Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.6, p. 429)
Give examples of skills that may be more difficult for an elderly person to learn than for someone in
middle adulthood.
Sexual Activity
Another behavior that is affected by the cumulative physical changes of aging is sexual behavior.
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objective 17.3-17.6, pp. 423-429)
In what ways do you think the behavioral effects of aging influence stereotypes about older adults?
MENTAL HEALTH (pp. 429-434)
MyPsychLab Connections
Watch: Late Adulthood: Alzheimer’s, p. 42
Watch: Alzheimer’s and Dementia, p. 430
Watch: Depression in Later Life, p. 432
Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias
LO 17.7 What is Alzheimer’s disease, and how does it differ from other dementias?
Alzheimer’s disease (technically known as dementia of the Alzheimer’s type) is a very severe form of
dementia. The early stages of Alzheimer’s disease usually move very slowly, beginning with subtle
memory difficulties, repetitions in conversations, and disorientation in unfamiliar settings. Then memory
for recent events begins to go. Memory for long-ago events or for well-rehearsed cognitive procedures is
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.7, pp. 429-430)
Put yourself in the role of an elderly person with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. In spite of the fact
that you have been a competent adult who has taken care of your family for decades, you no longer are
able to perform those tasks such as brushing your teeth or dressing yourself. How do you feel?
Diagnosing and Treating Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease can only be definitely diagnosed after a person has died. At autopsy, the brains of
Alzheimer’s victims are far more likely to contain extensive neurofibrillary tangles than the brains of
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.7, p. 430)
Why is it important to distinguish Alzheimer’s victims from those suffering from normal aging?
Feature Box Activity (Learning Objective 17.7, p. 431)
Research Report: Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease
Why is it important to distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from other dementias?
Heredity and Alzheimer’s Disease
Genetic factors seem to be important to some, but not to all cases of Alzheimer’s. Researchers have
found a gene on chromosome 19 (apoliprotein E or ApoE) that controls production of a protein that is
linked to Alzheimer’s disease. When errors in the production of this protein occur, the dendrites and
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.7, p. 430)
Would you want to have a genetic screening test to predict your risk for Alzheimer’s disease? Why?
Other Types of Dementia
Strictly speaking, dementia is a symptom and not a disease, and neurological research indicates that
Alzheimer’s and non–Alzheimer’s dementias involve very different disease processes. Signs of dementia
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.7, pp. 430-431)
Why are some forms of dementias treatable and others are not? Why is it critical to arrange for a careful
diagnosis?
Feature Box Activity (Learning Objective 17.7, p. 432)
Developmental Science in the Clinic: Computers in Rehabilitation Programs
Group Differences in the Rates of Dementia
Evidence from studies from around the world is converging on the conclusion that somewhere between
Depression
LO 17.8 What does research suggest about depression among older adults?
The earliest studies of age differences in depression suggested that older adults were at higher risk than
any other age group. The full story, however, on depression in late adulthood is complex.
Prevalence and Risk Factors
Estimates of the prevalence of depression depend on how it is defined. If depression is defined as the
presence of any kind of depressive symptom, as many as a quarter of the old old and the oldest old suffer
from depression.
The risk factors for depression among the elderly include the following:
▪ inadequate social support
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.8, pp. 432-433)
Give examples of how each of the factors may increase the risk of depression.
Ethnic and Cultural Differences
Poverty and education account for only some of the ethnic differences in depression among older adults.
Other differences are explained by health status. That is, on average, minorities have poorer health than
Whites in the United States; so, on average, most minority groups have higher rates of depression.
▪ The prevalence of depressive symptoms in elderly Native Americans may be as high as 20 percent.
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.8, p. 433)
What are some reasons the religious faith and practice is associated with a lower incidence of long-term
depression?
Suicide
Elderly White men are more likely to commit suicide than any other group; however, the overall age-
related pattern of sex differences exists among minority groups as well (see Figure 17.4). The reasons for
this dramatic sex difference are not entirely clear. Loss of economic status through retirement may be
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.8, p. 434)
As potential caregivers for the elders in our families, what are the warning signs we need to look for to
intervene before a suicide attempt?
Therapy, Medication, and Prevention
Therapies for depression are the same for older adults as for those who are younger. Psychotherapy is
often recommended, especially interventions that help sufferers develop optimistic thought patterns.
Therapy appears to be most effective, however, when combined with antidepressant medications. The
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.8, p. 434)
Give examples of practical ways to assist elders with social involvement and religious faith.
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 17.7-17.8, pp. 429-434)
COGNITIVE CHANGES (pp. 435-439)
MyPsychLab Connections
Watch: Memory and Exercise, p. 436
Among the young old (ages 65 to 75), cognitive changes are still fairly small, and on a few measures,
Memory
LO 17.9 What kinds of memory differences distinguish older and younger adults?
Forgetfulness becomes more frequent with age, but the same basic rules seem to apply to memory
processes among both older and younger adults: recognition is easier than recall, tasks that require speed
are more difficult, and metamemory skills are important to memory function. Older adults achieve scores
Short-Term Memory Function
One area in which researchers see significant late adulthood changes is in short-term, or working,
memory capacity. There is a limitation on the number of items a person can retain in her memory at once.
Strategy Learning
Older adults showed improvement after training in strategy learning, but their performance was poorer
than that of younger adults. These findings suggest that the learning process simply takes longer for older
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.9, p. 436)
Give examples of strategic learning.
Everyday Memory
One common argument from those who take a more optimistic view of the effects of aging on cognitive
functioning is that older adults may be able to remember just as well as younger adults. Older adults are
simply less motivated to memorize lists of unrelated words given to them by researchers in a laboratory.
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.9, pp. 436-437)
Why might task-specific knowledge make a difference in memory?
Preliminary Explanations
Neuroimaging studies show that age-related memory decline is associated with changes in the ratio of
gray to white matter in the brain. In addition, a reduction in the volume of the hippocampus is associated
with memory deficits among the elderly.
Older adults take longer to register some new piece of information, encode it, and retrieve it. Timothy
Salthouse tested both reaction speed and memory or other cognitive skills in adults of various ages, and
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.9, p. 437)
What other factors might affect cognitive functioning in older adults?
Wisdom and Creativity
LO 17.10 What do theory and research on wisdom and creativity reveal about cognitive functioning
in late adulthood?
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.10, p. 437)
What is your definition of wisdom?
Theorists who study cognition in older adults have recently begun to ask whether elders might have some
advantages over the young because of their accumulation of knowledge and skills. In other words, older
adults might be wiser. Researchers do not agree on a common definition of wisdom, but most authors
emphasize that it goes beyond mere accumulations of facts. Wisdom reflects understanding of “universal
truths” or basic laws or patterns; it is knowledge that is blended with values and meaning systems; it is
knowledge based on the understanding that clarity is not always possible, that unpredictability and
uncertainty are part of life. A wise person, then, will have unusual insight into life problems and
unusually good judgment or advice to offer.
The leading researcher on wisdom is Paul Baltes. His technique for measuring wisdom involves stories
about fictional characters who are trying to make some major life decision. The stories are judged
according to the following five criteria Baltes hypothesized to be central to wisdom as it relates to solving
practical life problems:
▪ factual knowledge
Virtually all theorists who have written about wisdom assumed that it is more likely to be found in the
middle-aged and the elderly. Baltes, however, found that young adults perform as well as older adults in
Critics suggest that Baltes is simply measuring general cognitive ability rather than what is usually
thought of as wisdom. Nevertheless, Baltes’s research has produced an important finding about wisdom
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.10, p. 438)
What do you think? Is wisdom a characteristic only of the elderly? How do we gain wisdom? Why are
those who are considered to be wise by others also concerned for humanity as a whole?
Enhanced creativity may also be an element of cognition in older adults. Some highly creative
individuals, especially composers and artists, reach their peak in late adulthood. To describe the potential
for creative work in the later years, a leading gerontologist, Gene Cohen, developed a four-stage theory of
mid– to late-life creativity. He believes that these phases apply to ordinary people who are more creative
than others in their everyday lives as well as to “professional creators,” such as composers and artists.
▪ Around age 50, creative individuals enter a reevaluation phase, during which they reflect on past
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 17.10, pp. 437-438)
Look back at the discussion of theories of post-formal operational thought in Chapter 13. How would
these theories explain abrupt opinion change in the elderly?
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 17.9-17.10, pp. 435-439)
Make a list of the people you think of as wise. How old are they? Is old age necessary for wisdom? If
not, how do you think wisdom is acquired?
LECTURE ENHANCERS
Changes in Life Expectancy
Most countries of the world have experienced major increases in the life expectancy of its citizens. More
sophisticated medical care and better nutrition are two factors that contribute to the increase in life
expectancy. As major medical advancements have been made, more diseases can be cured. The result is
that people can anticipate a longer life. In the United States, for example, the average life expectancy for
The average life expectancy in the United States is not the highest of the industrialized nations. Although
we tend to believe that we have the best health-care system in the world and the best nutrition, this is not
necessarily the case. Life expectancy involves more than just the quality of the health-care system or the
quality of the food one eats. Examples of other factors include the following: genetic predispositions,
type of job, health habits, exercise habits, diet, behavior patterns, and geographic location. There could
Life expectancy is just an average. Averages come from all the data available, including the extremes.
Most of us have probably been surprised to hear of someone dying at what we consider to be a young age.
We are especially surprised when the person seems to have been living a healthy life. Behavior patterns
do not guarantee a longer life. They do, however, increase one’s chances of living longer.
To summarize the points made, life expectancy is influenced by multiple factors. These factors interact in
complex ways to influence the number of years the individual might live, barring major uncontrollable
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Media
▪ MyPsychLab—MyPsychLab contains a variety of engaging activities and assessments that aid in
teaching and learning, including the following tools:
o Writing Space. A single place to create, track, and grade writing assignments, provide writing
resources, and exchange meaningful, personalized feedback with students quickly and easily. For
Fall 2014 courses, Writing Space for the 7th edition will contain new auto-graded writing
prompts. Instructors can also offer their own writing prompts and rubrics through this tool.
▪ MyPsychLab Connections
o Watch: Late Adulthood: Portraits of Late Adulthood Health, p. 418
o Watch: Centenarian, p. 418
o Watch: Late Adulthood: Physical Health in Late Adulthood, p. 419