PSY 350 new material for final

What did Hall mean by storm and stress?

A time during which young people are described as emotional, hot-headed, and out of control

Coping with death and loss

Best for dying persons, family members to know that death is imminent and a reality -Can close life with their own ideas about proper dying -Can complete projects or plans, make arrangements for funeral and for survivors -Can reminisce -Have more understanding of physical sensations and medical procedures

Why did adolescence not become a distinct stage until the 1930s in the United States?

Highschool became routine in the 1930s. Until then, adolescents basically just worked and took on adult responsibilities

Sex life in old age

Many older couples still enjoy sex - Men reject idea that erectile capacity defined sexual selves - May be more considerate and tender - Sex is more carefree and prolonged Sex here is all about intimacy, communication, and authenticity - Some report that sex is better in old age

What is the difference between adolescence-limited turmoil and life-course difficulties?

adolescence-limited turmoil - Antisocial behavior during teenage years life-course difficulties - Antisocial behaviors that continue into adult life

Later life transitions: Retirement

"True" average retirement age was 62 for a while -------------------- Different financial retirement cushions 1) Nonexistent - Bangladesh, Jamaica, and Mexico - Lack government-financed programs to offer these protections 2) Mercedes model government support (germany) - mainly financed by employee and employer payroll taxes (like US) - the philosophy has traditionally been to keep people well off during their older years. - Until recently, Germans have had no worries about falling into poverty in old age 3) Solo with some government help (US) - *social security* > Current workforce funds the bare minimum (maybe less) for the retired - *Private pensions* (+personal savings) supplement the rest > Workers put aside a portion of each paycheck, which goes into a tax-free account > After retirement, the person gets regular payouts (lump sum) on which to live

Age-Based rationing of care (Callahan)

*Age-based rationing of care* - Time when the fight against death must stop 1) After a person has lived out a natural lifespan, medical care should no longer be orientd to resisting death - No age-cutoff can be set (~80) - Doesn't mean that life at this age has no value - When old, death in near future is inevitable 2) Existence of medical technologies capable of extending the lives of elderly persons who have lived out a natural lifespan creates no presumption that technologies must be used for that purpose - Goal of medicine is to stave off premature death - Should not blindly use each intervention on every person

What is the difference between cliques and crowds?

*Cliques* - Intimate groups that have membership sizes ~6 *Crowds* - Larger groups who share common interests, not all friends - Usual mixed gender Selection of friends: - Teens select friends whose values and interests they share - Abandon friends who follow other paths

Palliative interventions: Educating healthcare providers

*End-of-life care instruction* - Courses in medical and nursing schools devoted to teaching health-care workers how to provide the best palliative care to the dying. - MAy involve hands on experiences Need to do more Doctors get anxiety of saying there is nothing they can do - May just drop truth and run - May continue with treatments too long

Generativity

*Generativity* vs. stagnation - contributing in worthwhile ways to others and community > Key to happiness (?) - Erikson stage of 40s-60s ----------------- Little difference in generative attitudes - Prosocial behavior appears in toddlerhood Differences in generative *priorities* - Young people centered on identity issues - Midlife and older more likely to report generative goals - Need to resolve personal development before we are primarily concerned with giving to the outside world People don't necessarily move into generativity as they *enter* midlife - As they get older, generativity increases though - Highest in early 60s - Declines as physical health declines

Palliative interventions: Hospice care

*Hospice movement* - Death is a natural process. NEed to let this process occur in the most pain-free, natural way Hospice workers are skilled at minimizing patient discomfort. Trained in providing humanistic, supportive psychological environments - Lets patients/families know they will not be abandoned in face of approaching death ------------- Mainly delivered in a freestanding organization Requires physician to certify that person is within six months of death Home hospice is cheaper than traditional end of life care + medicare fully covers it - Available to all socioeconomic levels

alternatives to institutionalization (US)

*Medicare* pays only for services defined as cure-oriented 1) Continuing-care retirement community - Residential complex that provides different levels of service - Provides ultimate person-environment fit, with residents getting appropriate care for their needs 2) Assisted-living facility - Designed for people with ADL limitations, but do not require full-time, 24-hour care - Offers care in a less medicalized, homey setting - Residents often have private rooms with their own furniture 3) Day-care programs - For older people who live with family - Provide activities and place for the odler person to go when family is at work - Puts off need for a nursing home 4) Home health service - Helps people age "in place" - Paid caregivers cook, clean, and help older adults with personal care

Measuring health

*Mortality:* number of deaths each year per 1,000 members of a given population *Morbidity:* rate of diseases of all kinds—physical and emotional, acute, chronic ,fatal—in a given population *Disability:* Long-term difficulty in performing normal activities of daily life *Vitality:* how healthy and energetic—physically, emotionally, and socially—an individual actually feels

Principles of physical aging

*Normal aging* - Body deterioration that advanced gradually over years (Ex. atherosclerosis, fragile bones, vision/hearing problems) 1) Chronic disease is often normal aging "at the extreme" - Physical diseases in moderation are called normal. Called *chronic disease* when they become extreme - Chronic illness results in both death and *ADL (activities of daily living)* problems 2) ADL impairments are a serious risk during the old-old years - Two categories of ADL: > *Instrumental ADL problems* = troubles performing tasks important to living independently (ex. cooking and cleaning) > *Basic ADL limitations* = problems with basic self-care activities (feeding self, bathroom, etc) 3) The human lifespan has a defined limit - Super-centenarians (110+ years)

Palliative interventions: Changing hospitals

*Palliative-care service* - A special unit or service devoted to end-of-life care within a traditional hospital setting Certain groups of inpatients have care managed by team of providers trained in shifting from cure to death Patients not denied cure-oriented interventions AS condition becomes terminal, life-prolonging treatments shift to providing comfort care ------------ Families rate it highly Services are cost effective Does not make death more likely ------------ Access is extremely limited - only 1/4 terminally ill people have access

Case: Old age as best time of life

*Paradox of well-being* - Happiness improves well into later life ---------------- 2 causes 1) Older people prioritize positive emotional states - Focus on positive experiences (*positivity effect*) > Less affected by negative feelings - View distressing life experiences in a less gloomy way (less negative emotions and anxiety) - Adept at minimizing negativity AND know we can rise above the storms of daily life - Seen in nun diary/recollection study and eye tracking experiments 2) Live less-stressful lives - Fewer daily stresses - Outside world treats you with special care

Active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide

*Passive euthanasia* - Withdrawing potentially life-saving interventions (legal) - Don't specifically wish for death *Active euthanasia* - Taking action to help a person die - Illegal in every nation except belgium, luxembourg, and the netherlands - Want person to die *Physician-assisted suicide* - Perscribe lethal substance for terminally ill person - Want person to die

Primary aging vs secondary aging

*Primary Aging* - The universal, irreversible physical changes that occur to all living creatures as they grow older. *Secondary Aging* - The specific physical illnesses or conditions that become more common with aging but result from poor health habits, genetic vulnerability, and other influences that vary from person to person.

brain changes in middle adulthood

*Senescence* - Decline in optimal functioning of all bodily systems - firing slows, fewer neurons & synapses 1) Loss of brain volume - Gyri narrow (hills) - Sulci widen 2) Ventricles increase in size 3) Thinning of gray matter (synapses) - where neurons are concentrated - Starts in early 20s - Fine tuning > more efficient processing 4) Thinning of white matter - axon, myelin sheaths, and glial cells - Increases until ~40 - Decreases after

Social clock

*Social clock* Age norms (what behaviors are appropriate at particular ages) - *on time* = matches normal timetable - *off time* Age norms: 1) Some legislated 2) Some optional 3) Change over time 4) Culturally variable The agendas are not necessarily under our control (ex. can't just get married) - Sense of being out of control and pressured

Socioeconomic status, aging, and disease

*Socioeconomic health gap* - Worldwide health disparity between the rich and the poor within a nation Socieconomic gap most pronounced during adulthood - As normal age changes progress to chronic disease Based on the fetal programming hypothesis, this can be traced back to the womb - Low birth weight > epigenetic links to premature heart disease and earlier death Many negative health forces related to poverty - Obesity and elevated cortisol levels also more common in low-socieconomic preschoolers - All these accumulate to increase allostatic load (overall marker of body breakdown signalling disease) Adult lifestyle forces linked to poverty - Smoking - Lack of exercise - Poor eating habits - Stress of unemployment and crime-ridden neighborhoods

Effects of stress

*Stress* - The body's response to a potential threat Triggers the *fight-or-flight response* - The body's automatic response to stress (either to face danger head on or flee) - Parasympathetic system is suppressed and symapthetic nervous system is activated > Elevated heart rate + blood pressure + muscle tension + breathing rate > Adrenalin and cortisol - Immune system weakened The trigger of the stress response is known as a *stressor* - Can be negative or anticipated events *Chronic stress* can take a toll on the body and cause physical, emotional and behavioral problems

Standard IQ tests: adults + studies of cognition in adulthood

*Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scle (WAIS)* (Crossectional) - Standard test for adult IQ - Similar format as WISC. Has verbal items testing different types of knowledge - Part of it asks test-takers to perform unfamiliar nonverbal activities quickly (known as the performance scale) > Speed is of the essence on this part Using this test, it was found that average scores declined after 18-21 - Scores on verbal sections were stable/declined slowly - Scores on performance scale slid down steadily The researchers ignored educational differences in the study (older people only went through middle school) -------------- Early longitudinal studies - Showed Increases in vocabulary, comprehension, knowledge -------------- *Seattle longitudinal study* - Definitive study of intelligence and age - Combined longitudinal methods (biased positively) and cross-sectional research (biased negatively) - Collected data from 2 cohorts - Followed the cohorts through time longitudinally - At each eval., they selected another cross-sectional sample who they followed longitudinally

Aging changes: vision

- Change after ~40 1) *presbyopia* > Difficulty focusing on small, up-close objects - Eye muscles weaken > Most need reading glasses or contacts 2) Pupils shrink, so eyes react more slowly to changes in light/dark 3) Glare may be an issue (dangerous when driving) The above changes are due to changes in the lense - Lens becomes stiffer, thickens, and develop impurities ---------- - Older lens may discolor, making it difficult to perceive differences in colors - Eyes sink further into sockets > Restrict peripheral vision + reduce field of vision

Lessening impact of normal vision loss

- Make sure homes are well lit, but avoid overhead light fixtures that produce glare - Design appliances with nonreflective materials and adjustable lighting - Put enlarged numbers on appliances Visions are a prime cause of ADL impairments Risk for falling ------------ Social consequences - Not leaving the house for fear of falling - Depending on loved ones and being infantilized (not being allowed to do things they could do themselves) Solutions - Encourage person to visit low vision center for rehabilitation (these work) - Creative coping mechanisms > Manipulating environment > Drawing on positivity skills to take pleasure in what they can still do - Why vision loss isn't linked to depression in old age

Summary of adolescence

- More variable life course trajectories - Increased risk taking - Risk taking combined with non-nurturing environment is most likely to result in real problems - Capable of higher order thought, but often pulled off track by social concerns - Wide variation around the world

Evaluating nursing homes

- Nursing homes may offer perks, whether they be physical or feelings of safety - Movement to make them more homey - More than half of industry experts rate quality fair to poor - 1/5 Michigan families reported relative suffering some abuse (higher risk for "difficult" residents) - Erodes efficacy (ex. having to follow a predetermined schedule) > Every action is dependent on workers providing care *Certified nurse assistant or aide* - Low status work (poverty-level wages) - Understaffing - Difficult to provide adequate care

Hearing in old age

- Some hearing loss is normal > May become greater due to environmental factors (ex. loud jobs) - More high-frequency tones than low-frequency tones lost (impairs human speech more than music enjoyment) > Difficulty hearing consonants - Lower pitch background sounds overpower conversation Impairs ability to communicate - More prone to produce depression than any other medical problem (leads to loneliness *Presbycusis* - Age related hearing loss - Caused by atrophy or loss of hearing receptors located in inner ear - Irreversible damage

Memory in old age - Perceptions - Facts

- We perceive decline only - Filmed actors of different ages reading a different speech, each making a couple references to memory porblems - People described the 70 year old as forgetful only - We pass off problems of memory in younger people to *external* forces - For older adults, we interpret it as mental decline ---------------- Facts - Older people's memory is worse than the young - The more difficult the memory task, the more the performance gap grows - Especially do poorly on *divided-attention tasks* (tasks where they need to do something while monitoring something else) > Multitasking impairs memory performance at any age > Young people can master these tasks, but older people can't - Time pressures reveal memory deficits as early as late 20s > Fluid intelligence tasks

Kinkeeper

-A caregiver who takes responsibility for maintaining communication among family members.

Intimacy in emerging adulthood: friendships

-Friendships move to highest level of abstract understanding and duration -Lasting adult friendships involve reciprocity, mutuality, stress relief, emotional support Typically most crucial members of convoy (Antonucci's convoy theory) •Chosen vs. ascribed relationship -Provide practical help and useful advice when serious problems arise •Fingerman et al. (2004) found friendships tend to improve with age.

Give teenagers an intellectual problem and they can ______ in mature adult ways. But younger teens tend to get ______ in emotionally arousing situations, especially when they are with their ______.

...

Why do teens engage in risky behaviors?

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Complicated grief forms

1) *Absent Grief* Private people cut themselves off from the community and customs that allow and expect grief 2) *Disenfranchised Grief* Experienced when bereaved is not allowed to mourn publicly by cultural customs or social restrictions 3) *Incomplete Grief* Circumstances interfere with the process of grieving

Two types of intelligence: Crystallized and Fluid Skills

1) *Crystallized intelligence* - Knowledge base that we accumulate over the years - Increases into middle age. Declines by later life - Age losses may not happen for negotiating relationships > Good or better at judging people 2) *Fluid intelligence* - Ability to reason quickly when facing new intellectual challenges - Depends on nervous system being at biological peak - Highest in 20s, then declines - Multitasking abiliities decline - Being old hurts any activity that depends on quickness Career or creativity-wise, we peak in middle age ---------------- Creative activity that is totally original peaks in thirties If form of creativity depends on crystallized experience, people perform best in early 60s Who we are as people, our enduring abilities, outweigh changes that occur with age

Issues with traditional hospital care for the dying

1) *Dying trajectories* (predictions for the patterns that the individual's death would fallow) cannot be completely predicted - Ex. mislabelling of shorter lifespan may hasten death - If person lived longer, multiple "saying goodbyes" could play out > Living transformed into a negative event - When trajectories, death is defined as "bad" 2) Patients only enter hospital setting within days of death (rather than weeks or months) - Health professionals may not be emotionally involved with person - Little understanding of patient/family needs 3) Disagreements between members of the health-care team - Nurses know the patient/family wishes best but doctors make the final decisions > May not speak up for fear of discipline 4) Multicultural society - Difficulties in communication 5) Increase in death-defying technologies - Machines can keep people alive, but this is for a cure mission - May cause harm

Peer influences

1) *Facilitation* - facilitate both destructive and constructive behaviors in one another - Makes it easier to do both the wrong thing and the right thing - Helps individuals do things that they would be unlikely to do on their own -------------- 2) *deviancy training* Definition: Socialization into delinquency - Destructive peer support where one shows another how to rebel against authority or social norms Happens just by talking to friends in a group - Peer interactions establish, solidify, and entrench teens in problem behavior

Marcia's Identity statuses

1) *Identity diffusion (role confusion)* - Young people drifting aimlessly toward adulthood without any goals - Does not know or care what their identity is - Linked to heavy drug use, risks sexual behavior 2) *Identity foreclosure* - A person who adopts an identity without any self-exploration or thought. Premature identity formation - Handed to them by a person in authority - Trouble of decision not having internal motivations. First challenge derails them, causing them to move into moratorium 3) *Moratorium* - Engaging in search for adult life - Socially acceptable way to postpone making identity-achievement decisions - Often unhappy and struggling 4) *Identity achievement* - End point. Knowing what you want to do after thinking it through Identity paths in real life are erratic - Move backward and forward throughout adult years *Ruminative moratorium* - Anxiously obsessing over possibilities, unable to decide between different identities

Eye conditions + diseases more common with age

1) *cataracts* - curable. Remove defective lens and insert contact lens V The below permanently impair sight 2) *glaucoma* - Buildup of pressure that can damage visual receptors 3) *macular degeneration* - Deterioration of receptors promoting central vision 4) *Diabetic retinopathy* - Leakage from blood vessels of retina into the body of the eye - Tear production decreases (dry eyes) > Untreated dry eyes can lead to infections, scarring, and inflammation

Dementia types

1) *vascular dementia* - Impairments in vascular system in brain > Impairments caused by multiple small strokes - Limits to blood supply promote neural loss that is Alzheimers - Arteries blocked 2) *Alzheimer's disease* - Neurons wither and are replaced by *neurofibrillary tangles* and *senile plaques* 3) Frontal lobe dementia: - major personality changes due to deterioration of frontal lobes, amygdala 4) Parkinson's Disease dementia: possible consequence of the neurological disorder Biggest risk for neurocognitive deficits is being old-old

Critiques of Kohlberg's Theory

1) Attitude not always tied to behavior 2) Culturally biased 3) Gender differences: Gilligan's care perspective - Said that woman morality revolves around concrete, caring-oriented criteria 4) Difficulty scoring: IS the measurement approach valid? 5) Overlooked roles of families, especially those practicing inductive reasoning

Definitions of death

1) Cessation of breathing, heart rate, signs of rigor mortis 2) *Brain death:* - all electrical activity of the brain has ceased for a specified period 3) New Medical States -*Locked-in Syndrome* > May need intervention to keep vitals going. Normative or close to normative brain function > Maintain some motor function -*Coma* > Person is deeply unconscious. Longer they are in a coma, the less likely they are to recover/wake up -*Persistent Vegetative State* > After 2 years of coma > Spontaneous motor movement, vocalization > Impacted by previously expressed wishes, family wishes, religious affinity, cultural heritage

Amplifying hearing

1) Choose social settings with little background noise' 2) Speak clearly and slowly 3) Face person and use gestures (multisensory cues) 4) Avoid *elderspeak* (tendency to talk in more exaggerated tones - Mode of communication we use with people who look physically (and thus mentally) impaired - Use simpler phrases + grammer - Use infantile "loving" words that we would never use with a real adult 5) Avoid high-noise environments and cover your ears when you pass by noisy places. 6) Hearing aid - Too small - Difficult to care for - Do not completely compensate for losses described

Core attitudes in relationship success

1) Commitment - Involves positive emotions - Dedication to a partner's inner growth > Sacrifice for partner > Giving up one's desires to further another's joy - Sacrificing for those close to us benefits ourselves (needs to be reciprocal) 2) Sanctification - Feeling destined for a certain person 3) Compassion - Being devoted to the other's wellbeing - Benefits giver more than receiver - Feeling compassion for a spouse cemented attachment 4) Realistic understanding of natural "ups and downs" 5) Not abusing or controlling a partner

Strategies to save marriage

1) Cool your conflicts - Don't increase hostility - Drop criticism - Don't get defensive - Don't be contemptuous - Don't cut out your partner Fighting about absolutely nothing - Fighting about how they fight - Control struggles 2) Savor your friendship - Give appreciation (tell your partner thank you) - Turn towards your partner - A little sex 3) Heat up your sex life - Loss of intimacy is a main issue - People aren't comfortable asking for what they need. Guys want more, but they want to feel desirable - Quality more important than quality - Talk about sex - Make it a priority

Optimal cognitive strategies in late adulthood

1) Creativity: - new/re-emerging interest in arts, volunteering 2) Wisdom: - unusual expert knowledge system 3) Life review: - Examination of one's own part in life, often takes the form of stories by elders who want to share them with younger ones. - Most older people do this

Types of relationships: Sternberg

1) Crush - Passion 2) Caring - Intimacy 3) Romantic love - Passion + intimacy 4) Empty marriages - commitment 5) Companionate marriages - Intimacy + commitment 6) Passion + commitment = sexual passion shared 7) *Consumate love - Combines passion, intimacy, and commitment - Fragile > Passion falls off with familiarity (hormonal basis) > Intimacy can fall off as they enter the working-model phase

Managing motor problems

1) Doctors: avoid over-prescribing medications 2) Check out exercise programs focused on improving gait and balance 3) Physical exercise can help to reverse balance, strength, and mobility declines of moderate severity 4) Adjust environment - Use high quality indirect lighting + low-pile wall-to-wall carpeting in homes - Grab bars in bathtub - Place shelves in easy reach Lower body impairments, due to limiting mobility, are #1 barrier to living independently

What are Belsky's recommendations for how society should deal with adolescents?

1) Don't punish adolescents as if they are mentally just like adults - Adolescent work is a brain in progress - Focus on rehabilitation 2) Pass laws user-friendly to the teenage mind 3) Provide group activities that capitalize on adolescent strengths - youth development programs - LEss academic offerings into school day 4) Change schools to provide better adolescent-environment fit - Adolescents that feel embedded in nurturing schools tend to feel good about themselves and the world - Autonomy supporting work - Teachers who respect their pov - Courses relevant to life - Schools adjusted to later adolescent sleep style

What made emerging adulthood possible?

1) Due to twentieth-century longevity gains - We have more time to figure things out 2) Solidified by need for more education - Makes it so that we establish careers later 3) Promoted by individualistic attitudes about what makes a satisfying adult life - Western ethic stressing personal freedom

Life extending forces

1) Education - Highschool graduates had shorter telomeres than people who attended college (especially among black men) 2) Close relationships - Caring social connections were as, or more, important than good health practices in predicting how long people lived - Caring figures can encourage better health practices - Oxytocin production from close relationships mute anxiety response to stress - Ex. hispanic paradox (at poverty-level, Latinos outlive low-income whites) ---------------- 3) Gender Women - Outlive men due to extra X chromosome - Fewer early heart attacks (estrogen slows process of fat deposits clogging arteries) Men tend to die quicker and sooner Women survive longer but are more frail - Live older = more age related issues - Menstruation + pregnancy related ailments - Higher rates of arthritis, vision impairments, and obesity (which mostly impair ADL but don't result in death)

Finding a career

1) Entering with high (often unrealistic) career goals - Tendency to aim high is present regardless of gender or social class in teens - Issue: Teens are clueless about what it takes to get to dream careers 2) Self-esteem and emotional growth during college and beyond - Self-esteem dips during first semester of college and rises over next few years - Personality matters in thriving. Upbeat and competent people tend to flourish. - Having stable love relationships impacts self esteem, especially for men - People grow in conscientiousness (Reliability, self-control, emotion management, and reasoning in thoughtful ways) > Rise in executive functions 3) Finding flow - Intense task absorption - Enter this state when we are immersed in a challenging activity. Activity depends on the person. - Forget about the outside world. Lose sense of time and feel intrinsically rewarded by the activity - Frequency of flow varies - Depends on being intrinsically motivated + working towards a goal - Requires delicate person-environment fit between level of challenge and person's skill > Boredom vs. anxiety

Percentage of US population 65+ (factors contributing

1) FAmily size down - Birth control access - Economic changes - Where families live - Better understanding of pregnancy - Lower infant mortality - Kids are expensive

Factors of grandparent involvement

1) Gender - Women more involved 2) Physical proximity matters 3) Age - Younger grandparents are able to be more involved, especially with younger kids 4) Technology - Can erode barriers of distance and age - Can feel connected without having any conversation

Helping older adults be happy

1) Give older people ample time to learn material and give them a non-distracting environment - Memory difficulties can be lessened in this way 2) Don't stereotype older adults as having a bad memory - Help them to develop skills (mnemonic strategies, etc) - Be realistic 3) Encourage older loved ones (even those with disabilities) to maintain a personal passsion - Helps memory and happiness 4) Understand that older adults may not want to socialize or make new friends 5) Don't imagine older people as unhappy. Assume reverse is true - Be alert to depression in the physically frail and socially isolated - Be generative, feel closely attached, and have a sense of meaning in life

Staying cognitively sharp

1) Health matters - Stay physically fit - *Allostatic load* (overall physical deterioration) - An adult with an allostatic load of 2.7 would rank 3 years older in ability to quickly process info than someone of the same age with a ranking of 1 *Terminal drop* - Dramatic decline in tests of vocab or other crystallized intelligence measures predicts terminal illnesses ---------- 2) Mental stimulation with people may matter - Mental exercise (especially involving other people) may produce a resilient mind (shown in study with rats) - Adults high on openness to experience dsfagrow most dramatically in crystallized IQ - People who work in complex, challenging jobs tend to become more mentally flexible with age - Careers involving people also keep people mentally on their tows ------------ - Develop a hobby that involves physical exercise - Stay/become passionate to learn new things + have a career that expands your mind - Search for careers that involve complex, people oriented work - Understand that tasks with complicated info processing will be difficult - Adopt the *selective optimization with compensation* strategy

Communication styles that distinguish thriving relationships

1) High ratio of positive to negative comments - Caring comments strongly outweigh critical ones (below 5:1 = risk of getting divorced) 2) Don't get personal when they disagree - Confine themselves to the problem - Unhappy couples personalize conflicts: put-downs, sarcasm, look disgusted, roll eyes (expressions of contempt) - Don't get disgusted with other 3) Sensitive to partner's need for space - Trouble: If one person provides too much "support" > Micromanagement of other, excessive advice (does not qualify as compassion) - Know when to be close and when to back off

Stages of parenthood

1) Image making: preparation 2) Nurturing: compare actual to imagined, adjust 3) Authority: rule setting 4) Interpretive: help children understand the world 5) Interdependence: form new relationship with "almost-adult" 6) Departure: what has my parenting been? What's next?

Grandparent problems

1) Important to maintain good relationship with parents if you want to be involved - Not criticizing discipline style 2) Paternal grandparents at risk of not being involved - Since women are closer to own mothers and control family's social relationships 3) Divorce of parents - Can lock grandparents out of family life 4) Grandparents don't have intrinsic legal rights to visitation 5) Feeling compelled to be more involved than you want - Role conflict - *Caregiving grandparents* take full responsibility of raising grandchildren. > Tend to be poor > Deeply distressed because parent can't perform job > Feel angry at being forced into this off time role > Feel a generative watchdog responsibility to protect the grandchild

Changing marriage in other countries

1) Iran: Eroding male dominated marriage - Marriage is only acceptable life path - Women subservient to men > Take care of house - Changed now. Woman can initiate divorce and draw out prenuptial agreements. + Property rights - Becoming more gender equal 2) India: From arranged marriages to eloping for love - Arranged marriages declining - Eloping = running away and getting engaged without parental consent 3) Western variations - Challenges of getting and staying married

Reasons against assisted-suicide/active euthanasia

1) Killing violates principle that only got can take a life 2) Fear that euthanasia may allow doctors/family to "pull the plug" on people who are impaired but don't want to die - People may be pressured to ask for death - Government may euthanize to spare expenses ------------ Older people are apt to be against physician-assisted suicide 3) Where to draw the line - If they're in pain but not fatally ill? - Chronic depression?

Why might older adults be unwillingly pushed to move into care facilities?

1) Leaving home means shedding one's possessions and robbign people of identity and memories attached to real life 2) Fear of loss of privacy 3) Loneliness 4) Don't have the money - Only wealthy (not even middle class) can afford

Understanding Mourning during childhood

1) Look at child's developmental stage - Infants/toddlers can't grasp death. May impact attachment response - Preoperational preschoolers can't grasp death as permanent. Egocentrism may produce guilt. Temper tantrums, sleep disturbances, and regressing to more baby-ish behavior are ocmmon responses - After reaching concrete operations (~9-10) children can grasp finality of death. Mourn in traditional sense. Bereavement response centers around acting out behaviors and internalizing symptoms (ex. nonsuicidal self-injury and depression) 2) Looks to the child's life situation - Most children are resilient (coping without any signs of prolonged grief) - Complicated symptoms more likely when: > death is sudden or violent > Child is already emotionally unstable > Person's family life is unstable - At this age feelings can't be channeled into a redemption sequence, so mourning may occur in fits and starts (with fresh waves of grief during milestones years later) 3) Interventions should involve a multifaceted, community-centered approach - Listen sensitively, offer emotional support, allow child to openly discuss and process the feelings of loss

Effects of transition to parenthood

1) Makes couples less intimate and happy - Applies equally to gay and heterosexual couples - Being married may heighten our commitment to family life 2) Parenthood produces more traditional (and potentially conflict-ridden) marital roles (if couple is heterosexual) - Conflicts centered on *marital equity* (feelings of unfairness) - Conflicts over differing parental styles Pre-baby attachment dance matters most in how couples are affected - Strengths and weaknesses amplified

Finding a happy career

1) Match career to personality - The closer the personality-career fit, the more success at a job - Holland's six personality types > Realistic (Physical activity/manipulation of tools) > Investigative (Find things out through researching and analyzing data) > Artistic (Creative and non-conforming) > Social (Enjoy helping others) > Entrepreneurial (Like to lead others) > Conventional (Like organizing and manipulating data) 2) Finding optimal workplace - Autonomy, nurturing, and relatedness (in our environments) - *Intrinsic career rewards* (work that is fulfilling in itself) - *Extrinsic career rewards* > Important depending on situation (ex. for breadwinner men) > Security needs (economic survival) - Feeling powerless to shape work conditions + role ambiguity = poisonous - *Role overload* = having too much to do to do an effective job - *Role conflict* = competing life demands *Family-work-conflict* - Family life interfering with work and vice versa 1) Women have more erratic, less continuous careers than men (caring for child and parents) 2) Women earn less than men, jobs are gender defined - Not due to *occupational segregation* (work division into traditionally male/female jobs) - Even in the same career, women get paid less 3) Society prioritizes salaries for fathers and expects married men to out earn wives

Barriers to hospice

1) Means confronting reality of death - Family may want to keep pursuing caregiving treatments 2) Doctors may not want to "give up" on patients 3) Misconceptions about hospice care - Not aware that people can receive curative interventions - Minority groups may not understand that medicare pays for it, or that it can happen at home > African americans may cling to cure-oriented treatments (fear of traditional medicine) > Rural areas may not have access to hospice teams 4) Patients may not want to be taken care of by family - No privacy to vent feelings - No control - Embarrassment - Care by strangers is free of guilt (protect loved ones

Expectations and Motherhood stress

1) Media provides unrealistic and idealistic view of motherhood (blissful) 2) Unrealistic performance pressures - Good children make mothers feel competent. Difficult ones make women feel like a failure - Bear responsibility for how child turns out, despite reality Moms are spending more time with their kids

Variations in emerging adulthood

1) Mediterranean model: Living with Parents and Having Trouble Making the Leap to Adult Life - Against *Cohabitation*, or sharing a house in an unmarried relationship - People only push to leave home when they find a serious romantic partner and can support a spouse 2) Northern European: Expect to Live Independently, Hopefully with Government Help - Economy is better, so people can live together and have babies out of marriage - Strong social safety net provides healthcare and other benefits - *Nest-leaving* (moving out of a parent's home to live independently) begins at brink of emerging adult years 3) The United States: Alternating Between Independence and Dependence - has features of both - Young people Cohabit and have children out of marriage - Move out of parent's house at 18 - Does not help young people find work - Economy is slow, so it's difficult to exit the nest - More erratic passage into adult life. Income inequalities also cause differences in progression - Boomerang process

Predicting at risk widowed adults

1) Men have a better chance at finding a new mate - Women are more emotionally invested (sometimes) and ahve better social support networks 2) Whether death was predicted or a surprise - On time/expected deaths are less stressful because people can prepare - Also a sense of relief if suffering was long term Husbands whose wives died were at much higher risk of dying than other widowed adults Death of a spouse hits women harder when event happens at an off-time (young) age ----------------------- Developmental systems approach!! - Emotional resilience of widow - Other attachments or passions - Attachment style (secure tend to have other secure attachments) - Wider environment > Financial situation - How culture treats widowed people Allow parents to find new romantic attachments

Things that affect motherhood negatively

1) Money worries, issues in partner relationship, or being a single parent - Make daily life difficult and impair attachments to children 2) Number of children - More = harder motherhood 3) Child with difficult temperament/chronic medical issues 4) Being a young mother

Three changes in work

1) More career + job changes - Used to be a more structured work path. Found job after school and stayed with same organization until retirement (*Traditional stable career*) - Start new careers as they travel through life. This shifting work pattern is known as *Boundaryless careers* 2) Disappearing barrier between work and family - Flexible, nonstandard work hours common - Technology moved work into the home 3) Longer hours and more job insecurity

Baby trends

1) More parenting possibilities - More types of people/relationships can be parents - Freedom not to be parents 2) Fewer children - *Fertility rates* (Average # births per woman) in decline in developed countries > People waiting longer to have babies

Wrap up of late adulthood

1) Not all old people are the same 2) Wide variation of normal across lifespan 3) dEvelopment unfolds across multiple and interacting domains 4) Development is NOT just gain in first half of life and loss in the 2nd half

Keys to happiness in old age

1) Opennesss to experience 2) Self-efficacy 3) Ability to reinterpret upsetting life events as growth experiences 4) Generativity - Remain lovingly attached 5) Reaching the milestone of integrity - Accomplishing what we set out to do - Not afraid to die if we don't have regrets To reach integrity, people must review their lives and make peace with what they have previously done Happiness involves finding purpose and meaning in your present life - Having sense of purpose predicts living longer Largest group of oldest-old group of people in a study weres stable in terms of life satisfaction and being socially engaged - Retained reasonably good memory

What changes tend to happen during late adolescence?

1) Parents feel that their children are more responsible and mature, so they provide more freedom to the children 2) Children's priorities also shift from rebelling to constructing an adult life 3) Process of separation - Social markers of independence eliminate family strain - Jobs, car

Issues with advanced directives

1) People are reluctant to think about their death - Most older adults in US have advance directives - Minorities and low-income elderly are particularly resistant 2) Living wills are vague and subject to misinterpretation - Even if we have detailed checklists, can people be expected to make detailed decisions?

Reasons for assisted-suicide/active euthanasia

1) People shouldn't be forced to unwillingly endure pain/humiliation of dying 2) Is it humane to stand by when diseases cause agony?

Contrast the feelings of depression in the three crowds in Figure 9.8. Are you surprised by these findings?

1) Populars/jocks - High depression in elementary, decreases to lowest in highschool 2) Brains (intellectuals) - Lowest depression in elementary school, slightly higher than populars in high school 3) Burnouts (deviants) - Consistently highest depression from elementary to high school 4) Residual types - Goths, loners, independents

What early warning signs might predict whether a child will have a stormy adolescence?

1) Prior emotion regulation problems - If problem behaviors are already causing them to fail, they'll be drawn to antisocial groups, who reinforce dangerous behaviors - Tests of executive functions strongly predict 2) Poor family relationships - Feeling alienated from one's parents - Insecure attachment > People want to be listened to and respected > Need to know they are unconditionally loved - Need authoritative discipline styles - Attachment dance at any age is bidirectional 3) Live in a risk-taking environment - People close to you or values of environment affect how we act

Beginning of emerging adulthood: Nest-leaving (?)

1) Produces better family relationships - Less conflict and more adult-to-adult relationships - Nest leaving doesn't happen in portugal, and not doing it has no impact in portugal - Does not mean distant family relationships > Mothers in particular remain a vital support 2) Leaving home makes people more competent in adulting - Nest-leaving has a clear economic cause, so people may not leave if they don't ahve the means - Values (e.g. collectivist values) may dissuade people from moving out Nest leaving no longer qualifies as entry point for emerging adulthood - People do not need to live independently to act mature

Grandparent styles

1) Remote: - emotionally distant from grandchildren. - Often young 2) Companionate: - entertain and "spoil" grandchildren. 3) Involved: - active in grandchildren's day-today lives - Back up parents - Affected by distance 4) Surrogate: - parents raise their grandchildren

Summary of social policy retirement issues

1) Retirement is an at-risk life stage - The lack of pension income in US + other assets - Possible cutbacks in social security - *Old-age dependency ratio* (proportion of working adults to retirees) decreasing dramatically > Makes social security unsustainable 2) Older workers are (currently) an at risk group - Age discrimination in being made to retire early and not hired - Situation is changing 3) Older people are more at risk of being poor - Medicare helped to reduce poverty among older adults

What to seek in a romantic partner

1) Someone who is similar in values/interests, but doesn't necessarily share your personality traits 2) Someone you respect as an individual - Qualities embody self you want to be - Focus on the good special qualities of your SO 3) Someone who differs in your need to take charge 4) Look for someone who is securely attached Expect bumps along the way When things don't work out, it may have nothing to do with you, the other person, or how you get along

What are some tips for parents of teens?

1) Strong emotions may not have the same meaning for the teen as for you (Ex. I'm so dumb) - It is normal for children to be secretive and rebellious - Just because your child gets mad doesn't mean they don't love you 2) Sampling forbidden activities is normal, but if the teen is getting involved in illegal activities or seems seriously depressed, you should be concerned 3) Understand that child's peer choices (and peer group status) offer hints about behavior - Striving to be in popular crowd can have unpleasant consequences 4) Roll with the punches, encourage the child's passions, and enjoy the teenager

Pathways to death

1) Sudden death (1/6 people in developed nations) - Ex. accident - Person seems healthy before death 2) Death occurs after steady decline - Ex. advance stage cancer 3) Dying is a long and erratic process - Ex. congestive heart failure, AIDS - Most common Deaths in affluent countries are typically slow - Dominated by medical procedures - Protracted, uncertain course

Stereotypes + facts about alcohol and teens

1) Teens who drink are prone to abuse alcohol later in life - Depends on when you begin - Drinking during puberty = more likely - Drinking during late teens and twenties is normative, so we can't predict it well 2) Involvement in academics/athletics protects teen from abusing alcohol - Complicated. Academics protect children with high genetic risk. Athletic involvement is correlated with binge drinking for boys > Important role of peer environment 3) Middle childhood problems are risk factors for later excessive drinking - Impulse control issues predict problem drinking - Girls who do well academically go on to college, where culture is of drinking, and are more likely to drink heavily

Stages of dying (Kubler-Ross) critiques

1) Terminally ill people don't always want to discuss their situation - People read the theory as all patients want to talk about impending death - Not true !! - Patients broach subject selectively and reluctantly - May avoid discussions that they think others don't want to hear or to protect loved ones 2) Not every person/family feels that it's best to spell out the full truth - People say they want to know the facts - May not want doctors to get specific when prognosis is dire > Can be unloving, insensitive, and rude 3) People do not pass through distinctive stages in adjusting to death - Theory of stages is wrong! - All the emotions are reasonable and real things to feel, not phases. - Theory may encourage insensitivity towards terminally ill

Variation in father involvement:

1) Traditional views of women's roles (both male and female parents) •Highly religious •Highly gender stereotyped 2) Increased workload of the woman 3) Woman'sattitude toward man's involvement •Expectation of equality/Shared responsibility? •Criticism of man's performance of parenting responsibilities? No difference in attachment styles

Having an enduring, happy relationship

1) Understand natural timecourse of love - Honeymoon high, decrease, increase with empty nest, increase with retirement 2) Be fully committed to partner 3) Act on that feeling by being devoted to person's development and take joy in sacrificing for your partner 4) Share arousing, exciting activities (that both are passionate about) 5) Be very, very positive after you get negative 6) Avoid getting personal when you fight 7) Be sensitive to partner's need for space *One key to sacrificing is reciprocity - If relationship is totally one-side or someone is being treated with lack of compassion, it is time to reconsider one's committment

Keeping memory fine-tuned

1) Use selective optimization with compensation (Baltes) A) Selectively focus on what you want to remember (don't clog bin) B) Work hard to manipulate this into permenant memory C) Use compensation (external memory aids) - Over-relying on environmental support causes problems when those supports malfunction 2) Mnemonic techniques - Emotional events are solidly embedded because they activate wider areas of the brain - *Mnemonic techniques* are strategies to make info emotionally vivid 3) Work on person's mental state - Self-doubt and biased tests - Self-fulfilling prophecy when given memory tests (worse performance) - Subjective memory complaints aren't linked to test scores - Depression is • Prevention study (Willis et al., 2006) - Reasoning training and booster sessions caused less difficulty in activities of daily living up to 5 years later (14 sessions total)

Stages of dying (Kubler-Ross)

1) denial - Immediate reaction after diagnosis - Thinks there may be a mistake and tries to get other opinions 2) anger - Person lashes out at others, bemoaning their fate 3) bargaining - Pleading for more time - Putting off death for a bit 4) depression - Reality sinks in 5) acceptance - Individual is weak by this time, and no longer feels upset, angry, or depressed - May look forward to the end Important in raising awareness about the person in the diagnosis

Stress management

1. Understand how you react to stress. Examine what triggers your stress response, and if possible, try to minimize exposure to known stressors. - Uncertain social situations - Past thoughts 2. Keep balance in your life. To counteract the demands of work and school, take time for recreation and exercise. Make time each day for some quiet reflection and "time off" from your busy schedule. 3. Practice relaxation techniques, such as meditation, breathing exercises, massage, or yoga. 4. Establish a support network. Find friends and/or family with whom you can talk openly and who will support you in times of trouble. If necessary, seek out a professional to help you talk through stressful times. 5. Minimize use of drugs, alcohol, and caffeine. 6. Exercise vigorously on a regular basis. 7. Maintain a regular sleep schedule.

Good death + needs

A death in which a patient is informed of their death and has their needs met - Dying must be recognized as happening - Dying person must accept impending loss of their known life and let go of everyone and everything they once loved Needs the need to be treated as a human being; the need for hope; the need to express emotions; the need to participate in his/her own care; the need for honesty; the need for spirituality; the need to be free of pain.

Midlife crisis

A myth -Levinson's interviews with small group of Caucasian, upper-SES men -Entertainment value!

What did the Gardner and Steinberg study demonstrate about adolescent behavior?

A video study that asked younger teens (13-16) and emerging adults (18-22), and adults (24+) to play a computer game where extra points could be earned by taking risks. Two conditions: 1) Play alone 2) Play in presence of two friends Findings - Being with others has no impact in decision-making of adults - Huge effect of taking risks when with peers on young teens

Baby, marriage, and happiness

Addition of a baby: - Perceived as less central to marriage now, but are still important - Causes hormonal changes in caregivers that increases nurturing - Parents less satisfied with marriage Reasons for unhappiness 1) Sleep depravation 2) A lot of work Surviving marriage after a baby: 1) Realize that you're all in the same boat - People wind up ignoring each other and feeling alone - No time for each other - No time for affection, romance, or passion - Absorb focus - Running on empty - Relation satisfaction decreases ! ------------------

Adolescent Egocentrism (Elkind)

Adolescents can see beyond surface of adult rules - Become aware of difference between what adults say and how they act *Adolescent egocentrism* - Distorted feeling that one's own actions are the center of everyone else's consciousness *1) Imaginary audience* - Feeling that everyone is watching and judging, always on center stage *2) Personal fable* - Belief that their thoughts, feelings, or experiences are unique - More wonderful or awful than anyone else's *3) Invincibility fable* - Egocentric conviction that they cannot be hurt by anything that might defeat a normal mortal (e.g., unprotected sex, drug abuse, risky driving)

Parent care

Adult children's care for their disabled parents - Reverses role of parent caring for child > Burdensome for children (even in collectivist cultures) > A labor of love for happily married older couples - Daughter often has to cut back work hours or leave career > Interfere with child's life plans Sandwich generation - Women pulled between caring for their young children and disabled elderly parents - Rare --------------------- Stressfulness of parental care varies - if needs are minimal, a daughter isn't working, or if she is getting a lot of support, the care isn't an issue Made more difficult when: 1) Coping with other stressful commitments 2) Feeling that siblings aren't doing fair share Older person's personality plays a large role - Alzheimer's is especially challenging - If caregiver perceived parent as difficult/manipulative and became resentful, the situation can escalate into screaming, yelling, or threatening person with nursing home - Can also offer a redemption sequence to child, giving back for years of care

Sternberg's triangular theory of love

Adult love relationships can be broken into three components 1) Passion (sexual arousal) -intense physical, cognitive & emotional onslaught characterized by excitement, ecstasy, euphoria. 2) Intimacy (Feelings of closeness) -knowing someone well, sharing secrets as well as sex. 3) Commitment -grows gradually through decisions to be together, mutual care giving, kept secrets, shared possessions, forgiveness.

*Median age* trends + reason

Age at which 50% of population is older and 50% is younger - Rising 1) Baby boomers becoming young-old 2) Twentieth-century lifespan revolution - longevity 3) Falling fertility - Birth rates declining

Healthy-life years

Age at which we can expect to survive without ADL limitations Elderly men live healthy longer than woman do

Palliative care

Any strategy designed to promote dignified dying Involves: 1) Educating health-care personnel about how to deal with dying patients 2) Modifying hospital structure 3) Providing alternative to dying in hospital: hospice

Moral development: Kohlberg

Argued that during adolescence we develop a moral code that guides our lives *Preconventional*(middle childhood) - Focus on external consequences - Does not demonstrate any moral sense - Age 13 Stage 1) Heteronomous Morality: fear of punishment Stage 2) Individualism: Pursue own interests, let others do so also ("golden rule" reasoning) *Conventional* (late adolesence) - Morality revolves around need to uphold society's norms - Typically where adults are - By 15-16 (many stop here, due to Kohlberg's demanding criteria) Stage 3) Relationships - Value trust, caring, loyalty - To be thought of as a good person Stage 4) Social system - Value justice, law, social order - Must follow rules to prevent breakdown of society *Postconventional* (adulthood?) Stage 5) Social contract and individual rights - Principles that transcend law - Ex. rules sometimes need to be broken for the welfare of others Stage 6) Universal ethics - universal understanding of human rights - Individual conscience is followed

Physical health (emerging adulthood)

At physical peak - Skeleton (height peaks around this time, then declines) - Muscle (atrophy and are replaced by fat) - Heart (muscle weakens and thickens) - Lungs (ability to breathe and exhale forcefully declines) -Accidents leading cause of death in early adulthood (Men more likely) - Other diseases that may cause later problems (e.g., heart disease) may begin Variations in amount/speed of decline - Impacted by health behaviors

Intergenerational equity

Balancing needs of young and old Getting rid of support programs for old makes them rely on their young family members - Hurts everyone

Selective optimization with compensation

Baltes guidelines for successful aging 1) Selectively focus on our most important activities - Put aside less important priorities 2) Optimize - Work harder to perform your best in the most important areas of life 3) Compensate - Rely on external aids when we cannot cope on our own

History of death

Before modern medicine - Death arrived quickly - Nature took its course, and nothing could be changed - Death was familiar, predictable, and normal - People died in their community - During 18th/19th centuries, death began to move off center stage, due to fears of disease, and cemeteries were located to outside of town - Early 20th century: medical science successfully waged war against disease > Dying moved toward end of lifespan Modern medicine - Death shifted to hospitals and nursing homes > Disconnected from life - Death became a medical failure > concealed Recent decades 1) Doctors no longer conceal devastating diagnoses 2) Health-care system has developed structures to ease passage through end of life - People urged to document how they want their final act to go

Willie murphy (exam)

Championship power lifter at 81 - Took up in lat 70s - Lone person in 80s who competes - Generative attitude (bringing younger owmen into the sport) - Looking back and forward - Investing in other people Still lots to do, bring, and enjoy in old age

Alzheimers

Characterized by: 1) *Beta-amyloid* plaques 2) Tangles of *tau* (neurophil threads) - Cause microtubles to collapse 3) Loss of connecting neurons among brain cells 4) Brain inflammation Linked to genetics - Early-onset related to mutation of one of three genes - Late-onset doesn't have exact genetic association. Much more common > *polygenic* = an allele on several genes contributes to over-production of *beta-amyloid* protein - Genetic marker for Alzheimer's (APOE-4) Begins 10-20 before actual diagnosis, due to symptoms being explainable with aspects of normal aging - Gradual brain deterioration over 10-15 years Stages (fix...) 1) Problems in remembering new things 2) Problems with finding words (unable to complete sentences, etc) 3) Inability to understand spatial relationships (easily lost, difficulty buttoning shirt) 4) Agitation, psychosis, depression, sleep disturbances (middle or late) 5) Human is gone - Can't communicate, can't remember, can't move - Die of complications of immobility

Cognition and employment (emerging adulthood)

Cognition allows for major advances in learning in variety of environments -College -On-the-job training -Mentorship opportunities - unrealistic (high) expectations of college and later success Lack of experience leads to mismatch in variety of areas -Self esteem may take a blow in the face of disappointmen -Conscientiousness protective against disappointment -Gendered expectations about work and family life

Social convoy theory

Collectively, the family members, friends, acquaintances, who move through life with an individual. •Intimacy needs are lifelong •Adults meet their need for social connection through their relationships with relatives, friends, coworkers, and romantic partners.

Push/pull retirement decision (Impact of age discrimination)

Concerns 1) Do you have enough money? 2) Health (Can I continue at work?) 3) Age discrimination Impact of age discrimination - Illegal in the U.S. but difficult to prove that firings were because of age - Lavish incentives are used to get workers to retire - Negative stereotypes about old workers (be rigid, make more mental mistakes, be fearful of technology, and be less adaptable) > False!!!! > Age made people more flexible, compliant, reliable, and less likely to take time off for being sick ----------- 4) Wanting to work longer or retire - Positive choice too - Passion to stay - Excitement to go

Career happiness and success

Core self-evaluations predict work success 1) High-self esteem - go for more fulfilling career 2) Optimism 3) Self-efficacy (feeling of control in life) > Seek realistic feedback and ask for support that will make them effective - Emotion-regulation (Ability to disengage from job stress) - Gravitating towards challenging tasks Goal: To view job as a calling, perfectly expressing identity and mission in life - Comes from time committed

What defines a gang? What purposes do gangs serve?

Definition: - A close-knit, delinquent peer group - Share collective identity Purposes: 1) Provide teens with status 2) Provide physical protection in dangerous neighborhoods 3) Offer a pathway for making a living Kids moved to middle class neighborhoods did worse than kids who stayed behind - Due to lack of nurturing in new community

Advance directives

Definition: Any written document spelling out instructions regarding life-prolonging treatment when people are irretrievably ill and cannot communicate their wishes - Ideally provide roadmpa so people don't have to guess care Four kinds: 1) *Living will* - Mentally competent indivduals leave instructions about treatment wishes for life-prolonging strategies if they become comatose/incapacitated - Typically write to refuse aggressive medical interventions 2) *Durable power of attorney for health care* - Indivdiuals designate a specific person to make end-of-life decisions when they can't make these choices known 3) *Do not resuscitate (DNR) order* - Filled out when sick person is impaired, usually by doctor in consultation with family - Says that if a cardiac arrest takes place, patient should not be revived 4) *Do not hospitalize (DNH) order* - Specific to nursing homes - During medical crisis, mentally impaired patient should not be transferred to hospital or emergency care

Parkinson's disease

Degeneration of a specific group of neurons (substantia nigra) in midbrain - These neurons play important roles in movement, balance, speech, and other functions - The neurons communicate via dopamine, and when the neurons die this circuit malfunctions - Stiffness, slowness, and tremor emerge L-dopa can improve symptoms

Inner motherhood experience

Destroys fantasies like: 1) Being calm, empathetic, and always in control 2) Loving all children equally - Feeling loved by child - Child easy to raise and does well in wider world = more loved

Best advance directive

Durable power of attorne Best to have an evolving series of discussions with loved ones, then choose designated family member to make a final choice May lead to jealousy Does not ensure no mistakes

Sings of aging

Early adulthood - Age changes may be barely noticeable - Younger children may be slightly better/faster at childhood memory games - Younger adolescents may come into physical talents more easily - No lifestyle adjustments required Middle adulthood - Become aware of some changes in appearance and sensory capabilities > Wrinkles > Need for reading glasses > More effort needed to keep healthy weight - Changes are noticeable but do not generally affect quality of life Late adulthood - Changes affect lifestyle and behavior to some degree - Changes in hearing (hearing aid, missing conversation) - Aches and stiffness may make certain exercises and activities painful - Shrinkage in height noticeable (vertebrae compression)

Happiness and marriage

Effect varies from place to place - Marriage provides additional sources of self-esteem and refuge from loneliness Factors of marital happiness: 1) Age at time of marriage - Teen couples more likely to be depressed, violent, and less educated than those who marry later in life 2) Quality of relationship - Childhood family relationships - Homogamy - Cohabitation - Big 5 personality traits (OCEAN) > Openness > Conscientiousness > Extroversion > Agreeableness > Neuroticism

What does Belsky mean by adolescence being eliminated for some young people? What factors play a role?

Eliminated for 1) children who enter the sex trade 2) Child soldiers These children don't have the chance to be teens Adolescence requires kinder, gentler societies - Impoverished/dangerous areas may not have the extra years of insulation from adult life

Peer pressure

Encouragement to conform to one's friends or contemporaries in behavior, dress, and attitude; usually considered a negative force, as when adolescent peers encourage one another to defy adult authority.

When is middle age?

Enter ~ 40-50 and exit ~60/ 65(?) - Roughly half of people in late 60s and 70s call themselves middle aged - Healthy and working people could still be considered middle age Factors that affect view of aging 1) Middle aged adults may embrace aging and feel frightened if they contract an off-time chronic disease 2) Gender and socioeconomic status also affect - Females + affluent adults have more upbeat aging attitudes 3) Personality (the most important) - Neuroticism

Finding love: shifts in searching for love

Erikson: - Intimacy vs. isolation --------------- Many more potential partners - Before, marriage was often arranged during puberty - Today, people freely choose partners, and that has expanded beyond our social networks - Dating outside of own ethnic group > Impacted by ethnicity (minorities more open to it than whites) > Religion (if literal interpretation Same-sex romance - Embracing your identity/self gives feeling of self-efficacy and relief

Erikson: emerging adulthood

Erikson: Search for identity - Identity vs. role confusion -Intimacy progresses from attraction to close connection to ongoing commitment. *Identity* - A consistent definition of one's self as a unique individual, in terms of roles, attitudes, beliefs, and aspirations *Identity achievement* - Erikson's term for the attainment of identity, or the point at which a person understands who he or she is as a unique individual (in accordances with past experiences and future plans) - Into one coherent self *Role confusion* - No sense of an adult path Moratorium - Taking time to explore different paths - Crucial to forming a solid adult identity

Evolving ideas about grieving

First months after death - Mourning, crying - Have trouble eating or sleeping - May ruminate about loved ones, carry reminders, share stories, look through photos, or focus on person's last days 6 months after - Expected to recover (in reconnecting to the world) - They still care about loved one - Loved one's memory can be evoked at special times ------------- Grief patterns shaped by each society's unique norms - Some expect people to mourn for decades - Some expected to mourn beforehand *Persistent complex bereavement-related disorder (prolonged grief)* - When person's symptoms of grieving continue or become more intense after 6 months to a year, and that individual shows no signs of reconnecting with the world - Controversial > Calls mourning pathological

Romantic relationships: Adolesence

First romances appear in high school, are short-lived. Heterosexual girls claim a steady partner more often than heterosexual boys do. Breakups, unreciprocated crushes common. Teens crushed by rejection, may contemplate revenge, suicide. LGBTQ teens may experience cultural or family rejection

War to prevent Alzheimer's

Focuses on amyloid protein - Basic constituent of senile plaques - Central to producing cortical decay (hypothetically) - Difficult to dissolve plaques after formation Early diagnosis crucial - No current test showing that person is getting ill - Steps: 1) Look for history of steady mental deterioration (signals delirium) 2) Rule out other physical/psychological causes 3) Explore person's performance on neuropsychological tests Mild cognitive impairment is important to study of aAlzheimers ------------------ Things you can do 1) Heart-healthy diet - Cardiovascular problems closely linked to cognitive loss 2) Being well educated - Offers cognitive reserve to buffer decline 3) Maybe mental exercise 4) Physical exercise!! - Slows plaque formation in adults with APOE marker

Major neurocognitive disorder (Dementia)

General label for any illnesses producing serious, progressive, and often irreversible cognitive problems that impair a person's to function - Minor forms (according to DSM) do not impair living independently People forget basic semantic information - Cannot recall core facts about lives Executive functions impaired Abstract reasoning becomes difficult People no longer think through options in decision-making Language abilities compromised Act inappropriately or behave recklessly ------------- Tend to happen in advanced old age - Irreversible loss of intellectual functioning caused by organic brain damage or disease - more common with age - abnormal & pathological even in oldest- old

Adult Happiness

Generativity is the key to *eudaimonic happiness* - Having a purpose and meaning - NOT related to *hedonic happiness* (feeling good) > Main adult mission isn't hedonic happiness, but purpose - Youth is not the happiest life stage (emerging adulthood peak for developing emotional problems) - Money can't buy happiness, but ONLY once we are fairly comfortable economically - Happiness can be measured and (probably) taught - Nation/government greatly affect wellbeing, and thus affects happiness ----------------- Patterns by major life events: Inverted U-Shaped •Patterns by age: strongly happier with age -Max happiness in 60's worldwide -Positive moods outweigh negative ones -Emotions more stable with age

Youth development programs

Give adolescents places to explore passions during late afternoon hours Foster the 5 C's - Competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection These settings can encourage group bullying and antisocial acts - Must be well socialized

Cognitive Output in late adulthood

Gradual decline in output of primary mental abilities (e.g. verbal meaning, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning, number ability, word fluency) is normal. • Health Better predictor than age - Terminal decline: faster loss of cognitive ability in last 12- 24 months of life • Cognition in late life can be improved - Training can improve cognitive ability, even for very old

Three theories of teenage thinking: Formal operational thinking (piaget)

Greater ability to think abstractly 1) Can think logically about concepts and hypotheticals - Manipulate concepts in our minds - Can think about untrue concepts (no longer only concrete objects) 2) Can approach problems in a systematic way - Think like real scientist - Pendulum test (pendulums of different weights and string lengths) 3) Acquire more knowledge 4) Mature use of metacognition 5) Ability to use more efficient, complex storage adn retrieval strategies for memory Concern with social, political, and moral issues

Remarriage

Harder to find another spouse if you are an older women with children Remarried couples say they are happier and have better communication - Have more witholding and avoidance in disagreements - Seem less committed (more positive opinions of divorce) - Preference for parent depends on length of stay (step vs. biological) - Stepchildren may be resistant to new parent

Childhood memories of generative adults

Have themes demonstrating a *commitment script* - Early memories of feeling blessed - Sensitive to suffering of others from a young age - Identity centered on generative values even in early life Most striking characteristic of generative adults is *redemption sequences* - Examples of devastating events that turned out in positive ways - Turn tragedies into growth experiences - Stressful life events often make us more mature ---------------------- What produces generative adults? 1) Presence of caring adults in a person's past African americans are more represented in generative community-minded adults - Overcome adversity and cope with discrimination - Strong religion - High empathy and sensitivity to suffering of others - Prosociality - High self-efficacy

Cultural variations on attitudes about death

Hmong - Dying is up close and personal, but never openly discussed - Relatives flock upon death and prepare body in traditional garments - If person dies in a hospital, it is important that body not be sent to the morgue immediately > Afterwards, there is extended mourning and hands on care

Holistic lifespan disease-prevention approach

How to increase healthy-life years and get closer to biological limit of life 1) Focus on childhood - Need to prevent premature birds, make inroads in child poverty, and improve early childhood education - Encourage teens to finish college 2) Focus on constructing caring communities - Commit to making cities senior-citizen friendly - Walkable, planned communities that allow people to exercise without going to gyms - Build services that provide nurturing social relationships

What are the contradictory stereotypes of teens?

Idealistic, thoughtful, introspective Moody, impulsive, out of control Ultimate rebels but also the driven wholly by the crowd 1) 2) More risk-taking - True in that they are more likely to take risks 3) Emotionally intense - Teens are more emotionally intense than adults 4) Most teens are unhappy or suffer from serious psychological problems - false

Maturity case

Increased by confronting challenges of adult life - Living with a romantic partner increases need for maturity (not true with roommates Agreeableness, extraversion, and especially conscientiousness rose from youth to middle age People's self criticism declines with age - Not narcissism - Older people tend to have a less egocentric, more altruistic attitude toward life - Greater generosity

Mourning a child

Incredibly difficult to cope with - Some parents show prolonged grief even after 4 years Evoke powerful feelings of survivor guilt > Failing one's mission as a parent A child's death can never be good because it is off time Does it help parents to discuss death with the child (if the child seems to understand and has inoperable cancer)? - No parents who talked with the child regretted it - More than half of parents who didn't and believed the child understood what was happening felt regret If parents feel satisfied that they said goodbye to their child, this helps lessen the pain. Helps grieving parents to *not sever the attachment bond* with the child key to recovering from terribly unfair deaths depends on finding new meaning in one's disrupted life story, and so restoring the idea that the universe is predictable and fair

How does culture affect pushing for autonomy?

Individualistic societies - Strive for parent child adult relationships that are less hierarchical, more like friends Children who move to other cultures - Clash with parents in fundamental worldviews - May have role reversal (with children translating as adults) - The sense of self-sacrifice on the parents' part may make the child feel closer to them > Helping in navigation can promote self-efficacy and empathy too *Immigrant paradox* - Despite coping with overload of stresses, many immigrant children in poverty do better than their peers

Ageism

Intensely negative attitudes about old age - Aversion varies in emerging adults based on personality traits and phobia to physical decline - Linked with physical and mental decline - Seen as less powerful - Seen as wise/gifted storytellers - Better at calmly handling conflict - Mellower ------------ - Old age was seen as a miracle in ancient times due to its rarity > upperclass men - distinction between active/healthy older people and disabled ones

Grandparenthood

Involvement depends on society/culture Even in hands off cultures like the West, grandparents have to be more involved than before (while parents work ----------------- Mission to care - Lifesaving - *Family watchdogs* - Step in during crisis to help younger family members cope > Done selectively - Usually function as mediators between parents and children, cheerleaders of family norms, and family glue > Symbols of connectedness

From an evolutionary perspective, why would the teenage struggle for power make sense?

It arises during puberty, so the hormones may propel it

How did Roosevelt's actions create a generation gap?

It boosted the intellectual skills of a cohort of americans, which separated them from their less educated, often immigrant parents

From an evolutionary standpoint, why does a heightened emotional sensitivity during adolescence make sense?

It propels adolescents to venture into the world - Vital to leaving parents and forming new, close attachments as adults

Big 5 personality traits

Largely genetic - personality less heritable as we age - Pretty stable after 30 - Role of personality in choosing *ecological niche* 1) Openness to experience - Passion to seek out new experiences - imaginative, curious, creative 2) Conscientiousness - Hardworking, self-disciplined, and reliable - Erratic, irresponsible (low) - Defined by good executive functions (thinking through actions and modulating emotions) - Have more stable marriages + live longer than peers because they take care of themselves 3) Extraversion - Outgoing attitudes (warmth, activity, assertion, gregariousness) 4) Agreeableness - Kindness, empathy, ability to compromise 5) Neuroticism - Tendency toward mental health versus psychological disturbance

Lifespan vs. life expectancy

Lifespan - We may get to late life and live a long time (~115-120) - Possibility Life expectancy - Based on the age we are now + how many more years we would be expected to live - Gender + ethnicity gap shrinking

Dealing with Alzheimers and other neurocognitive disorders

Main interventions are environmental For the person 1) Use external aids + make life predictable and safe - Notecards - Make things easy to access - Double-lock or put buzzers on doors (for safety) - Deactivate dangerous appliances - Put toxic substances out of reach Goals 1) Protect people and keep them functioning as well as possible for as long as possible 2) Be caring and offer lots of support Do not center on the label and forget the human being Positivity skills -------------------- For the caregiver 1) Faith can help with coping 2) Go to support groups 3) Relish the precious moments you have left - Offers a redemption sequence -------------------- Major environmental risk factors: 1) Lack of exercise 2) Stress

Being in college

Main value of undergrad years is to help people grow intellectually and personally Making college an inner-growth flow zone 1) Get the best professors and talk to them outside of class 2) Connect your classes to potential careers 3) Immerse yourself in the college milieu (get involved on campus) 4) Capitalize on the diverse human connections college provides - Don't just stay in your clique. Reach out of it

More realistic view of death

Many different emotions; wanting life to go on - more appropriate to view these feelings as "a complicated clustering of intellectual and affective states, some fleeting - *Middle knowledge* = knowing illness is terminal, but that knowledge not being grasped or come to terms with emotionally - When people realize are close to death, "an emotion that often burns strong is hope" > Religion, alternative therapies, idea that medical predictions can be wrong > Hope doesn't mean hoping for a cure "It may mean wishing you survive through the summer, or live to see your wife's book published, and not be bedridden before you die. It can mean hoping that your love lives on in your family, or that your life work will make a difference in the world."

Facts related to physical sexual decline - men - Andropause - women - menopause

Men - Desire remains 1) Need more time to develop erection 2) More likely to lose erection before ejaculation 3) Ejaculations less intense 4) Most cannot have another erection for 1-2 days after having had sex *Andropause* -Drop in testosterone levels in men, which may result in a reduction in sexual desire, erections, and muscle mass. ------------------ Women 1) Can be just as orgasmic in old age 2) More apt to turn off to sex than men - Due to environment. Being without a partner, having an older spouse with a chronic disease, not having anyone to respond to you sexually 3) *Menopause* (~50) - Estrogen production falls and women stop ovulating - Marked by not having menstruated for a year - Menstruation becomes more irregular leading up to it (perimenopause) - Lack of energy, back aches, joint stiffness, hot flashes, some sleeplessness (varies in culture and person) - Show minor rises in anxiety and depression (no direct impact on mental health) - Find menopause a relief - Vaginal wall thins and becomes more fragile - Vagina shortens and opening narrows - Size of clitoris + labia shrinks and blood flow decreases - Takes longer after arousal for lubrication to begin, and less lubricant is produced

U.S. retirement realities

Most cannot accumulate the needed pension to support a decent lifestyle for ~15 years Many adults have unrealistic impressions about retirement (e.g. family support or pensions) Reality 1) Longer working lives - Cause: Rising income inequality and loss in real wages - Can't save - Great recession of 2008 also hurt baby boomers' assets - Also helping struggling adult children financially - Particularly difficult for women (discontinuous employment + longer life) 2) Work after retirement - Can be fulfilling if it's a choice - Not much so in the US

Stimulus-value-role theory

Murstein views finding satisfying love as a 3-phase process 1) *Stimulus phase* - see potential partner and base judgement on superficial signs - Compare own reinforcement value to other person's > If values seem equal, we decide to go on a date 2) *Value-comparison phase* - Select right person by matching up in inner qualities/traits (interests, values, etc) 3) *Role phase* - Work out shared lives Opposites do not attract - *Homogamy* (similarity) is the driving force behind love relationships

Widowhood

Must remake identity and take on responsibilities as an individual During first months: - people are obsessed with events surrounding final death (especially if sudden) > Feel impulse to search for beloved (Bowlby attachment response) People do not simply get better after the death of a spouse - They emerge as different, hopefully more resilient human beings ----------------------- *Working model (constructing independent life) phase of widowhood* 1) Fluctuating emotions - Decline in depressive symptoms over time - Life satisfaction dips low at first year anniversary and rises during second year - AFter widowhood, there was a rise in well-being Explanation: - People may not realize how well they can cope on their own. Gain self-efficacy from it - Widowed people have worse mental health (compared to married adults) - *Widowhood mortality effect* > Higher risk of dying for surviving spouse after partner dies 2) Friends are more important than children in determining how people adjust - Need to reach out to friends - Can more openly share distress with friends Most widowed peopl are resilient - Disservice to assume they are incompetent and in need of help

ARe most adolescents emotionally disturbed?

No. There is a difference between being highly emotional and being emotionally disturbed

What do teens and parents tend to argue about?

Northern Europe + US - Academic issues Japanese/chinese - School-related conflicts outweigh everything else Middle east - Micromanaging peer relationships > Important to marry within one's own group Southern Europe - Children live with parents into late twenties > dependency and parent-child acrimony is a big concern All - Independence

emerging adulthood

Not a universal life stage - Currently only in western world Function: Exploration - Trying out different options before committing to adult roles - Exploring the self ------------ Challenges: 1) Need to re-center lives - Take control of ourselves and act like real adults - Idea of what is adult may differ depending on culture 2) Entry into an unstructured, unpredictable path

Ethnic identity

Our sense of belonging to an ethnic category - Identifying with one's ethnicity is correlated with host of positive attributes + traits - Buffers against becoming depressed or taking risks when faced with discrimination - Important to reach out to wider culture People of mixed racial/ethnic backgrounds (biracial or multiracial) face greater challenges - Identity achievement has widespread benefits - Having biracial/cultural background pushes people to think in more creative, complex ways about life AND promote resilience

Relationships with parents: teens

PUsh for autonomy and new closeness Conflicts - PEaks in early adolescence; sign of attachment Bickering - Petty, peevish arguing (about stuff that doesn't matter much) - USually repeated and ongoing Parental monitoring - Mixed outcomes > Too little and kids give into risk-taking behavior > Too much (not effective, problematic) Teens - Don't want parents to stop caring, check out, or give up on them - Know value of parental monitoring

US hospice path

Path depends on illness (individual trajectories) - Average hospice stay is ~2 weeks - 1/10 spend close to a year Issues in pain control rank high among hospice caregivers

Changing landscape of marriage

People used to get married based on practical concerns - Arranged - Short due to lower life expectancy Early 20th century - Thought that people should be married in 20s and be lovers for half-century or more - Defined gender roles Last third of 20th century - Womens movement said that women should have careers and spouses should share child care - Divorce, having babies out of marriage, and not getting married acceptable *Deinstitutionalization of marriage* - Marriage is no longer a standard adult "institution." Optional choice - Resulted in higher cohabitation - *Serial cohabitation* - living with different partners sequentially during life > Unlikely to have marriage goals

How does Elkind's adolescent egocentrism differ from the egocentrism that is part of Piaget's preoperational thought stage?

Piaget's egocentrism is literally the idea that children don't realize that others think differently than they do Elkind's teens understand that others have different thoughts. They just think they are at center stage

Socioemotional selectivity theory

Premise: Our place on the lifespan changes our life agendas - During first half of adult life, we look to the future. Want to get to a better place - As we grow older and realize future is limited, we refocus our priorities (make the most of the present) This "making the most of every moment" may be why late life is the happiest life stage - Less interested in where we will be going. Refuse to waste time on unpleasant situations that have a payoff later on - Social priorities shift. > Center lives on the people we love the most (more on family) > Have more positive interpersonal encounters than the young - Limit social encounters

Dementia Prevention & Treatment

Prevention: • Regular physical exercise: Reduces the incidence of all forms of dementia by half • Avoiding pathogens, polypharmacy Treatment: • Overall health evaluation • Specific neuropsychological evaluation • Medications • Rehabilitation to prevent further loss • Safe environment: don't wait

Home deaths: pros + cons

Pros: 1) Avoid life-prolonging machines 2) Spend final days surrounded by loved ones 3) Spend final days in physical setting you love cons: 1) Worries about family members not being able to control your pain 2) Fear of burdening family with care 3) No privacy to vent feelings 4) Embarrassment of depending on loved ones for help with intimate body functions

Divorce

Reasons - Communication problems - Lack of attachment Consequences - Many lifestyle + Financial changes - Can produce emotional growth and feelings of self efficacy - Sexual renewal People in unhappy marriages felt liberated after divorce Relatively satisfied couples had declines in wellbeing

Social Context: Adult Children

Relationships with Younger Generations - In past centuries, most adults died before their grandchildren were born. - Today, some families span five generations. - *Beanpole family* (very few children) *Filial responsibility* - Obligation of adult children to care for aging parents. - Major goal among adults in U.S. is to be self-sufficient

Limits of a similar partner

Relationships work better when one person is more dominant and the other is more submissive Objective similarity doesn't matter as much as beilieving the other has good personality traits Want someone who embodies our ideal self - Happy couples see partner through rose-tinted glasses - Over estimate similarities with partner - Inflate partner's virtues

Life as a retiree

Retirement at age 65 usually has no effect on well-being Leaving work early and feeling forced out negatively affects emotional and physical health Satisfying retirement (same as any age) 1) Be open to experience 2) Be generative 3) Healthy 4) Happily married 5) Economic resources to enjoy life Having a serious leisure passion smooths way to retirement Predicting whether people will flourish 1) Is retirement on time + did person voluntarily leave work? 2) What are they like as a person?

Cognition: post-formal

Role of experience: practical intelligence •Appreciation of multiple perspectives -Decline in egocentrism -Can solve problems better with others Cognitive flexibility -Overcome stereotypes, change mind Dialectical Thinking -Create synthesis Reflective & Expansive thinking

Fatherhood

Roles of father have expanded from traditional *breadwinner role* to also being the *nurturer father* - Both bringing home money and taking care of children - Good role models that give children an idea of how men should behave - Authority figures ----------------- How fathers act: 1) Spend more time with sons than daughters 2) Play in classically male active play way 3) Do half as much hands on care as women - Mothers take bottom-line responsibility of scheduling appointments, taking care of sick children, etc Involvement skewed towards play activity ----------------

Memory-systems perspective

Says that there are three basic types of memory: 1) *Procedural* - Info we automatically remember - Unconscious - Ex. muscle memory - Extremely long lasting > Due to fact it resides in a different part of the brain (migrates out of frontal after we master it) - People with alzheimer's retain this 2) *Semantic* - Factual knowledge - Crystallized - Older people do just as well as young in this 3) *Episodic* - Ongoing events of daily life - The most fragile (especially isolated events) - This is what is lost with age

Information-processing perspective on memory change in old age

See memory as progressing through stages - Gateway system is working memory > Limited memory space > Executive processor transforms temporary storage to long term memory - Working memory declines through adulthood Reason - Deficits in executive processor > Can't attend to what they need to learn > Symptom is the difficulty with divided-attention tasks - Reflect deterioration of the frontal lobes > Erosion of myelin and synaptic loss

Theories of Late Adulthood

Self Theories • Theories of late adulthood that emphasize the core self; maintaining functioning, identity. - *Selective optimization with compensation is central to self theories* Integrity versus despair (Erikson): Older adults seek to integrate unique experiences with their vision of community. Socioemotional Selectivity (Carstensen): Older adults maintain good functioning by limiting social interactions to people who help maintain emotional stability Continuity theory • Changes & behavior are consistent with earlier behavior (personality stability)

What happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s?

Sense of an adolescent society bonded against elders and peaked during this time - Rejection of conventional rules related to marriage and gender roles

Overview of usual cognitive aging

Sensory Input: age related deficits in sensory detections • Memory Storage: impaired by anxiety, differential changes • Working Memory: slows, difficulty w/multitasking; - helped with more time to solve problems • Semantic Memory: remains strong • Episodic Memory: age related decline • Control processes: lose efficiency, more difficult to regulate and analyze streams of information

Sex and reproduction: emerging adulthood

Sexual-reproductive system vigorous: peak production of sex hormones •Sex drive powerful, infertility rare, orgasm frequent, birth relatively easy, with fewer complications Sex in relationships: •Fertility •STI's

Good death vs. bad death

Should be: - After a long life - Peaceful and sudden - In the homeland (surrounded by loved ones) 1) We want to minimize our physical distress, to be as free as possible from debilitating pain. 2) We want to maximize our psychological security, reduce fear and anxiety, and feel in control of how we die. 3) We want to enhance our relationships and be close emotionally to the people we care about. 4) We want to foster our spirituality and have the sense that there was integrity and purpose to our lives. --------------------------- Bad death - Protracted, painful, off-time, alone, in fear

Specific signs of aging (parts)

Skin - Dryer, thinner, less elastic, more wrinkled - Age spots Hair - Loss (Especially men) - Grayer + thinner with age Body shape - Body fat redistributes. Collects in hips + torso (pot belly) + lower face (double chin - Not a serious health issue 10) Brain - There is cognitive decline - Brain is flexible and can be trained and exercised even in old age

Motor performance in old age

Slowness - Puts older people out of sync with physical world > May contribute to our prejudices in our fast-paced, time-oriented society - Due to loss of info processing speed (slower *reaction time*/decline in ability to quickly respond to sensory input) Back - Women develop a stoop (bend in upper back) > Due to osteoperosis (loss of calcium that leaves bones brittle) Loss of muscle strength + joint flexibility - *Osteoarthritis* (breakdown of cartilage which leads to joint inflammation, stiffness, and pain) Lung capacity - Declines with age - Loss of muscle tone leads to inability to fully expel carbon dioxide > Less room for taking in O2 = less O2 circulating Heart - Pumping capacity declines as heart rate slows and heart muscles thicken/become more rigid > Primary aging contributes, but secondary aging may contribute - Risk for *angina*, *arteriosclerosis*, blood clots, lung infections, and abnormal breathing patterns

What can make old age the unhappiest time of life?

Social connectedness is critical to happiness - Loss via death takes a toll Combine this with physical losses When people are frail/disabled and death looms, life can lose purpose and joy

Main marital pathway

Start with high expectations, then become disenchanted - Peak satisfaction is during honeymoon. Decreases after - Decline steepest during first few years. Levels around year 4 Patterns for gay and lesbian partners are similar Satisfaction heavily impacted by demands (work, children, aging parents) *U-shaped curve of marital satisfaction* - After dipping to a low point, couples can get happier at the empty nest (when spouses can focus on each other again) - Swings up again at retirement

Love: adult attachment styles

Studied via current relationship interview where people are asked about their goals and feelings about their romantic relationships. Responses are then coded - Time intensive 1) *Preoccupied/ambivalent* -Fall quickly and deeply in love - Engulfing and needy, so tend to be rejected or chronically unfulfilled - Dependent and angry at not being treated correctly 2) *Avoidant/dismissive* - Unable to get close in relationships - Witholding, aloof, reluctant to engage - Talk about advantages of being together in non-intimate terms 3) *Secure* - Capable of genuine intimacy in relationships - Coherently describe +/- of relationships - Talk freely about desire for intimacy - Adopt other-centered perspective (nurture other as primary goal) - Balance own needs with those of partner Best predictor of being securely attached is maintaining close friendships as a teen People can change attachment status - Somewhat enduring and consistent, arising partly from recent love experiences - Stable because they operate as a self-fulfilling prophecy Correlational

What is the experience-sampling technique?

Subjects carry around a pager, which emitted a signal at random intervals during each day for a week When beeper went off, subject fills in the information on a chart - Mood, day, time, what they were doing ++ thinking about

Nonsuicidal self-injury

Suicide in teens is rare Self-injury is used specifically to cope with stress - Cutting happens when emotionally fragile teens experience low self-esteem > Hatred of the self that failed - Twisted way of defining one's identity and preserving the sense of an enduring self Depression rates rise during teenage years - Women are 2x more susceptible than men, despite the ratio being equal during childhood Mental health disorders arise in late adolescence or early adult years

T or F: Most adolescents are confident and hopeful about the future.

T

Finding love: A more erratic, extended dating phase

The largest group of emerging adults (1/3) are low involvement - SPoradic or no romantic involvement Have on-again off-again relationships - Break up and get back together Extended finding-love phase related to time it takes to construct a career - In places with many career options, love is put off until school is finished People with one-night stands or friends-with-benefits encounters are at risk of having poorer mental health - FWB less problematic for woman than ONS - ONS have fewer mental health downsides for men than other sexes

What purposes do these groups serve?

They convey teens to relationships with the opposite sex Unisex cliques (~entry to middle school) v Crowds (late middle school/early highschool) v Mixed-sex cliques (high school) v Romantic partners Crowd provides safety in numbers, allowing for intermingling ---------------- Other crowd purposes 1) Connect with others who share values School size is important to whether crows form - In large high schools > Allows you to find similar people

Brain development during late adulthood

Thinning of gray matter - Due to loss of neurons and reduction in synapses White matter loss (After 40) - Due to loss of axons, myelin sheaths, and glial cells ----------- When neurons die, other neurons often take over their function and dendrites continue to grow - Not much issue in thinking or behavior Brain slow-down - Decrease in reaction time and sped of info processing - Related to reduction in production of neurotransmitters, total volume of neural fluid, speed of cerebral blood flow, and pace of activity in the brain. - May not affect contexts where expertise, rather than speed is required (Expertise can compensate) ---------------- Use different areas of brain to solve problems --------------- Brain shrinkage - Hypothalamus (memory) and prefrontal cortex (planning, inhibiting responses, and coordinating thoughts)

Which teens thrive?

Thriving does not mean staying out of trouble - Testing limits is nromal Teens that: 1) have superior executive functions and can thoughtfully direct their lives 2) Are connected to school 3) Have a mentor or VIP (very important non-parental adult) 4) Having a life interest , provided caring adults nurture the passion 5) Attending religious services (Especially in two-parent families)

T or F: Adolescents are more emotionally intense than adults. + what we know

True Teens experience more intense emotions and have greater shifts in mood - Short lasting The moods are not irrational

Can we live to 1000?

Undernutrition without malnutrition - Restricted to less food but given a nutritionally rich diet - Calorie restriction is an all-purpose anti-ager - Has only been tested in rats and has confusing effects --------------- Why extending max lifespan is unrealistic 1) Body breakdown of aging has complex causes - No one magic cure - Another thing will just go wrong 2) Survival of our species promotes living through grandparent years only

Global elder-care scene

Used to be multigenerational households Support network fraying in some collectivist cultures historically most committed to family care - In japan, nursing homes are common - China people moving to city to find work. One child policy also makes it difficult. Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark) - Government-funded home health services - Take care of people in their own homes - Innovative elderly housing alternatives - Free and government funded

Summary of personality (and well-being)

What emerging adults can expect: 1) To grow in maturity and become more conscientious - Core personality will probably not change much over the years 2) Become more self-assured and altruistic 3) Priorities shift toward more generative concerns and grow in generativity 4) If you rank high on conscientiousness and other positive big 5 traits; have prosocial, generative priorities; and deal productively with trauma; you will have a more fulfilling middle age Note: Difficult to grow emotionally if you are in poverty or in a society full of conflict/corruption where life traumas are routine - Happiness depends on living in a generative society > People happiest in nations where they trust government to be fair/effective, and income inequalities are relatively small. - Most likely to flourish when people around us are flourishing too

When do we prioritize the present, regardless of life stage?

Whenever we see our future as limited, we pare down social contacts, maximize positive experiences, and spend time with people we care about the most - Also explains why we take time when we are in danger of losing a loved one

What are "bad crowds"?

Why bad crowds cause kids to do bad things 1) Peer sway - Model "leader" (most antisocial member) - Causes increasingly risky actions 2) Impact of being in a group - Group high = do increasingly crazy things

Activities in Late Adulthood

Work & Volunteerism - The activities of older people are intense and varied. -Work provides financial resources, social support and status, boosting self-esteem. -Employment promotes generativity. Continuing Education - About one out of five U.S. adults age 66+ was enrolled in continuing education in 2005. • Religious Involvement - Older adults attend fewer services compared to those in mid-life, but show increases in faith and other religious practices • Political activism

Driving in old age

Worry that being unable to drive means they will have to leave their homes Requires/is affected by - vision - hearing losses because we become alert to the location of other cars partly by their sound - muscle strength to push down the pedals - the joint flexibility to turn the wheel. - slowed reaction time. Older people limit their driving - Some don't realize how bad their driving is though Most trouble at complex intersections + poor visibility + left turns into traffic - Divided attention needed - Complex info processing -------------- Interventions 1) Need to give older drivers neuropsychological tests 2) Redesign driving environment > adequate lighting > Construct walkable communities > Invest in mass transportation

Different categories of old

Young-old (70%) - Healthy, vigorous, financially secure older adults (60 to 75) who are well integrated into the lives of their families and communities. Old-old (20%) - Older adults (75 to 85) who suffer some physical, mental, or social deficits. Oldest-old (10%) - Oldest adults (over age 85) who may be increasingly dependent on others, requiring supportive services such as nursing-home care and hospital stays.

Postformal thought

postformal thought: - A uniquely adult form of intelligence that involves being sensitive to different perspectives, making decisions based on one's inner feelings, and being interested in exploring new questions ------------------ Qualities: 1) Relativistic - Realize that most problems do not have clear-cut answers - Accept validity of multiple perspectives - Embrace ambiguities of life - Truth is relative - Make better decisions because they are open to changing ideas 2) Feeling oriented - Go beyond rationality - Less rigid, more open, and in touch with inner lives 3) Question-driven - Less focused on solutions - Thrive on developing new questions and reconsidering their opinions Not all people reason in this way, due to it being linked to enduring personality All can take a more realistic view of societal change ------------------------- Expert knowledge system involving excellent judgment about critical, practical life issues -Focuses on important, broad issues -Requires superior levels of knowledge, judgment, and ability to advise -Based on depth and breadth of knowledge: peak of human cognitive achievement -Wisdom combines mind and virtue for personal and broader benefit -Wisdom is easily recognized by most people

Nursing homes

provide shelter and services to people with basic ADL problems—individuals who do require 24-hour caregiving help. Mostly women and older adults ---------- Why people enter nursing homes: 1) Occurrence of an incapacitating event (ex. breaking hip, alzheimer's) ---------- Predicting who ends up in nursing homes: - Both nature and nurture - Availability of network of attachment figures to provide care > The more figures, the lower risk of being in long term care ---------- Different paths once in nursing homes - Short stop before returning home - Short stop before death - Long term care ----------- People start paying out of pocket and eventually spend down until they are impovershed - Nursing homes financed through medicaid (which is specifically for the poor)

Stagnation

selfish, focused on own needs, desires, no further development, rigidity

Successful Aging

• Ability to maintain functioning, valued activities, meet challenges of aging • Majority of older Americans perceive themselves to be healthy, engaged • Social comparison crucial - How well we do in comparison to others • Life satisfaction influenced by: Health, money, social class, marital status, adequacy of housing, and amount of social interaction

Dimensions of grief

•Grief -- emotional numbness, illogic, disbelief, separation anxiety, despair, sadness, and loneliness Many dimensions •pining or yearning •separation anxiety •despair and sadness •hopelessness and defeat Mourning: rituals, public expression of loss, culturally, religiously prescribed *Complicated grief:* longer than 6-12 months past loss

Making sense of the world: grief

•Grieving may stimulate attempts to make sense of the world •Bereaved want to put death in a perspective they can understand •Placing blame another way to attempt to make meaning; less positive outcomes •Trying to make meaning not always logical

Cultivation of Expertise

•Selective (domain specific) •Not more intelligent, but more experienced •Automatic and flexible, relies less on stereotypes •Better strategies, especially for unexpected