy?

This need involves the belief that one can make a difference.

Religiousness has been associated with all of the following EXCEPT:

a lower risk of cancer.

In a longitudinal study of individuals from their early thirties through their late sixties/early seventies showed that:

a significant increase in spirituality occurred between late middle and late adulthood.

The ability to focus and maintain an image on the retina is referred to as _____ of the eye.

accommodation

Questions such as, "To which age group do you belong?" and "How old do you feel?" reflect the concept of _____.

age identity

Hardening of the arteries is known as _____.

atherosclerosis

In menopause, production of _____ by the ovaries declines dramatically.

estrogen

In Schaie's Seattle Longitudinal Study, verbal memory peaked in the:

fifties.

John Horn maintains that in middle adulthood, _____ intelligence continues to increase.

fluid

According to John Horn, _____ steadily declines from middle adulthood onward.

fluid intelligence

According to Denise Park, much of the blame for declining memory in late middle age is a result of:

information overload that builds up over the adult years.

The average adult in middle adulthood _____ height and _____ weight.

loses; gains

Drawing on beliefs, values, and goals to change the meaning of a stressful situation is known as:

meaning-making coping.

A girl's first menstruation is called _____.

menarche

Silas is a man who is in his late seventies. He has a condition characterized by hypertension, obesity, and insulin resistance. This is otherwise known as:

metabolic syndrome.

According to Salthouse, a recent analysis of research found:

no evidence for significant changes in everyday cognition from 20 to 75 years of age.

Compared to men, women have a higher incidence of _____ disorders during middle adulthood.

nonfatal chronic

At 60 years of age, the retina receives only _____ as much light as it did at 20 years of age.

one-third

The rectangularization of the population pyramid has been created by all of the following EXCEPT:

rising male-to-female sex ratio.

The term _____ is given to age-related loss of muscle mass and strength.

sarcopenia

Margie Lachman and her colleagues argue that having a _____ is one of the most important modifiable factors in delaying the onset of diseases in middle adulthood and reducing the frequency of diseases in late adulthood.

sense of control in middle age

The gradual decline in men's testosterone levels in middle age can reduce their _____.

sexual drive

Sleep problems in middle-aged adults have been associated with all of the following EXCEPT:

single parenting.

Compared with earlier and later periods, middle age is influenced most by _____ factors.

sociocultural

Toby has the ability to visualize three-dimensional objects and rotate them. Toby's ability is known as _____.

spatial orientation

According to Viktor Frankl, the three most distinct human qualities are freedom, responsibility, and _____.

spirituality

A study of HRT's effects was halted as evidence emerged that participants who were receiving HRT faced an increased risk of _____.

stroke

Age-related loss of muscle strength is especially marked in:

the back and legs.

A participant in a study was asked to memorize a list of words and then try to recall as many as possible. This exercise was designed to test the participant's _____.

verbal memory

Individuals with metabolic syndrome who _____ reduced their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

were physically active

The slowdown in learning new information has been linked to changes in _____, where individuals manipulate and assemble information when making decisions, solving problems, and comprehending written and spoken language.

working memory

According to cognitive aging expert Denise Park, the slowdown in learning new information has been linked to changes in:

working memory.