487
TB_17_59_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is the best definition of Alzheimer’s disease?
A) The late stage of alcohol-induced dementia
B) A severe form of dementia for which the cause is unknown
C) A more severe variation of Wernicke’s syndrome
D) The mental deterioration that strikes the oldest old and the frail elderly
TB_17_60_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
What effect does Alzheimer’s disease have on the eating habits of its sufferers?
A) Total loss of appetite
B) Disruption of normal satiety mechanisms
C) They forget to eat
D) The belief that they don’t need to eat
TB_17_61_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, you can expect the individual to show a
A) failure to recognize family members.
B) loss of memory for recent events.
C) loss of memory for long-ago events.
D) propensity toward repetitive conversation.
TB_17_62_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is definitively diagnostic of Alzheimer’s disease?
A) The presence of plaque in the arteries of the brain
B) The presence of chronic mild dementia
C) Changes seen on an MRI scan as the person is showing cognitive declines
D) The presence of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain
488
TB_17_63_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is one likely cause of dementia?
A) Anxiety
B) Obesity
C) Multiple blows to the head
D) Schizophrenia
TB_17_64_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is true regarding the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease among people of African descent?
A) The disease is more prominent in Africa than in African Americans in the United States.
B) The disease is less prevalent in Africa, but in the United States African Americans exhibit higher rates than
White Americans.
C) The disease is more common among white people in Africa than black people in Africa.
D) African Americans whose African ancestors showed no signs of dementia are more prone to show dementia in
current generations.
TB_17_65_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is true regarding the risk factors for depression among the elderly?
A) The strongest predictor of depression among older persons is marital status.
B) Among the elderly, depressed men outnumber depressed women two to one.
C) Elders living in poverty are at a higher risk for depression than others.
D) Well-educated older adults are more likely to be depressed.
489
TB_17_66_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following does research indicate to be the strongest predictor of depression among older adults?
A) Loss of a spouse
B) Other forms of mental illness
C) Poor health
D) Loss of income
TB_17_67_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
How are the length of time in the U.S. and English language skills correlated with depression among elderly Chinese
and Mexican immigrants?
A) They are not correlated.
B) They are negatively correlated.
C) They are positively correlated.
D) There is a positive correlation among Hispanic immigrants and a negative correlation among Chinese
immigrants.
TB_17_68_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
Some researchers suggest that African Americans have lower rates of depression than White Americans because
African Americans are especially likely to utilize which of the following when dealing with emotional difficulties?
A) A social support network of friends
B) Physical exercise
C) Their religious faith and their church
D) Antidepressant medications and mental health services
TB_17_69_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is a likely reason that elderly men have higher rates of completed suicide than elderly
women?
A) Men in declining health view themselves as a burden.
B) Women are more likely than men to have multiple combined risk factors for suicide.
C) Women are more likely to choose violent methods, such as firearms, when they attempt suicide; men use less
violent methods that often go undetected until it is too late.
D) More men than women attempt suicide.
490
TB_17_70_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
What is the most effective treatment for depression in older adults?
A) Antidepressant medications
B) A combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication
C) Increased involvement in a social support network that includes family, friends, or community members
D) Dietary and nutritional supplements
TB_17_71_Memory_LO 17.9_APA LO 1.1
The largest impairments in memory typically appear after what age?
A) 65
B) 70
C) 75
D) 85
TB_17_72_Memory_LO 17.9_APA LO 1.1
What is currently the most widely accepted explanation for declines in memory among older adults?
A) Lack of motivation to use memory strategies
B) Drug interactions that interfere with the physiological basis of memory formation and retrieval
C) Loss of speed in central nervous system processes related to information-processing and memory function
D) Low-level dementia that interferes with memory but not with other aspects of functioning
TB_17_73_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
Which of the following is a cognitive characteristic that includes knowledge and its application to problem solving?
A) Intelligence
B) Wisdom
C) Horse sense
D) Creativity
491
TB_17_74_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
Which is the first stage of Gene Cohen’s theory of mid– to late-life creativity?
A) The reevaluation stage
B) The liberation stage
C) The summing-up stage
D) The encore stage
TB_17_75_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
Seventy-year-old Maybell enjoys making quilts for her family. Specifically, she likes to make quilts that represent
some aspect of the family’s history. In which of Cohen’s phases is Maybell?
A) The liberation phase
B) The revolution phase
C) The summing-up phase
D) The reevaluation phase
492
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
TB_17_76_Life Expectancy and Longevity_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
In the United States today, the average 85-year-old man will live to age ________.
TB_17_77_Life Expectancy and Longevity_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
In the United States, the average 65-year-old woman will live to age ________.
TB_17_78_Life Expectancy and Longevity_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
________ is the scientific study of aging.
TB_17_79_Health_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
Intellectually demanding daily living tasks are called ________ activities of daily living.
TB_17_80_Health_LO 17.2_APA LO 1.1
________ has been found to be the most crucial health habit linked to greater longevity.
TB_17_81_The Brain and Nervous System_LO 17.3_APA LO 1.1
________ is the redundancy in the nervous system that enables nerve impulses to move from one neuron to another.
493
TB_17_82_The Senses_LO 17.4_APA LO 1.1
A persistent ringing in the ears is called ________.
TB_17_83_The Senses_LO 17.4_APA LO 1.1
Mr. Cooper has great difficulty seeing now because the lenses inside his eyes have become clouded over, a
condition called ________.
TB_17_84_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
The genetically programmed time limit for cell replication to which each species is theoretically bound is called the
________.
TB_17_85_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
The idea that aging occurs when undesirable bonds form between proteins or fats, resulting in molecules that cannot
assume the correct shape for their proper function, is associated with the theory of ________.
TB_17_86_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
Foods high in vitamins ________, ________, and ________ are good antioxidants.
494
TB_17_87_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
The ________ hypothesis asserts that all adults retain excellent physical and mental function until just a few years
before death.
TB_17_88_Behavioral Effects of Physical Changes_LO 17.6_APA LO 1.1
Studies suggest that more than ________ of the young old remain sexually active.
TB_17_89_Mental Health_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
The ________ are a group of neurological disorders that includes problems with memory and thinking that affect an
individual’s emotional, social, and physical functioning.
TB_17_90_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
Critics of Baltes’s theory of wisdom say that he is measuring general ________ rather than wisdom.
495
Short Answer Questions
TB_17_91_Chapter Introduction_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
What does the U.S. Census Bureau predict about the number of centenarians in the United States?
TB_17_92_Life Expectancy and Longevity_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
What are the three subgroups of older adults?
TB_17_93_No Easy Answers_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
What is the demographic crisis that is likely to occur later in the 21st century and why is it likely to happen?
TB_17_94_Health_LO 17.2_APA LO 1.1
What are the two most common chronic health conditions of old age?
TB_17_95_The Brain and Nervous System_LO 17.3_APA LO 1.1
Briefly explain the concept of synaptic plasticity.
496
TB_17_96_The Senses_LO 17.4_APA LO 1.1
Identify the four most common vision problems of old age.
TB_17_97_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
What is the definition of free radicals?
TB_17_98_Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
What is the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease?
TB_17_99_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
Identify four factors that contribute to depression in old age. Identify which of these is the strongest predictor of
depression.
TB_17_100_Depression_LO 17.8_APA LO 1.1
What is the psychosocial explanation for the high rate of suicide among elderly white men?
497
TB_17_101_Memory_LO 17.9_APA LO 1.1
On which type of recall tasks are older adults likely to perform most poorly? Give an example.
TB_17_102_Memory_LO 17.9_APA LO 1.1
What is “retrospective memory” and what happens to it in old age?
TB_17_103_Memory_LO 17.9_APA LO 1.1
Give an example of a failure of source memory.
TB_17_104_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
What are Baltes’s five criteria for measuring wisdom?
TB_17_105_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
What are Cohen’s four phases of creativity? List them in order.
498
Essay Questions
TB_17_106_Life Expectancy and Longevity_LO 17.1_APA LO 1.1
Summarize the trends in life expectancy in the U.S. from the early 20th century into the 21st century. Be detailed
and specific in your answer.
TB_17_107_Health_LO 17.2_APA LO 1.1
Give examples to illustrate the concepts of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. What
do the statistics say about the realities of these abilities in older adulthood?
TB_17_108_Health_LO 17.2_APA LO 1.1
What are the poor health habits that seem to have the biggest impact on decreased longevity? What is the single
most crucial variable in predicting longevity in later life?
TB_17_109_The Brain and Nervous System_LO 17.3_APA LO 1.1
What are the research findings with relation to loss of dendritic density and shrinkage of the cerebral cortex? What
factors correlate with these findings?
499
TB_17_110_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
Explain the Hayflick limit.
TB_17_111_Theories of Biological Aging_LO 17.5_APA LO 1.1
What is the terminal decline hypothesis? Is this hypothesis supported by longitudinal research? Explain your answer.
TB_17_112_Research Report_LO 17.7_APA LO 1.1
What are the criteria for diagnosing mild cognitive impairment and age-associated cognitive decline? Summarize the
implications (prognosis) of each.
TB_17_113_Wisdom and Creativity_LO 17.10_APA LO 1.1
Summarize Cohen’s four-stage theory of mid- to late-life creativity and give an example to illustrate each stage.
500