Adulthood

It is more difficult to generalize about adulthood stages than about life’s early

stages 1 v 10?

40 v 60?

Physical abilities peak in the mid-

twenties (muscular strength, sensory keenness, cardiac output)

Decline in physical abilities begins imperceptibly What types of people do you think are first to

notice this? Gradual decline in fertility, resulting in

menopause for women

Physical Development

1. Older people become more susceptible to

short-term illnesses 2. If they live to be 90 or older, most people

eventually become senile 3. Recognition memory declines with age 4. Life satisfaction peaks in the 50s and

declines with age

True or False

Chromosome tips (telomeres) wear down with age

When cells die, it is more likely that they are not replaced with perfect genetic replicas

Sensory abilities Visual sharpness and distance perception decline

with age Smell and hearing also decline Pupil shrinks and the lens becomes less transparent

Retina of a 65 year old receives 1/3 as much light as your retinas do “Don’t you need better light for reading?”

Physical Development (cont.)

Disease-fighting immune system weakens with

age (Partially) Due to a lifetime’s development of

antibodies, those over 65 are less susceptible to short-term ailments

Neural processing does slow down (most evident on complex tasks)

By age 80, there is a brain weight reduction by 5% Physical exercise stimulates neural connections

and brain cell development (and neurogenesis in the hippocampus) Active older adults tend to be mentally quicker

Exercise also helps maintain the telomeres

Health

Strikes 3% of the world’s population by age 75 Symptoms are NOT normal aging Memory, then reasoning deteriorates; then the

person becomes emotionally flat; then disoriented; then incontinent; then mentally vacant (can take 5-20 years)

Why? Loss of brain cells and deterioration of neurons

that produce acetylcholine (ACh)

Alzheimer's

When asked to remember the two most important

events over the last half-century, most people tend to name events from their teens and twenties

Early adulthood is a peak time for memory and some types of learning

Postformal thought: understanding that there is more than one right answer or none at all

Age and memory Age does not seem to affect recognition (but does

recall) Slower to recall information Type of information also plays a role

Nonsense syllables or unimportant events – more errors

Cognitive Development

Do we get wiser or does or intelligence decrease with age? Depends on what kind of intelligence we are talking about! Crystallized intelligence: accumulated knowledge

Increases! Fluid intelligence: ability to reason speedily and abstractly

Decreases slowly up to age 75, then more rapidly Mathematicians and scientists produce much of their most

creative work during their late 20s Historians, philosophers, writers tend to produce much of

their best work after 40! Mental ability more strongly correlates to proximity to

death, not age

Aging and Intelligence

Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages

Young adulthood (20s-40s): Intimacy v. Isolation Struggle to form close relationships and gain the

capacity for intimate love, or they feel isolated Middle adulthood (40s-60s): Generativity v.

Stagnation Need to discover a sense of contribution to the world

(usually through family and work), or they may feel a lack of purpose

Late adulthood (late 60s and up): Integrity v. Despair Reflecting on his or her life, an older adult may feel a

sense of satisfaction or failure

Social Development

Sense of identify, confidence, and self-esteem strengthen as we get older

Do we go through a mid-life crisis in our 40s? No (for ¾ people) Usually caused by an event (death, divorce, job

change), not age Happiness

Slightly higher amongst young and older adults that those middle aged

Positive feelings usually increase with age The amygdala is not as active when processing

negative events (but still active with positive events!) Generally, feelings mellow as we get older

Less reactive Average feeling tends to remain stable Life is less of a roller coaster!