Exam 1 Adult Development and Aging

Chapters 1, 2 and 4

gerontology

the scientific study of the aging process

biopsychosocial perspective

a view of development as a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social processes. Your body undergoes changes influenced by genetics and physiology. You change psychologically in response to your body, and your body responds to your psychological changes. This is all affected by one’s social context 

geriatrics

the medical specialty in aging

identity

a composite of how people view themselves in the biological, psychological, and social domains of life

continuity principle

Changes are continuous over the life span. Changes that people experience in later adulthood build on the experiences they had in their earlier years. Older adults would prefer to be treated as the people they always were, rather than as “old people”. They are people who possess strengths they have built up their entire lives.

survivor principle

only the survivors grow old. people who live to old age are the ones who managed to outlive many threats that could have caused their deaths at earlier ages. the survivor principle suggests that the survivors may have good genes, or maintained their physical abilities, cognitive and emotional health, and have a good support system. Older adults, due to the fact that they lived that long, may have already been a special subset of their generation, and not necessarily representative of the generation as a whole.

individuality principle

as people age, they become more different from each other with regard to physical functioning, psychological performance, relationships, interest in work, economic security, and personality.

interindividual differences

differences between people

intraindividual differences

variations in performance within the same individual

multi-directionality development

proceeds in multiple directions within the same person

normal aging is different from disease

growing older doesn’t necessarily mean growing sicker. developing psychological disorders for the first time in later life is not typical.

primary aging

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

secondary aging

changes over time leading to impairment due to disease

tertiary aging

individuals experience a rapid loss of functions across multiple areas of functioning at the very end of their life

optimal aging

age related changes that improve the individuals functioning

young-old

65-74

old-old

75-84

oldest old

85+

centenarians

people over the age of 100

supercentenarians

people who are 110 and older

functional age

how people actually perform

biological age

the age of an individual’s bodily systems. tells us exactly how well people are able to perform vital functions

psychological age

the performance an individual achieves on measures of such qualities as reaction time, memory, learning ability, and intelligence

social age

where people are compared to the “typical” ages expected for people when they occupy certain positions in life. These positions tend to center on family and work roles

personal aging

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

social aging

the effects of a person’s exposure to a changing environment

normative age-graded influences

people choose experiences that their culture and historical period attach to certain ages or points in the life span

normative history-graded influences

events that occur to everyone within a certain culture or geopolitical unit regardless of age, and include large-scale occurences (like wars, economic trends, natural disasters)

nonnormative influences

random idiosyncratic events that occur throughout life

life expectancy

the average number of years of life remaining to the people born within a similar period of time

life span

the maximum age for a given species

health expectancy

the number of years a person could expect to live in good health with relatively little disability if current mortality and morbidity rates persist

compression of morbidity

the illness burden to a society can be reduced if people become disabled closer to the time of their death

niche-picking

the proposal that genetic and environmental factors work together to influence the direction of a child’s life

organismic model

heredity drives the course of development throughout life. Individuals are programmed to exhibit certain behaviors at certain ages due to genetic programming

mechanistic model

proposes that people’s behavior changes gradually over time, shaped by the outside forces that cause them to adapt to their environments. Growth occurs due to exposure to learning opportunities

interactionist model

not only do genetics and environment interact in complex ways to produce their effects on the individual, but that individuals actively shape their own development. You can be shaped by, and in turn, shape your own environments. This model has the most empirical support

plasticity in development

the course of development may be altered depending on the nature of the individual’s specific interactions in the environment

Reciprocity in development

states that people both influence and are influenced by the events in their lives. This model proposes that not only are you shaped by your experiences, but that you in turn may shape many of the experiences that affect you

ecological perspective

identifies multiple levels of the environment as they affect the individual over time. The ecological perspective defines five levels of the environment or systems, all of whcih interact in their influence on the individual. Includes the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem 

age-graded normative events

link to social clock (high school graduation, birth of a child, retirement) 

nonnormative events

not predictable, random, often come as a shock (winning a large sum of money, or death of a loved one) 

disengagement theory

the normal course of life is for elders to loosen their social ties 

activity theory

elders are better adjusted when they remain involved in their social roles 

continuity theory

the individual’s personality determines whether activity or disengagement is optimal

social clock

the expectations for the ages at which society associates with major life events (those who feel off time may feel that they have failed

ageism

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

terror management theory

young people wish to distance themselves from older adults due to the dread that their lives will someday end

modernization hypothesis

the increasing urbanization and industrialization of western society is what causes older adults to be devalued. They can no longer produce, so they become irrelevant and even a drain on the younger population. 

multiple jeopardy hypothesis

older individuals who fit more than one discriminated-against category are affected by biases against each of these categorizations.

age-as-a-leveler view

proposes that as people become older, age overrides all other isms 

Erikson’s Psychosocial theory of development

at certain points in life, biological, psychological, and social changes come together to influence the individual’s personality

epigenetic principle

each stage along the diagonal unfolds from the previous stage in a predestined order.  

trust v. mistrust

infants establish a sense of reliability from their caregivers and environment 

autonomy v. shame and doubt

children learn how to act independently from their parents 

inoculation hypothesis

older minorities and women have managed to become immune to the effects of ageism through years of exposure to discrimination and stereotyping 

initiative v. guilt

child becomes able to engage in creative self-expression without fear of making a mistake 

industry v. inferiority

individual's identify with the world of work and develop a work ethic 

identity achievement v. identity diffusion

when individuals must decide “who” they are and what they wish to get out of life 

intimacy v. isolation

individuals are faced with making commitments to close relationships. Attaining intimacy involves establishing a mutually satisfying close relationship with another person to whom a lifelong commitment is made.  

generativity v. stagnation

middle aged adults focus on the psychosocial issues of procreation, productivity, and creativity. The individual feels and shows concern over what happens to the younger generation, along with the desire to make the world a better place for them.  

ego integrity v. despair

ego integrity involves an ability to look at and accept the positive and negative aspects of one’s life and self, even if it may be painful.  

assimilation

people use their existing schemas to understand the world around them 

trust v. Mistrust of self

adults lose trust in themselves and their environment/caretakers as they grow older

accommodation

you change your existing schema to accommodate new information about the world 

gerotranscendance

a shift perspective from a materialistic and rational view to a more cosmic and transcendent one 

equilibrium

where assimilation and accommodation are perfectly balanced 

identity process theory

proposes that identity continues to change in adulthood in a dynamic manner  

identity

a set of schemas that the person holds about the self  

identity assimilation

a tendency to interpret new experiences in terms of existing identity 

identity accommodation

people make changes in their identities in response to experiences that challenge their current view of themselves 

identity balance

the dynamic equilibrium that occurs when people tend to view themselves consistently but can make changes when called for by their experiences

self-efficacy

a person’s feelings of competence at a particular task 

multiple threshold model of change in adulthood

proposes that individuals realize that they are getting older through a stepwise process as aging-related changes occur. Each age related change brings with it the potential for another threshold to be crossed. People monitor the areas important to them 

selective compensation with optimization model

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

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism

a small genetic variation that can occur in a person’s Dna sequence in which one nucleotide is substituted for another 

genome-wide association study

a method used in behavioral genetics in which researchers search for genetic variations related to complex diseases by scanning the entire genome 

genome wide linkage study

researchers study the families of people with specific psychological traits or disorders 

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, every living organism has “aging genes” 

gompertz function

plots the relationship between age and death rates for a given species

quasi-programmed aging theories

aging genes take over in the post reproductive years and lead to the ultimate destruction of the organism 

replicative senescence

the loss of the ability of cells to reproduce 

FOXO genes

a group of genes that influence crucial cellular processes regulating stress resistance, metabolism, the cell cycle, and the death of cells

random error theories

based on the assumption that aging reflects unplanned changes in an organism over time 

wear and tear theory

the body acquires more and more damage as it is exposed to daily wear and tear 

telomere theory

each cell replication reduces the length of telomeres until the chromosome’s tips are no longer protected 

cross-linking theory

proposes that aging causes deleterious changes in cells of the body that make up much of the body’s connective tissue, including the skin, tendon, muscle, and cartilage. The rungs of one ladder of collagen molecules connect to the rungs of another ladder, causing the molecules to become rigid and shrink. 

advanced glycation end products

induce cross-linking of collagen, which in turn can contribute to increased stiffness in skeletal muscle, cartilage, and tendons 

free radicals

unstable oxygen molecules produced when cells create energy. They seek out and bind to other molecules, and these molecules lose functioning. 

free radical theory

the cause of aging is the increased activity of these unstable oxygen molecules that bond to other molecules and compromise the cell’s functioning.  

antioxidants

chemicals that prevent the formation of free radicals 

caloric restriction

the view that the key to prolonging life is to restrict the total number of calories that individuals consume  

autoimmune theory

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

error theories

propose that mutations acquired over the organism's lifetime lead to malfunctioning of the body’s cells

error catastrophe theories

the errors that accumulate with aging are ones that are vital to life itself 

epidermis

the outermost layer of the skin that consists of a thin covering of cells that protects the underlying tissue, overtime these cells lose their regular patterning 

dermis

the middle layer of the skin made up of connective tissue, nerve cells, glands, and hair follicles. This undergoes a set of changes due to cross-linking in collagen and elastin deterioration 

elastin

a molecule in the skin that is supposed to provide flexibility 

sebaceous glands

provide oils that lubricate the skin, become less active with age