Late Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Late Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Late Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development Chapter 17 Memory: Remembrance of Things Past and Future • Retrospective and prospective memories — memories of the past (“retro”) and memories of the things we plan to do in the future; can be divided into explicit and implicit memories – Explicit memories — specific information, such as things we did or things that happened to us and general knowledge, such as the author of Hamlet – Implicit memories are more automatic, of the performance of tasks — reciting the alphabet or multiplication tables, riding a bicycle Explicit versus Implicit Memories • Working memories of older adults hold less information simultaneously than the working memories of young adults – Naming ability of public figures and people they know ability may become compromised – Temporal memory of older adults — recall of the order in which events have occurred may become confused – Still able to distinguish actual events from illusory ones. • Tend to do nearly as well in tasks that assess implicit memory (overlearned) Late Adulthood: Social and Emotional Development Chapter 18 Theories of Social and Emotional Development in Late Adulthood • Older people tend to be less depressed, stressed, and perceive themselves to be in relatively good health • Theories focus on how people cope with the challenges – Loss of loved ones – Changes in body – Changes in mental abilities – Changes in living situations Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory • Ego integrity vs despair; – people who achieved positive outcomes to earlier life crisis would be more likely to obtain ego integrity than despair in late adulthood – basic challenge is to maintain the belief that life is meaningful and worthwhile in the face of physical decline and the inevitability of death; – ego integrity derives from wisdom, as well as from the acceptance of one’s life span as being limited and occurring at a certain point in history; – adjustment in the later years requires the wisdom to let go of material posessions • Robert Peck’s Developmental Tasks Peck outlined three developmental tasks that people face in late adulthood: 1. Ego differentiation versus work role preoccupation; 2. Body transcendence versus body preoccupation; 3. [unique_solution]Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation Ardelt (2008) writes that ego transcendence grows out of self-reflection and willingness to learn from experience; ego transcendence is characterized by a concern for the well-being of humankind in general, not only of themselves and those they love • Activity Theory • Older adults are better adjusted when they are more active and involved in physical and social activities • Physical activity is associated with a lower mortality rate in late adulthood; leisure and informal social activities contribute to life satisfaction among retired people; Israeli study found benefits for life satisfaction in activities involving the next generation, the visual and performing arts, and spiritual and religious matters, but there was also value in independent activities in the home Depression • Affects some 10% of people aged 65 and above • Sometimes a continuation of depression from earlier periods of life and sometimes a new development • Multiple origins; – personality factor of neuroticism; – structural changes in the brain; – genetic predisposition to imbalances of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline; – link between depression and physical illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, cancer Depression Continued • Connected with the loss of friends and loved ones, but goes beyond sadness or bereavement – Mentally healthy people bounce back from grief within a year or so • Goes undetected, untreated in older people much of the time; may be overlooked because symptoms are masked by physical complaints such as low energy, loss of appetite, and insomnia; health care providers tend to focus on older people’s physical health than their mental health Depression Continued • Depression connected with memory lapses and other cognitive impairment, such as difficulty concentrating • Some cases of depression are simply attributed to the effects of aging or misdiagnosed as dementia, even Alzheimer’s disease • Depression in older people can usually be treated successfully with the same means that work in younger people, such as antidepressant drugs and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy Depression Continued • Fewer older adults suffer from depression than younger adults, • However suicide is more frequent among older adults, especially European American men Retirement • The average person has two decades of life in front of him or her at the age of 65 indicating a need retirement planning (Arias, 2007) • Retirement planning may include regularly putting money aside in plans (IRAs, Keoghs, and various pension plans in the workplace); investing in stocks, bonds, or a second home • Older people may investigate the kinds of health care and cultural activities that are available in other geographic areas of interest; if they are thinking of another area, they will also be interested in learning about the weather and crime statistics Retirement Continued • Men in same sex couples are more likely than women in same sex couples to do retirement planning, but women who do such planning are more likely to do it interdependently • Older adults who are best adjusted to retirement are highly involved in a variety of activities • The group most satisfied with retirement – maintained leisure and other non-work related activities – replaced work with more satisfying activities; – retired at a typical retirement age, – had a wealth of resources to compensate for loss of work; – were married, in good health, and of high SES (Pinquart and Schindler, 2007) Successful Aging • Americans in their 70s report being generally satisfied with their lives • Many older people are robust; according to a national poll of some 1,600 adults by the Los Angeles Times, 75% of older people say they feel younger than their years (Stewart & Armet, 2000) • Definitions of successful aging include – physical activity, social contacts, self rated good health, – the absence of cognitive impairment and depression, – nonsmoking, and the absence of disabilities and chronic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes; – another definition includes high cognitive functioning, and high social networking Selective Optimization with Compensation • Selective optimization with compensation — older people manage to maximize their gains while minimizing their losses • Form emotional goals that bring them satisfaction • No longer compete in arenas better left to younger people, (athletic or business activities) • Tend to be optimistic • Challenge themselves by taking up new pursuits such as painting, learning new things, and travelling