Dev. Psych – Flashcards

acquisition of skill/knowledge in a particular area

organized bodies of information stored in memory

formal strategies for organizing material in ways that make it more likely to be remembered

noncompetitiveness, patience and a lack of aggression

reflects information processing capabilities, reasoning and memory

accumulation of information, skills and strategies that people have learned through experience and that they can apply in problem-solving situations

process by which people concentrate on particular skill areas to compensate for losses in other areas

cessation of menstration

competitiveness, impatience and a tendency towards frustration and hostility

bones become brittle, fragile and thin often brought about by a lack of calcium in the diet

nearly universal change in eyesight that results in some loss of near vision

pressure in the fluid of the eye increases, either because the fluid can't drain properly or because of to much fluid is produced

loss of the ability to hear sounds of high frequency

specialists who study aging

prejudice and discrimination directed at older people

aging that involves universal and irreversible changes that are due to genetic programming occur as people get older

changes in physical and cognitive functioning that are due to illness, health habits, and other individual differences, but which aren't due to increased age itself and aren't inevitable

mechanical functions of the body simply wear out with age

average age of death for members of a population

degree to which a developing structure or behavior is susceptible to experience

memories of information about one's own life

most common mental disorder of the elderly covers several diseases, each of which includes serious memory loss, accompanied by declines in other mental functions

our body's DNA genetic code contains a built-in time limit for the reproduction of human cells

couples who in middle adulthood must fulfill the needs of both their children and their aging parents

situation that occurs when workers experience dissatisfaction, disillusionment, frustration and weariness from the job

stage of uncertainty and indecision brought about by the realization that life is finite

experience that relates to parent's feelings of unhappiness, worry, loneliness, and depression resulting from their children's departure from home

young adults who return, after leaving home

approach to personality development that is based on fairly universal stages tied to a sequence of age-related crises

approach to personality development that is based on the timing of particular events in an adults life rather than on age

Erikson - stage during middle adulthood in which people consider their contributions to family and society

fulltime nursing care for people who have chronic illnesses or are recovering from a temporary medical condition

psychological state in which people in nursing homes develop apathy, indifference and a lack of caring about themselves

assistance and comfort supplied by a network of caring, interested people

people need to maintain their desired level of involvement in society in order to maximize their sense of well-being to self-esteem

community that offers and environment in which all the residents are of retirement age or older and need various levels of care

elderly individuals receive care only during the day, but spend nights and weekends in their own homes

point in life in which people examine and evaluate their lives

expert knowledge in the practical aspects of life

late adulthood is marked by a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological and social levels

successful aging occurs when people maintain the interests, activities and social interactions with which they were involved during middle adulthood

Erikson - final stage of life, characterized by a process of looking back over one's life, evaluating it and coming to terms with it

period in which elderly people must come to grips with their coming to death

memory declines (short/sensory?) long-term has more to do with people's storage and retrieval strategies rather than over ally memory deterioration and problems are minor and relatively easy to overcome people interpret, store and recall information that fits the schema mnemonic devices can help people improve their ability to real information by forcing them to pay attention to information as they store it (keyword technique) to use cues to enable retrieval (encoding specificity phenomenon) or to practice information retrieval (rehearsal)

cross-sectional study many subjects of different ages at one point in time, suffer from cohort effects longitudinal studies, which focus on the same subjects at several different points in time, are plagued by the difficulty of keeping a sample of subjects intact over many years fluid and crystallized (declines and steady or improves) high degree of overall cognitive competence despite demonstrating declines in particular areas of intellectual functioning people tend to focus on and exercise specific areas of competence that compensate for areas of loss, a strategy known as selective optimization experts maintain and increase cognitive competence in a particular subject through attention and practice experts process information about their fluid significantly differently from novices

Genetic characteristics such as age, gender and family history, environment and behavior factors (including smoking, diet in high fats and cholesterol and lack of exercise) Psychological factors play a role type A people (who are competitive, impatient, frustrated and hostile)

related to genetic and environmental factors treatments include radiation therapy, chemo. and surgery psychological factors play a role patients refuse to accept it and those who fight back against it have higher survival rate strong family and social ties are less likely to have cancer mammograms = age is controversy (40-50)

people become more susceptible to chronic diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and hypertension higher death rate in U.S. decrease - varies according to socioeconomic status and gender people with higher SES are healthier women have lower mortality rate then men

people feel more sexual freedom and enjoyment women = female climacteric - the most notable sign of menopause, which is accompanied by physical and emotional discomfort therapies and changing attitudes toward menopause appear to be lessening women's fears and experience of difficulty regarding menopause hormone therapy aims to decrease symptoms related to menopause and slow the deterioration associated with aging by replacing the female body's estrogen despite evidence of positive effects, risks of HT can outweigh the benefits men also undergo changes in their reproductive system (male climacteric) production of sperm and testosterone declines and the prostate gland enlarges, causing difficulties with urination

(40-65) people typically decline slowly in height and strength and gain in weight height loss, especially in women, may be associated with osteoporosis, a tinning of the bones brought about by a lack of calcium in the diet the best antidote for physical and psychological deterioration appears to be a healthful lifestyle, including regular exercise visual acuity - declines, in near vision, depth and distance perception, adaptation to darkness and the ability to perceive in 3D incidence of glaucoma increase hearing - declines, loss in ability to hear high frequency sounds and a deterioration of sound localization

isn't general, but specific certain kinds of memory episodic memories are most affected short-term memory declines gradually until age 70 then deteriorates quickly explanations of memory changes may focus on environmental factors, information processing declines and biological factors which approach is most accurate is not entirely settled

according to sequential studies, such as those conducted by development psychology K. Warner Schare - intellectual abilities tend to decline slowly throughout old age, but different abilities change in different ways training, stimulation, practice, and motivation can help older people maintain their mental abilities

the inevitability of death is unquestioned but unexplained genetic programming theories claim that the body has a built-in time limit on life, while wear and tear theories maintain that the body's simply wears out life expectancy has been rising steadily for centuries and continues to do so, with differences according to gender, race and ethnicity the life span may be further increased by technological advances such as telomere therapy, the use of antioxidant drugs to reduce free radicals, development of low-calorie diets and organ replacement

Psychological and lifestyle factors can influence wellness in old age a sense of control over one's life and environment can have positive effects, as can a proper diet, exercise and the avoidance of risk factors, such as smoking despite some changes in sexual functioning, sexuality continues throughout old age, provided both physical and mental health are good

although some people are healthy, the incidence of certain serious diseases rises in old age and the ability to recuperate declines most older people suffer from at least one long-term ailment the leading causes of death in old age are heart disease, cancer and stroke older people are also susceptible to psychological disorders, such as depression and brain disorders, especially Alzheimer's disease

physical changes in the eye bring declines in vision and several eye diseases become more prevalent in old age, including cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) hearing also decreases particularly the ability to hear higher frequencies. hearing loss has psychological and social consequences, since it discourages older people from engaging in social interactions declines in the senses of taste and smell also occur in late adulthood

number and proportion of older people in U.S. and many other countries are larger than ever and elderly people are the tastes growing segment of the U.S., population older people as a group are subjected to stereotyping and discrimination, a phenomenon referred to as ageism

some people in middle adulthood must face unexpected unemployment, which brings economic, psychological and physical consequences going number of people voluntarily change careers in midlife, some to increase job challenge, satisfaction and status and others to return to a work force they left years earlier to rear children have substantial leisure time at their disposal, which may spend in activities good preparation for retirement

for most people, midlife is a time of job satisfaction career ambition becomes less of a force in the lives of middle adulthood workers and outside interests begin to be more valued job dissatisfaction can result from disapproval with achievements and position in life or from the feeling that one has failed to make a difference in the insurmountable problems of the job the latter phenomenon, termed "burnout" often affects those in the helping professionals

epidemic proportions, with some form of violence occurring in 1/4 of all marriages highest in families that are subject to economic or emotional stresses in addition, people who were abused as children have a higher likelihood of becoming abusers as adults - a phenomenon termed the "cycle of violence" marital aggression typically proceeds through 3 stages: tension - building, acute battering, and loving contrition despite contrition, abusers tend to remain abusers unless they get effective help

empty nest syndrome, a supposed psychological upheaval following the departure of children, is probably exaggerated the permanent departure of children is often delayed as "boomerang" children return home for a number of years after having faced the harsh realities of economic life adults in the middle years often face responsibilities for their children and for their aging parents; such adults, who have been called the sandwich generation, face significant challenges many middle aged adults become grandparents for the first time researchers have identified 3 grandparenting styles: involved, companion, and remote. styles tend to differ by gender and race

appears that, in general, the broad personality may be relatively stable over time, with particular aspects changing in response to life changes

more or less uniform progression as normative - crisis models indicate or respond to a varying series of major life events at different times and in different orders, as life event models suggest Erik Erikson - development conflict of the age = generatively vs stagnation, involving a shift in focus from oneself to the world beyond. George Vaillant - views the main developmental issue as keeping the meaning vs rigidity, in which people seek to extract meaning from their lives and accept the strengths and weaknesses of others Roger Gould - people move through 7 stages Daniel Levinson - seasons of life: focuses on the creation of global vision of one's future in early adulthood followed by the midlife transition of the early 40s, during which people confront their mortality and question their accomplishments, often inducing a midlife crisis; has been criticized for the methodological limitations of his study, which focused on a small sample of men the notion of the midlife crisis has been discredited for lack of evidence even the concept of a distinct "middle age" appears to be cultural in nature, achieving significant in some cultures and not in others

friendships are important because they offer personal control, companionship, and social support family relationships, especially with siblings and children, provide a great deal of emotional support in the increase prevalent phenomenon of elder abuse, parents who are socially isolated in poor health may be abused by children who are forced to act as caregivers

forces the survivor to assume a new societal role, accommodate to the absence of a companion and chore-sharer, create a new social life and resolve financial problems sociologists Gloria Heinemahn and Patricia Evans have identified 3 stages in adjusting to widowhood: preparation, grief and mourning and adaptation. some people never reach the adaptation stage

generally remain happy although stresses brought about by major life changes that accompany aging can cause rifts divorce is usually harder on the woman than the man, partly because of the continuing influence of the marriage gradient deterioration in the health of a spouse can cause the other spouse, typically the wife, to become a caregiver, which can bring both challenges and rewards

must fill an increasingly longer span of leisure time those who are most successful plan ahead and have varied interests often pass through stages, including a honeymoon period, disenchantment, reorientation, a retirement routine stage and termination

living arrangement options include staying at home, living with family members, participating in adult care, residing in continuing-care communities and living in skilled - nursing facilities elderly people may become financially vulnerable because they must cope with rising health-care expenses and other costs on a fixed income

Disengagement theory and activity theory present opposite views of ways to deal successfully with aging peoples choices depend partly on their prior habits and person abilities model of selective optimization with compensation involves focusing on personally important areas of functioning and compensating for ability losses in those areas

Erikson - Ego Integrity vs Despair, as people reflect on their lives thy may feel either satisfaction, which leads to integration or dissatisfaction, which can lead to despair and a lack of integration Robert Peck - 3 main tasks: redefinition of self vs preoccupation with work role, body transcendence vs body preoccupation and ego trans. vs ego preoccupation Danial Levinson - transitional stage that people pass through on the way to later adulthood during which they struggle with being "old' and with societal stereotypes - a successful transition can lead to liberation and self-respect Bernia Neugarten - 4 personality types to cope with aging: disintegrated and disorganized, passive-dependant, defended and integrated