Chapter 17: Physical Development in Late Adulthood

Sleep apnea

A condition in which breathing ceases for 10 seconds or longer, resulting in many brief awakenings

Autoimmune response

A condition in which the immune system malfunctions and turns against normal body tissues

Assistive technology

An array of devices that permit people with disabilities to improve their functioning

Activities of daily living (ADLs)

Basic self-care tasks required to live on one's own, such as bathing, dressing, getting in and out of bed or a chair, or eating

Macular degeneration

Blurring and gradual loss of central vision that occurs when light-sensitive cells in the macula break down

Cataracts

Cloudy areas in the lens of the eye, resulting in foggy vision and (without surgery) eventual blindness

Although village and tribal societies tend to believe that age and wisdom go together, this is not true in industrialized nations.

False

In old age, remote memory is clearer than memory for recent events.

False

In the laboratory, older adults do better on time-based than on event-based prospective memory tasks.

False

Older adults have more trouble telling a story than younger individuals because they have difficulty constructing elaborate, hierarchically organized episodes.

False

Research reveals only slight individual differences in cognitive functioning in late adulthood.

False

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)

Tasks necessary to conduct the business of daily life and also requiring some cognitive competence, such as telephoning, shopping, food preparation, housekeeping, and paying bills

Life expectancy crossover

The age after which surviving members of economically disadvantaged ethnic minority groups live longer than members of the white majority

Average healthy life expectancy

The number of years a person born in a particular year can expect to live in full health, without disease or injury

Average life expectancy

The number of years that an individual born in a particular year can expect to live, starting at any age

Maximum lifespan

The species-specific biological limit to length of life, corresponding to the age at which the oldest known individual died.

A wide variety of chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and arthritis, are strongly associated with cognitive declines.

True

Age differences in implicit memory, or memory without conscious awareness, are much smaller than in explicit memory.

True

As long as they perceive problems as under their control and as important, older adults are active and effective in solving them.

True

Language comprehension changes little in late life as long as conversational partners do not speak too quickly and older adults are given time to process written text accurately.

True

Older adults can have difficulty remembering the source of information, particularly when potential sources are similar.

True

Functional age

Unlike chronological age, this refers to actual competence and performance