Premium Essay

Adult Aging and Development

In:

Submitted By gshakimi
Words 1795
Pages 8
Adult Aging and Development

1.) One specific example of aging would be physical changes during adulthood such as outward appearance. Weight and body composition changes as a pattern over adulthood. It first starts to rise in our 30s and 40s and then levels out in the 50s and 60s but then it declines by the time you hit your 70s. The MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) graph shows the weight curve for men and women in figure 2.1 of our book on page 37. One specific research example that demonstrates this would be that weight and body composition can affect the person to not be able to exercise as needed which can cause the body to breakdown in muscle form and tissue. This can cause excessive weight gain which leads to other medically related problems. Over two thirds of the adults in the United Sates are overweight in their BMI range as per the BMI (Body Mass Index Table) on page 39. This affects the social or physiological aspect of adulthood by causing depression, less exercising, unhealthy eating and greater health risks such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, knee replacement surgery, cancer, fatigue and other health risks. An example would be the study that was done by the health and retirement survey of almost 8000 adults between ages 51 and 61years of age over a time of 4 years in which the results showed the effects of BMI on health related quality of life for aging adults. 2.) Functional Age means that the individual is physical able to perform desired tasks and activities with ease and grace. Functional age is assessed by assessing activities that the individual engages in which includes all of the components of physical, psychological and socio-economical areas of one’s life. Their living environment, their extended family, and their community would be included in this evaluation. This would also include hearing, mobility, nutrition,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

News Release

...Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development Dawn Menard Psych/640 September 7, 2015 Dr. Samantha Hickman Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development This news release is going to discuss and evaluate the effects of aging on cognitive development. It is also going to discuss how cognitive neuroscience and Alzheimer’s disease play a role in how memory declines with information processing and working memory. Aging and Cognitive Development Aging plays a role on cognitive development as people get older. As people get older, their cognitive ability does not enhance but they are able to learn new things over time. One test, the Weschler test, deals with verbal and performance intelligence. These tests are rapid tests but are often misguided. These tests focus on verbal and language skills and remain consistent for cognitive development for aging adults, however, when given reasoning or problem-solving tests, their skills tend to slow down and their cognitive thinking is not as quick. According to Anderson (2009, p. 404), “the importance of these declines in simple measures of cognitive capabilities can be easily manipulated”. Cognitive Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience works with dedicating itself to studying cognition in the brain and how information is processed. According to Anderson (2009, p. 12), “cognitive neuroscience develops ways to help one process the neural basis of cognition”. The brain has more neurons during birth and infancy but as adults’ age, the...

Words: 775 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Unit 28

...In this assignment I will be explaining the main aspects of the main theories of ageing. These include; sociological, psychological and biological theories of ageing. I will then go on to compare 2 theories of ageing. Sociological Theories Sociological theories focus on the changing roles and relationships that accompany ageing. These theories discuss how these changing roles, relationships, and status impact the older individual's ability to adapt. In this blog, we will discuss the following sociological theories: disengagement, activity, and continuity. Disengagement Theory The Disengagement Theory, one of the earliest and most controversial theories of aging, views aging as a process of gradual withdrawal between society and the older adult. This mutual withdrawal or disengagement is a natural, acceptable, and universal process that accompanies growing old. It is applicable to elders in all cultures, although there might be variations. According to this theory, disengagement benefits both the older population and the social system. Gradual withdrawal from society and relationships preserves social equilibrium and promotes self-reflection for elders who are freed from societal roles. It furnishes an orderly means for the transfer of knowledge, capital, and power from the older generation to the young. It makes it possible for society to continue functioning after valuable older members die. Weakness: There is no base of evidence or research to support this theory...

Words: 3063 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development

...Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development Daphney Walker PSYCH/640 May 5, 2014 Holly Berry Effects of Aging on Cognitive Development Aging is a natural process of life however, studies show that there are some age-related decline in cognitive development. As a person grows older some brain cell dies, shrink, or weaken and cause some decline in brain functions. Some cognitive processes include attention, working memory, long-term memory, perception, and executive control. The material will explain the effect of aging on cognitive development by providing scholarly research proof. Cognitive Development Cognition is the process by which human beings learn about the world and the objects in it and also understand the relationship between themselves, the objects, and themselves. It is the ability of a person to learn and understand from his or her experiences, to acquire and retain knowledge to use in new situations, and solve problems. Cognitive development refers to the process of growth to the intellectual or mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning, and understanding. Cognitive development includes acquiring and condensing of knowledge. Social-emotional, language, perceptual, motor and environment experiences aid in cognitive development in infant. Piaget’s development theory gives an understanding of cognitive development from birth to adulthood. He postulated that when a child enters the world he or she lacks the cognitive competencies that an adult has. However...

Words: 889 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Social Gerontology

...Written Assignment #3 1. Explain Erikson's psychosocial model and Levinson's theory as they relate to adulthood. What is successful aging? Erikson is a theorist who focused his work on the psychosocial development of individuals throughout their life. He found interest in social change, cultural diversity and psychological crises through life (Berger, 2008, p. 36). According to his model, Erikson believed that individuals go through eight specific stages of development that help one achieve their ego identity (Hooyman, N. R. & Kiyak, H. A., 2011). In each of these stages, an individual has a major task that is to be accomplished as well as a conflict that requires being resolved. Each of these conflicts is a foundation for the successive stages of this model; therefore, the outcome of the crisis presented infers how the individual will advance to the next stage. Erickson’s concept explained how during development individuals proceed through these various stages as they grow and become more capable of dealing with issues and relate with society overall. The stages of Erikson’s psychosocial model are as follows: Stage I is basic trust vs. mistrust. The goal of this stage is to establish a basic trust of the world via trust of parent(s). Stage II is autonomy vs. shame and doubt. Here the individual is to establish a sense of autonomy and self from the parent and to establish self-control vs. doubt of one’s abilities. Stage III is initiative vs. guilt. Individuals are...

Words: 2437 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Bodies and Minds

...How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood? Joshua Lansberry Ashford University PSY 304 Lifespan Development Prof. Pamela Vincent May 18, 2015 How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood? As we age does our mind simply begin to deteriorate in the same fashion as our body does in regards to it physical capabilities? Have you wondered what affect does peri and post-menopause have in relation to memory decline in women? Is dementia directly related to cognitive aging? All of these conditions have one thing in common, they all occur as the human body starts to age into late adulthood. Aging from early to late adulthood has an interconnected negative impact both mentally and physically on the human body but physical activity can help protect against cognitive decline. First we need to understand physical and cognitive development and the stages associated with early and late adulthood. Then we will examine the age related decline in mentalizing skills; how cognitive aging is related to dementia; and how aging is related to peri and post-menopause and it effects has on the body. Physical changes as the body ages from early to late adulthood are predictable and undeniable. Physical Development depends on maturation, or the biological unfolding of growth. Every individual has a schedule built into his or her genes that controls both the timing and degree...

Words: 2178 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Cognitive Development and Aging Paper

...Cognitive Development and Aging Paper Psych/640 Cognitive development and Aging Paper As people age their bodies go through a lot of changes physically as well as psychologically. As humans age normally they undergo changes in their brain which affect cognitive functioning and development. Each person is different so the age-related changes in the structure of the brain and in its function as well as in cognition and cognitive domains are not uniform across the whole brain, nor are the uniform across individuals. This means that some of the changes that a person goes through due to aging another person may not experience. The two basic cognitive functions that are affected most by a person aging is attention and memory (Glisky, 2007). The thing that a person needs to know is that memory and attention are not unitary functions; there are multiple parts to both functions some of which may not be affected by a person aging while others are affected. According to the Glisky (2007), perception in a person as the person ages declines due to declining sensory capacities which can impact the cognitive functions later in a person. Perception is a person’s senses such as touch, sight, taste, and smells which is why some people believe that it is actually a precognition function. According to Anderson (2010), perception is the sensory experience of the world around individuals which involve recognition of environmental stimuli as well as actions in response to the stimuli. What...

Words: 1055 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Unhealthy Lifestyle, Alcohol Intake and Effect on Normative Aging

...Unhealthy Living, Alcohol intake and Effects on Normative Aging 1 The article in the Toronto star by Judith Timothy published on September 26, 2013 titled, “Alcohol: the modern woman steroid?” this article deals with elderly adults and alcohol. I find this article interesting because of the high rate of alcohol related accident, illnesses, and cognitive decline in older adult. The stereotype surrounding elderly adult and how alcohol, and alcohol consumption is link to ageing. The exploration of this topic Unhealthy Living, Alcohol intake and Effect on Normative Aging will enable us understand better the effects of alcohol on health of older adult. This discourse will further, help us understand the myth, implication of drinking, and whether alcohol consumption causes ageing in older adults. Furthermore, the effects of alcohol in older adults as compares to younger adult will be investigated. Finding out how health impairment caused by alcohol can lead to anxiety, stress, and ultimately hospitalization will enable us look for ways to remedy elder adults from alcohol consumption. It is important to investigate, many other conflicting theories that claims, alcohol consumption impairs health, causes accident, and leads to Unhealthy Living, Alcohol intake and Effects on Norma-tic Aging. To begin with, the controversy surrounding alcohol and its link to ageing can be understood by defining health. In a nutshell, Health is the total lack of disease, complete mental, physical, spiritual...

Words: 1316 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Chapter 1 - Psychology

...Chapter 1 – Study Questions: 1. What are the four key features of the lifespan perspective as identified by Paul Baltes. Provide original examples for each feature. (pp. 4-5) Paul Baltes identified 4 features of the life-span perspective: 1. Multidirectionality: development involves both growth and decline – as people grow in one area they may lose in another and this may occur at different rates Ex: (Book): people’s vocabulary abilities tends to increase throughout life, but reaction time tends to slow down. Ex: (original): Language acquisition. At a young age children are able to learn multiple languages very quickly. However, as they get older, their ability to learn multiple languages quickly becomes more difficult. Social situations. At a young age children are not able to understand complex social situations such as parents fighting or divorce or financial problems between their parents. As they grow up and age, they begin to understand these social situations and deal with them. They may comfort a parent through a hard time, or go get a job to help with the financial situation. 2. Plasticity: One’s capacity is not predetermined or set in concrete. Many skills can be trained or improved with practice, even late in life. There are limits to the degree of potential improvement Ex: (original): Your IQ is not predetermined. You’re ability to play a sport is not predetermined. With practice and dedication you can improve your ability to play the sport. However...

Words: 5072 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Theories of Aging

...Running head: Theories of Aging Theories of Aging Nate Aungkuldee Milwaukee School of Engineering –School of Nursing Abstract Gerontological nursing may be viewed as the nursing management for older population. Knowledge of nursing care and competency of caring for elderly become more important as the result of increasing population of old age people in the past decade and expecting in ongoing increasing in the next twenty years. There are many theories of aging that describe and explain aging process and how the individuals respond to changes that occur with aging. By understanding a normal process of aging, the quality of nursing care for this population may be enhanced. The purpose of this paper is to present and explore some of the theories of aging and apply the theory into nursing practice that cooperated with evidence base research studies to implement the plan of care for an older adult. Two main theories of aging: Biological theories and Psychological theories are the focused theories that being discussed in this paper. According to many current resources the aging population in the U.S. is now rapidly growing. There were 4% of people age 65 and older or about 3 million people in 1900 (McGuire & Mefford, 2007). This old age population increased to 36.8 million people in 2005 with the increase of 3.2 million or 9.4% from 1995 (Mauk, 2010). As of today a newborn child is expected to live at least...

Words: 2567 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Older Adult Changes

...Experience of being an older adult has changed greatly over the past century. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many U.S. households were home to multigenerational families, and the experiences and wisdom of elders was respected. They offered wisdom and support to their children and often helped raise their grandchildren. However, older adults were not as essential to the economic survival of their families and communities as they were in the past, for example, If an older adult is ill or has diminished in finances, they are likely to move in and be taken care by the family. Caregiving support for an older adult will come from a family with a bean-pole structure which is consisted of least four generations (PSYC 401: Novak, 2009, Family...

Words: 1192 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Life Span Development

...HDEV 3101 Life Span Development Reading Blog 2 The human body goes through major growth patterns and then reverses itself from infancy to death. The two major growth patterns in infancy are the cephalocaudal pattern and the proximodistal patterns. In the cephalocaudal pattern, the rapid growth of the head surpasses the rest of the body while in the proxoxismal pattern; the chest muscles develop before the muscles in the extremities. In childhood growth is slow yet steady. Later in adolescence or puberty the body reaches great increases in hormones (endocrine glands powerful chemical secretions) and physical maturation. Growth spurts in weight and height reach girls two years faster than boys. Sexual organs testes in male and ovaries in female are developed by the pituitary gland. Strength and muscle tone develops in teens and twenties yet may begin to decline in the thirties. In the forties and fifties muscle tone and elasticity steadily decrease leading to wrinkles and sagging skin. In later adult hood the body begins to deteriorate with markedly decreases in the cardiovascular system, lung elasticity, and circulatory system eventually leading to disease and death. The brain has two hemispheres; the forebrain and the outer layer the cerebral cortex. Important developments in the brain in the first two years are myelination and laterization. Myelination is the development of a thin sheath of fat cells called myelin that aid in faster information processing and...

Words: 595 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Psyc343 Week 8 Final Exam

...Week 8 Final Exam Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwaid.com/shop/psyc343-week-8-final-exam/ PSYC343 Adult Development Question 1 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Those who study adult development theorize that ________. A.Reserve capacity remains the same throughout adulthood. B.There is no plasticity in how an individual develops. C.All age periods of development are equally important. D.None of the above. Question 2 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Paradigms of aging are distinguishable from theories because paradigms ______. A.are not directly testable B.are taken out of context C.are not as respected as theories D.are too mechanistic Question 3 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Which of the following would be an example of ageism? A.Hiring a 65 year old consultant because of his wealth of experiences dealing with a variety of clients. B.A teenager offering to help an older couple load their groceries into their car. C.Offering an employee the opportunity to retire with benefits once s/he reaches a certain age. D.A doctor allowing less time per appointment for patients over a certain age. Question 4 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points Is the following statement true or false? "Worldwide, the number of persons age 65 and over is increasing." Question 5 of 50 2.0/ 2.0 Points In 1997, Riley suggested that social dimensions of aging are best understood using a conceptual framework that emphasizes ________. A.A social paradigm ...

Words: 2107 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Unhealthy Lifestyle, Alcohol Intake and Effect on Normative Aging

...steroid?” this article deals with elderly adults and alcohol. I find this article interesting because of the high rate of alcohol related accident, illnesses, and cognitive decline in older adult. The stereotype surrounding elderly adult and how alcohol, and alcohol consumption is link to ageing. The exploration of this topic Unhealthy Living, Alcohol intake and Effect on Normative Aging will enable us understand better the effects of alcohol on health of older adult. This discourse will further, help us understand the myth, implication of drinking, and whether alcohol consumption causes ageing in older adults. Furthermore, the effects of alcohol in older adults as compares to younger adult will be investigated. Finding out how health impairment caused by alcohol can lead to anxiety, stress, and ultimately hospitalization will enable us look for ways to remedy elder adults from alcohol consumption. It is important to investigate, many other conflicting theories that claims, alcohol consumption impairs health, causes accident, and leads to Unhealthy Living, Alcohol intake and Effects on Norma-tic Aging. To begin with, the controversy surrounding alcohol and its link to ageing can be understood by defining health. In a nutshell, Health is the total lack of disease, complete mental, physical, spiritual and social well-being of an individual (Pender, 1996). The absence of these factors, that defines health can cause ageing in older adult. The way people answer this question, what...

Words: 1125 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Later Adulthood

...Later Adulthood Development Report BSHS/325 Late Adulthood starting at 65+ begins to enter different stages of their lives. Aging involves biophysical changes and challenges, senescence and health issues, Pharmaceutical interventions, and closer monitoring of health and wellness. As an individual age they begin to experience Wisdom: Ego vs. Despair, This stage marks a considerable reduction in productivity and is when a person enters the retirement phase. During this stage, adults tend to look back upon their lives to figure whether they have led a successful life. If so, a feeling of contentment and what Erikson called Integrity vs. Prevails on the adult. This reflection; if not positive, leads to a state of despair where nothing can be done to turn back time and change. This stage and reflection can also be marked by regrets if the aging adult is left to feel unaccomplished. A prominent aspect of this stage is also the fear of death, which contributes to the hopelessness that becomes apparent at this stage. An adult's values at this stage are set and firm nothing can alter or change the thought process or the perception with which she/he now views the world. Late adulthood can be marked by menopause and osteoporosis, a reduction in bone density, grey hair, less skin elasticity, and a loss of muscle mass resulting in an increase of body fat. Cognitively, during late adulthood verbal skills such as vocabulary and broad-spectrum knowledge are still intact. However, memory...

Words: 1107 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Analyzing the Psychology of Aging

...Analyzing the Psychology of Aging Jason Russ Analyzing the Psychology of Aging Not only is the country’s population growing, it is aging as well. Older adults are the fastest growing population on the charts right now. There is no point and time when a person overnight just becomes “old.” Obviously everyone knows we simply just age; it comes with getting older. This thing called “aging” happens to everyone at a different rate. In this particular essay I will briefly be discussing five parts of psychology aging, and cognitive functioning in the elderly. Psychology of Aging, Theories of Aging, the Physical Dimension, the Cognitive Dimension, and the Social Dimension. The psychology of aging focuses on the behavioral changes which occur during the normal aging process. Age differences in learning, memory, perceptual and intellectual abilities will be investigated. In addition, emphasis will be placed on the neural correlates and cognitive consequences of disorders of aging such as Alzheimers disease(Belsky, J.1999). Aging introduces a number of psychological and physical changes in the human body and engaged researchers in this field of study. The growing population in industrialized countries has become a serious issue in the 21st century. Life expectancy has increased significantly over the 20th century. For example, in 1900 a baby born in an industrialized country would usually live to between 47 and 55, while a baby born in the 21st century would be expected to...

Words: 2266 - Pages: 10