Download Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood

Part IX
Late Adulthood
Chapter 17
Physical and Cognitive
Development in Late
Adulthood
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Must We Age and Die?
 Physiological Theories of Aging
 Wear
and Tear Theory—We wear out
 Aging by Program—Idea that we are
programmed to live only a certain time
 Homeostatic Imbalance—Regulatory
systems fail
 Cross-Linkage Theory—Cross-links form;
proteins become altered
 Accumulation of Metabolic Waste
Cataracts, bone brittleness, etc.
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Must We Age and Die?
 Physiological Theories of Aging
 Autoimmunity=Body
begins to reject its
own tissuesDiabetes, hypertension, etc.
 Accumulation of Errors=During mitosis and
synthesis of new proteins, errors build up
organ failure
 Genetic Theories of Aging
 Genes influence length of lives
 Some individuals have greater resistance
to aging than others
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Must We Age and Die?
 Effects of the Natural Environment on Aging
 Other Modifiers of Aging
 Nutrition,
illness, injury, stress level, etc.
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Physical Development
 Reaction Time—Slows down
 Sensory Abilities—All senses
decline
 Other Body Systems—Skeletal,
skin, teeth, become weaker and
brittle
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Physical Development
 Health
 After
age 40, ill health is leading
cause of death, as opposed to before,
when accidents are leading cause
 Appearance
 Changes
in appearance viewed more
negatively in females than males
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Cognitive Development
 Cognitive Ability in the Elderly: Tests
versus Observations
 Differences
in the type of cognition—Tests
measure specific types of cognition but
elderly continue to do well in real life
 Differences in the sample being tested—
We may be testing only the most
successful
 Different standards of evaluation—Testing
“book smarts” vs. “street smarts”
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Cognitive Development
 Cognitive Ability in the Elderly: Tests
versus Observations
 Different Amounts
of Experience—Skills
learned during a life-time can make
someone look more capable than someone
who didn’t learn those skills
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Cognitive Development
 Terminal Drop=Period before a person’s
death when intellectual ability declines
 Creativity
 Cross-Sectional
Studies: Creativity
declines with age
 Peak periods of creativity correlate with
crisis and change
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Cognitive Development
 Wisdom=Knowledge and judgment
about the meaning of life; results from:
 Intelligence—fluid
and crystallized
 Personality traits—openness, generativity,
facing challenges well
 Creativity and Social Intelligence
 Life experience
 Age—Wisdom usually increases with age