Psychology of Aging

Midterm /Test 1

Ageism

ideas and beliefs usually associated with discriminatory attitudes toward older adults

Geriatrics

the branch of medicine specializing in medical care and treatment of diseases/health problems of older adults

Gerontology

the study of the biological, behaviour, and social phenomena from maturity to old age

Defining age: Chronological age

units of time

Defining age: biological age

where you stand compared to how long you will live

Defining age: Functional age

person’s competence in carrying out task

Defining Age: Psychological Age

how well a person adapts

Defining Age: Social Age

views about how age groups should behave.

Normative Age-Graded Influences

biological or chronological events associated with chronological age.

Normative History-Graded Influences

influences associated with time, including societal evolution, wars, economic influences.

Non-Normative life events

events or experiences that do not happen to everyone or occur at an unusual time of life

Perspectives of Aging: Normative Aging

what is considered a usual, normal, or average outcome

Perspectives of Aging: Successful Aging

what is considered an ideal rather than average outcome

Perspectives of Aging: Positive Aging

the ability to find happiness and well-being even in the face of physical and/or psychological challenges.

Hypothesis

a suggested explanation for an observed phenomenon or reasoned prediction

theory

a well-substantiated, unifying explanation for a set of verified/proven hypotheses.

Metamodel/Approach/Perspective

an overarching framework that guides what researchers think is worth studying and how to study it.

Metamodels: Mechanistic

studying larger phenomena by breaking them down into simpler units

Metamodels: Organismic 

organism (e,g., human) is the actor and acts on the environment, not the other way around

Metamodels: Contextual

organism and environment are in continual interaction.

ecological perspective

“environment is not a single entity; it is a series of structures that fit together and are nested within one another”

Layers of the environment

• microsystem - direct relations with others (immediate environment)

• mesosystem - linkages between microsystems 

• Exosystem - indirect environment influences 

• macrosystems - cultural beliefs 

• chronosystem - shifts and life events in an individual’s lifetime (e.g., historical events)

(Baltes, 1987) - Life span development perspective: Multidirectionality

development involves growth and decline

(Baltes, 1987) - Life span development perspective: Plasticity

development can be altered as a function of training.

(Baltes, 1987) - Life span development perspective: Historical context

development is a product of multiple forces

(Baltes 1987) - Lifespan Development Perspective: Multiple causation

development involves growth and decline 

What are the multiple forces for multiple causations?

Biological forces - genetic and health-related factors

Sociocultural forces - social and cultural forces 

psychological forces - perception, cognition, emotion, personality 

life-cycle forces - time of life at which events occur.

chronological age

number of time units elapsed since birth (actual age)

cohort

generation of research participants

Cross sectional research design

research participants are members of two or more age groups (e.g., young and old)

• Advantage: measurement time is fixed 

• Disadvantage: comparison between two groups - might be external factors that we can’t control

Longitudinal Research Design

participants from one cohort are followed over time and tested or interviewed on two or more occasions (measures age-related changes)

• advantage: differentiate between time-constant (i.e., orange remains an orange) and time varying factors

• disadvantage: cannot disentangle factors of age and time of measurement.

Time-Lag

individuals of the same chronological age but from different cohorts are compared. 

• E.g., 70 year old women from 1920, from 1980, from 2000

• problem: cannot disentangle factors of cohorts and time of measurement

time of measurement

condition that prevail when the research is conducted

Sequential

• Cohort-Sequential 

• Time-Sequential 

• Cross-Sequential 

Internal Validity

can we accurately identify the factors responsible for an outcome? (e.g., age or cohort?)

external validity

do findings from one participant sample generalize to another sample from the same population?

ecological validity

• do our tests measure real-world functioning?

Reliability

• internal reliability - internal consistency

• external reliability - stability 

4 approaches to conducting research + what separates them

1. Experimental - participants are randomly assigned, cause and effect statements can be made.

2. Quasi-Experimental - participants cannot be randomly assigned, can’t make cause and effect statements

3. Descriptive - researcher does NOT attempt to manipulate any of the variables (only observations). Cannot make cause-and-effect statements.

4. Multifactor - two factors can interact, more than one categories, IV, and predictors

common cause hypothesis

the link between sensory processes and cognitive functioning becomes stronger in older adulthood than it was earlier in life.

Signal Detection Model

takes into account sensitivity and decisional criteria

• conservation vs. liberal bias

Types of Speed with Processing Input

• sensation - registration of stimulus

• perception - processing of stimulus and reacting to it (response)

• Reaction time - interval between registering a stimulus (sensation) and reacting to it (response)

Age-Complexity Hypothesis

the more complex the task, the greater the age-related gap in speech of response

• simple vs. choice reaction time

proprioception

your body’s ability to sense its position, movement, and actions in space.

• can decrease as someone ages

Types of Vision Changes in the Eye

• Pupil - diameter decreases, lets in less light

• Lens - increased size and thickness which can lead to cataracts 

• retina - macular degeneration

Conductive Hearing Loss

• affects all sound frequencies

• related to changes in the outer or middle ear

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

some sound frequencies damaged, depends on where the damage is in the inner ear.

Presbycusis

difficulty understanding speech in noisy conditions

• sensorineural loss and higher order processing (can hear it but can’t understand it)

3 types of inhibition

1. Access - limits attention to stimuli that are relevant to current goals 

2. Deletion - clears mental workspace as you move from task to task 

3. restraint - suppressed automatic responses in thought and action

Sensory Store

momentary perceptual trace

Short-term Store 

short-term memory and working memory

Working Memory

holds info in the mind and actively manipulates it

Long Term Store

• procedural memory

• semantic memory (general knowledge)

• Episodic Memory (personal memories)

Episodic Memory

memory for events and experiences 

what are the stages of episodic memory

1. encoding - forming a memory trace to enter into the long-term store

2. consolidation - encodes memories and lay them down in long-term storage

3. Retrieval - getting information out of long-term storage 

retrieval tests: Free Recall 

• no hints or cues supplied to guide retrieval 

• older adults recall fewer items than young adults

Retrieval Tests: Cued recall

• hints or cues supplied to guide retrieval 

Retrieval Tests: Recognition

• encoding context reinstated

whether or not you see memory differences with age …………

it largely depends on how you test your memory

Implicit Memory vs Explicit Memory

• Explicit memory involves conscious recall of information, facts, and personal experiences. 

• implicit memory involves non-conscious and automatic influence of past experiences on current behavior, such as performing skills or habits.

Prospective Memory + Two types 

remembering to do something in the future

1. event based tasks - remembering to perform an action due to an external cue

2. time-based tasks - remembering to perform an action without the aid of any external cue

factors that contribute to successful memory aging

1. education and lifestyle - higher education + mentally active lifestyle

2. exercise 

3. health 

what is the official age of entry of older adulthood?

65

Older Adulthood Categories:

1. Young-Old = age 65-74

2. old-old = 75-84

3. oldest - old = age 85+

demography

scientific study of populations that focus on specific populations (provides overall picture of that population)

Population Pyramid

a bar graph that shows how a population is distributed in terms of both age and gender

life expectancy

average number of years individuals in a cohort can be expected to live based on current information that affects mortality

Lifespan

maximum longevity or extreme upper limit of time members of a species can live

Morbidity vs. Mortality

morbidity = illness or disease

mortality = death

Primary Aging

unavoidable, intrinsic biological processes that affect all members of a species

Secondary Aging

biological process due to disease, disuse, and abuse

Programmed theories

focus on genetic blueprint of various species

Stochastic theories

focus on random events and damage that occurs as a function of living

Activities of Daily Living (ADL)

basic personal care tasks required for self-maintence

Instrumental activities of daily living (ADL)

more complex activities required for daily life.

7 Thurstone’s Primary mental abilities

1. verbal meaning

2. number (arithmetic)

3. word fluency 

4. inductive reasoning 

5. spatial orientation 

6. memory

7. perceptual speed

Gardner’s Nine Intelligences

1. Spatial - visualizing the word in 3D

2. Intrapersonal - understanding yourself, what you feel, and what you want

3. linguistic - finding the right words to express what you mean 

4. bodily-kinesthetic - coordinating your mind with your body

5. interpersonal - sensing people’s feelings and motives 

6. existential - tackling the questions of why we live, and why we die. 

7. logical-mathematical - quantifying things, making hypotheses and proving them

8. Musical - discerning sounds, their pitch, tone, rhythm, and timbre

9. naturalist - understanding living things and reading nature 

Fluid Intelligence

“raw” intelligence, dependent on the integrity of the central nervous system

Crystallized Intelligence

function of education, experience, culture.

• reflected in verbal culture 

Mechanical of Intelligence

perceptual processing, categorizing information, memory

Pragmatics of Intelligence

culturally based factual and procedural knowledge.

what does fluid intelligence depend on?

• working memory

• long-term (secondary) memory

• speed of processing

5 primary mental abilities (PMA) test

1. Verbal Meaning

2. Number 

3. word fluency

4. inductive reasoning

5. spatial orientation

flynn effect

refers to the fact that a sample of 60-year-olds today will score higher than a sample of 60 years olds who took the same test.

Disuse hypothesis of cognitive aging

skills and abilities get rusty when not used on a regular basis

• use it or lose it

Schooler and Mulatu (2001)

participation in complex leisure activities was connected with increased intellectual functioning in both workers and retirees.

5 factors related to the maintenance of intellectual functioning

1. absence of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases

2. above-average education and income

3. flexible attitudes and behaviours

4. a stimulating and engaging lifestyle (e.g., volunteering)

5. occupational history of high-complexity jobs

People’s conceptions of intelligence:

• interest in and ability to deal with novelty

• everyday competence 

• verbal competence

Encapsulation Model

with increasing age, knowledge becomes channeled within specific areas

• a concentration on updating and acquiring knowledge in the encapsulated domains

expertise 

usually within a particular domain

legal guardianship 

care and protection by someone who is empowered to make decisions concerning everyday matters in the interest of the individual

Legal Conservatorship

management of an incompetent individual’s estate and financial transactions.