PSY of Aging midterm

Biopsychosocial model

a view of development as a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social processes

Biopsychosocial model’s application to aging

biological: genetics, physical changes associated with age, diseases

psychological: individual’s personality, cognitions, emotions as they pertain to development over time

social: context in which people live, historical influences, cultural background

Main principles of studying aging

Changes are continuous over the life span, only the survivors grow old, individuality matters, “normal” aging is different from disease

Continuity principle

changes that people experience in later adulthood build on experiences they had in earlier years

Survivor principle

people who live to old age are the ones who managed to avoid the many threats that could have caused their deaths at earlier ages

Principle of individuality

as people age, they become increasingly different from each other

Interindividual differences

differences between people

Intrainindividual differences

variations within the same person

Multidirectionality

development can proceed in multiple directions within the same person

Normal aging is different from disease principle

growing older doesn’t necessarily mean growing sicker

primary aging

normal changes over time that occur due to universal, intrinsic, and progressive alterations in the body’s systems; skin wrinkling

secondary aging

changes over time leading to impairment due to disease; skin cancer

tertiary aging

rapid loss of functions experienced at the very end of life

optimal aging

age related changes that represent improvements in an individual’s functioning

personal aging

changes that occur within the individual and the influence of time’s passage on the body’s structures and functions

social aging

effects of a person’s exposure to a changing environment; comparing individuals to their typical age based on societal expectations and roles

Ecological perspective

identifies multiple levels of the environment as they affect the individual’s development; chronosystem, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, mesosystem

Life course perspective

norms, roles, and attitudes about age have an impact on the shape of each person’s life; social clock and how people evaluate themselves according to life events at specific ages

Activity theory

active involvement in social roles promotes greater life satisfaction

disengagement theory

mutual withdrawal of the individual from society is a natural and beneficial process

continuity theory

older adult’s life satisfaction depends on the ability to maintain important role engagement

ageism

a set of beliefs, attitudes, social institutions, and acts that discriminate against individuals or groups based on their chronological age

Erickson’s Psychosocial theory

at key points in life, biological, psychological, and social changes influence the individual’s personality; critical periods to overcome and determine outcome

Piaget’s Cognitive-development theory

Schemas, or mental structures, develop and matures as children explore their environment; schema assimilation and accommodation

Identity process theory

when individuals experience age-related changes, they may respond with identity assimilation, identity accommodation, or identity balance; context of ageism

Selective Optimization with Compensation

adults attempt to preserve and maximize the abilities that are of central importance and put less effort into maintaining those that are not

Programmed aging theories

propose that aging and death are built into the hard-wiring of all organisms and therefore are part of the genetic code

Random error theories

assume that aging is an accidental by-product of other biological processes that could be potentially slowed down or even halted

Cross linking theory

aging causes damage and changes to collagen cells, which make up much of the body’s connective tissues

Free radical theory

aging is due to the formation of highly reactive unstable oxygen molecules produced when cells create energy

autoimmune theory

aging is due to faulty immune system functioning in which the immune system attacks the body’s own cells

Error Catastrophe theory

aging is due to mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, passed down from the mother

Longitudinal design

repeatedly collecting data from the same sample over a long period of time

Sequential research designs

involves a sequence of studies to tease apart variables of age, cohort, and time of testing

Cohort-sequential design

at least 2 cohorts are compared at 2 different ages

Time-sequential design

age is compared to time of testing

Cross-sectional design

compares factors of cohort and time of testing

Age related changes in skin

epidermis thins, discolored areas called “age spots",” moles, angiomas: elevations of small blood vessels on the surface

Age related changes in hair

naturally loses pigment due to inactive production of melanin, 75-80 all hair loses natural color

Age related changes in nails/teeth

nails grow slower and become thicker and more yellow, tooth wear occurs gradually through adulthood, 65- 17% of Americans have lost all natural teeth

Age related changes in body build

Height shortens due to loss of bone material in vertebrae, 50’s/60’s lose fat free mass (muscle)

Age related changes in endocrine system

Thyroid hormones influence metabolic rate, which begins to slow in middle age, cortisol decreases in adulthood but increases in 60’s

ADLs

tasks required for basic care; bathing, dressing, toileting, eating, transferring

IADLs

tasks required for successful day-to-day function; shopping, meal preparation, medication management, handling finances, appointments, driving

Social determinants of health

conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, quality of life outcomes, and risks

Health belief model

explains preventative health behaviors and screening according to 6 factors; Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self efficacy

Theory of planned behavior

intentions are the most direct predictions of behavior; intentions are shaped by an individual’s attitudes towards the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control

Transtheoretical model

views health behavior change as a dynamic process that occurs in stages, from precontemplation to contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination

hypertension

chronically elevated blood pressure

atherosclerosis

arteries become severely narrowed, reducing their width, and limiting the circulation of blood

myocardial infarction

an acute condition in which the blood supply to the heart muscle is severely reduced or blocked

coronary artery disease

accumulation of plaque in arteries supplying the heart

heart failure

the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body’s other organs

cancer

a disease where cell mutations occur, forming a malignant tumor that can invade and spread to other parts of the body

developmental changes in how medications work

time needed for medications to enter bloodstream may increase with age, older adults have the highest risk of adverse drug affects

information processing model

uses a computer metaphor to explain how people process stimuli; input (sensory memory), attention (working memory), encode/retrieve (long term memory)

inhibitory loss

older adults may have difficulty inhibiting/filtering out the processing of irrelevant information 

diffusion

increased reaction time reflects a desire to collect more evidence before selecting a response compared to younger individuals

processing speed

the time it takes to respond to simple, time limited cognitive tasks; declines with age associated with white matter loss

sensory memory

brief retention of sensory information in the moment

long-term memory

the ability to remember extensive amounts of information from long periods; age related decline

semantic memory

learning and remembering the meaning of words and concepts that are not tied to specific occurrences of events in time; generally preserved

episodic memory

conscious recollection of information from a specific event or point in time; age related decline

autobiographical memory

type of episodic memory, involves remembering information and events from our own life

prospective memory

remembering to perform a planned action in the future; age related decline

working memory

the active processes and structures involved in holding information in mind

rehearsal

the process by which information is held in working memory

implicit memory

retrieval of information without conscious or intentional recollection

explicit memory

intentional and conscious remembering of information that is learned at a specific point in time; declines with age

encoding

the spontaneous use of strategies during the learning of new information; declines with age

delirium

disturbance in attention and awareness, disturbance in cognition, develops quickly, change from baseline, fluctuates in severity

Mild NCD

modest decline from previous level of functioning in one or more cognitive domains, does not interfere in everyday activities, not better explained by another mental disorder

Major NCD

significant decline from the previous level of functioning in one or more cognitive domains, interferes in everyday activities, substantial impairment in cognitive performance

executive functioning

higher order cognitive functions; planning and organizing, regulating behavior, abstract thinking, emotional regulation, decision making

expression

to convey thoughts or meaning

comprehension

to understand communication from others

expressive language

fluency (phonemic and semantic), naming- object recognition word finding

receptive language

repetition, comprehension, reading

language and aging

maintain knowledge of words and comprehension, verbal fluency tends to decline in late life

crystalized intelligence

acquired knowledge through education and life experience; ability to retrieve knowledge, improves across adulthood

fluid intelligence

being aware of complex relationships; problem solving ability; allows you to think flexibly and make inferences, declines in older adulthood

creative intelligence

imagination and innovation

emotional intelligence

street smarts, emotional regulation, empathy

Cattel-Horn-Carrol model of intelligence

a proposal that there is a three tier structure to intelligence

berlin wisdom paradigm

understand many contexts of life and that they change over time, acknowledge differences in values and life priorities, knowing facts and how things work, acknowledge other’s perspectives, recognizes limitations of one’s own knowledge

remote memory

involves the recall of information from the distant past

flashbulb memory

the recall of important and distinctive events that stand out from other memories of past events

procedural memory

recall of the actions involved in particular tasks

attention

the ability to focus or concentrate on a portion of experience while ignoring other features of that experience, to be able to shift that focus as demanded by the situation, and to be able to coordinate information from multiple sources

general slowing hypothesis

the increase in reaction time reflects a general decline of information processing speed within the nervous system of the aging individual, leading to a loss of efficiency

age-complexity theory

through a slowing of central processes in the nervous system, older adults perform progressively more poorly as tasks become more complex and their processing resources are stretched more to their limit

attentional resources theory

attention as a process reflecting the allocation of cognitive resources

type 2 diabetes

defect in metabolizing glucose

risk factors of chronic disease

sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diets