Test 4

What ages are part of early adulthood?

18 to 40

What milestones are typically reached? (EA)

• leaving home

• completing education

• beginning full-time work

• attaining economic independence

• establishing a long-term intimate relationship

• starting a family

What are telomeres? What happens to them as we age?

a special type of DNA located at the ends of chromosomes- serving as a cap to protect the ends from destruction. They shorten with age.

Is there more synaptic pruning or synaptogenesis happening in early adulthood?

More pruning

What does it mean to have experience dependent brain growth?

Parts of the brain will grow if you have experience with that sections particular strength

Describe epistemic cognition and the 3 stages of thinking.

• involves how individuals reason about the nature of truth and knowledge

• Dualistic

• Relativistic

• commitment within relativistic

What contributes to epistemic cognition

• opportunities to tackle challenging, ill-structured problems

• peer interaction

• metacognition

Describe the periods of vocational development

• fantasy period

• Tentative period- at first, in terms of interests. Then, in terms of abilities and values

• realistic period- exploration, crystallization

What factors influence career choice?

• personality

• family-influences: Parent child vocational similarity

• teachers

• gender stereotypes: slow progress for women in male-dominated fields

• educational and job opportunities

• current life circumstances

How do people at different stages of early adulthood compare when answering the question “Do you feel like you’ve reached adulthood?”

• yes and no decreases with age

• yes increases with age

• no remains consistent

What is emerging adulthood? Can it be considered a distinct stage?

distinct period of life between adolescence and adulthood, defined by:

• feeling in between

• identity exploration

• self-focused, lacking obligations to others

• instability

• possibilities

• yes

Why does over protection and helicopter parenting contribute to poorer adjustment to adulthood

it interferes with their ability to aquire the skills they need to act on their own

Explain the journey from isolation to intimacy

Intimacy:

• making a permanent commitment to intimate partnership

• secure identity associated with fidelity

isolation:

• hesitant to form close ties

• fear of losing identity

What is the social clock? What are the consequences of not following this time line

• age-related expectations for life events

• greater deviations than earlier generations

• adhering lend confidence, social stability

• risky to “craft a life of ones own”

Describe the triangular theory of love. How do intimacy, passion, and commitment relate to passionate love, compassionate love, and companionate love?

• values shift in emphasis as relationship develops

• passionate love: High intimacy

• campanionate: high intimacy and commitment

• compassionate: high intimacy, commitment, and passion

Once a person reaches compassionate love, does it always stay that way?

compassionate love can fade

What are some cultural differences in the view of love?

western culture:

• passion and respect as basis for marriage

• dependency regarded as immature

Eastern cultures:

• companionship, practical matters, and obligations as basis for choosing lifelong partner

• dependency viewed positively

• arranged marriages: Intention act of building love; commitment a key component

Are families having children early or later than previous years?

later, with smaller families

Why do people say they want to have children

• personal rewards

• social returns

• future continuity

What are some common concerns about having children

loss of freedom, role overload, readiness, financial costs ($350,000 to age 18), women’s career

How is having children related to relationship satisfaction?

• Typically, a mild decline in relationship satisfaction, sharing child care predicts happiness

Dualistic thinking

Black and white thinking

Relativistic thinking

right and wrong in certain situations

Commitment within relativistic thinking

can see the pros and cons within both.

What are some reasons emerging adulthood shouldn’t be considered distinct?

• historically, at no time has adulthood been achieved at a distinct moment

• the term fails to describe the experiences of most of the youths

• research on emerging adulthood largely emphasizes its personal and societal benefits. But extended exploration that defines this period might be a coping mechanism for people who cannot find rewarding jobs.

• final, financial upheaval of late 200s left large numbers of bachelor’s degree holders with limited options

Is age if the parent related to the ease of the transition to parenthood

later parenthood eases transition:

• attainment of occupational goals

• more life experience

• stronger relationship

Describe career development in early adulthood? Is disappointment common?

Disappointment near start of career is common

• gap between expectations and reality

• many job changes in twenties

• national economy affects career paths

• adjust expectations to opportunities to advance

• effective mentors enhance career-related learning, success

What are some challenges to women who work in male dominated fields

• low self-efficacy for male-dominated fields

• gender stereotyping

• few mentoring opportunities

What are the challenges to ethnic minorities in trying to get a job

• racial bais in workplace remains strong: harder to find a job, harder to improve employability

• Ethnic bias in career opportunities remains strong

• Ethnic minority women face combined discrimination: successful women have high self-efficacy, supportive relationships with other women are vital

What ages are considered middle adulthood

• 40 to 65

What is climacteric

The decline in reproductive capacity- menopause and andropause

What is menopause? When does it typically occur? is it different for men and women

• early 50

• yes

What happens to estrogen levels in women during menopause? What happens to testoterone in men?

• estrogen drops

• gradual decline in testosterone

What are some symptoms related to menopause

• hot flashes, night sweats

• sexual difficulties

• moodiness, irritability

• depression associated with climacteric, declines after menopause

How do depression symptoms vary from climacteric to post-menopause

Symptoms of depression is high before menopause, and falls through menopause and after

How do people react to menopause

individual differences in:

• importance of loss of childbearing capacity

• physical symptoms, or expectation of symptoms

• many women find menopause little or no trouble

Do most people in midlife consider themselves healthy? Are there gender differences in health problems?

• 85% of middle-aged Americans rate as excellent or good

• men suffer more fatal illness

• women suffer more nonfatal, limiting health problems

Describe the difference between problem-centered and emtion-centered coping? Is one better than the other across all situations

problem-centered coping:

• identify and appraise situation as changeable

• choose and implement potential solution

Emotion-centered coping:

• control distress when the situation can’t be changed

• ineffective when self-blaming, impulsive, escapist

• generally, use emotion-centered coping

How do those in midlife handle stress compared to younger adults

• cope with stress more effectively than young adults

• more realistic about ability to change situation

• more skilled at anticipating and managing stressful events

What is hardiness? How does it lessen stress

• ability to turn stressful situations into opportunities for resilience

• predicts healthy behaviors and effective coping strategies

How does life adversity affect mental health and life satisfaction

modest levels of exposure to adversity: linked to more favorable adjustment; hardiness

no history of adversity: respond less optimally, lack experience

high levels of lifetime adversity, frequent exposure: overtax coping skills, hopelessness, loss of control

Crystallized intelligence

skills that depend on:

• accumulated knowledge

• experience

• good judgement

• mastery of social conventions

• values by person’s culture

• vocab, verbal comprehension, general info, logical reasoning

• peaks in midlife, declines in eightes

explain how the ability to process information tends to slow down with age?

• withering of myelin: deteriorating neural connection

• declines in executive function, especially working-capacity

• few changes in semantic memory, procedural memory, occupational knowledge, or metacognitive knowledge

• adults can compensate through experience, training, practice

Fluid intelligence

depends on basic information-processing skills:

• detecting relationships among visual stimuli

• speed of analyzing information

• working memory

• progressive falloff beginning in mid-twenties

• spatial visualization, digit span, letter-number sequencing, symbol search

Explain generativity vs. stagnation

Generativity:

• giving to and guiding younger generation

• integrating personal goals with larger social welfare

• optimistic “belief in the species” is a major motivator

Stagnation

• self-centered, self-indulgent, self-absorbed

• lack of interest in young people]

• focuses on what one can get from others, rather than what one can gives

• little interest in being productive at work or in developing talents

is there a midlife crisis? how does the evidence help you answer this question?

• wide individual difference in response

• life evaluation is common during middle age

• “turning point” reported: mostly positive, leading personal growth

• interpretation of regrets greatly influences well-being

• crisis and major restructuring are rare

How do views of the possible self change?

with age, possible selves become fewer in number

Describe the relationship between middle-aged children and their parents

• increasingly likely to have living parents

• reassess relationships with parents

• proximity increases with age

• provide financial and other help to parents:

• caregiving as parental health problems increase

• helping often based on quality of earlier relationship

• resource expansion rather than conflicting demands

What is the “sandwich generation”

Adults who simultaneously support aging parents and children

What ages are considered late adulthood?

65 to the end of lifespan

What is the difference among functional age, chronological age, and subjective age

Functional age: how your body functions

chronological: how long you’ve been alive

subjective age: the age the individual feels

What are some explanations as to why life expectancy has gone up in the US

• lower infant morality

• lower in adult death rates

• higher nutrition, medical treatment, sanitation, and safety

What factors influence life expectancy

• heredity

• gender: women outlive men

• SES

• Lifestyle factors: behavior, jobs, social supports

• public policies and programs: health care, housing, social services

What is the healthy life expectancy of Japan? U.S.? What factors lead to lower rankings

1st: Japan

30th: U.S.

• in developing nations, greatly reduced by:

• poverty, malnutrition, disease

• armed conflict

What are effective coping strategies to deal with the physical changes of agin

• prevention and compensation through diet, exercise, activity

• sense of personal control

• problem-centered coping

Why is person- environment fit important

It’s like scaffolding. you need to be in the appropriate level where you can grow, but have a good amount of help (if needed)

What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimers? how common are these?

• Dementia: a set of disorders occurring almost entirely in old age in which many aspects of thoughts and behavior are so impaired that everyday activities are disrupted- 13% of adults over 65

• the most common form of dementia, in which structural and chemical brain deterioration is associated with a gradual loss of many aspects of thoughts and behaviors, including memory, skilled and purposeful movements, and comprehension and production of speech

what happens when older adults experience stereotype threat

• increases physiological response to stress

• reduces self-efficacy

• diminishes performance, recall, cognitive resources

how does selective optimization with compensation aid cog development

• select: choose personally valued activities, avoid other

• optimize: maximize returns from diminishing energy

• compensate: find new ways to offset loads

What changes occur to explicit and implicit memory

• explicit memory tasks show greatest decline

• implicit memory (unconscious memory) declines less that explicit memory

• depends on familiarity, not conscious use of strategies

episodic vs. semantic memory

Episodic memory:

• explicit memory of autobiographical events

• challenges:

• lower cog processing and working memory

• poor attention to context

• harder to remember the source of information

Semantic memory:

• “fact-like”

In terms of autobiographical memory, what time frames are easier to remember? What is the reminiscence bump?

• autobio memory stronger for both remote and recent events than for intermediate events

• reminiscence bumps: for events of adolescence and early adulthood

Ego integrity vs despair

Ego integrity:

• feel satisfied with achievements

• view life in context of all humanity

Despair:

• feel many decisions were wrong, yet time is now too short

• expresses bitterness and anger

• unaccepting of death

what is the positivity effect

Attend to and better recall emotionally positive over negative information

Secure multifaceted Self-Concept. Describe self-concept during late adulthood

Self-concept strengthens, becoming more secure and multifaceted

What are the pros and cons of social support

Pros:

• can promote health and well being

Cons:

• older adults desire to reciprocate: assistance they cannot return reduces self-efficacy and amplifies stress

Control vs Dependency. Describe dependency-support scripts and independence-ignore scripts

Reinforcing dependent behavior at expense of independent behavior

• dependency-support script: attend immediately to dependent behaviors

• independence-ignore script: ignore independent behaviors

How does perceived physical negative health relate to depressive symptoms? Is this more important than actual physical health

Perceived negative physical health predicts depressive symptoms more than actual physical limitations

What are the two social theories of aging

• continuity theory: effort to maintain consistency between past and anticipated future

• socioemotional selectivity theory: social networks become more selective with age, extending lifelong selectio processes. Emphasis on emotion-regulating function of social interaction

Do most people adjust to retirement well or poorly?

Most people adjust well

Describe successful aging. Old and new definitions

• new: minimize losses, maximize gains

• old: focused on specific achievements

How is death defined in the U.S.

Irreversible cessation of all activity in the brain and the brain stem. The definition of death accepted in most industrialized nations.

What does it mean to have death with dignity

Dignity fostered through communication with and care for dying person:

• be supportive, compassionate, and respectful

• be candid about death’s certainty

• give information to make reasoned end-of-life choices

• give maximum personal control over final phase of life

What are some cultural and individual differences in experience of death anxiety

• religious beliefs

• women more anx

What can help reduce fear of death

What is one potential reason why there is more death anxiety now than in our historical past

Why should you talk about death while you are still healthy

We need to talk about it now while we are fit and healthy

Kubler-Ross’s Model of experiences of dying. what are some criticism

What percent of cancer patients suffer from severe depression

25%

What is hospice care? How is this different from typical hospital care

What are the benefits of