1. ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 18:
Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood
Life-Span Development
Twelfth Edition
©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Multidimensionality Cognitive mechanics: the “hardware” of the mind
Speed and accuracy of processes involved in sensory input, attention, visual and motor memory, discrimination, comparison, and categorization
Tends to decline with age
Strongly influenced by biology and heredity

3. Multidimensionality
Cognitive pragmatics: culture-based “software” programs of the mind
Reading, writing, and educational qualifications
Professional skills and language comprehension
Knowledge of self and life skills
May improve with age
Strong cultural influences

4. Multidimensionality

5. Multidimensionality

6. Multidimensionality Speed of Processing: Attention:
Speed of processing information declines in late adulthood
Considerable individual variation
Often due to a decline in brain and CNS functioning
Attention:
Selective attention: focusing on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant
Older adults are generally less adept at this

7. Multidimensionality Attention (continued):
Divided attention: concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
When tasks are easy, age differences are minimal
The more difficult the tasks, the less effectively older adults divide attention
Sustained attention: readiness to detect and respond to small changes occurring at random times in the environment
Older adults perform just as well on simple tasks; but performance drops on complex tasks

8. Multidimensionality

9. Multidimensionality Memory:
Memory changes during aging, but not all memory changes in the same way
Episodic memory: younger adults have better episodic memory
Semantic memory: does not decline as drastically as episodic memory
Exception: tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Working memory and perceptual speed: decline during the late adulthood years

10. Multidimensionality Memory (continued):
Explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state
Implicit memory: memory without conscious recollection; skills and routines that are automatically performed
Implicit memory shows less aging declines than explicit memory
Source memory: the ability to remember where one learned something
Decreases with age during late adulthood

11. Multidimensionality Memory (continued):
Prospective memory: remembering to do something in the future
Age decline depends on the nature of the task and what is being assessed
Older adults’ beliefs and expectancies about memory play a role in their actual memory
Memory ability is influenced by health, education, and socioeconomic status
Research has relied primarily on laboratory tests of memory, not real-world tasks

12. Multidimensionality Wisdom:
Wisdom: expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters
High levels of wisdom are rare
Late adolescence to early adulthood is the main age window for wisdom to emerge
Factors other than age are critical for wisdom to develop to a high level
Personality-related factors are better predictors of wisdom than cognitive factors

13. Education, Work, and Health
Successive generations in America’s 20th century were better educated
Older adults might seek more education for a number of reasons
Work:
Successive generations have placed a stronger emphasis on cognitively oriented labor
Substantive complex work is linked with higher intellectual functioning in older adults

14. Education, work, and health
Successive generations have been healthier in late adulthood
Better treatments for a variety of illnesses
Lifestyle and exercise are linked to improved cognitive functioning
Mental health can influence cognitive functioning
Terminal decline: changes in cognitive functioning may be linked more to distance from death than distance from birth

15. Use It or lose it
Changes in cognitive activity patterns can result in disuse and lead to atrophy of skills
Certain mental activities can benefit the maintenance of cognitive skills
Reading books, doing crossword puzzles, going to lectures and concerts
Research suggests that mental exercise may reduce cognitive decline and lower the likelihood of developing Alzheimer disease

16. Training Cognitive Skills
Training can improve the cognitive skills of many older adults
There is some loss in plasticity in late adulthood, especially in the oldest-old
Improving the physical fitness of older adults can improve their cognitive functioning

17. Cognitive neuroscience and aging
Cognitive neuroscience: discipline that studies links between the brain and cognitive functioning
Changes in the brain can influence cognitive functioning, and changes in cognitive functioning can influence the brain
Cognitive neuroscience is beginning to uncover important links between aging, the brain, and cognitive functioning

18. Language Development
Some decrements in language may appear in late adulthood
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Difficulty understanding speech due to hearing problems
Speech of older adults is typically lower in volume, slower, less precisely articulated, and less fluent
Non-language factors may be responsible for some of the decline in language skills
Slower information processing speed
Decline in working memory

19. Work
From 1900 to 2000, the number of men over age 65 who work full-time decreased by about 70%, probably due to the availability of part-time work
Good health, a strong psychological commitment to work, and a distaste for retirement are important factors related to continued employment into old age

20. Work
Cognitive ability is the best predictor of job performance in older adults
Older workers have lower rates of absenteeism, fewer accidents, and increased job satisfaction
Many middle-aged and older adults are embarking on a 2nd or 3rd career
Many older adults participate in unpaid work as volunteers

21. Work

22. Retirement
On average, workers spend 10%–15% of their lives in retirement
Life paths for individuals in their 60’s:
Some continue work
Some retire from their career work and start a new and different job
Some retire from career jobs but do volunteer work
Some move in and out of the work force
Some individuals move to a disability status and eventually into retirement
Some who are laid off define it as “retirement”

23. Adjustment to Retirement
Retirement is a process, not an event
Older adults who adjust best to retirement:
Have an adequate income
Are better educated
Are healthy and active
Have extended social networks and family
Were satisfied with their lives before retiring

24. Mental Health: Depression
Major depression: mood disorder in which the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored
Depression does not become more frequent in late adulthood
Fewer economic hardships
Fewer negative social exchanges
Increased religiosity

25. Mental Health: Depression
Depressive symptoms increase in the oldest-old
Higher percentage of women
More physical disability
More cognitive impairment
Lower socioeconomic status
Women show more depression at 50 and 60 years of age, but depression in men increases from 60 to 80

26. Mental Health: Depression
Common predictors:
Earlier depressive symptoms
Poor health or disability
Loss events
Low social support
25% of individuals who commit suicide in the U.S. are 65 years of age or older
Older adult most likely to commit suicide is a male who lives alone, has lost his spouse, and is experiencing failing health

27. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Dementia: any neurological disorder in which the primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning
20% of individuals over the age of 80 have dementia
Alzheimer Disease: a common form of dementia that is characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually, physical function
Rates could triple within the next 50 years as people live longer
Divided into early-onset (younger than 65) or late-onset (later than 65)

28. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Alzheimer Disease (continued):
Alzheimer involves a deficiency in the brain messenger chemical acetylcholine
Brain shrinks and deteriorates as memory ability decreases
Formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
Age is an important risk factor, and genes also play an important role
Healthy lifestyle factors may lower the risk

29. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease

30. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Mild Cognitive Impairment represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early disease
Deficits in episodic memory appear to be an especially important early indication of risk
Several medications have been approved to treat Alzheimer disease

31. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Caring for people with Alzheimer is a major concern
Support is often emotionally and physically draining for the family
50% of family caregivers report depression
Female caregivers report more caregiving hours, higher levels of burden and depression, and lower levels of well-being and physical health than male caregivers
Respite care services have been developed to help people who take care of family members with Alzheimer disease

32. Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Multi-Infarct Dementia: a sporadic and progressive loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated temporary obstruction of blood flow in cerebral arteries
More common among men with a history of high blood pressure
Recovery is possible
Parkinson Disease: a chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement, and facial paralysis
Triggered by the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain
Several treatments are available

33. Victimization, Crime, and Mistreatment
Older adults commonly report fear of being the victim of a crime, but they are actually less likely than younger adults to be victimized
Crimes committed against older adults are likely to be serious offenses
Older adult crime victimization rates may be higher than reported by victims due to:
Fear of retribution from criminals
Belief the criminal justice system can’t help

34. Victimization, Crime, and Mistreatment
Elder maltreatment is primarily committed by family members
Elder maltreatment:
Can include neglect and physical abuse
Is most often suffered by women
Institutional abuse: mistreatment of older adults living in care facilities

35. Victimization, Crime, and Mistreatment
Older adults receive disproportionately fewer mental health services
Persons age 65 or older make up 11% of the population but receive only 2.7% of all clinical services provided by psychologists
Psychologists prefer to work with young, attractive, verbal, intelligent and successful clients (YAVISes) rather than quiet, ugly, old, institutionalized, and different clients (QUOIDs)
Mental health care needs to be more available and affordable for older adults

36. Religion
Older adults are spiritual leaders in many societies around the world
Religion is:
More significant in older adults’ lives
Related to a sense of meaning in life
Related to higher levels of life satisfaction, optimism, and self-esteem
Associated with better health
Perhaps associated with living longer