Santrock lsd14e ppt_ch18

Cognitive Development

in late Adulthood

Chapter 18

© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

18 - 2

Chapter Outline

• Cognitive functioning in older adults• Language development• Work and retirement• Mental health• Religion and spirituality


18 - 3

Multidimensionality and Multidirectionality

• Cognitive mechanics– The “hardware” of the mind– Reflect the neurophysiological architecture of the

brain developed through evolution

• Cognitive pragmatics– Culture-based “softwareprograms” of the mind– Reading, writing, and educational qualifications– Professional skills and language comprehension


18 - 4

Figure 18.1 - Theorized Age Changes in Cognitive Mechanics and Cognitive Pragmatics


18 - 5


• Speed of processing– Considerable individual variation in this ability– Due to a decline in functioning of the brain and

central nervous system

• Attention– Selective attention– Divided attention– Sustained attention– Executive attention


18 - 6

Figure 18.2 - The Relation of Age to Reaction Time


18 - 7


• Memory– Episodic memory - Younger adults have better

episodic memory– Semantic memory - Does not decline as drastically

as episodic memory– Working memory and perceptual speed - Decline

during the late adulthood years– Explicit and implicit memory - The latter is less

likely to be adversely affected with aging than the former


18 - 8


– Source memory - Ability to remember where one learned something

– Prospective memory - Involves remembering to do something in the future

– Noncognitive factors - Health, education, and socioeconomic status can influence an older adult’s performance on memory tasks


18 - 9


• Executive functioning– Aspects of working memory that especially decline

in older adults involve:• Updating memory representations that are relevant for

the task at hand• Replacing old, no longer relevant information

• Decision making - Preserved rather well in older adults


18 - 10


• Wisdom– High levels of wisdom are rare– Late adolescence to early adulthood is the main

age window for wisdom to emerge– Factors other than age are critical for wisdom to

develop to a high level– Personality-related factors are better predictors of

wisdom than cognitive factors


18 - 11


• Education– Successive generations in America’s 20th century were

better educated• Work– Successive generations have placed a stronger

emphasis on cognitively oriented labor• Health– Successive generations have been healthier in late

adulthood– Terminal decline - Best described as slow and steady


18 - 12


• Use it or lose it– Certain mental activities can benefit the

maintenance of cognitive skills• Reading books, doing crossword puzzles, going to

lectures and concerts

– Research suggests that: • Mental exercise may reduce cognitive decline• Lower the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease


18 - 13


• Training cognitive skills– Improve the cognitive skills of many older adults– Some loss in plasticity in late adulthood, especially

in the oldest-old– Cognitive vitality of older adults can be improved

through cognitive and physical fitness training


18 - 14


• Cognitive neuroscience and aging– Cognitive neuroscience - Discipline that studies

links between the brain and cognitive functioning– Changes in the brain can influence cognitive

functioning, and changes in cognitive functioning can influence the brain


18 - 15

Language Development

• Some decrements in language may appear in late adulthood– Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon– Difficulty understanding speech

• Speech of older adults is lower in volume, slower, less precisely articulated, and less fluent

• Reason for decline in language– Slower information processing speed and decline in

working memory


18 - 16

Work and Retirement

• Work– Cognitive ability is one of the best predictors of

job performance in older adults– And older workers have lower rates of

absenteeism, fewer accidents, and higher job satisfaction than their younger counterparts


18 - 17

Figure 18.8 - Responses Given by People who were Asked When They Expected to Retire from Work


18 - 18

Work and Retirement

• Retirement in the U.S.– On average, workers will spend 10%-15% of their

lives in retirement– Life paths for individuals in their 60s are less clear

today– 7 million retired Americans return to work after

they retire


18 - 19

Work and Retirement

• Work and retirement in other countries– 33% of those in their 60s and 11% in their 70s are

still working– An increasing number of adults are beginning to

reject the early retirement option


18 - 20

Work and Retirement

• Adjustment to retirement– Older adults who adjust best to retirement are: • Healthy• Active and have adequate income• Are better educated• Have extended social networks and family• Satisfied with their lives before retiring• Flexible and plan key factors


18 - 21

Mental Health

• Major depression - Less common among older adults than younger adults– Common predictors• Earlier depressive symptoms• Poor health or disability• Loss events • Low social support

– 25% of individuals who commit suicide in the U.S. are 65 years of age or older


18 - 22

Mental Health

• Dementia: Involve a deterioration of mental functioning– 20% of individuals over the age of 80 have

dementia


18 - 23

Mental Health

• Alzheimer disease: Gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually, physical function– Women are likely to develop Alzheimer disease

because they live longer than men– Alzheimer involves a deficiency in the brain

messenger chemical acetylcholine– Deterioration of the brain– Formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary

tangles© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

18 - 24

Figure 18.10 - Two Brains: Normal Aging and Alzheimer Disease


18 - 25

Mental Health

– Early detection and drug treatment• Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) represents a

transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early disease• fMRI shows smaller brain regions involved in memory

for individuals with MCI


18 - 26

Mental Health

– Drug treatment of Alzheimer disease• Cholinerase inhibitors and other drugs slow the

downward progression of the disease

– Caring for individuals with Alzheimer disease• Support is often emotionally and physically draining for

the family• Respite care services


18 - 27

Mental Health

• Parkinson disease: A chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement, and facial paralysis– Triggered by the degeneration of dopamine-

producing neurons in the brain– Several treatments are available


18 - 28

Mental Health

• Fear of victimization, crime, and elder mistreatment – Older adults receive disproportionately fewer

mental health services– Psychologists prefer to work with YAVISes rather

than QUOIDs– Mental health care needs to be more available

and affordable for older adults


18 - 29

Religion and Spirituality

• Older adults are spiritual leaders in many societies around the world

• Older adults have higher levels of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism

• Religion can provide some important psychological needs in older adults


Santrock lsd14e ppt_ch18

Education

Transcript of Santrock lsd14e ppt_ch18