Nurs Sci 116 MT3

20-25 yrs

good: love, intimate relationships, commitment. bad: avoidance of commitment, alienation, distancing oneself

Social influences most evident; begins in emerging adulthood

social connections are pivotal lifelong

Each relationship demands vulnerability and compromise, shattering the isolation

26-64 yrs

in middle age adults contribute to the world through work and family or feel a lack of purpose

Adults need to care for the next generation

raising their own children or by mentoring, teaching, and helping others

ongoing care, creativity, and sacrifice

adults seek to be productive in a caring way

Seeking to be productive in caring ways; need to be needed; child rearing

60- death.

involves reevaluating what we have done in our lives. If we feel we have done well we have a sense of integrity, otherwise we experience gloom and doubt.

each person's entire life could be directed toward connecting a personal journey with the historical and cultural purpose of human society, the ultimate achievement of integrity

Seeking to understand whole of one's life

the extra power that each organ employs when needed, allowing many 20-year-olds to stay awake all night, or exercise to exhaustion, or take drugs that disrupt the brain, and still function the next day

any strain on the body (pregnancy, running a marathon, lifting weights) is easier at age 20 than at age 40 or 80

Ages 18-25

-Identity exploration (deciding what one wants in school, work, love)

-Instability (repeated resident changes)

-Self-focus (free to decide what to do, where to go)

-Feeling in-between (taking responsibility but still don't feel like an adult)

-Possibility (optimism reigns)

Unlike Erickson who believes identity is forged in adolescence, Arnett believes that the transition to knowing who you are occurs later in time due to globalization and technological changes.

a balance between various body reactions that keeps every physical function in sync with every other

the immediate response

a dynamic body adjustment that gradually changes body function

refers to long-term adjustment of body systems

goes beyond adolescent thinking by being more practical, more flexible, and more dialectical

more capable of combining contradictory elements into a comprehensive whole

Possibilities entertained and correct answers are sought

Thinking focused on concrete situations (pragmatic)

Acceptance of multiple answers exist

Recognize complexity of lives, situations, and thoughts when solving problems

Most advanced cognitive process

Ability to consider a thesis and its antithesis and arrive at a synthesis

"Dialectic" - every idea has within it the opposite idea

Being able to see the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, possibilities and limitations

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Information processing, working memory, detecting relations among stimuli

Affected by conditions in the brain and learning

Not as easily affected by culture

mazes, puzzles, timed tests

one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Depends on knowledge, judgment, mastery of social conventions

Increases steadily through 70s

Culturally influenced

historical facts, definitions, knowledge of literature

decreased planned thinking & self-control

increased impulsiveness & risk-taking

education level, politics, intelligence, attractiveness, SES, physical traits

- NOT PERSONALITY OR HAPPINESS LEVELS!

raises in the beginning of the marriage (honeymoon stage)

goes down when small children are present in the household

raises again when the children leave

Early Marriage:

reasons - fighting/conflict

Midlife:

reasons - growing apart and day to day communication

reasons overall: Sex, commitment, communication and diff points of views

women are more likely to initiate a divorce

Physical health, alcoholism, well-being are affected for women

a suspension of activity; an authorized delay

a programmed pause, a way to postpone identity achievement by doing something else

Gap year, Military, Travel

Changing majors, colleges, and career goals several times before 25

ages 25-60

adults steadily gain about 20 pounds

Drug Abuse

-alcohol and psychoactive drugs

-causes wet brain syndrome and reduces thiamine

Poor Circulation

-impairs blood flow = impairs brain circulation

-slows down thought

Viruses

-HIV + mad cow disease destroy neurons

Genes

-Alzheimer's disease is autosomal dominant which destroys the brain in middle age

-Huntington's Chorea which creates severe neurocognitive disorders midlife

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

-blow to the skull, extremely loud noise, or a rapid acceleration of the head

Age Changes

-personality generally undergoes slight shift, positive shift with age

-people align with community norms and become more self-accepting with less self-criticism

Cultural Influences

-culture shapes personality

-people are happiest if personality traits match social context; immigrants experiments (immigrant paradox)

ages 25-65

the natural physical decline brought about by aging and becomes more normative

gradually becomes less strong and efficient

maintains normal functioning

adults still feel in their prime

Vision

-peripheral vision narrows faster than frontal; some colors fade

-nearsightedness increases in adolescence, stabilizes, and reverses in midlife

-farsightedness

Hearing

-most acute at age 10; high sounds lost earlier than low frequency sounds

-all hearing is less acute with age

Touch, Smell, Taste, Balance, and Pain

-less acute with age; individual variation

-sensory loss affected by person's action and technology

Neurons Fire slower; Reaction time lengthens

brain size decreases; multitasking gets harder and processing gets longer

major neurocognitive disorder rarely occurs until after 70

all of the sense decline with age

increase use of other senses and abilities

technological and medical intervention

Neurogenesis contributes significantly to hippocampal plasticity across life span

Exercise increases circulation, connections, and myelination; depression reduction

first region where all sensory modalities merge together to form unique representations and memories that bind stimuli together, and thus, it plays a critical role in learning and memory

younger people have higher IQ scores than older generations

people maintain a balance in their lives as they grow older

people seek to optimize their development, selecting the best way to compensate for physical and cognitive losses

becoming more proficient at activities they want to perform well

-Optimize Development

-Compensate for Physical and Cognitive Losses

helps to become more proficient at activities we want to perform well

some abilities are practiced and enhanced, others are ignored and diminished

someone who is notably more skilled and knowledgeable than the average person about whichever activities are personally meaningful

not necessarily a "genius"

expertise in: intuitive, automatic, strategic, and flexible

actions are based on a sense or feeling

rely on their past experiences and on immediate contexts

Thinking that occurs without deliberate, conscious thought. Experts process most tasks automatically, saving conscious thought for unfamiliar challenges.

experts have more and better strategies, especially when problems are unexpected

Experts are creative and curious

They deliberately experiment and challenge themselves

Adapt when things do not go according to plan

TIME is a requirement

Influences:

circumstances, training, talent, ability, practice, age

g assumes that intelligence is one basic trait, underlying all cognitive abilities

According to this concept, people have varying levels of this general ability

Not inborn intelligence

Cannot be measured directly but can be presented as an IQ score

IQ often changes in adulthood

Mental Processes

-Abstract planning, logic, verbal skills, focused attention, strategizing

Valued for

-Thinking, remembering, analyzing, learning, and understanding

Indicated by

-Recall of information, MCQs, brief essays

Mental Processes

-Imagination, vision, originality, appreciation of the unexpected or unusual

Valued for

-Future hopes, intellectual flexibility, originality

Indicated by

-Inventiveness, innovation, ingenuity, resourcefulness

Mental Processes

-Adaptive actions, understanding and assessing daily problems, applied skills and knowledge

Valued for

-Adaptability, concrete knowledge, real-world experience

Indicated by

-Performance in real situations, street smarts

Everyone is full grown by age 25

maximum height is reached by 16 for girls and 18 for boys

when someone holds a stereotype that someone else holds a stereotype about them

The mere possibility of being negatively stereotyped increases stress, disrupts cognition, and reduces emotional regulation

Collectively, the family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who move through life with an individual.

Friends are chosen for the traits that make them reliable fellow travelers

Mutual loyalty and aid characterize friendship

Extrinsic Rewards of Work

-salary, health insurance, and pension

Intrinsic Rewards of Work

-personal gratification

someone who becomes the gatherer and communication hub for their family

promoting and protecting relationships between family members

The generation of middle-aged people who are supposedly "squeezed" by the needs of the younger and older members of their families

Misleading because they are less likely to be depressed

the implicit understanding of the relationship between employer and the employee

includes procedures to resolve conflict and expectations for the interaction between supervisors and workers

Generative needs are unmet

destructive of mental and physical health

increases the rate of domestic abuse, substance use disorder, depression, deaths of despair, serious illness, and many other social and mental health problems

someone who becomes accepted as part of a family to which he or she has no blood relation

ages 65-69; largest group (74%)

healthy, active, and independent

ages 70-79; 20%

losses in body or mind and need assistance

ages 80+; 6%

unable to care for themselves

The stereotype that age determines a person

Younger adults treat older people as if they are frail + confused

-Makes older people more dependent

Urban designers only consider the average adult

-The needs of elders will be ignored

Older adults focus on what they have lost instead gained

-They lose the joy of old age

The way people talk to the old

Reduces communication

Comprehension gets worse, causes anxiety, reduces precision

inclement weather, harmful food, pollution, radiation, and social stress wear down the body

Wear-and-Tear

-the body wears out after years of use

Calorie Restriction

-Limiting the quantity of food consumed

-Lower blood pressure, fewer strokes, less cancer, and almost no diabetes

Intermittent Fasting

-Periodically eat almost nothing but eat normally most of the time

-lower blood pressure, less obesity, and better metabolism

Maximum Life Span

-The oldest age that members of that species can attain

There are a dozen or more longevity genes

some rare and some more common

Cellular Aging

-Focuses on molecules and cells

-​​The cumulative effect of stress and toxins, first causing cellular damage and eventually the death of cells

when the organism can no longer repair cellular errors, senescence occurs

Healing takes longer

Telomeres

-The material at the end of each chromosome that becomes shorter over time

-After many cell divisions, the telomere is too short

Duplication is impossible

Stress, genetics, education, family income, and access to health care

Food, sleep, exercise, social support, smoking, education, emotions

Every sense becomes slower and less sharp

Balance is worse

Each older person selects whether and how to be sexual, by finding the microsystem that works for them

Most people remain sexually active throughout adulthood; intercourse generally becomes less frequent; and other behaviors become important.

Married couples adjust to whatever biological changes occur in their sexual arousal, but many also improve their relationship in the process.

Driving a car becomes more difficult with age

Reading signs takes longer, turning the head is harder, reaction time slows, hearing and vision worsen

Many older drivers ignore their own losses

those over age 80 have more accidents, hit more pedestrians (whom they did not see), and are more likely to be fatally injured themselves in motor vehicle crashes

Universal Design

environments and equipment should be designed to be used by everyone, old or young, able-bodied and sensory-acute or not

Physical Health vs Functional Health

Well-being

Structural

Support

Changing demands

Settings

Medical

Housing

Biological measures to provide diagnosis or guide treatment

Blood, cerebrospinal fluid, brain scans

Stage 1

-Forget recent events + new information

-Forget names + places

Stage 2

-Generalized confusion

-Deficit in concentration and short-term memory

-Speech becomes aimless and repetitious, vocabulary is limited, words get mixed up

Stage 3

-Memory loss becomes dangerous

-Might leave the stove on

Stage 4

-Full-time care is needed

-Cannot communicate well + can't recognize their loved ones

Stage 5

-Unresponsive + identity/personality disappeared

clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid in the tissues surrounding the neurons

twisted threads of a protein called tau within the neurons

Caused by stroke(s)

-The interruption in blood flow reduces oxygen, destroying part of the brain

Symptoms

-Sudden blurred vision, weak or paralyzed limbs, slurred speech, and mental confusion

Deterioration of the amygdala and frontal lobes

Usually occur before age 70

parts of the brain that regulate emotions and social behavior

Emotional and personality changes are the main symptoms

A chronic, progressive disease that is characterized by muscle tremor and rigidity and sometimes major neurocognitive disorder

caused by reduced dopamine production in the brain

excessive deposits of a particular kind of protein in their brains

interfering with communication between neurons

loss of inhibition

Volunteering provides generativity, social connections

people are more likely to volunteer if they are married, employed, and young-old

volunteering cuts the death rate in half

they are inactive, with low energy and many signs of failing, in senses, organs, cognition, and emotions

Over the age of 85

Symptoms

-Weight loss (especially in men), extreme fatigue (especially in women)

-feeling depressed, forgetting the date, and difficulty walking

putting on clothes, feeding oneself, moving (transferring) from a bed to a chair, using the toilet, bathing

- DEATH (dressing, eating, ambulating/moving, toileting, and hygiene)

mortality increases if a person cannot perform ADLs

Actions that are important to independent living and that require some intellectual competence and forethought

for example, paying bills and car maintenance

the obligation of adult children to care for their aging parents

older people select familiar social contacts who reinforce their generativity, pride, and joy

the theory that older people prioritize regulation of their own emotions and seek familiar social contacts who reinforce generativity, pride, and joy

Elders perceive, prefer, and remember positive experiences more than negative ones, the good in people more than the bad

Unpleasant images are ignored, forgotten, or reinterpreted.

Strength of Aging

-Better Emotion Regulation

Vulnerabilities of Aging

-When avoidance of stress NOT possible, negative effects are worse for older adults

-Loss of Belonging

-Chronic and Uncontrollable Stressors (low SES, abusive partner, functionally limiting health condition)

older adults experience age-related gains as well as losses in emotion-related processes, but overall they maintain a relatively positive level of emotional experience

Older adults show higher physician health locus of control & fate locus of control

Greater tendency to attribute their health external agents such as the physician/fate rather than their own actions

Leads to lower levels of self-efficacy & less desire for health-related information and control

Benefits: provide history, additional medical information, advocating for the patient

Family caregivers take primary control/role

Behave like a health care practitioner

Convey beliefs that patient is incompetent

Questioning truth of patients' statements

Disclosing information to doctor despite patient objection

elders provide an account of their personal lifelong journey by writing or telling their story

They want others to know their history, not only their personal experiences but also those of their family, cohort, or ethnic group

• Identity exploration

• Instability

• Self-focus

• Feeling in between

• Possibilities