Psychology of Aging Exam 1 and 2 Questions
Sleep drive is buildup of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called __________________.
Adenosine
The most common cause or form of dementia is:
Alzheimer's disease
"Cognitively stimulating activities can make more resilient brains." To what hypothesis does this statement belong to? Write the same of a specific hypothesis you learned in class.
Cognitive-Reserve Hypothesis
__________ is prevalent in later life. This complicates the treatment of late life depression.
Comorbidity
Being lazy, careless, late, unenergetic, and aimless are characteristics that fall on the low end of Costa and McCrae's _____ dimension.
Conscientiousness
_____________ include(s) time pressures, annoyances, arguments, and traffic jam. ____________ can pile up over time.
Daily hassles
In adulthood, fluid intelligence _______ with age, crystallized intelligence _______ with age.
Declines, is stable
Which of the following is not an effect of experiencing stress? -Eat comfort food -Feeling negative mood -Secretion of cortisol -Insomnia -Decrease in sex drive
Decrease in sex drive
Who developed the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory?
Laura Carstensen
Which of the following is not true about depressive symptoms? -Stressful life events can contribute to depressive symptoms -Less frequent among the oldest old -Found in people who are not clinically depressed -Middle-aged women have the highest rate -Normative aging experiences can contribute to depressive symptoms
Less frequent among the oldest old
An approach to personality pertaining to how we view ourselves is called
self-concept
Which of the following is an example of a secondary stressor of being a family caregiver? -problems at work -patient wandering -managing incontinence of the care recipient -being tired from caregiving tasks
Problems at work
Which of the following does not accurately describe the effects of physical/social contact? -Holding hands with anyone may calm the brain -The brain responds differently to social and physical pain -Physical and social pain are affected by similar things -Holding hands with someone close has greater calming effect on the brain than holding hands with stranger -People who are sensitive to physical pain are also sensitive to social pain
The brain responds differently to social and physical pain
What distinguishes between major depression and minor depression?
The number of depressive symptoms
The term "life expectancy" refers to:
The number of years a person is expected to live
Socioemotional selectivity theory posits that time plays a fundamental role in...
The prioritization of goals
Which of the following hypotheses suggest that decreasing BMI, high cholesterol, and diabetes may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease risk? -The allostatic load hypothesis -The cognitive reserve hypothesis -The vascular hypothesis -The stress hypothesis
The vascular hypothesis
What sport did the "Iron nun" compete in?
Triatholons
____________ refers to the degree to which a questionnaire measures what it is supposed to measure.
Validity
Which is not correct about the normative aging brain? -With age, the volume of grey matter decreases -Normative cognitive aging is likely due to the loss of neural circuits -Cortex gets thinner With age, the volume of white matter decreases -Ventricles decreases with age
Ventricles decreases with age
Among the cognitive tests below, which can measure crystalized intelligence?
Vocabulary test
Longitudinal studies are subject to _______________ and can result in ________________ effects of aging.
attrition - underestimating
Cross-sectional comparisons are subject to ____________ and can result in ________________ effects of aging.
cohort effects - overestimating
Cross-sectional studies can examine _____________ in cognition and longitudinal studies can examine _______________ in cognition.
age-related differences - age-related changes
During the same developmental period, some dimensions show gains while others show declines (losses). This is an example of:
Multidirectionality
During the lecture, we discussed older adults' driving. Which of the following best describes the issue? Select all that apply. -Older adults may experience increasing personal risk if they drive more miles -Size of vision field does not change much with age -If fact, older adults' driving abilities are less affected by cognitive aging, because most cognitive changes are minor -Older drivers may present a greater risk to other drivers -Older drivers may present a lower risk to other drivers
-Older adults may experience increasing personal risk if they drive more miles -Older drivers may present a lower risk to other drivers
A researcher conducts a study in which she interviews a group of centenarians (people who live to be 100+ years old) and a group of college students. The centenarians report being less stressed than the college students. The researcher wants to conclude that this difference indicates people become less stressed when they reach very old ages. However, this difference could also reflect which of the following(s). Select all that apply. -Cohort effect -Morbidity compression -Attrition -Practice effect -Survivorship bias
-Cohort Effect -Survivorship Bias
According to Baltes & Smith (2003), which of the followings are not true about the third age? Select all that are not true. -Increases in dementia rates -Emotional intelligence may peak -Sizable losses in cognitive potential and ability learn -It is when terminal decline commences -Increases in life expectancy is a good news
-Increases in dementia rates -Sizable losses in cognitive potential and ability learn -It is when terminal decline commences
What correctly describes sleep architecture? Select all that apply. -A typical cyclical pattern of sleep starts from REM sleep -NREM stage 3 refers to light sleep -NREM stage 4 refers to deep sleep -People usually spend the greatest % of time in NREM stage 2 sleep -REM is when dreams occur
-NREM stage 4 refers to deep sleep -People usually spend the greatest % of time in NREM stage 2 sleep -REM is when dreams occur
According to the reading on the aging paradox, what are some possible explanations for the aging paradox? Select all that apply. -Older people may have more wisdom due to their life-long experiences -Age-related cognitive declines prohibit older adults from processing negative emotions -Younger adulthood is generally a more stressful time than older adulthood -Older people are less responsive to stressful images than younger people -Age is associated with an increase in risk factors for mental health
-Older people may have more wisdom due to their life-long experiences -Younger adulthood is generally a more stressful time than older adulthood -Older people are less responsive to stressful images than younger people
What are two core symptoms necessary to be diagnosed as clinical (major or minor) depression?
-depressed mood -loss of interest
What are prime suspects in cell death in the Alzheimer brain? Select all that apply. -plagues -family history -tangles -APOE-e4 -synapses
-plagues -tangles
Maximum longevity for the human species is closest to _______ years.
120
To be diagnosed with Major Depression in DSM-5, the symptoms must be present for at least
2 weeks
Which of the following most precisely defines loneliness? -Having few network ties -Living alone -A discrepancy between desired and actual social relationships -Infrequent social contact
A discrepancy between desired and actual social relationships
Which of the followings is not correct about the screening and treatment of late life depression? -Anti-depressants are more effective in older adults -Physical activity id effective to reduce depressive symptoms in older adults -Psychological treatments are effective in the treatment of depression in older adults -Targeted screening of high-risk older adults in primary care settings is unnecessary
Anti-depressants are more effective in older adults
Insomnia is not common among older adults
Being unable to follow a familiar recipe
Which of the following is NOT an example of normative cognitive aging? -Being unable to follow a familiar recipe -Subtle declines in the ability to learn new information -Increased risk of crashing while driving a car -Slowing of processing speed while a person is in their late 20s -Difficulty dividing attention between multiple tasks
Being unable to follow a familiar recipe
Which is the main idea of compression of morbidity? -Extending life may result in more sick years -Delaying the age of first disease onset may result in more healthy years -As people are living longer, it may reduce disease burden in our society -With increased life expectancy, there will be more people with disease, disability, and disease burden -An increases in life expectancy is faster than an increase in morbidity
Delaying the age of first disease onset may result in more healthy years
Which of the following is not true about dependency ratio? -Increasing dependency ratio may result in more people claiming benefits -Dependents include older adults and children -Population aging relates to increase in dependency ratio -Dependency ratio can be increased by increasing working population
Dependency ratio can be increased by increasing working population
Why has the age at onset of Alzheimer's disease been delayed?
Due to improvement in lifestyle factors
Medical advances that extend life by prolonging the "end stage" of life that result in more sick years, but that do not improve quality of life are referred to:
Failure of Success
Dementia is a specific type of cognitive disease prevalent in the 4th age. (T/F)
False
Normative cognitive aging is very likely due to changes to the brain that result in massive cell death and visible "shrinking" in brain size. (T/F)
False
_______ dementia can __________ healthy aging studies, because some people with early dementia can be misdiagnosed as healthy and some may develop dementia during the course of the study.
Hidden - contaminate
"Stress damage the part of the brain, ___________________, that is critical for memory function. Alzheimer's disease begins in ____________________."
Hippocampus
Which of the following is a numerical index that can be raised to identify journals that have articles that are widely cited by other scholars? -Journal Prestige Factor -Google Index Rating -Impact Factor -Distribution Index
Impact Factor
Which of the following is not a consequence of being socially isolated? -Decreased positive health behaviors (e.g., exercise) -Poor diet -Increased risk of mortality -Increased risk of inflammation -Increased antiviral response
Increased antiviral response
Which of the following does not correspond to empirical findings on sleep? -60~80% of US adults do not get enough sleep -Slow wave sleep decrease with age -Insomnia is not common among older adults -There is a geographic overlap between short sleep and heart disease -Sleep loss impairs vigilance and cognitive performance
Insomnia is not common among older adults
In what part of a research manuscript are the hypotheses presented?
Introduction
What does feeling lonely tell us?
It gives us a sign that we need more social contact
Which of the following was not suggested by Teguo et al. (2016)? -Living alone and feeling of loneliness are easy tools to capture the burden of diseases and symptoms -Both living alone and feeling of loneliness are independent predictors of mortality -Living alone is an objective indicator of social isolation, and thus it is a more valid predictor of mortality than subjective feelings of loneliness -Some people may live alone, but may not necessarily feel lonely -If someone did not choose to live alone, the combination of living alone and feeling of loneliness may reflect emotional distress
Living alone is an objective indicator of social isolation, and thus it is a more valid predictor of mortality than subjective feelings of loneliness
Dr. Termined wants to follow the 2010 class of gerontology graduates across the decade after their graduation. Which research design will Dr. Termined most likely use?
Longitudinal
Practice effects can be a major problem with ________ .
Longitudinal Design
Which is the following is not true about research designs? -Observational studies include cross-sectional and longitudinal studies -Observational studies examine natural differences in the variables -Attrition is a concern in longitudinal studies -Longitudinal studies can establish cause and effect relationships -Cross-sectional studies can examine age-related differences
Longitudinal studies can establish cause and effect relationships
What is the definition of "population aging"?
Median age of population is increasing over time
Female sex is a risk factor for major depression. In particular, a higher risk of depressive symptoms in midlife women may be related to biological transition due to the experience of _______________.
Menopause
Which is not true about personality in adulthood? -Neuroticism tend to increase in normal healthy aging -Cognitive training can increase older adults' openness -Psychotherapy can change personality -Longitudinal studies show that personality traits remain stable for decades -A certain disease condition can change personality
Neuroticism tend to increase in normal healthy aging
What is the main criticism of stage theories for personality development? -It is challenging to sample all stage-like life events -Personality develops through a series of stages -Not everyone goes through the same sequence of developmental stages -Stage theories do not study changes in personality in adulthood -There is lack of scientific evidence about stage-like changes
Not everyone goes through the same sequence of developmental stages
Which is not a factor that contributes to the challenges of diagnosing late life depression? -Use of multiple medications in later life can cause depression -The stigma of mental illness remains high in some other cohorts -Distinguishing the symptoms of clinical depression from the symptoms of other medical illnesses is difficult -Older adults are likely to exaggerate depressive symptoms -Having other diseases exacerbates depression symptoms
Older adults are likely to exaggerate depressive symptoms
Which of the following findings would be an example of a cohort effect? -People become more religious as they age from 30 to 60 years of age -People become less religious as they age from 30 to 60 years of age -Levels of religious belief are higher in 1930 than in 1960 -People born in 1930 are more religious than people born in 1960
People born in 1930 are more religious than people born in 1960
The term "allostatic load" refers to:
Physiological wear and tear resulting from chronic stress
______________ indicates that older adults have tendency to pay more attention and remember positive relative to neutral and negative information.
Positivity Effect
Which of the following statements does not accurately describe sleep cycles? -Each sleep episode includes several sleep cycles -NREM sleep removes unnecessary connections -REM sleep is responsible for reflection -We do not yet know for sure why there are sleep cycles -Non-REM and REM serve different purposes for memory consolidation
REM sleep is responsible for reflection
According to socioemotional selectivity theory, individuals with a limited future time perspective would likely... -Have compressed morbidity -Become socially isolated -Be physically active and healthy -Seek fewer and familiar social partners -Seek many and new social partners
Seek fewer and familiar social partners
According to the socioemotional theory, what plays a critical role in paradox of well-being?
Shift in motivational goals
According to the theory of cognitive reserve, which of the following does not build reserve? -Education -Cognitively challenging work environments -Leisure activity -Stress
Stress
According to the lecture, what is the best term that explains this: "Focusing on those have survived and overlooking those that did not because of lack of visibility."
Survivorship bias
Which is the following is not true about Alzheimer's disease (AD)? -Brain with AD dramatically shrinks over time -Patients with AD may experience changes in personality -Symptoms are more severe in the morning -In preclinical stage of AD, there are usually no detectable symptoms -Emotional problems are common among patients with AD
Symptoms are more severe in the morning
Which of the following is not true about insomnia? -Symptoms may not exist if there is an adequate opportunity for sleep -Just feeling that sleep is not restful is a symptom of insomnia -Symptoms include difficulty initiating/falling or maintaining sleep -Early morning awakening is common among insomnia patients -Insomnia is usually determined by complaints and subjective difficulty
Symptoms may not exist if there is an adequate opportunity for sleep
Data shows that the IQ of each successive generation is higher than previous generations. This is an example of...
The Flynn Effect
What is fluid cognition?
The ability to solve new problems, use logic and learn new information
Which of the following is not true about age differences in emotional regulation? -Older adults report fewer negative emotions -As people approach endings, they pay more attention to the emotional quality of social exchanges -When experienced, the intensity of negative emotions is weaker in older adults than in younger adults -Emotional regulation usually improves with age
When experienced, the intensity of negative emotions is weaker in older adults than in younger adults
According to the sleep health lecture, when do we have the greatest urge to sleep?
When the gap between wake drive and sleep drive is larger
A failure to habituate or adapt to the same stressor is called:
lack of adaptation
Plasticity refers to
the ability to change and improve abilities over time and with development
