final aging

personality

individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving, stable and occurs on multiple occasions

how to measure personality

self-report questionnaires, projective techniques, ex inkblot to analyze interpretation, behavioral observation

jungs theory of personality

believed personality exists on a continuum, young adulthood embodies extraversion for starting career and finding a partner, and same sex tendencies. older adulthood shifts to introversion, men soften their masculinity and women take on more masculine roles

eriksons theory of personality

stages of psychosocial development, each stage revolves around a different crisis which can be resolved positively or negatively, positive resolution increases chances of success in subsequent stages

eriksons stage six (VI)

intimacy vs isolation, young adults are interested in forming relationships, success is forming one and bringing out true version of the self, failure would not be gaining relationships

eriksons stage seven (VII)

generativity vs stagnation, middle adulthood takes on responsibility for others and making contributions for the next generation, failure would be taking on youthful habits to go against againg, midlife crisis

eriksons stage eight (VIII)

ego integrity vs despair, late adulthood comes with a life review to ensure you did what you wanted and lived a life of meaning, failure would be a negative life review, recognizing they did not live in agreement with values

pecks necessary adjustment to erikson stage six (VI)

moved to ego differentiation vs work-role preoccupation, must learn to define yourself beyond your work role

pecks necessary adjustment to eriksons stage seven (VII)

moved to body transcendence vs body preoccupation, recognizing you’re not going to stay young forever,accept and adjust

pecks necessary adjustment to eriksons stage eight (VIII)

moved to ego transcendence vs ego preoccupation, adapting to concept that life is finite and to focus on the next generation/others

how does a life review relate to ego integrity

older adults integrate who they are now and who they were in the past to settle with decisions they have made, offers a chance to achieve ego integrity by recognizing you are not always going to behave in alignment with values

how does life story relate to ego integrity

individuals take on traits to provide context for the decisions they have made, shapes behavior and establishes identity

reminiscence therapy

therapeutic listener encouraged them to reminisce on life, showed lower depression, hopelessness, despair, and a higher degree of life satisfaction and well-being

costa and mccraes five facets of personality

openness, conscientiousness (seld discipline, competence), extraversion, agreeableness (compliance, tender), neuroticism (anxiety, hostility)

how does the five factor model change with age

extraversion, openness and neuroticism decrease with age, agreeableness and conscientiousness increase with age

how does the changes in age of the FFM map onto carstensen

being more agreeable lets you pick your battles and let go of things easily, conscientiousness reflects the socioemotional selectivity theory

findings of the baltimore longitudinal study

personality factors are largely consistent over time, young adults who score high on extraversion will likely score high in older adulthood

how do personality traits influence survival

those with low conscientiousness and high neuroticism likely have earlier mortality

how do the offspring of centenarians personality influence survival

they were lower on neuroticism (less anxiety), higher on extraversion, average conscientiousness and openness, and women were higher in agreeableness

how do people view their own personalities

people have a strong sense of continuity, think of themselves as the same now as they were earlier

how do people view the personalities of others

people think there are gains in some positive personality traits (wisdom, responsibility) but losses in others (stereotypes)

self-concept

how you view your core behaviors, consists of a collection of schemas in various domains, past, present and possible self-concept

self-esteem

evaluative aspect of self-concept, where feelings of worth and worthlessness come from

strength and vulnerability integration

model of coping with stress, older adults can use strengths (experience, emotional regulation) to cope with moderate stress levels, but have difficulty coping with high stress levels due to vulnerabilities (decline in flexibility, slower return to normal level or arousal)

the assimilation, accommodation, and immunization model

assimilation is the goal pursuit to maintain the self concept, accommodation is the flexible goal adjustment when goal isn’t met, immunization is the temporary shield against threats to the self-concept (gap between ideal self and actual self)

internal locus of control

personal control over outcomes, positive things can be attained by you taking action

external locus of control

predetermined outcomes, taking action will not make a difference, someone else will decide

primary control processes

actions and behaviors intended to shape the environment to fit ones needs and desires

secondary processes

internal adjustment of goals and expectations, accepting reality

optimization of primary and secondary controls

being selective about primary control efforts, adjusting goals when primary control efforts are unlikely to be successful

social ties in older adulthood

decreases in size, become more family oriented, and varies in frequency

disengagement theory

older adults voluntarily withdraw from earlier roles, society withdraws from older adults, those who withdraw experience high life satisfaction

activity theory

older adults substitute new roles when old ones are lost, those with new roles experience high life satisfaction

social socioemotional selectivity theory evidence

older adults gave more positive evaluations of honesty and credibility (of a child testing for competency to stand trial)

socioemotional selectivity theory evidence summary

recorded faster reaction times to happy faces, and had increased recognition of happy faces, gave more positive ratings of children’s capabilities and more positive ratings of their relationships with their own children

social exchange theory

social interactions have both rewards (positive feelings) and costs (unpleasant feelings), in an unbalanced interaction one partner has more power

upswing hypothesis

near retirement age, marital happiness comes with fewer disagreements and increased emotional regulation when there is disagreement

does marriage protect against distress

yes, depending on the quality. environment, social and psychological factors play a role

age and altruism core idea

aging is linked to increasing altruism, less desire to be rich, more desire to have common-goods, and shift toward charitable donations

age-stereotype paradox

older adults are living longer and healthier lives, however stereotypes grow more negative

awareness of aging

subjective understanding of ones own aging that shapes identity and increases motivation support healthy and sucessful aging

convoy model

individuals move through life affecting and being affected by other people who play a central role in their network and influence their well being

social network

structural characteristics of an individuals social ties

situational model of elder abuse

caregivers response to a stressful situation causing neglect, belittlement and abuse

hierarchial compensatory model

hierarchy of relationships they can call upon. spouse, then adult children, then siblings

age-differentiated social structure

education is for youths and young adults, work is for the middle-age, and leisure is for older adulthood

age-integrated social structure

balance between education, work and leisure over the entire adult life span

reasons older adults may work longer now

longer life expectancy, changing economy, less physically demanding jobs, removal of mandated retirement, to attain benefits

characteristics of older workers

dependable, productive, good attendance, committed, high satisfaction, slower response time, compensate with accumulated knowledge and experience

how to related older workers to the selective optimization with compensation model

selection - don’t spread self too thin, delegate responsibilities, optimization - training for new skills, optimization - try to make weaknesses less visible, make accomplishments more visible

age discrimination

adea in the u.s prohibits discrimination of those over 40 in hiring, termination, demotion or salary. in canada, right to equal protection and equal benefit

what is retirement

no requirement for paid employment, income from pensions, willingness to identify as retired, steady work history, ambiguous for women/minorities with interrupted work history

effects of retirement

stable self-esteem, lower depression, detachment from work, men participate on household work more

6 phases of retirement

preretirement - planning, honeymoon - enthusiasm, busy doing what you want, disenchantment - boredom, activities are expensive, emotional let down, reorientation - finding realistic structure of day, stability - establish comfortable routine, happiness, termination - when retirement does not suit the individual, go back to work

the busy ethic

after retirement, keeping a busy lifestyle is desirable because it places justification on being able to rest

education in retirement

audit college courses, road scholar programs that provide educational travel, computer training

benefits of volunteering

increased life satisfaction, reduced depression, better self-reported health, lower mortality

old age security cheque

federal pension plan to serve as a financial cushion, ~$700, must be over 65, can qualify earlier if lower income

private pensions

defined benefit - worker must be vested, employer pays benefits for life, defined contribution - employee and employer contribute, taxes upon withdrawl, portable (can go with you to each job)

long-distance migration stages

amenity - young old years to communities with golf courses and pools etc., independence maintenance - old-old years to be closer to family members, dependency - involuntary when a more supportive environment is needed

age-integrated housing

downsizing move from family home to retirement home, no specific age requirement, no services on premises

age-segregated housing

residents of particular age, often some services from restaurants to dining halls

prevalence of criteria for mental health disorders

1 in 5, similar to population of young adults (18 years old)

why are older adults reluctant to use mental health services

stigma, did not grow up in a time where it was normalized, low insight/understanding, don’t want to take advice from younger professionals, may result in hospitalization

what do therapists need to understand when working with older adults and mental health

sufficient knowledge on all aspects of the aging process, continuing education to update skills, non-infantilizing, turn off internalized stereotypes, legal capacity for consent

depressive disorders

not a normal part of aging, psychological, somatic and cognitive symptoms

primary depression

absence of physical disorders or drug side effects

secondary depression

accompanies or traced to bodily illness/adverse reactions to medication

diathesis stress model

level of vulnerability to a negative event, high diathesis are sensitive to stressful conditions and may succumb to a disorder even if stress is not that high. low diathesis can withstand moderate stress without succumbing, succumbing with higher stress calls for shorter disorder

diagnosing depression

symptoms hard to differentiate from cancer, heart disease or side effects to medication

under and overdiagnosing depression

underdiagnosed - fatigue and sleep problems, loss of interest, lethargy, grief reactions all reduce likelihood of depression diagnosis. overdiagnoses - changes in appetite, bowel, and sleep habits. cognitive changes in memory can contribute

anxiety disorders

precedes depression and then comorbid, symptoms overlap so its difficult to treat. given less attention, symptoms of both can mimic those of cardiovascular disease. symptoms of both can overlap with somatic disorders

illness anxiety disorder

formerly hypochondriasis, preoccupation with physical symptoms and seek frequent medical attention

why might older adults have illness anxiety disorder