1. Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood15
Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
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© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

2. Physical Changes
Physical development matter of diversity in middle adulthood
Primary aging—more universal (gray hair)
Secondary aging—earlier habits have strong effects (smoking, drinking, exercise)
More research on midlife is needed!
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

3. Physical Changes The Brain and Nervous System
Cognitive tasks activate larger area of brain tissue in middle-aged adults
Cognitive processing may be less selective with age
Middle aged process sensory stimuli differently, experiencing problems with attentional control—but are still safer drivers than younger adults
When middle-aged and young adults are compared, the range of individual differences within each age group is far greater than the average difference between the two groups.
In participants in both age groups who perform poorly on tasks such as remembering words, larger areas of the brain are activated than in those who performed well.
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4. The Brain and Nervous System
Middle aged brains respond more slowly to cognitive tasks
Behavioral choices and mental health affect the brain.
Circulatory system health can affect parts of the brain involved with memory, planning, and processing speed
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5. The Reproductive System Males
Climacteric: loss of reproductive capacity
Gradual with a slow loss of reproductive capacity
Quantity of viable sperm produced declines slightly
Very slow drop in testosterone
Gradual loss of muscle tissue
Increased risk of heart disease
Erectile dysfunction or impotence increases
Lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and exercise, can restore some erectile dysfunction.
Performance anxiety increases causing erectile dysfunction.
Viagra is a common treatment.
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6. Menopause in Women
Cessation of menses due to declines in sex hormones, estrogens and progesterone
Occurs roughly at age 50, though anything between 40 and 60 is normal
May be occurring at later ages in more recent cohorts of women
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7. Menopause Phases Premenopausal phase Perimenopausal phase
Estrogen levels begin to fluctuate and decline
Cycles without ovum are more common
Dramatic drop in progesterone
Perimenopausal phase
More extreme variations in menstrual cycle
Hot flashes – sudden sensations of being hot
Hot flashes may cause sleep deprivation in many women
Sleep deprivation can generate psychological distress
85% will have hot flashes for more than a year, 1/3 for as long as 5 years.
Skin temperature can rise 1 – 7 degrees and can be elevated for about 3 minutes.
Hot flashes frequently disrupt sleep.
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8. Menopause Postmenopausal phase
Once a woman has stopped menstruation for one year
Estrogen and progesterone are very low
Breast tissue becomes softer
Uterus becomes smaller
Vagina becomes smaller, thinner, less elastic, and produces less lubricant
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9. Hormone Therapy (HT) Progesterone and estrogens administration
Women’s Health Initiative Study
Placebo controlled experiment
HT does not prevent cardiovascular disease or other illnesses in midlife women
Ameliorates menopausal symptoms
May protect against osteoporosis (thinning of bone density due to loss of calcium)
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10. Menopause Psychological Effects
Research mixed on menopausal effects
Depressive symptoms may increase BUT
Longitudinal research shows no relationship between menopause and serious depression
Woman’s negativity and overall life stressors affect moods during menopause
Women with more severe symptoms of sleep deprivation may feel more anxiety
Ethnicity can influence women’s attitudes about menopause and aging
African American women less concerned
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11. Figure 15.1 Ethnicity and Women’s Attitudes about Aging
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12. Menopause Sexual Activity
Most remain sexually active, although frequency of activity declines somewhat
Demands of other roles are pressing middle-aged adults, so less time for sex
Increasing illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis may explain declines
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13. The Skeletal System Osteoporosis
Reduced bone mass
More brittle and porous bones
Can cause bone fractures
Linked to loss of estrogens and progesterone in women
Hormone replacement therapy may help
Getting sufficient calcium early in life helps
Regular weight-bearing exercise helps
New bone-building medications
Menopause accelerates bone loss.
Significant increased risk of fractures occurs in women after 50.
Osteoporosis is a primary aging factor but individual differences occur.
See Table 15.1 on page 412.
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14. Vision Loss of Visual Acuity
More people need reading glasses due to farsightedness—Presbyopia
Lens of the eye thickens and the total amount of light reaching the retina decreases
Harder for muscles around the eye to change the shape of the lens to adjust the focus
Part of primary aging requiring physical and psychological adjustment
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15. Hearing Presbycusis – loss of hearing
Auditory nerve and structures in the inner ear gradually deteriorate
Losses occur in high and low frequencies
After age 55, hearing loss accelerates
Both primary aging and secondary aging effects occur
Environmental noise hastens the loss of hearing
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16. Figure 15.2 Trends in U.S. Life Expectancy
UPDATE
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17. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
Atherosclerosis
Arteries become clogged with plaque
Clogged arteries cause heart attacks and strokes
Leading cause of death in U.S.
Majority of Americans have at least one risk factor
Risks are cumulative – the more risks you have the higher your risk for heart disease
However, rates recently are dropping
See Table 15.2 on page 416 for risk factors.
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18. Cardiovascular Disease Personality and Health
Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman
Type A personality pattern
Competitive strivings for achievement
Sense of time urgency
Hostility or aggressiveness
Compared themselves to others
Frequent conflict with co-workers
Type B personality pattern
Less hurried and more laid back
See Table 15.2 on page 416 for risk factors.
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

19. Cancer Second leading cause of death for adults 45 years+
Risk factors similar to heart disease
Establishing and maintaining good health habits early on reduces risks
The role of dietary fat is a controversial risk factor
Several types of cancer caused by infectious agents
HPV linked to cervical cancer
Epstein-Barr virus associated with ear, nose, and throat cancers
See the right hand column of Table 15.2 on page 416 for cancer risk factors.
Helicobacter pylori has been implicated in may studies of stomach cancer.
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20. Gender and Health Women’s life expectancy greater than men’s
Women have more diseases and disabilities that limit daily activity
Already present in early adulthood and difference grows larger with age
Men die of CVD at higher rates than women.
Women have greater ability to recover
Women recover higher levels of physical functioning from heart attacks than men
See Figure 15.1 on page 414 for life expectancy figures.
Many women’s health issues can be attributed to childbearing.
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

21. Socioeconomic Class, Race, and Health
Social class more significant predictor of health variations in middle age than at other adult ages
Occupational level and education are the best predictors of health
African Americans have shorter life spans than Whites
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22. Socioeconomic Class, Race, and Health Cardiovascular disease
Disables or kills higher proportion of African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans than either White or Asian Americans
Among women, obesity is a leading factor
Among men, hypertension is the key risk
Rates are higher because minorities have more of the risk factors listed in Table 15.2.
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23. Socioeconomic Class, Race, and Health Diabetes
Proportion of adults who suffer from diabetes growing for all racial groups
Diabetes a risk factor for CVD, blindness and kidney failure
Minorities have higher risks than Whites
Minorities have higher risks for diabetes complications too
Minorities have more complications with diabetes than whites.
Minorities tend to develop the disease earlier in life.
Minorities tend to have less access to regular medical care, partially because they have less health insurance.
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

24. Socioeconomic Class, Race, and Health Cancer
African Americans have higher rates of some cancers and poorer survival rates
Prostate, colon, lung cancer
African American women have higher breast cancer rates
Asian American have higher rates of liver cancer
Minorities fail to receive routine screenings
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

25. Alcoholism Physical and psychological dependence on alcohol
More than 40% of men and 20% of women report alcohol problems at some point in life
Long-term drinking harms brain, heart, liver, digestive system
Increases risk of death
Some effects of alcoholism are reversible if the individual stops drinking
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26. Cognitive Functioning
Some cognitive abilities improve in midlife
Adults have large bodies of skill and knowledge
Can compensate for some cognitive losses
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27. Cognitive Functioning
One model of physical and cognitive aging
Nancy Denny
On nearly any measure of physical and cognitive functioning, age-related changes follow typical curve
Height of the curve varies based on exercise of the skill or ability
More fully exercise that skill or ability, higher the peak performance
There is an underlying decay curve related to age
See Figure 15.4 on page 422 for Denny’s model of aging.
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28. Figure 15.3 Denney’s Model of Physical and Cognitive Aging
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29. Cognitive Functioning Baltes and Baltes
Physical declines of middle age create selective optimization with compensation to combat effects of aging
Be selective
Minimize distractions
Optimize strengths
Use compensatory strategies
EXAMPLE: Wear reading glasses
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30. Health and Cognitive Functioning
Subjects who had cardiovascular disease showed earlier and larger declines on intellectual tests
Even adults on blood pressure medicine have declines in functioning
Exercise lowers mortality risks
Physical activity also may help maintain cognitive functions
Looking at research from Warner Schaie’s analysis of the Seattle Longitudinal Study (1983).
Exercise data comes from the effects of exercise on Harvard alumni seen in Figure 15.5 on page 424.
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

31. Figure 15.4 Exercise and Mortality
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Figure 15.5

32. Memory Function
The subjective experience of forgetfulness increases with age
Middle-aged experts are proficient at overcoming perceived memory limitations
Develop cognitive strategies to buffer effects of aging
Visual memory – the ability to remember an object you have seen for a few seconds – declines in middle age
Performance on remembering lists of words declines after age 55
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

33. Semantic and Episodic Memories
Recollections of personal events
Middle aged use cues to help remember (where did I put my car?)
Semantic memories
Represent general knowledge
Episodic memories slow with age, but not semantic memories
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34. Practiced and Unpracticed Skills
Practice helps maintain or gain a skill
“Use it or lose it” holds true for cognitive skills
Expertise in a particular field helps compensate for age-related deficits in cognitive functioning
Middle aged adults use different strategies than younger adults to remember expository text
Declines in math skill related to speed may be most susceptible to age declines.
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

35. Creativity
Original, appropriate and valuable ideas or solutions to problems
Simonton looked at the creativity and productivity of thousands of notable scientists.
First significant work
Their best work
Their last work
Thinkers produced their best work at about 40, publishing outstanding work in their 50s
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

36. Creativity Divergent thinking a key to creativity Goleman’s stages:
Generate multiple solutions to problems
Often arises from cognitive bits and pieces
Goleman’s stages:
Preparations
Incubation
Illumination (the aha! moment)
Translation
© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers