PSY 205 Final Exam

Developmental Psychology

Study/Science of how and why people change or remain stable over time and considers all groups of people/ages. “Womb to tomb” – health of parents before/during pregnancy.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

First to really focus on early-childhood experiences & unconscious motives. Theorists include Freud and Erikson.

Freud

Focused on the unconscious inner drives and motives. Included 5 childhood stages, but with 3 main stages (oral, anal, and phallic; also latency and genital). Resolution and experiences w/ conflicts reflected in personality. Deterministic (no free will) genes (including emotion) and childhood environment determine who we will be/how we will act.

Erikson

Had many similarities with Freud but emphasized on identity and focused more on social context (family, peers, culture) and had 8 stages of development through adulthood where all stages have a “crisis” to be resolved.

Longitudinal Research

Research where same individuals are followed over time. can always have historical differences, they may no longer apply to what’s happening today.

Cross-Sectional Research

Compares people who differ in age but similar in important characteristics. Can have difference in other than just age due to social issue beliefs originating in childhood (Cohort)

Factors that Influence Puberty

Affected by genes, body fay, and stress,

Genes

Genes on sex chromosome affect onset of puberty, average girls are about 2 years ahead of boys in height but only by a few months hormonally and sexually.

Body Fat

Genetic difference apparent only when child is well feed (poor diet = later start), stocky individual begin puberty before thinner builds, chronic malnutrition delay puberty in both sexes (secular trend - earlier and greater growth of children due to improved nutrition and medical care over last 2 centuries).

Stress

Production of many hormones is directly connected by HPA axis, increases pubertal hormones (if parents are sick, addicted/ divorces, or children in violent/impoverished neighborhoods, puberty tends to arrive earlier).

Maturation in Adolescent Brains

 The limbic system (fear (amygdala) and emotional impulse) matures before the prefrontal cortex (planning ahead, emotional regulation).

Maturation on Adolescent Thinking

Intense emotion (amygdala) may shut down the logical part of the brain (pre-frontal cortex). Puberty hormones affect the amygdala more than prefrontal cortex and the immaturity of cortex may allow troublesome adolescent behavior.

Main Point of “Less Guilty” Article

Deficiencies in decision making capacity. Cognitive immaturity, real-world decision making, susceptibility of peer influence (peaks at age 14), future orientation is lower, risk perception (emphasize immediate reward over delayed risk, average more time in groups & leads to more peer pressure), self-management capacity (impulsivity increases through adolescence, self-management skills increase, limbic system changes)

Egocentrism

Characteristic that leads adolescents to focus on themselves and exclude others. They think that their experiences, thoughts, and feelings are unique and either or better or worse than others. Their current Theory of Mind distorts what and how much others think about them and leads to more self-consciousness during this development period.  They often don’t understand there is a different perspective. Seen in all age groups, the only way to get out of this is to focus on and consider other perspectives but the less developed Theory of Mind makes this more difficult (those with older siblings develop their Theory of Mind quicker).

Personal Fable

Adolescent’s egocentric belief that he or she is destined to be famous (sports star, billionaire). They believe their life is special and amazing, can be seen as daydreams.

Invincibility Fable

Idea that adolescent’s egocentric belief that they can’t be harmed due to egocentrism (unprotected sex, drugs, driving over speed limit).

Identity

Consistent definition as a unique individual, like roles, attitudes, beliefs, and aspirations (can be expressed in language, clothing, hairstyles, etc.).

Foreclosure

When identity forms prematurely by adopting parent’s or societies roles and values without questioning, especially concerning things like political views and religion. It short-circuits their search by not questioning values and may lead to an identity or midlife crisis.

Negative Identity

Still a foreclosure even though they are rejecting the values because it’s still defined in terms of the norm.

Moratorium

When adolescents postpone making identity achievement choices by finding a way to avoid it. They may be actively seeking one by going to college, temporary relationships, and temporary jobs.

Diffusion

When an adolescent doesn’t know or care about what their identity is.

Males & Violent Deaths

Males are more likely to take risks and have violent deaths due to higher testosterone and the roles played evolutionary. Large precent of violent deaths are due to car accidents.

Senescence

Natural process of aging where body becomes less strong and efficient. It begins as soon as full growth is reached (once we peak) in adolescence.

Benefits of a College Education

Graduates are healthier, wealthier, deeper/more flexible thinkers. More universities can even lead to the increase of wealth of a country, or greater economic development, lower crime rates.

Crystallized Intelligence

Types of intellectual ability that reflect accumulated learning. Includes vocabulary, formulas, historical dates, general information. Some developmental psychologists think it increases with age.

Fluid Intelligence

Types of basic intelligence that make learning of all sorts quick and through. Thought to include working memory capacity, abstract thought, and speed of thinking. Some developmental psychologists think it declines with age.

Big Five Personality Model

Five basic cluster of personality traits that remain quite stable throughout adulthood. Clusters include openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Stability increases with age.

Ageism

Prejudice in which people are categorized and judges solely based on their chronical age, can be against young or old. It doesn’t allow people to be individuals with unique ways of living their lives. Ageist policies reduce pride, health, activity, and social involvement. Examples: Elderspeak. Some cognitive decline is rooted in the surrounding social context, regardless of the older person’s body and brain, and cultural attitudes can lead directly to age differences in cognition.

Elderspeak

Condescending way of speaking to older adults that resembles baby talk. Has simple and short sentences, exaggerated emphasis, and repetition. Talking at a slower rate and higher pitch than normal

Gerontology

The multidisciplinary study of old age. Is usually a more optimistic view.

Geriatrics

The medical specialty devoted to aging. Usually a more pessimistic view.

Demography

Study of the characteristics of human populations, including size, birth and death rates, density, and destruction.

Primary Aging

Universal and irreversible physical changes that occur to all living creatures as they grow older.

Secondary Aging

Illness and conditions that affect one person but not another. Major reason for the remarkable variate in intellectual ability between one older person and another. Cognitive abilities may decline precipitously, older adults may activate less, more, or just different brain areas than younger adults, some forms attack the brain directly (TBD), some slow cognition in general (e.g., cardiovascular disease).

Trends/Shift in Demographics

The graph used to be a pyramid but over time it has become more of a rectangular shape. This is mostly due to the baby boomer generation, as they age and continue to move up the ladder, it’s started to even out the older age ranges.

Changes in Sleep Patterns

Older adults spend more time in bed, wake up often (10 times per night), take longer to fall asleep, take naps. Insomnia leads to depression and heart disease Can be improved by reducing time in bed, avoiding naps, and getting out of bed once awake.

Changes in Sleep Quality

Feel drowsy in the daytime more often, less energy, poorer memory, low quality of life, greater distress over sleep patterns.

Calorie Consumption

Declines. Fewer calories needed, fewer nutrients.

Digestion

o   Body is less efficient at digesting food and using its nutrients.

Vitamins/Minerals

Need increases when drugs (like aspirin) are taken. Lack can lead to osteoporosis and other conditions.

Compression of Morbidity

A limiting of the time a person spends ill or infirm, accomplished by postponing illness. We are living longer and quality of life is higher for longer. Minimize problems they have and are upbeat about health.

Changes in Senses

All decline over time. Includes hearing, sight, smell, and taste

Hearing

High frequencies are lost earlier than low frequencies. Aging hearing is rarely diagnosed until age 60 but whispers become inaudible years earlier.

Sight

Peripheral (sides) narrows faster than frontal, some colors fade more than others, nearsightedness decreases, farsightedness increases, takes longer to adjust to darkness and glare. Motion perception and contrast sensitivity slows down. Eye lens thickens so brighter light is needed.

Smoking

Multiple forms, all contain harmful drugs. Nicotine is most addictive. Fewer people have started smoking and many quit by late adulthood.

Alcohol

Moderate drinking is correlated with a reduction in coronary heart disease. Heavy drinking increases risk of death of 60 different diseases and other issues like osteoporosis and decreased fertility, causes many premature deaths. Those who can limit their amounts of alcohol shown to have better health, this may have a third variable – self regulation where they may also do other things like exercise and diet to increase their health.

Exercise

Less as people age and low rates are blamed on lack of commitment, lack of immediate social support, and community’s failure to provide appropriate facilities. Standard rate is 2.5 hours per week.

Diet

People look for excuses, misinterpret scientific research, high-fat diets, and heavy drinking and smoking both decrease ability to metabolize certain nutrients (B-vitamins). Metabolism decrease by 1/3 from age 20 to 60. Maintain weight by eating less and exercising more. Obesity rates increase w/ each decade of adulthood.

Overeating

Too much eating combined with too little activity worsens virtually every health problem.

Friendships

Typically the most supportive members of the social convey because they are chosen for traits that make them compatible (interests, age, values). Friendships tend to improve with age and help to alleviate allostatic load.

Allostatic Load

Combined burden of stress and disease an individual most cope with.

Social Support

Leads to happier and healthier lives. Can be found in family and/or friends.

Wear & Tear

Process by which the human body wears out because of the passage of time and exposure to stressors.

Genetic Clock

Purported mechanism in DNA of cells that regulating aging process. Triggers hormonal changes and controls cellular reproduction and repair. Genes that “switch on aging” might exist. Pre-mature aging genetic conditions like Down Syndrome (heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s), and Progeria (growth stops at 5, average death is 13) exist.

Information-Processing Approach

Breaking down cognition into steps of input, storage, program, and output.

Information-Processing Input

Ability to take in stimuli information declines with age. People miss information without realizing it. Cognition depends on perception; perception depends on sensation. Can predict intellect by measuring vision, hearing, or smell. Reduced senses increase effects of interference, less important information interferes by capturing attention.

Working Memory

Capacity to keep information in mind for a few seconds while processing it, evaluating, calculating, inferring, and so on. Functions as both a repository and a processor. Declines with age.

Dual-Task Deficit

Situation in which person’s performance of one task is impeded by interference from the simultaneous performance of another. Ability to multi-task declines.

Long-Term Memory

Knowledge base stored in memory. Component of information processing system in which virtually limitless amounts of information can be stored indefinitely. Body of knowledge in particular area that makes it easier to master new information in that area. Vocab typically increase until age 80+. Selective deficits in long-term memory appear. Less able to recall recent past, emotions remembered better than factual details. Source amnesia more common.

Dementia Causes

The pathological loss of brain function, usually seen in memory, literally “out of mind,” referring to severely impaired judgment. Becomes more common with age, but it is abnormal and pathological even in the very old. Caused by organic brain damage or disease, like strokes (second most common, 10-15%), Alzheimer’s (most common 50%)

Irreversible Dementia Types

Subcortical, Vascular, Alzheimer’s.

Reversible Dementia

Dementia caused by medication, inadequate nutrition, alcohol abuse, depression, or other mental illnesses.

Alzheimer’s

Most common cause of dementia (50%) and is characterized by gradual deterioration of memory and personality, memory loss is the primary symptom.

Alzheimer’s Brain Changes

Marked by brain shrinkage and the formation of plaques and tangles of proteins in the brain. Decline in prefrontal cortex and cerebellum.

Alzheimer’s Predictors

Age: 1% at age 65, 20% over age 85, and about 50% over age 100. Gender: women are at a greater risk than men. Ethnicity: fewer East Asians than Europeans. Genetics: some genes increase risk, some decrease risk.

Alzheimer’s Stages

5 Stages, take up to 10-15 years and range from confusion to death.

Alzheimer’s Stage 1

Absentmindedness about recent events, names of people & places (often confused w/ normal aging).

Alzheimer’s Stage 2

Generalized confusion, deficits in concentration and short-term memory, aimless, repetitious speech.

Alzheimer’s Stage 3

Deficits become dangerous (eating)

Alzheimer’s Stage 4

Full-time care, don’t recognize family.

Alzheimer’s Stage 5

Unresponsive, no longer talking.

Vascular

Multi-infract dementia. Characterized by sporadic and progressive loss of intellectual functioning. Caused by repeated infracts, or temporary obstructions of blood vessels which prevent sufficient blood from reaching the brain.

Subcortical Dementia

Begin with impairments in motor ability (governed by subcortex). Produce cognitive impairment in later stages. Includes Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Multiple Sclerosis.

Parkinson’s

Most common type of subcortical dementia. Chronic, progressive disease that is characterized by muscle tremor and rigidity, and sometimes dementia. Caused by a reduction of dopamine production in the brain. Impairment in motor ability and later cognitive impairment.

Integrity vs. Despair

Final Erikson Stage. Older adults seek to integrate their unique experience with their version of community.

Continuing Education

Retirement offers time and opportunity to take classes. Is especially appealing to college grads and 1 out of 4 U.S. adults age 65+ enroll. Motivated by desire for personal and social development.

Volunteer Work

Suitable for elderly people who have adequate pensions or other sources of income. Allows elderly to gain status and find “new meaning,” gives opportunities for social interaction and being appreciated.

Religious Involvement

Studies show that it correlates with physical and emotional health as well as long life.

Political Activism

Elderly tends to be better informed, are more politically active, frequently write to their elected representatives. Vote in off-year elections, identify with a political party, and join groups that lobby. Political power mostly due to AARP.

AARP

U.S. organization of people aged 50 and older, which advocated for elderly. Larges organized interest group in the world.

Aging in Place

A preference of elderly people to remain in the same home and community, adjusting but not leaving when health fades. Satisfaction comes from caring for home and yard. Entire neighborhoods may “age” maintaining social convoy. May end up living alone by preference.

Respite Care

Arrangement where professional caregiver relieves a frail elderly person’s usual family caregiver for a few hours each day or for an occasional weekend.

Long-Term Care

Trend toward fewer nursing home residents. Assisted living.

Assisted Living

Provides some of the privacy and independence of living at home, along with some medical supervision. Intermediate between nursing home and own residence.

Nursing Home

Public or private residential facility providing a high level of long-term personal or nursing care for persons (such as the aged or the chronically ill) who are unable to care for themselves properly.

Activities of Daily Life (ADLs)

Actions that are important to independent living. Typically consist of 4 tasks of self-care: eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, and transferring from bed to chair. Inability to perform tasks is a sign of frailty.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADLs)

Actions that are important to independent living and that require some Intellectual competence and forethought. Managing meds & finances, shopping. Ability to perform these tasks is even more crucial to self-sufficiency than ADL.

Quality of Life

Overall well-being regarding both positive and negative elements within the entirety of their existence at a specific point in time.

Hospice

Institution in which terminally ill patients receive palliative or at-home care, patient’s autonomy and decisions are respected, and family member are counseled/shown how to provide care. Doesn’t include/provide treatments or cures and must willingly give up treatment.

Palliative Care

Care designed not to treat an illness but to receive the pain and suffering of the patients and his/her family. Can receive treatment at the same time and is available to all ages and life stages. Could help to delay end-of-life care.

Active Euthanasia

Someone takes action to bring about another person’s death, with the intention of ending person’s suffering. Illegal in the U.S.

Passive Euthanasia

Seriously ill person is allowed to die naturally, through the cessation of medical intervention. Is legal anywhere.

Assisted Suicide

Form of active euthanasia in which a doctor provides the means for someone to end his/her won life. May be due to loss of autonomy, ability to enjoy life, dignity, control over body, being a burden on others, and pain. Legal in 11 U.S jurisdictions including CA, CO, D.C., HI, MT, MA, NJ, NM, OR, VT, WA.

Living Wills

Indicates what medical intervention an individual wants if he or she becomes incapable of expressing those wishes.

Health Care Proxy

Person chosen to make medical decisions if the patient becomes unable to do so.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)

Form of passive euthanasia. Written order from physician, sometimes initiated by a patient’s advance directive or by a health care proxy’s request, that no attempt should be made to revive a patient if he/she suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Kubler-Ross’s Stages of Death

Identified 5 staged but people vary in sequence, may not go through all these stages, and most seek more time with family and loved ones.

Death Stage 1

Denial. EX: “I don’t believe the diagnosis.”

Death Stage 2

Anger towards doctors, God, etc.

Death Stage 3

Bargaining. EX: “I’ll do anything to get through this.”