DEP 3404 Exam #2
Be familiar with behavioral risk factors for chronic diseases in later adulthood (Figure 5.1).
1. Tobacco smoking 2. Physical inactivity 3. Unhealthy diet 4. Harmful alcohol use = 1. Raised blood pressure. 2. Raised blood sugar. 3. Raised and abnormal blood lipids. 4. Obesity. = 1. Cardiovasucular disease. 2. Cancer 3. Diabetes. 4. Chronic respiratory disease.
______________ refers to the thickening and hardening of arteries
Arteriosclerosis.
Be familiar with inhibitory control. What type of task is used to measure inhibitory control. How do younger and older adults compare?
Attention Types of Attention Tasks: -Research on attention and aging try to determine whether older adults have difficulty with Inhibitory control: turning off one response while performing another. -Decreases with age. -With practice, healthy older adults can activate different areas of the brain to raise performance (e.g., on Stroop task) to comparable levels. Example: Stroop Test: -Name the color of link -Response time and accuracy compared when color and word match with performance when color and word do not match. -Good inhibitory control = able to turn off naming of color based on word.
Be familiar with Alzheimer's (AZ) Disease. Specifically, the biological changes that occur with the disease (i.e., beta amyloid plaque formation, neurofibrillary tangles), proposed causes of the disease and the genes thought to be involved. Be familiar with risk and protective factors.
Alzheimer's Disease: Biological Changes: -Steps in formation of beta-amyloid plaque. 1. As it is being made, amyloid precursor protein (APP) sticks through the neuron's membrane. 2. Enzymes cleave beta-amyloid protein, releasing it into the space outside the neuron. 3. Clumps of beta-amyloid collect and begin to form a plaque. Amyloid Plaques (cont.) -Also have potential to kill neurons -Caspase theory proposes that beta-amyloid stimulates the production of caspases, enzymes that are lethal to neurons. -Apoptosis (destruction of neurons) ultimately leads to the loss of cognitive functioning. Neurofibrillary tangles -Tau proteins play a role in maintaining stability of microtubules that form internal support structure of axons. -Microtubules guide nutrients from cell body down to the end of axons. -In AZ, tau is changed and loses ability to support microtubules. -Tubules then begin to wind around each other and they can no longer perform their function (transport system collapses). Neurofibrillary Tangles (cont) -Collapse of the transport system within the neuron first results in malfunctions in communication between neurons leading to death of neuron. -Tangles occur early in the disease and progresses substantially before individual shows behavioral symptoms. -Earliest changes occur in hippocampus and entorhinal region of cortex (critical to memory retention of learned info). **What we know Alzheimer's disease is associated with formation of plaques and tangles (in areas of brain controlling memory and other vital cognitive functions). **What we don't know What causes these changes? And whether development of plaques and tangles is the cause of neuronal death, or result of other processes that cause neurons to die. -Existence of plaques and tangles is not a certain sign that an individual will have cognitive symptoms. Alzheimer's Disease: Proposed Causes: -The guiding theory is that genetic abnormalities are somehow responsible for the neuronal death that is the hallmark of AZ. -Based on discovery that certain families seemed more prone to a form of the disease that struck at 40 to 50 years (AKA: early-onset familial AZ). -4 genes discovered thought to account for about ½ of all early-onset familial AZ (all linked to excess amounts of beta-amyloid protein). -Genetic analysis also found evidence of another gene involved in familial AZ that starts at a more conventional age of 60 or 65 years (AKA: Late onset AZ). -Only 5% of all cases are familial and the rest show no inherited pattern. **Genes thought to be involved in Alzheimer's disease Theory 1. ApoE gene (chromosome 19): Processes: ApoE is a protein that carries cholesterol throughout the body and also binds to beta amyloid and may lead to plaques. -One of the prime genes involved in late onset familiar AZ 2. APP gene (chromosome 21): Processes: APP gene appears to control production of APP, protein that generates beta-amyloid. -One of the first genetic defects found to be associated with familial AZ. 3. Presenilin genes (PS1 and PS2): Processes: Lead APP to increase its production of beta-amyloid, which then cause neurofibrillary tangles and increase in amyloid plaques. Most early onset familial AZ associated with deficits in these genes. **Risk Factors: 1. Age: Older 2. Genetic: APOE4 -Other genes 3. Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease: High BMI. -High serum cholesterol 4. Lifestyle: Smoking High Alcohol intake. -High saturated fats in diet 5. Other conditions: Depression -Traumatic brain injury. -Occupational exposure to heavy metals. -Certain infectious agents (herpes simplex virus 1). **Protective Factors that may reduce risk of AZ 1. Psychosocial: •Higher education and SES. •High levels of complexity at work. •Rich social network and engagement. •Mentally stimulating activity. 2. Lifestyle: •Physical Exercise. •Moderate alcohol intake. •Mediterranean diet. •Fish high in omega-3. •Antioxidant vitamins (A, C, and E). •Vitamin D. 3. Drugs: •Antihypertensive drugs. •Statins. •HRT. •NSAIDS.
The plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease are made up of which substance?
Beta amyloid.
In the Type A behavior pattern, high scores on hostility seem strongly related to which health outcome?
Cardiovascular disease.
A 65-year-old man smoked all his life and now has ____________, a combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The idea that intelligence tests such as the WAIS-IV show a peak in overall IQ in early adulthood is called the ____________ pattern.
Classic aging.
Be familiar with the Correspondence Principle.
Correspondence principle -Explains how personality and experiences interact. -People experience particular life events that reflect their personality traits. -Once these life events occur, they further affect people's personalities. -Personality stability is enhanced by the active choices that people make.
The ________________ principle would predict that, over time, a highly agreeable person would be more liked by other people, which would further increase that person's agreeableness over the years of?
Correspondence.
____________ refers to the acquisition of specific skills and info people gain as a result of exposure to language, knowledge, and conventions of culture
Crystalized intelligence.
___________ is a speech pattern directed at older adult similar to the way people talk to babies.
Elderspeak.
Be familiar with the different types long term memory (LTM) (i.e., episodic, remote, flashbulb memory, semantic, procedural, implicit, source, prospective, retrieval induced forgetting) and which types of LTM decline with age; which types of LTM do not decline with age.
Effects of Aging on Long Term Memory In Adulthood: Long-term memory: -Storage of information that is held for a period of time ranging from several minutes to a lifetime. Process includes 1. Encoding - when learning info initially. 2. Storage - Info kept in long term. 3. Retrieval - when needed to use it later on. **Abilities that decline -Episodic memory -Source memory -False memory -Tip-of-the-tongue (names) -Prospective memory **Abilities that do not decline -Flashbulb memory -Semantic memory -Procedural memory -Implicit memory -Autobiographical memory ("reminiscence bump") Episodic Memory: -LTM for events that took place in the past. -Older adults experience impairments both in encoding and retrieving information. -Depends on the integrity of connections among frontal cortex, temporal and parietal lobes and areas of subcortex (thalamus). -In normal aging, structural changes in the brain compensated by heightened activation of the prefrontal cortex. -Based on Scaffolding theory: Older adults are able to recruit alternative neural networks as needed by task demands to make up for losses suffered elsewhere in the brain. Remote Memory: -Involves the recall of information from the distant past. -MYTH: Older people can remember information for many years in the past better than they can remember more recent information. -EXCEPTION: Autobiographical memory [or the recall of information from a person's own past]. -Many individuals experience a reminiscence bump of very clear memories for the ages of from about 10 to 30 years (effect is particularly strong for happy memories). Flashbulb Memory: -Recall of important and distinctive events that stand out from other memories of past events. -When older adults form such memories they are likely [as younger adults] to recall them correctly. Semantic Memory: -Ability to recall word meanings and the factual information. -There are no declines in normal older adults. -Older adults are able to remember word meanings and a broad array of factual information on a comparable level with younger adults. Procedural Memory: -Recall of the actions involved in particular tasks. -Holds up well with age. -Contributes to the ability of older adults to compensate for some of their loss of speed and working memory in diverse areas. Implicit Memory: -Long-term memory for information that people acquire without intending to do so. -Does not appear to be affected by the aging process. How is it tested? 1. Presenting participants with a task that involves manipulating but not remembering information. **E.g., participants presented with a list of words and asked to place them into categories but not to recall them. Later are asked to recall the words previously instructed to only categorize. 2. Priming: show information that leads participants to think of certain things, topics, or situations. **E.g., participants see a list of words containing the word "Apple". Later are shown the word fragment such as "A _ P_ _" and asked to fill in remaining three blanks. If participants respond "Apple", implicit memory is demonstrated. Source Memory: -The recall of where or how a person acquires information. -Older adults Have greater difficulty on source memory tasks when they must judge where they saw an item on a previous occasion. -Older adults also more susceptible to false or illusory memories in which they say they remember something they never happened. -False memories measured using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott [DRM] paradigm. -Few people are immune from this effect but when warned, younger participants are better able than older adults to avoid the false memory implantation Prospective Memory: -The recall of events to be performed in the future. -Older people appear to have more prospective memory slips than do younger adults. -The more heavily a prospective memory task involves planning and the frontal lobe, the disadvantaged the older adults seem to be. -What can help? -If aware of prospective memory problems, older adults can take advantage of reminders (effective for adults in the young-old age category). Retrieval-Induced Forgetting ("Tip of the Tongue" phenomenon): -Being unable to remember information that a person knew at one time in the past. -Observed more in older adults in both laboratory and everyday situations. -Young adults occasionally experience this effect when trying to retrieve an abstract word; older adults are more likely to forget a person's name. -Declines experienced by older adults may be due to age related neural declines in the area of the brain used for phonological production.
The abilities to plan, use working memory, allocate mental resources to incoming tasks, and inhibit information are included in the cognitive skill known in psychology as:
Executive functioning.
According to research on _____________ memory, older adults are able to remember distinctive historical events as well as do younger adults.
Flashbulb.
Be familiar with Fluid-Crystalized Theory. Which of the two types of intelligence shows decreases with age?
Fluid-Crystalized Theory (Gf-Gc; Catell & Horn): views intelligence as divided in two distinct factors. -Extended theory proposes that there are 8 other broad factors measured by specific tests that tap these abilities (Each ability has its own predictive power). -Factors incorporate skills such as Memory, speed, sensory processing, reading, writing, math knowledge). Inteliigence = **Fluid (Gf): -Innate ability to carry out higher level cognitive operations (e.g., abstract reasoning, perceptual speed). -Declines with age at a slow rate (more noticeable after 70. **Crystallized (Gc): -Acquisition of specific skills and info people gain as a result of exposure to language, knowledge, and conventions of culture. -Stable through most of adulthood; Slow decline in old-old age.
The Trail Making Test is used in a neuropsychological assessment to evaluate the older adult's:
Frontal lobe functioning.
Be familiar with research on personality traits and health.
Health and personality traits: 1. Cardiovascular risk factors related to Type A behavior and anxiety. 2. Lower BMI related to higher levels of conscientiousness. 3. Drug use and smoking related to lower levels of conscientiousness. 4. Lower mortality related to higher levels of openess. 5. Higher risk of Alzheimer's disease related to low conscientiousness and high neuroticism. -Type A behavior pattern describes people who are competitive, impatient, feel time urgency and are highly achievement oriented.
According to the __________hypothesis about the effects of aging on attention, older adults take longer to respond because they are unable to ignore distracting or interfering stimuli:
Inhibitory deficit.
The ability to go shopping and handle finances falls under which measure of independent functioning?
Instrumental activities of daily living.
Be familiar with changes in intelligence with age based on cross sectional and longitudinal methods.
Intelligence: -The earliest findings on adult intelligence proposed that age differences across adulthood followed the classic aging pattern. -An inverted U-shape with a peak in early adulthood followed by steady decline (based on cross sectional studies). -When adult participants are followed longitudinally through repeated testing, the findings were either no decline or declines that did not become apparent until very late in life.
Be familiar with measures of Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. What do these measures indicate?
Measures of ability to adapt to everyday life: -Disability can limit the individual's ability to adapt to requirements of everyday life -Measures of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) provide functional assessment of health status by indicating degree of independence individual can maintain whether living at home or in an institution **Activities of daily living (ADL): 1. Bathing 2. Dressing 3. Transferring 4. Using the toilet 5. Eating **Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL): 1. Use the telephone 2. Go shopping 3. Prepare meals 4. Complete housekeeping tasks 5. Do the laundry 6. Use private or public transportation 7. Take medications 8. Handle finances
In an ______________, used to assess working memory, participants are asked to name earlier items presented in a series.
N-back task.
A 72-year-old woman has been told by her physician that, because she is obese, she is putting increased weight on her joints, thus increasing her risk of developing the musculoskeletal disease known as::
Osteoarthritis.
On simple search tasks, where targets stand out relatively easily from distractors, older adults perform at high levels, because these tasks require: _______________
Parallel processing.
Be familiar with the Attraction effect and research on how older and younger adults compare on tasks used to measure this effect.
Problem Solving in Adulthood: -Older adults make choices that are less subject to extraneous factors (based on studies on the Attraction Effect). **Example: Product A ($30) Medium quality. Product B ($40) Higher quality Product C ($100) Higher quality than B. -Groups given choices A versus B will pick A. -Groups given choices A versus B versus C are more likely to pick B. -Older adults do not show the attraction effect (even in less familiar scenarios).
Testing the limits is a method used in studies of aging and cognition to demonstrate which principle related to plasticity?
Reserve capacity.
The model of ____________ predicts that an older adult will continue to drive depends on the psychological factors of self-confidence and need for independence.
Self-regulation and driving.
Vocabulary, factual information, and historical knowledge fall into the category of ____________ memory, a process not
Semantic.
Be familiar with the two broad areas assessed by the WAIS-IV along with the indices used to measure each broad area (i.e., verbal IQ [Verbal comprehension; working memory]; performance IQ [perceptual organization; processing speed]).
The Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) is most common. -A person's raw score on each of the various skills tested are compared to scores for that person's age group. -Deviation IQ: based on a normal distribution of scores that have a mean of 100 and a SD of 15.
Problems in everyday life that are the easiest to solve for older adults are those that:
Well-defined.
**Chapter 7: Be familiar with executive functions (EF) and measures used to test aspects of EF, such as IQ tests (WAIS-IV, PMAT), neuropsychological tests (e.g. Trail making test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test), and specific tests such as Task Switching and Verbal Fluency. What does the research show with regards to the effects of age on EFs?
What are Executive Functions? -The higher order cognitive skills, including judgement, knowledge, and decision-making. -Needed to make decisions, plan, and allocate mental resources to a task. -Draws upon several abilities: working memory, selective attention, mental flexibility, and the ability to plan and inhibit distracting information. -Important to study how aging affects executive functions since they are essential for many activities that older adults need to use in order to be able to care for themselves (e.g., driving). -Higher order cognitive functions that make up executive functions partly contribute to intelligence. -Intelligence tests provide assessment of overall cognitive status along a set of standardized dimensions. -Scores used in research to examine effects of age on intelligence; and in clinic settings as part of a larger neuropsychological evaluation to establish a diagnosis. -Standardized scores allows for an evaluation of cognitive strengths and weaknesses. **Primary Mental Abilities Test (PMAT): -7 different "primary" mental abilities: 1. Verbal meaning. 2. Word Fluency. 3. Number. 4. Spatial relations. 5. Memory. 6. Perceptual speed. 7. General reasoning. -Administered in group format. -The PMAT skills parallel skills included in the WAIS-IV. -Neuropsych assessments involve gathering information about an individual's brain functioning from a series of standardized cognitive tests. -Among older adults with cognitive deficits, neuropsychologists may adapt assessment to try to target a specific area in brain that may have been damaged/deteriorated. -Part of assessment covers executive functioning. **Trail Making Tests (AKA "Trails"): -Examiner shows test taker a pattern of numbered circles with instructions to draw lines to connect the circles in order. -Developed to assess frontal lobe functioning, which includes: 1. Attention. 2. Ability to scan visual stimuli. 3. Ability to follow sequence of numbers. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST): -Ability to form mental sets in -categorizing cards with related features. -Now administered on a computer rather than with physical cards. -Convenient. -Adaptive (clients responses to earlier questions determines subsequent questions). Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB): -22 subtests that assess: 1. Visual memory. 2. Working memory. 3. Executive functioning. 4. Attention. 5. Verbal memory. 6. Decision making. 7. Response control. Aging and Executive Functioning: -Measures used to examine a specific form of executive functioning. Task switching: -Participants respond to one type of stimulus in one set of trials (e.g., judging if a number is odd) and the opposite in the next set of trials (e.g., judging if a number is even) -In first set of trials, participants adopt a certain mental set which needs to change in second set of trials Verbal fluency: -Depends on individuals ability to generate multiple items meeting a single criterion. -Tests ask participants to produce as many items as possible in response to one stimulus (e.g., list as many words as possible that begin with the letter "S"). Aging and Executive Functioning -Scores on executive functioning measures show steady declines in later adulthood in lab studies. -Declines related to negative changes in cognitive functions needed for daily living. -Older adults do not perceive themselves to be affected by changes may not be aware of these changes (based on self reports) (e.g., identity assimilation?). -Changes are related to age related changes in the brain. -Performance on WCST and reductions in EF correlated with thickness of cortex in brain regions the tests seem to tap. -On verbal fluency tests show greater tendency to perseverate (continue to produce the same word). -Less evident in people with larger vocabularies.
Changes in which type of memory are most likely to affect the ability of an older adult to put words together in a sentence to convey the intended meaning?
Working.
**Chapter 5: Be familiar with the World Health Organization's definition of health.
World Health Organization definition of health: State of well-being. physical, mental, and social well-being. Not simply the absence of disability.
What are the enviornmental factors that contribute to individual differences in intelligence in adulthood?
Environmental factors associated with intelligence: 1. Health Status •Individuals close to death show diminished intellectual functioning. •Arthritis, cancer, osteoporosis metabolic syndrome related to lower intelligence scores. 2. Lifestyle •Healthy behaviors preserve executive functions (EF). •Greater declines in EF for those who smoke, are sedentary, consume low amounts of fruits and vegetables, and high BMI. 3. Brain activation: •Lower brain activation, especially in frontal lobe related to more rapid decline in intelligence scores. 4. Gender •Men: higher scores on numerical skill, generalized knowledge, and spatial. •Women: higher scores on digit symbol; women decline earlier on fluid and men decline earlier on crystallized. 5. SES •Higher SES protective of negative effects of aging on intelligence. •Higher education a higher scores on fluid intelligence. •Higher stimulation in job benefits intellectual performance in later life. 6. Personality •Better performance among those open to new experiences, thoughts, and feelings. •Poor performance on FI and Crystallized intelligence tasks related to higher levels of anxiety.
The Five Factor model of personality fits into which overall category of psychological theories?
Trait.
Be familiar with the research on health related behaviors and memory.
**Memory and Health Related Behaviors 1. Smoking :Poorer memory among smokers and former smokers. 2. Diet: Lower rate of cognitive decline in fish eaters. 3. Dietary intake of: Enhanced memory performance in older adults and use of Vitamins B12, B6, and folate. -Vitamin D linked to cognitive function. -Homocysteine, or meat (negative effect). -Flavonoids including chocolate beneficial effect on cognition. 4. Ginko Biloba: No significant improvements in memory found using RCTs. 5. Exercise Positive benefits of aerobic exercise and strength training among brain areas involved in cognition. -Attention, memory, accuracy, and info processing all improve. 6. Metabolic Factors: More problems with cognitive decline for those w/ metabolic syndrome. 7. Emotions: Stress and depression can interfere with memory performance. 8. Sleep: Related to better memory.
Be familiar with diseases of the cardiovascular system, both cardiac (e.g., atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, chronic hypertension, congestive heart failure) and cerebrovascular conditions (e.g., cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack). What are the behavioral risk factors for these diseases? What factors are important in the prevention of these conditions
-Cardiovascular disease: a set of abnormal conditions that develop in the heart and arteries. -#1 cause of death worldwide. -Can also cause chronic disability. -Cardiac and Cerebrovascular Conditions. -Involve problems in the cardiovascular system. -Atherosclerosis: Condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries. When it blocks the blood supply to heart muscle, can lead to Coronary Heart Disease. -Myocardial infraction: when supply to the myocardium is severely reduced or blocked. -Arteriosclerosis: Thickening and hardening of arteries (primary aging). -Hypertension Chronically elevated blood pressure. > 140 mmhg systolic; > 90 mmhg diastolic -Atherosclerosis contributes: Accumulation of plaque forces blood to be pushed through narrower arteries, causing pressure on blood as it is pumped out of the heart becomes greater. -Causes arterial walls to become weakened and inflamed - due to the pressure that the blood exerts as it passes through the arteries. -Which leads to even more plaque that settles into cracks and weak areas. -Causes heart to pump harder to push blood out; heart muscle on left ventricle becomes thick and overgrown (hypertrophy). -Congestive heart failure: Chronic condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood to meet needs of organs. -Results from a variety of diseases (e.g., coronary heart disease, scar tissue from past heart attack, hypertension, diseases of heart valves or heart muscle, infection, defects). -Individuals find it hard to exert themselves without becoming tired or short of breath. -May experience fluid build up in their body (edema); and in lungs. -Cerebrovascular disease: disorders of circulation to the brain. May lead to: -Cerebrovascular accident (aka stroke): 1. Artery leading to the brain bursts or is clogged by blood clot or other particle. 2. The larger the area of brain deprived of blood, more severe deterioration of the physical and mental functions controlled by that area. -Transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini-stroke): -Cause is same as stroke but blockage of cerebral artery temporary. -Tissues deprived of blood recover; increases chance of another TIA. -Increases risk of stroke. **Incidence of Heart Disease and Stroke: -Heart disease is the #1 killer; accounted for 24% of all deaths in US (as of 2013). -Heart and CVD accounted for 31% of all deaths among 65+ in US. (50% of deaths among 75+). **Behavioral Risk Factors for Heart Disease and Stroke: 1. Tobacco smoking: Damages the arteries making them more vulnerable to plaque formation. 2. Sedentary lifestyle: People with sedentary leisure activities more likely to have heart disease. 3. Unhealthy diet: High BMI is related to higher heart disease incidence. 4. Alcohol: Moderate alcohol use has protective effect (for women). Negative effects for men. -Prevention of Heart Disease and Stroke: Prevention focuses on three key factors: 1. Statins - meds that lower levels of harmful cholesterol. 2. Diet - high in fruits and vegetables lowers mortality. 3. Exercise and relaxation training.
The _________________ proposes that older adults become slower primarily because of nervous system changes.
General Slowing Hypothesis.
The behavioral risk factors for chronic diseases in later adulthood include tobacco smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and ________________
Harmful use of alcohol.
Be familiar with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the two related diseases that co-occur. What are the symptoms, causes, treatment of COPD?
-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD]: a group of diseases that involve obstruction of the airflow into the respiratory system (most common). -Symptoms: coughing, excess sputum, difficulty breathing. -6% of deaths due to COPD (WHO, 2015). -Two related diseases co-occur in COPD. 1. Chronic emphysema: Causes permanent destruction of alveoli. -Elastin within terminal bronchioles destroyed causing airway to lose ability to become enlarged during inspiration and empty completely during expiration. -Results in exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen to be compromised. -Leads to shortness of breath. 2. Chronic bronchitis Inflammation of bronchi. -Leads to increase in mucus and other changes which cause coughing and expectoration of sputum. **Causes: -Cigarette smoking (stimulates release of elastase which breaks down elastin in lung tissue). -Environmental toxins (e.g., air pollution). -Genetics (genetic defect in production of ATP in 2-3%). **Treatment: -Quit smoking. -Inhalers that open the airways to bring more oxygen into the lungs or reduce inflammation. -Machines that provide oxygen. -Lung surgery to remove damaged tissue.
Be familiar with sustained attention and how older adults compare with younger adults on tasks used to measure sustained attention.
Attention Types of Attention Tasks: -Sustained Attention: ability to focus on an activity or stimulus over a long period of time. -In sustained attention tasks, participants must respond when they see a particular target appear out of a continuous stream of stimuli. **e.g., press any key when they see an "X" moving onto a computer screen containing all "Y"s. -Some conditions, experimenter provides cues to give participants notice about whether and where to look for target before it appears. -Older adults typically have more difficulty in sustained attention task than do younger adults. -Experience can compensate for age-related changes in sustained attention. **E.g., in simulated air traffic control experiment, older adults with deficits in lab attentional tasks, performed well on complex tasks required in situations encountered on job on daily basis.
Be familiar with the Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis and research supporting the hypothesis.
Attention: Theories of Attention and Aging: -Why are there age differences in attentional tasks? -Inhibitory Deficit Hypothesis - Aging reduces ability to inhibit irrelevant information (supported by studies based on psychological & electrophysio methods). -Older adults < able to block out distracting stimuli when completing a task (Based on Event Related Potential - a measure of brains pattern of electrical activity in response to stimuli). -Patterns of responses suggest older adults have problems in prefrontal cortex (area involved in control of inhibiting irrelevant information). -Eeg studies show that older adults < likely to suppress irrelevant info, resulting in increased frontal activity and poor memory performance. -Hypothesis implies that middle age and older adults perform best when there are few distractions.
Be familiar with the Developmental Perspective by Schaie and colleagues regarding the plasticity of intelligence. Be familiar with the terms reserve capacity and testing the limits.
Developmental perspective advocated by Schaie and colleagues. -Aim is to look for ways to preserve individual function as strong and as long as possible. -''Our central argument is one for plasticity of intelligence in adulthood and old age as evidenced by large interindividual differences, multidirectionality, multidimensionality, the joint significance of ontogenetic and historical change components, and emerging evidence on modifiability via intervention research'' (Baltes & Schaie, 1976, p. 724). -Assumption: adult intelligence responsive to interventions; and older adults have reserve capacity that exists but is untapped. -Measured through "testing the limits" (continuing to train people until they show no further improvements).
Be familiar with type 2 diabetes (i.e., symptoms, long-term complications, risk factors, prevention, and treatment).
Diabetes Characteristics of Diabetes: -In type 2 diabetes (most common), pancreases produces insulin but the body's tissues fail to respond to insulin signal (insulin resistance) Glucose cannot be transported to body cells to be used. -Symptoms: fatigue, frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, slow healing of wounds. -Long term-complications: blindness, heart disease, strokes, kidney failure, amputations, damage to nervous system. **Incidence and Risk Factors: -Prevalence in 65+ = 11.2 million (26%) in US. -Diabetes is best understood in terms of the biopsychosocial model 1. Biological= Changes in glucose metabolism, obesity. 2. Psychological= Sedentary lifestyle; also associated with depression and stress. 3. Sociocultural= Habitual eating patterns, lack of education, low economic resources. **Prevention and Treatment 1. Prevention: -Control of glucose intake, blood pressure, and blood lipids. 2. Treatment: -Diet and exercise may be sufficient (depends on severity). -Insulin injections or oral forms of diabetes medications (to control blood glucose levels).
Research on identity in emerging adults suggests that those who are most likely to engage in delinquent and drug-related behaviors are in which identity status?
Diffuse= not concentrated or localized.
Be familiar with driving ability and aging. What factors can potentially impair older adults' ability to drive? Which age group(s) have the highest fatality rates? What are the causes of crashes among younger vs older adults? What do older adults do to avoid crashes? Be familiar with the Model of Driving Self-Regulation.
Driving and Aging: Factors that can potentially impair older adults ability to drive -Changes in basic cognitive functions with age. -Changes in the visual system (e.g., loss of visual acuity, increased sensitivity to glare, difficulty seeing in the dark). -Physical changes can limit ability to get in and out of the car, fasten a seat-belt, change the seat position, turn the steering wheel, or cope with a breakdown. -Medications used to treat chronic conditions can impair driving ability due to side effects (e.g., drowsiness, confusion, and dizziness). Older drivers: -Age alone not sufficient to cause higher accident rates -Highest fatality rates are actually in the 35-54 age group. -Are more likely to crash at intersections (esp left hand turns). -Have more difficulty when required to merge /yield to oncoming traffic. -Are able to self-regulate behaviors to compensate for changes experienced in visual and cognitive abilities. -Do not drive at night or on interstate highways or situations in which they must make risky left hand turns. -More likely to wear seat belts Increased experience can compensate for loss of reaction time. Younger drivers: -More likely to drink and drive and to drive while distracted. **Model of Driving Self Regulation (Donofrio & colleagues, 2009) incorporated Biopsychosocial factors involved in driving. -Whether older adults continue to drive depends on a number of psychological and sociocultural factors. -Psychological: including feelings of self-confidence, desire to get out of the home, need for independence, importance for self worth, and perceived health. -Socio-cultural factors include whether an older adult lives alone, can get rides with others, has access to public transportation.
Be familiar with the research findings on the effects of training on intelligence among older adults.
Early studies showed that practice and training in test taking strategies improves older adults scores on tests of fluid intelligence that can last up to 7 years (i.e., ADEPT Study by Baltes & colleagues, 1970s). -Support for reserve capacity and the possibility for training to improve an older adults everyday life comes from the ACTIVE study (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly). N=2800 adults (65-94 years). -Participants randomized to one of three training conditions (memory, reasoning, processing speed) or to a control group. -Memory training: taught ways to remember word lists and sequences of items, text, and main ideas and details of stories. -Reasoning training: learning how to solve problems that follow patterns, like reading a bus schedule or filling out an order sheet. -Processing speed training: learning how to identify and locate visual info quickly for use in tasks such as looking up a phone number, finding info on medicine bottles and responding to traffic signs. -Over the course of 10 year follow up, training groups maintained superiority over the control group in IADLs.
What can benefit an older adult's performance on memory tasks?
Memory Training Studies: What benefits for older adults? -Practice improves memory task performance. -Strategy training can increase self efficacy. -Support during encoding (e.g., additional cues such as seeing pics and words when learning a word list - "deep processing"). -Training that taps into areas of expertise. -Memory training can alter brain: e.g., method of loci training altered white matter density. -Virtual reality helped increase older adults long term memory (especially verbal memory).
On the Marcia Identity Status Interview, emerging adults who are actively exploring alternatives in their commitment to important life areas would be in which identity status?
Moratorium = a temporary inhibition of an activity.
Be familiar with disorders of the musculoskeletal system (i.e., osteoarthritis and osteoporosis). Know the risk factors for each. Be familiar with prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Osteoporosis: 1. Abnormal loss of bone mineral content: -When bone mineral density > 2.5 SDs below mean of young white non-Hispanic women. 2. Risk factors: -Gender (more women than men). -Race/ethnicity (Caucasian, Asian women highest risk). -Women with small bone structure and underweight. -Excessive alcohol use and smoking. -Deficiency of sex hormones in men and women. 3. Prevention: -Calcium, protein, magnesium, potassium, Vitamins K, B, D, and carotenoids. -Exercise (resistance). -Certain types of alcohol. 4. Treatment: -Medications (alendronate; calcitronin). Osteoarthritis: -Most common form of arthritis that affects joints in hip, knees, neck, lower back, and small joints on hands -Risk factors: overuse, obesity, injury -Treatment: -Pain management (NSAIDS, Aspirin, Acetaminophen). -Injections (corticosterioids, synthetic material to replace loss of synovial fluid; sodium hyaluronate). -Replacement of affected joint when above txs do not produce relieve. -Exercise (to strengthen muscle around joint and stretch tendon; to help reduce weight; to help offset effects of mood on pain).
**Chapter 6: Know what is processing speed and reaction time. Be familiar with tasks used to measure reaction time (e.g., simple vs choice reaction). What are the age differences in performance on reaction time?
Processing speed: -The amount of time it takes for an individual to analyze incoming information from the senses, formulate decisions, and then prepare a response on the basis of that analysis. -One of the most widely studied areas of cognition and aging. -Reflects integrity of the CNS. Reaction Time: -Basic element of processing speed. -Measured by asking participants to complete an action (e.g., pushing a computer key when the screen flashes a target). -Distractor = stimuli that do not fit criteria for target. Simple reaction time task: Make response as soon as target appears ------> Push f button on keyboard when you see red "N". Choice reaction task: Make one response for one stimulus and another for a different stimulus. -------> Push "f" button on keyboard when you see red "N" and "j" button when you see green "N". Reaction Time: -Reaction time of a young adult is lower than older adults. -How much does RT increase? And under what circumstances does it increase? -Documented changes in reaction time with age in adulthood are approximately several hundreds of milliseconds. -People vary in rate of slowing in reaction time. -Net effect of changes are negative across adulthood (especially for choice reaction time tasks).
**Chapter 8: Be familiar with the psychodynamic perspective on personality, specifically ego psychology (i.e., Erikson's Theory and Marcia's Identity Statuses)
Psychodynamic Perspective -Initiated by Freud's discovery of the unconscious. -Emphasizes the ways in which unconscious motives and impulses express themselves in people's personalities and behaviors. -Current personality theories based on this perspective continue to emphasize Freudian ideas. -These ideas include: Importance of early development; Ways people cope with emotions. -Methods are different than traditional clinical approach. Ego psychology - Erikson's theory -Ego psychology - the ego plays a central role in actively directing behavior -Erikson proposed that the ego matures throughout life as individual faces biological, psychological, and social forces that shape development. -Each point in ego's development defined in terms of a push-pull toward favorable vs. unfavorable outcome (across the 8 stages). -Epigenetic principle proposes stages unfold in predetermined order. -Particular issues most likely to arise at a particular age but earlier issues may return later and later may appear earlier. -Research based on Erikson's theory include: 1. Studies that cover a single stage (Identity and generativity most studied and most relevant to adulthood). 2. Studies that examine overall Psychosocial development (All 8 stages simultaneously). -Erikson's Theory - Research on Identity: -Erikson's stage of identity achievement vs identity diffusion characterized by adolescent's struggle to define self in face of physical changes with puberty, cognitive changes, and role changes. -James Marcia (1966) developed Identity Status Interview which examines: 1. Degree of commitment to identity issues and.. 2. Degree of exploration to arrive at this commitment (aka crisis). -Individuals are grouped into 1 of 4 identity status. -Marcia's Identity statuses reflect alternate ways of resolving identity issues . Erikson's Theory - Research on Generativity: -Generativity vs stagnation directly relevant to middle and older age. Generativity=Care and concern for guiding the next generation (stagnation is opposite). -Parents tend to be higher in generativity than non-parents (due to parenting). -Parents high on generativity have children who are happier, more likely to plan for future, higher in prosocial attributes, higher in social interest. -Generative behaviors expand and enrich ego in a process called the "redemptive self" - Benefits both self and others; Balance shifts from concern over self to others. -Adults high in generativity more likely to be concerned with environmental issues; more likely to engage in environmentally responsible behavior.
Be familiar with theories that explain slowing of reaction time with age (i.e., General Slowing Ho, Age Complexity Ho). What is a Brinley plot and what does it reveal?
Reaction Time -Theories that explain slowing of reaction time with age. -General slowing hypothesis proposes that increase in reaction time reflects general decline of information processing speed within the nervous system of the aging individual. -Age Complexity Hypothesis proposes that through a slowing of central processes in the nervous system, age difference increase as tasks become more complex and the older adult's processing resources are stretched more to their limit. **Deviations of dots from the diagonal line shows the extent to which older adults are disproportionately slower as the task becomes more challenging for young adults.
Be familiar with changes in the social aspects of language with age. Be familiar with Elderspeak, the Communication Predicament Model of Aging, and Infantilization.
Social Aspects of Language: -Changes in the way that older adults use language socially. Older adults: -Have a tendency to reminisce with others about experiences from the past. -Helps to solidify relationships (build shared identities with others from same generation). -Can enhance and strengthen relationships with close friends and family members. -Have a tendency to speak more off topic when giving instructions about how to perform an action. -May experience mental clutter due to an inability to inhibit irrelevant info, which causes speech to sound like rambling. (Related to altered executive functioning). -Changes in social aspects of language can lead to elder speak: speech pattern directed at older adult similar to the way people talk to babies. -Involves simplified speech; Talking in a patronizing or condescending tone of voice. -Elder speak fits into the communication predicament model of aging. -Predicament is that older adults thought of as mentally incapacitated, which leads younger adults to speak to them in a simplified manner; -Overtime, this reduces older adults actual ability to use language and failure to encourage independent behaviors in an older person leads to further reductions in older adult's abilities. -Part of a larger phenomenon known as Infantilization: Loss of incentive to attempt to regain self-sufficiency in the basic activities of daily life. -Can increase older persons awareness of age stereotyping that causes a self fulfilling prophesy that spreads across many areas of functioning.
Be familiar with the Five factor Model (Costa & McCrae). What are the research findings on the developmental course of personality traits?
Trait Approaches Five-Factor Model (Costa & McCrae) -Most common trait theory in field of personality and aging. -All essential characteristics of personality captured in a set of 5 broad dispositions that each have 6 subfacets. -Measured using the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) (240 items that measure 30 facets). 1. Openness to Experience: Subfacet: Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas, Values. **Example: e.g., Willing to entertain new ideas. 2. Conscientiousness: Subfacet: Competence, Order, Dutifulness, Achievement/Striving, Self-Discipline, Deliberation. **e.g., Attends to detail and doesn't procrastinate. 3. Extraversion: Subfacet: Warmth, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Activity, Excitement Seeking, Positive Emotion. **e.g., Outgoing and sociable. 4. Agreeableness: Subfacet: Trust, Straightforwardness, Altruism, Compliance, Modesty, Tendermindedness. **e.g., Get along well with others. 5. Neuroticism: Subfacet: Anxiety, Hostility, Depression, Self-consciousness, Impulsiveness, Vulnerability to Stress. **e.g., Tendency to worry. -Studies based on the Five Factor model show consistency of traits over time throughout adulthood (with greater consistency among increasingly older groups of adults). -However, consistency between scores obtained at different measurement points becomes smaller the longer the time interval between them. -People maintain their relative positions along the traits in comparison to their same age peers; the "highs" stay high and "lows" stay low. -However, even though people may maintain relative positions along each of the traits their average scores may change across adulthood. Meta-analysis of 92 longitudinal studies showed: -Individuals increase in the following traits through age 40: Social dominance, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability, Social vitality, Openness to experience (SV and O decrease after this point). -4 of 6 traits continued to change in mid and later adulthood. -Findings Contradict notion that there is a specific age at which personality stops changing (e.g., 30). **In a meta analysis of 92 longitudinal studies, Roberts 2006 reported that individuals increase in social dominance, conscientiousness, emo stability (opposite of neuroticism), social vitality (facet of extroversion), openness to experience through age 40. SV O decreased after this pt, A increased. -Consistent with often cited comment that personality is set in plaster by age 30; -BUT meta showed that 4 out of 6 continued to change in mid and later adulthood (SEE FIG). -SO THIS META contradicts notion that there is a specific age at which personality traits stop changing.
Be familiar with visual search and the tasks used to measure it (i.e., simple visual search, conjunction visual search). Be familiar with the types of processing each task rely on (serial and parallel). How do older vs younger adults do on each of these tasks?
Types of Attentional Tasks: -2 methods used in studies on attention and aging involve visual search tasks, which require that observer locate a specific target among set of distractors. **Method # 1: Simple search -Target differs from other stimuli by only one feature. -Participants can generally reach high levels of performance quickly across trials. -Thus, reaction time tends not to increase as number of items in stimulus array gets larger. -Involves parallel processing: Can scan entire array at once. -Older and younger adults perform at similarly high levels (both find target quickly and accurately). **Method#2: Conjunction search: -Target differs from distractors in more than one way. -Involves serial processing - because each stimulus must be examined to determined whether it has all qualities of the target. -The larger the number of stimuli to scan, the longer the participants will take to decide whether the target is present or not. **Types of Attention Tasks: Visual Search Tasks (cont.): -Both younger and older adults perform less efficiently on conjunction search tasks than they do on simple search tasks (but cost of performance is higher for older adults). -Older adults have greater experience in making decisions in real life settings which benefits them when scanning environments. -When compared to younger adults on a search tasks that included context to guide their attention, older adults were more likely than younger adults to benefit from background cues. -Older adults can benefit from training that gives them practice and guidance in performing even very difficult conjunction searches.
**Note to self** James Marcia's 4 identity statuses:
Upon developing a semi-structured interview for identity research, Marcia proposed Identity Statuses of psychological identity development: 1. Identity Diffusion - the status in which the adolescent does no have a sense of having choices; he or she has not yet made (nor is attempting/willing to make) a commitment 2. Identity Foreclosure - the status in which the adolescent seems willing to commit to some relevant roles, values, or goals for the future. Adolescents in this stage have not experienced an identity crisis. They tend to conform to the expectations of others regarding their future (e. g. allowing a parent to determine a career direction) As such, these individuals have not explored a range of options. 3. Identity Moratorium - the status in which the adolescent is currently in a crisis, exploring various commitments and is ready to make choices, but has not made a commitment to these choices yet. 4. Identity Achievement - the status in which adolescent has gone through a identity crisis and has made a commitment to a sense of identity (i.e. certain role or value) that he or she has chosen.
Be familiar with working memory (WM) and its 4 components. What common lab task is used to assess working memory? Be familiar with the brain's default network and how it differs across age.
Working Memory: -Keeps information temporarily available and active in consciousness. -Used when trying to learn new info or recall information learned previously. -Linked closely with attention (required to handle multiple thought processes). -Working memory requires focus and attention on task. **Example of the Processing of Working Memory: 1. Think of the numbers that are part of your address (inc zip code) and add those numbers together as digits. 2. Now think of your phone number and add those as single digits to your previous sum. 3. Finally add your age to this number. 4. What is the total? Components of working memory (Badeley, 2003): 1. Phonological loop: Holds auditory memory. 2. Visuospatial scratch pad: Holds memory for information that is seen. 3. Episodic buffer: Responsible for recalling information in long-term memory by bringing it temporarily back into working memory. 4. Central executive: Integrates the other three components of working memory. Working Memory - How is it measured? -Assessed by assigning a task to participants that prevents them from consciously rehearsing the info they are supposed to remember. -"N-back" task is commonly used to test working memory. -Participants are presented a sequence of items one by one. -For each item participants need to decide if the current item is the same as the one presented N trials ago. -N can be 1 trail, 2 trail, 3 trials etc. -The higher the number the more difficult the task. Working Memory Brain's default network: -A circuit in the brain that is active when the brain is at rest. -Includes hippocampus, parts of prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and part of cingulate cortex involved in visualization. -Network becomes deactivated during tasks involved in working memory -Older adults show decreased activation of default network and less able to deactivate during memory tasks. -Have fewer resources to devote to info that is needed to be retained.
