Term
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Definition
| Gradual physical decline as we age |
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Term
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Definition
- Neurons fire slower with age resulting in fewer neurons and synapses.
- This results in diseases, decreased reaction time, memory loss, and difficult multitasking, plus regular sleep becomes essential. |
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Term
| Physiological Factors of Brain Loss |
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Definition
| Drug Abuse, Poor Circulation, Viruses, Genes |
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Term
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Definition
| Two primary senses are impaired: Sight and Hearing |
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Term
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Definition
- Reached around age 50
- Signifies stopping of ovulation and menstruation, decreasing of hormone production
- A hysterectomy can lead to premature menopause |
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Term
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Definition
- Health habits affect almost every disease and chronic condition
- Drug abuse: rates of addiction and drug abuse sharply decrease in adulthood |
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Term
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Definition
| The sum total of all your stressors |
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Term
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Definition
- The wearing down of your resilience (can't bounce back as quickly)
- Allostatic Load can lead to weathering |
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Term
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Definition
| Number of annual deaths per thousand members of a population |
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Term
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Definition
- Rate of disease
- Measured by rate of disease (any disease) in any population |
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Term
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Definition
| A person’s inability to perform certain normal activities |
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Term
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Definition
| How healthy or energetic an individual feels |
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Term
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Definition
| Theory that intelligence is one basic trait, underlying all cognitive abilities |
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Term
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Definition
- Abstract, problem-solving intelligence.
- Ex: puzzles, relationships, b/w concepts (the “curiosity” aspect of intelligence) |
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Term
| Crystallized Intelligence |
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Definition
| The collected sum of all your knowledge (including facts and information) |
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Term
| Sternberg's Forms of Intelligence |
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Definition
1. Analytic: mental processes that foster academic proficiency
2. Creative: capacity to be intellectually flexible and innovative
3. Practical: capacity to adapt one’s behavior to the demands of a given situation |
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Term
| Selective Optimization with Compensation |
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Definition
| Using one’s intellectual strengths to compensate for declining mental capacities |
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Term
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Definition
- Increasing your knowledge of a certain thing that you enjoy (knowing a lot about music because you like music, etc.)
- If you have more knowledge about a specific subject than anyone else in a group, you are the expert. |
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Term
| Characteristics of Expert Thought |
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Definition
1. Intuitive
2. Automatic
3. Strategic
4. Flexible |
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Term
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Definition
| A period of unusual anxiety where a person is reexamining themselves |
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Term
| "Big Five" of Personality Traits (OCEAN) |
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Definition
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism |
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Term
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Definition
| A lifestyle compatible with one's personality |
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Term
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Definition
| The people we surround ourselves with who support us. |
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Term
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Definition
| When the actions of one person directly affects the lives of others (usually the members of one house, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that family members should support one another |
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Term
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Definition
| Someone who is accepted and supported by the family, though they are not actually family. (friend coming over constantly) |
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Term
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Definition
- Long-term, public commitment to one partner
- Married people tend to be a little happier, healthier, and wealthier. |
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Term
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Definition
- Divorce occurs because one person thinks they will be happier elsewhere
- Not always all bad: abusive marriage; children can be raised by two separate, civil parents rather
- Divorce is more likely in first five years |
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Term
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Definition
| Person who takes responsibility for keeping the family in touch; getting people together for birthdays and holidays, graduations, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| Adults that take care of younger and older generations |
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Term
| Extrinsic Rewards of Work |
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Definition
| Money, insurance benefits, company car / credit card, etc. |
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Term
| Intrinsic Rewards of Work |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Idea that age determines who you are; “If you’re 60 years old you’re obviously a grandparent” |
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Term
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Definition
- Elderspeak: We tend to talk to the elderly as if they’re children; use short, simple sentences, raise voice pitch, etc.
- Rude to speak to elders this way unless you know they have hearing problems |
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Term
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Definition
| The multidisciplinary study of old age |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| Age 60-75; integrated fairly well into communities and families, still very much involved, can come to family events without issue |
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Term
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Definition
| Age 75-85; might be experiencing deficits in mobility, hearing, social interactions, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| Age 85+; dependent on others for most tasks, may live in a nursing home / hospital |
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Term
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Definition
| Ageism is shifting, there are more old people now (baby boomer generation is aging) |
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Term
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Definition
- Aging that occurs with the passing of time
- Ex.: Wrinkles and gray hair (Some of the first signs of aging) |
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Term
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Definition
- Consequences of particular diseases, conditions, etc.
- Ex.: People who smoke or eat junk food all day can get lung cancer or diabetes, respectively |
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Term
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Definition
- Leading cause of death in men and women
- Hypertension can lead to cardiovascular disease |
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Term
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Definition
| Says that our body wears out over time because of the passage of time and exposure to the environment and stressors |
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Term
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Definition
| Make-believe mechanism that signals release of hormones to begin the process of aging |
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Term
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Definition
| Maximum age someone can live in a species (122 is the age for humans – oldest possible reported life) |
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Term
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Definition
| Number of years the average newborn is likely to live (Men, 75; Women, 81) |
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Term
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Definition
| A person who lives to be 100 years old or more |
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Term
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Definition
| Emphasize the core self, the search for your identity, search to maintain identity, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| Erikson's final crisis where the elderly are trying to give their life meaning. |
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Term
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Definition
| The urge to accumulate and hold on to familiar possessions |
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Term
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Definition
| Says that the elderly tend to focus more on positive experiences (experiment: the elderly tended to remember happy faces more than any other emotion) |
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Term
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Definition
| As we age, our social sphere becomes more narrow; this can lead to feeling withdrawn |
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Term
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Definition
| Says that the elderly want and need to remain active with a variety of social groups (friends, family, community, etc.) |
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Term
| Activities in Late Adulthood |
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Definition
- Work – work keeps the elderly active, gives them money, a source for social interaction, etc.
- Retirement – Some people work hard all their lives to retire early
- Volunteer Work – keeps the elderly active after retirement; they don’t have to work many hours, and still get to interact with people and stay physically active
- Home Sweet Home – after retirement, many changes happen in homes; moving furniture around, working in garden, changing appearance of home, cleaning, etc.
- Religious Involvement – increases with age, may become more involved in choir, church bible studies, etc. (Fowler’s stages of faity)
- Political Activism: Elderly write to state representatives the most frequently, vote more in non-presidential election years, identify more with one political party, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| the tendency of the elderly to want to remain in the same home / community as they age |
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Term
| Naturally Occurring Retirement Community |
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Definition
| If many couples of around the same age move into the same apartment complex and they all remain and age together until they retire |
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Term
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Definition
| The study of death and dying, especially of the social and emotional aspects. |
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Term
| Understanding Death Throughout the Lifespan: Children |
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Definition
- Different theories on weather children are able to understand and process death
- At around age 2, children at least have an understanding of what death is; based on experiences with pets, TV, movies, etc.
- Crucial that the parents / caregiver provide constant support to a child going through an experience with death (of someone else) |
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Term
| Understanding Death Throughout the Lifespan: Adolescence / Emerging Adulthood |
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Definition
- Idea of death shaped by “Invincibility Fable”; thinking that you and those all around you will never die
- Will put on a façade to hide true feelings |
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Term
| Understanding Death Throughout the Lifespan: Adulthood |
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Definition
- Shift from idea of being invincible to being responsible
- Irrational at times regarding death; Number one cause of death in adulthood is cardiovascular disease, yet adults fear car accidents, etc. more than more logical and frequent causes of death. |
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Term
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Definition
- Shift from anxiety and fear to hope; even after being, for example, diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Individuals in late adulthood are more open to the idea of preparing for death. |
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Term
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Definition
| A situation where a seriously ill individual is allowed to die naturally by having medical interventions stopped |
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Term
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Definition
| Directly causing a person’s death with the intent of ending that person’s suffering. |
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Term
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Definition
| Indicates the medical attention that the person wants before it needs to be done (for example, someone may write that if they go into a coma they don’t want to be put on life support) |
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Term
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Definition
| Sense of loss following a death |
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Term
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Definition
- Deep sorrow that people feel at the death of another
- Grief can manifest physically: sleeplessness, irrational thoughts / behavior, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| Public and ritualistic expression of bereavement |
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Term
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Definition
| The capacity of organs to allow the body to cope with stress, via extra, unused functioning ability. |
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Term
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Definition
| The adjustment of all the body's systems to keep physiological functions in a state of equilibrium. These adjustments take longer to occur as the body ages, meaning that the elderly adapt less easily to stress. |
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Term
| Erikson's Stages of Adulthood |
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Definition
1. Identity vs. Role Confusion
2. Intimacy vs. Isolation
3. Generativity vs. Stagnation
4. Integrity vs. Despair |
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Term
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Definition
| The need for adults to care for the next generation, either by raising their own children or by mentoring, teaching, and helping younger people; they seek to extend the legacy of their culture and their generation with ongoing care, creativity, and sacrifice. |
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Term
| Remote (Distant) Grandparents |
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Definition
| Emotionally distant from their grandchildren. They are esteemed elders who are honored, respected, and obeyed, expecting to get help whenever they need it. |
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Term
| Companionate (Fun-loving) Grandparents |
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Definition
| Entertain and "spoil" their grandchildren - especially in ways, or for reasons, that the parents would not. |
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Term
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Definition
| Active in the day-to-day lives of their grandchildren; they live near them and see them daily. |
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Term
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Definition
| Raise their grandchildren, usually because the parents are unable or unwilling to do so. |
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Term
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Definition
| The obligation of adult children to care for their aging parents. |
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Term
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Definition
| People over age 65, and often over age 85, who are physically infirm, very ill, or cognitively disabled. |
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Term
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Definition
Five physical activities needed to maintain independence:
1. Eating
2. Bathing
3. Toileting
4. Dressing
5. Moving from a bed to a chair |
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Term
| Instrumental Activities of Daily Life |
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Definition
| Actions (such as paying bills and driving a car) that are important to independent living and that require some intellectual competence and forethought. |
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Term
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Definition
- Likely to occur if the caregiver suffers from emotional problems or substance abuse, if the care receiver is frail, and if care occurs in an isolated place where visitors are few.
- It is abuse if the caregivers resort to overmedication, locked doors, and physical restraints.
- 5 percent of elders say they are abused and that up to one-fourth of all elders are vulnerable but do not report abuse.
- Elder abuse includes abuse inflicted upon the caregiver by a confused elderly person. |
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Term
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Definition
| A living arrangement for elderly people that combines privacy and independence with medical supervision. |
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Term
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Definition
| The process by which living creatures adjust to their environment. Genes that enhance survival and reproductive ability are selected over generations to become more frequent. |
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Term
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Definition
When senescense reduces the production of neurotransmitters - glutamate, acetylcholine, serotonin, and especially dopamine - that allow a nerve impulse to jump quickly across the synapse from one neuron to another.
- Neural fluid decreases
- Myelination thins
- Corpus Callosum is reduced
- Cerebral blood circulates more slowly. |
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Term
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Definition
A major impediment to effective and efficient cognition in the elderly, caused by reduced sensory input.
- Vital information may be lost because other, less important information captures attention, and it takes time to discard it. |
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Term
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Definition
| Working Memory tends is reduced and forgotten because brain slowdown requires more time to perceive and process sensation. However, Long-Term memory remains more or less unchanged. |
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Term
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Definition
| The various methods used to regulate the analysis and flow of information, including memory and retrieval strategies, selective attention, and rules or strategies for problem solving. |
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Term
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Definition
| Words or ideas presented in advance that make it easier to remember something. It is also possible for priming to impair cognition, as with stereotype threat. |
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Term
| Preventing Cognitive Decline: Health and training |
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Definition
Health: Preventing disease connected with preventing decline of cognition
Training: Providing the elderly with sessions to help them maintain and even regain some cognition and spacial understanding. |
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Term
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Definition
| The idea that cognition should be measured in everyday tasks and circumstances, not as laboratory tests assess it, and that the abilities measured should be those that people need. |
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Term
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Definition
| Irreversible, pathological loss of brain functioning caused by organic brain damage or disease. |
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Term
| Stages of Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
Stage 1. People in this stage forget recent events or newly acquired information, particularly the names of people and places.
Stage 2. Generalized confusion develops, with deficits in concentration and short-term memory.
Stage 3. Memory loss becomes dangerous; a person might forget to turn off a lit stove or a hot iron, causing a fire, etc.
Stage 4. Full-time care is needed; sufferers cannot care for themselves, communicate clearly, or even recognize their closest loved ones.
Stage 5. People with AD become unresponsive. |
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Term
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Definition
| An examination of one's own role in the history of human life, engaged in by many elderly people. |
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