Psyc 230: Ch. 13-17 Practice Review Questions

What is the socioemotional selectivity theory? How does it address the question of disengagement?

It is when older adults become more selective about their social network.

This Austrian psychiatrist, a concentration camp survivor, wrote the book Man's Search for Meaning, where he proposed that the human qualities of spirituality, freedom, and responsibility were the key to finding one's true meaning in life (and death).

Viktor E. Frankl

Adele is visiting her grandfather who is in his last days. She pulled the hospice worker aside and asked, "What do I do if he starts crying?" The hospice worker knows ____________ is typically the best suggestion.

allowing the individual to express their feelings

A 12-year longitudinal study revealed that older adults who had persistently low or declining feelings of usefulness to others had:

an increased risk of earlier death

Mrs. Hernandez has considerable pain and swelling in her wrists, fingers, and knees. It is becoming very difficult for her to maintain her usual routines as her stiffness increases. Mrs. Hernandez likely has:

arthritis

Zane's mother seems to knoe every historical fact about their hometown. You can pick any building and she can tell you who has owned it. Zane is impressed with his mother's _____ intelligence.

crystallized

Describe crystallized and fluid intelligence, give examples of their use in everyday life, and tell how they change across adulthood.

crystallized intelligence are things that are imprented in the brain, while fluid intelligence are things that tend to be forgotten over time an example of crystallized intelligence is knowing historical facts about a certain area and never forgetting that information an example of fluid intelligence is knowing vocabulary words and forgetting the definitions over time fluid intelligence declines as you get older, while crystallized intelligence is maintained

What are the leading causes of death in middle adulthood? Why is that such a complex question?

death is more likely to result from the combined effects of several chronic conditions

How does executive functioning change in late adulthood?

declines in late adulthood

According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, which of the following is the first stage of dying

denial and isolation

From about the ages of 28 to 33, a man goes through a transition period in which he must face the more serious question of:

determining his goals

_____ _____ is grief over a deceased person that is socially ambiguous and cannot be openly mourned or supported.

disenfranchised grief

A flat electroencephalogram (EEG) recording for a specified period of time is one criterion of:

brain death

What happens to bone and joint functioning during this segment of the lifespan?

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

Which regions of the adult human brain where neurogenesis has been documented?

hippocampus and olfactory bulb

_____ is a program committed to making the end of life as free from pain, anxiety, and depression as possible.

hospice

In a recent Canadian study of older adults, what was linked to aging successfully?

physical activity

Why has the life-events approach to understanding adult development has been criticized?

placed too much emphasis on change

Sleep deprivation in middle-age has been linked to all of the following:

problems with long-term memory consolidation increased risk of stroke less effective immune system functioning

Traditional Amish groups cope with death by:

Providing much community support for the family over several months

Approximately _____ of the total health bill of the United States is for the care of adults 65 and over, who comprise only 12% of the population.

1/3

What was the average life expectancy in 1900 and what percentage of the population lived past 65 years of age?

47 years; 3%

Recent research suggests that being widowed is associated with an approximately _____ increase in risk of mortality.

48

What is the average life expectancy for individuals born in 2013 in the United States?

78.8 years

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

Age Identity

_____ refers to a progressive, irreversible brain disorder that is characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, eventually, physical function.

Alzheimer's disease

This theorist referred to midlife as "the afternoon of life."

Carl Jung

Describe the three diseases that can impair the vision of older adults. Highlight the differences between each one.

Cataracts: thickening of the lens of the eye causing cloudy and distorted vision Glaucoma: damage to the optic nerve because of the pressure created by a buildup of fluid in the eye Macular Degeneration: deterioration of the macula of the retina, which corresponds to the focal center of the visual field

Define euthanasia. Describe the two types of euthanasia. Create a hypothetical example of each to illustrate the differences.

Euthanasia is the painless ending of life of those suffering from incurable disease or severe disability. The two different types are passive and active. Passive is when someone is withholding treatment and active is when death is deliberately induced.

Define grief and describe its major dimensions.

Grief is emotional numbness, disbelief, separation anxiety, despair, sadness, and loneliness that accompany the loss of someone we love. The major dimensions are complicated grief and disenfranchised grief.

Describe the methodology used by George Vaillant, and then more specifically the characteristics of individuals in his "happy-well" category that he proposed when conducting the Grant Study.

It was a study of Harvard University men in their early 30s and late 40s who had been initially been interviewed as undergraduates

List and describe parts of the life review process:

Looking back at one's life experiences, evaluating and interpreting/ reinterpreting them, developing mature wisdom and understanding

Describe the differences between normal aging, pathological aging, and successful aging.

Normal Aging: changes aging individuals experience that are not necessarily harmful Pathological Aging: changes that take place due to illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease Successful Aging: physical, mental, and social well-being that comes with aging

Describe the selective optimization with compensation model.

Successful aging is linked to 3 main factors; Selection, Optimization, and Compensation.

Describe the empty nest syndrome, and who is likely to refill it and why.

The empty nest syndrome is the decrease in marital satisfaction after the children leave home. The children return to the family after graduating college, or to save money after taking a full time job.

A(n) _____ states such preferences as whether life-sustaining procedures should or should not be used to prolong the life of an individual when death is imminent.

advanced directive

Describe the hormonal stress theory of aging.

aging in the body's hormonal system can lower resistance to stress and increase the likelihood of disease

The main reasons the middle-aged and older men cited for their divorce.

fell out of love, cheating, different lifestyle/values

Give five characteristics of participants in either the New England Centenarian Study or the New England Supercentenarian Study.

few are obese, habitual smoking is rare, small percentages had significant changes in their thinking skills, longevity genes, genetic links

The name Erikson gave to the seventh stage in his life-span theory.

generativity vs. stagnation

Identify three of the physical changes that take place during middle adulthood; provide an example of these changes.

hair becomes thinner grayer nails become thicker and more brittle their skin wrinkles and sags

Due to his son's financial and legal problems, Frank is now raising his grandchildren. As a result, Frank is at risk for developing:

health problems, depression, and stress

Victoria is so proud that her daughter wants to be a nurse, just like her mother. Victoria feels like her legacy will continue on in her daughter's work. Erik Erikson would describe this as meeting Victoria's need for generativity to achieve a sense of:

immortality

According to Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory, this is the name of the eighth and final stage of development.

integrity vs. despair

According to Erik Erikson, which of the following stages of development do individuals experience in late adulthood?

integrity vs. despair

_____ refers to a legal document that reflects the patient's advance care planning.

living will

Which of the following personality descriptors places individuals on a continuum from secure to insecure?

neuroticism

Prolonged or complicated grief is associated with grief that lasts:

over an extended period of time 6+ months

Gerry, 72 years old, is feeling sluggish and mentally cloudy because he is having trouble sleeping. After talking with his nurse practitioner, he learned that recent research has found that _____ improves the sleep profile of older adults.

regular exercise

The term not used in your textbook to describe middle-aged adults who care for their own adolescent or young adulthood children as well as their aging parents is the _____ generation.

sandwich

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

sarcopenia

Successful aging is related to what three main factors?

selection, optimization, and compensation

Describe the seven different retirement pathways outlined by leading expert Phyllis Moen.

some individuals don't retire from their careers some retire from their career work and then take up a new and different job some retire from career jobs but do volunteer work some retire from a post-retirement job and go on to yet another job some move in and out of the workforce, so they will never have a "career" job from which they retire some individuals who are in poor health move to a disability status and eventually into retirement some who are laid off define it as "retirement"

Now that Benita is in late adulthood, the socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that she will:

spend most of her time with familiar friends

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

spirituality

_____ develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation.

stagnation

What is an advantage of a dying individual knowing that he or she is dying?

they have time to reflect on their lives, make sense of the world, and make decisions about dying

Erikson's stages of psychosocial development

trust vs mistrust autonomy vs shame and doubt initiative vs guilt industry vs inferiority identity vs role confusion intimacy vs isolation generativity vs stagnation integrity vs despair

Describe gender differences in response to stress.

women respond with depressive symptoms and react with a tend-and-befriend pattern, seeking social alliances with others whereas men respond with a fight-or-flight manner, become aggressive, withdraw from social contact, or drink alcohol

The mental "workbench" in the mind where individuals manipulate information and solve problems.

working memory