Late Adulthood and Aging

Flashcards covering the perceptions, patterns, physical, and cognitive changes associated with late adulthood based on the lecture notes.

Age identity / Subjective age

A self-perception of age where individuals often report feeling $13$ Years Younger as a strategy to avoid identification with the elderly group.

Young-old

A pattern in aging referencing individuals between the ages of $65$ and $74$.

Old-old

A pattern in aging referencing individuals between the ages of $75$ and $84$.

Oldest-old

A pattern in aging referencing individuals aged $85+$.

Predictors of successful aging

A combination of factors including habits, family history, wealth, and access to care.

Brain changes in late adulthood

Physiological shifts where the brain becomes smaller, receives less blood flow, and exhibits broader activation.

Cognitive reserve

The brain's capacity to maintain function through broader activation despite physical brain changes.

Selective attention

A cognitive process that involves focusing on specific information while ignoring irrelevant data, which decreases in late adulthood.

Sustained attention

A cognitive function involving focused and extended engagement with an object or task, which is maintained during late adulthood.

Explicit memory

A type of memory involving conscious recollection that typically declines in late adulthood.

Implicit memory

A type of memory involving skills and routine procedures that typically stays intact during late adulthood.

Working memory

The mental 'workbench' for manipulating and assembling information, which shows a decline in late adulthood.

Perceptual speed

The time it takes to perform simple perceptual-motor tasks, which declines during late adulthood.

Factors to maintain cognitive health

External and lifestyle elements including education, work, and health.