Transcript Physical and Cognitive Development in Midlife

Physical and Cognitive
Development in Midlife
Physical Development
Top Barriers to Physical
Activity
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How would they vary by:
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Age, Gender, Ethnicity?
Top Barriers (King, et al, 2000)
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3000 women 40 & over
Native American, Older age, less
education, fatigue, absence of
enjoyable scenery, few role models
in ones neighborhood
Across all ethnicities:
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Caregiving duties & Lack of energy
were top
“No one to exercise with” or “lack of
facilities” most infrequent
Senses
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Vision
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Difficulty in reading small print
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Yellowing of the lens
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Weakening in eye accomodation
color discrimination
Hearing
14% hearing loss
 Greater for high tones
 Men>women
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Skin, Muscle, & Bones
3
layers of skin: epidermis, dermis,
hypodermis
 Ageepi
less attached to
dermis, dermis fibers thin,
fat in hypo diminshes
wrinkles & loose skin
 Women
& outdoors folks
Skin, Muscle, & Bones
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↑Body fat ↓ lean body mass
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Reduction in bone density-esp
women
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Muscle- atrophy of fast twitch fibers
osteoporosis
Disks in spine collapse ↓ height
by 60
Weakened bones fracture more
easily, heal more slowly
Reproductive changes
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Climacteric-midlife transition and fertility
change
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Ends ability in women
Diminishes fertility in men- ↓ semen & sperm
Women
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Production of estrogen drops
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Cycles shorten, more irregular
Concludes w/ menopause
Doctors recommend ERT or HRT
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Protects from bone deterioration, hot flashes
HRT comes w/ risks
Psychological Reaction to
Menopause
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Can be traumatic
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Physical competence=ability to
have children
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Physical Discomfort + percieved
loss of sex appeal
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Many find it is no trouble
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What does your mother think?
Questions for Mom
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Talk to your mother or other women who
are close to menopause about their
expectations and attitudes.
Are/were they excited about it?
Will/were they be relieved when it is/was
over?
Were expectations realized by the actual
process of menopause?
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Or, how accurate do you feel your expectations
are?
Did they experience any physical or
psychological symptoms?
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Or, how are the feeling about the potential
physical and/or psychological symptoms?
Cognitive Development
Changes in Mental Abilities
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Focus on deficits, neglecting
cog stability and gains
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Cog dev is multi-dimensional,
multi-directional, & plastic
Crystallized and Fluid
Intelligence
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Crystallized- depend on accumulated
knowledge & experience
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Acquired b/c valued by culture
Vocabulary, general info, verbal analogy,
logical reasoning
Fluid- Basic info-processing skills:
speed of analysis, working memory
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Less influence by culture, more by
conditions in the brain and unique
learning.
Spatial visualization, picture series, etc
Intelligence in Mid Adulthood
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Crystallized increases steadily
into late adulthood
Fluid declines in late twenties
and early thirties
Found x-cult
Perceptual speed drops
Adults compensate for these
drops by using strengths
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Shift from efficiency to
accumulated knowledge activities
Young Adult, Middle Adult,
Late Adult?
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Adult A is making a cake that will ultimately turn out
almost perfect. He does not refer consistently to the
instructions, and tends to “eyeball” measures. For
example, instead of measuring out a cup or a tablespoon,
he simply pours in the amount that he thinks is correct
(his calculations are very accurate).
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Adult B is making a cake that will ultimately turn out
almost perfect. He is very careful to read every instruction
of the recipe, and performs every step in the exact order.
He is careful to measure out each item using measuring
spoons and cups.
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Adult C is making a cake that will ultimately turn out
almost perfect. He follows the instructions pretty
consistently; however, he adjusts the oven temperature
slightly to allow for a moister cake. In terms of liquid
measures, he uses cups to make sure everything is
accurate; however, anything requiring a teaspoon amount
he simply “eyeballs.”
Young, Middle, or Late Adult?
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Adult A, who is married to adult B, wants
to remodel the basement. Adult B
disagrees, and states that the remodeling
project will be too expensive and timeconsuming. Adult A is faced with several
options:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Accept the situation and let it go.
Try to understand B’s perspective and decide
whether it really is worth all of the time and
effort. Attempt to consider B’s perspective from
several angles (expenses, less time for
marriage and children, etc.).
Try to convince B to change his/her mind.
Bring in a third party to arbitrate the dispute.
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Three students, ages 18, 35, and 50, are taking a
multiple-choice exam. When interviewed at a later
date, the instructor receives the following student
assessments:
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“I thought the exam was fair and straightforward. I chose the
answers that seemed to be the most correct, that’s what multiplechoice exams are all about.”
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“I thought the exam was unfair. If you really dissected all of the
responses to the questions, you could generate arguments for
multiple responses. I really confused myself because I generated
arguments and counterarguments for just about every response
to every question.”
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“Somewhat tough exam; I noticed that there were a number of
places where you could generate arguments for more than one
response. However, I know there is a time and place for such
thinking, and a multiple-choice exam does not represent such a
context. You really have to just go with what seems most logical
and practical in situations that require more simple,
straightforward thinking.”