“I am still learning.” - Michelangelo, 1560, at age 85

Developmental Psychology

The study of YOU from womb to tomb.We are going to study how we change physically,

socially, cognitively and morally over our lifetimes.

OLD AGE AND GRIEVING

Physical Changes

• Muscular strength, reactionary time, sensory keenness, and cardiac output all crest in the mid-twenties

In 2002, George Blair became the world’s oldest barefoot water skier, 18 days after his 87th birthday.

Gradual Decline in Fertility

• Chances of pregnancy for a 35-39 year old are half that of a 19-26 year old

There is a gradualdecline in spermcount andtestosterone for

men.

Adulthood: Physical Development

Menopause – approximately age 50 the time of natural cessation

of menstruation also refers to the biological

changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Adulthood: Physical Development

The Aging Senses

10 30 50 70 900

0.25

0.50

0.75

1.00

Proportion of normal (20/20) vision when identifying letters on an eye chart

Age in years

A 65-year old’s eye only receives 1/3 as much light as a 20 year old’s does

“Don’t you need light for reading?”

Most stairway falls taken by older people occur on the top step, precisely where the person typically descends from a window-lit hallway into the dark stairway.

Adulthood: Physical Development

The Aging Senses

Age in years

10 30 50 70 9050

70

90

Percent correct whenIdentifying smells

Adulthood: Physical Development

The Aging Senses

10 30 50 70 9050

70

90

Percent correct whenidentifying spokenwords

Age in years

Adulthood: Physical Development

Slowing reactions contribute to increased accident risks among those 75 and older.

12

10

8

6

4

2

016 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 and

over

Fatal accident rate

Age

Fatal accidentsper 10,000 drivers

Fatal accidentsper 100 million miles

French woman Jeanne Calment, the oldest human in history with authenticated age, died in 1998 at age 122. At age 100, she was still riding a bike. At age 114, she became the oldest film actor ever, by portraying herself in Vincent and Me.

Health• Good news: accumulation of anti-bodies

results in less short-term ailments (flu or cold)• Bad news: immune system

weakens, making the body more susceptible to ailments such as pneumonia or cancer

Memory

• Brain regions important to memory atrophy with aging– By age 80, contributes to a total brain weight

reduction of 5%– Frontal lobe atrophies – causes overly blunt

questions such as “Did you put on weight?”– Exercise promotes neurogenesis – birth of new

brain cells

Adulthood: Physical Development

Incidence of Dementia by Age

Risk of dementiaincreases in lateryears

60-64 70-74 80-84 90-95 65-69 75-79 85-89

Age Group

40%

30

20

10

0

Percentagewith dementia

Dementia: mental erosion of the brain (substantial loss of brain cells)

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by first loss of smell, then a gradual

deterioration of memory, reasoning, emotion, language, and finally, physical functioning

Deterioration of brain cells that produce acetylcholine - messenger

“I don’t want to attain immortality through my work; I want to attain immortality by not dying.” – Woody Allen (film director)

Adulthood: Cognitive Development

Recalling new names introduced once, twice, or three times is easier for younger adults than for older ones (Crook & West, 1990).18 40 50 60 70

Age group

Percentof namesrecalled

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

After oneintroductions

After twointroductions

Older age groups have poorer performance

After three introductions

Types of Intelligence

Crystallized Intelligence

• Accumulated knowledge.

• Increases with age.

Fluid Intelligence• Ability to solve

problems quickly and think abstractly.

• Peaks in the 20’s and then decreases over time.

Adulthood: Social Development

Early-forties midlife crisis?

Females

Males

No early 40semotional crisis

33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 Age in Years

24%

16

8

0

Emotionalinstability

Adulthood: Social Changes

Social Clock the culturally preferred timing of

social eventsmarriageparenthoodretirement

Marriage

• Most likely to occur when after 20 and educated

• Why is divorce rate going up?– Women’s lessened

economic dependence– Rising expectations on

both sides

Adulthood: Social Changes

Multinational surveys show that age differences in life satisfaction are trivial (Inglehart, 1990).

0

20

40

60

80

15 25 35 45 55 65+

Percentage “satisfied”with lifeas a whole

Age group

Adulthood: Social Changes

Death• Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s

Stages of Death/Grief.

1.Denial2.Anger3.Bargaining4.Depression5.Acceptance

**Not everyone goes through them all and not necessarily in this order