Chapter 1 Themes and Issues in Adult Development and Aging As the opening chapter to the book, the material covered here provides the orientation to the course. There is enough material in this chapter to cover two to three lectures. During the first lecture, it is particularly important to provide students with a sense of excitement about the field. Reflect on your own enthusiasm for teaching this topic and, if appropriate, relate personal experiences that have led you to want to become involved in adult development and aging. It would also be useful to find out why students have chosen to taken the course, as it is quite likely that many of them are there for personal reasons as well. Ask students to watch for news, advertisements, newspaper, and magazine items that focus on older adults and associated issues related course material to discuss in class.
LECTURE GUIDELINES There is a logical break between the theoretical issues in the first part of the chapter and the demographic material presented at the end. The lecture on demography can begin with a discussion of current issues relevant to aging, such as the effect on the population of the "graying of America". A discussion of the "Baby Boomers" would also be interesting, as many of the students have parents, or possibly grandparents, in this generation. You can also encourage students to contrast their views about Baby Boomers with “Millennials,” “Gen-X’ers,” and the like. Ask them if they believe that generational labels are helpful in understanding the behavior of individuals. Check the website for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), www.carp.com, for articles and profiles of older adults, centenarians, life expectancy, and numerous age-related issues in Canada. Zoomer magazine, published in conjunction with CARP, is an relevant source of Canadian perspectives on aging and ageism.
VIDEOS AND FILMS There are many potentially relevant materials to include in the lectures based on this chapter. Keep your eyes open for news items that concern aging in Canada, the U.S., and the world relevant to the economy, social trends, and population dynamics. Non-stereotypic older adults can also be shown to counter negative representations that students may have such as older persons engaging in activities that would not normally be associated with aging. There are two excellent films by PBS: “The Way We Get By” (http://www.pbs.org/pov/waywegetby/) and Frontline “Living Old” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold/view/). Because there are many statistics to summarize in the demography section, it is helpful to provide anything that will put a human face to the numbers. There is an excellent series available on YouTube divided into five parts, called “The World’s Oldest People”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjd8_9dtLHo
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE • •
Why is the biopsychosocial perspective important? How does the material in this course relate to other courses that you have taken which employ an interdisciplinary perspective?
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FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING • • • • • • •
Do you feel that you are a different person than you were when you were younger? Do you know of individuals who illustrate the principle of individual differences in development? What are the important intraindividual dimensions that psychologists should study? What are the implications for the field when you consider that the only people we can study in old age are those who survived? How can you be a survivor? Name some changes that you think are age-related and see if they are in fact age- or disease-related. Ask students to complete one of the Canadian on-line life expectancy surveys e.g., “Will you live to be 100”? What factors are amenable to change/modifiable and which are not?
THE MEANING OF AGE • • • •
How would you define a person as an "adult"? Do you feel that you qualify as an adult? What are appropriate criteria to use for this distinction other than or in addition to age? What are the pros and cons of using these age-based divisions? How could the alternative indices of age be implemented in a practical sense so that they would replace chronological age? Can you come up with examples of influences on development that have affected you?
KEY SOCIAL FACTORS IN ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING • • •
• • • • •
How is your identity affected by your gender? Why is ethnicity an important factor in adult development and aging? Consider some of the implications of Canada’s multicultural policy for its diverse population. How does Statistics Canada measure the multicultural background of the population? Consider some of the difficulties with use of the grouping: Canadian-born, immigrant, visible minority, and Aboriginal populations. How has your social class affected your own life so far? How do you think social class will affect your life in the future? What sorts of influences do you think that social class has on people's lives and why is it important in development? How has your religion affected your own development? Why do you think religion has not been examined in previous research on adult development and aging?
THE BABY BOOMERS GROW UP: CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER POPULATION IN CANADA AND THE WORLD • • •
What are the implications of an aging population? Will the aging Baby Boomers change the way that we think about aging, or have they done so already? Who are famous aging Baby Boomers you can think of in the media who defy traditional stereotypes? What are the implications of changes in the racial and ethnic distribution of the aging population?
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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
Multiple Choice Questions 1. Research on adaptation to aging suggests that the most important factor determining your health, happiness, and longevity may very well be your ______ age. a) chronological b) subjective c) biological d) sociological Answer: b Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
2. The term __________ captures the concept that aging involves an interaction among processes such as physical changes, cognition, and social context: a) biopsychosocial b) physiocultural c) multidirectional d) transformational Answer: a Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
3. Of the following areas of aging, which would be considered a “biological” component of the biopsychosocial model? a) Changes in muscle mass. b) Loss of a spouse. c) Retirement from a job. d) Gains in vocabulary skills. Answer: a Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
4. Which of the following would be considered a “social” age-related factor in the biopsychosocial perspective? a) Improving in wisdom. b) Losing muscle strength. c) Becoming a grandparent. d) Increasing in conscientiousness. Answer: c Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
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5. The changes that individuals experience in income and residence when they retire and move out of the home where they spent their working lives would fall into the ____________ domain of the biopsychosocial model. a) psychological b) sociocultural c) biological d) cognitive Answer: b Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
6. Changes over time in an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as they cope with the physical changes involved in aging fall into which domain of the biopsychosocial perspective toward aging? a) Sociocultural b) Biological c) Gerontological d) Psychological Answer: d Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
7. According to the continuity principle of adult development and aging, the experiences you have as a young adult will play what role in your development? a) Young people are able to make up for any damage they do their bodies when they get older. b) The friends people have in their college years will most likely be the same ones they have later in life. c) People retain their identities about as they get older, even though their appearance changes. d) Older adults would prefer to be treated as “old” rather than as the people they were when younger. Answer: c Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
8. The ________________ principle of adult development and aging proposes that changes build on themselves over life in a cumulative fashion. a) selection b) continuity c) individuality d) normative Answer: b Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
9. Because the _____________ are the individuals we study in later life, researchers caution that the findings may not be true for everyone born in a given period of time. a) institutionalized b) less able c) young-old d) survivors Answer: d Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
10. Which of the following might account for the fact that the people who live to old age are the “survivors”? a) They ate foods that are rich in dietary cholesterol. b) Their families provided a strong support network. C) They have lived a life in which they took high risks. d) They avoided exercising or being too physically active. Answer: b Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
11. How does the fact that older adults are survivors influence research on aging? a) Researchers must adapt their test instruments to accommodate them. b) Healthy older adults tend to be the exception rather than the rule. c) Psychological studies have less validity than studies on biology of aging. d) The available samples are positively selected on important characteristics. Answer: d Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
12. Which of the following is not characteristic of older adult survivors? a) Good health and physical funtioning b) Cognitive and intellectual functioning c) Opportunistic risk taking d) Personality Answer: c Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
13. 75-year-old Mrs. A. has difficulty with her vision due to cataracts but her friend Mrs. B., also 75, can see perfectly. However, Mrs. B.’s arthritis makes it difficult for her to walk while Mrs. A. recently ran a senior marathon. This example illustrates which principle of adult development and aging? a) Interindividual differences. b) Normal aging is different from disease. IM & TB -1 |5
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
c) Survivors are an increasingly select group. d) Changes are continuous over the life span. Answer: a Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
14. A 77-year-old man has loved to jog for his entire life, and he is still able to keep up a pretty good pace. However, he is suffering hearing loss which makes it difficult for him to enjoy the music he likes to play while out on his run. In addition, he’s noticing that it’s getting harder for him to see the street signs unless the sun is brightly shining. This man illustrates which principle of aging? a) continuity b) multidirectionality c) survivor effects d) tertiary aging Answer: b Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
15. Researchers studying the volume of the hippocampus within the brain showed the importance of examining individual differences in aging by finding that: a) most of the adults 70 and older had greater hippocampal volume than the younger adults. b) the overall direction of hippocampal volume change was slightly positive starting at age 30. c) at least some older adults studied had equal or higher brain volume than some young adults. d) the greatest variation in hippocampal volume occurred among adults who were in their late 20s. Answer: c Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
16. The idea there are differences within the individual in the rate of aging is referred to as: a) interindividual variability. b) multidirectionality. c) personal aging. d) nonnormative influences. Answer: b Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
17. The idea that people become more different from each other as they grow older is known as the principle that: a) changes are continuous. b) aging is interdisciplinary. c) individuality matters. d) only the survivors grow old. IM & TB -1 |6
Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
Answer: c Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
18. The rapid loss of functioning that individuals may experience at the very end of their lives is known as _________ aging: a) tertiary b) primary c) normal d) accelerated Answer: a Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
19. Changes due to normal aging include which type of processes? a) Abnormal and disease-related b) Sudden and rapid c) Preventative and compensatory d) Universal and progressive Answer: d Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
20. Which of the following would be considered an example of “normal” age-related psychological changes? a) lowering of self-esteem b) moderation of personal qualities c) development of sleep problems d) losing interest in hobbies Answer: b Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
21.Which of the following is considered an example of secondary aging? a) Developing diabetes at the age of 67. b) Marrying for the third time at age 55. c) Working part-time at the age of 72. d) Moving to a retirement community at age 62. Answer: a Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
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22. Due to the process of ______ aging, an older adult may develop a disease such as skin cancer after years of exposure to the sun. a) primary b) tertiary c) secondary d) normal Answer: c Section Reference: Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging
23. A term in gerontology used to refer to people who are in the age group of 65-74 is: a) oldest-old b) middle-old c) healthy-old d) young-old Answer: d Section Reference: The Meaning of Age
24. People referred to as “old-old” have which specific characteristic? a) Prematurely gray and wrinkled b) Between the ages of 75-84 c) Retire after the age of 65 d) Become grandparents in middle age Answer: b Section Reference: The Meaning of Age
25. A centenarian falls technically into the category of which division of the older adult population? a) young-old b) oldest old c) old-old d) super-old Answer: b Section Reference: The Meaning of Age
26. People now considered supercentenarians, such as Jeanne Louise Calment, live past the age of: a) 100. b) 90. c) 130. d) 110. IM & TB -1 |8
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50. According to your text an important but often neglected focus on health of older adults in Canada involves: a) Distinguishing Alzheimer’s disease from other neurological disorders. b) Studying mild cognitive impairment as a risk for Alzheimer’s Disease c) An emphasis on prevention and health promotion d) Drug treatments of neurological disorders. Answer: c Section Reference: Social Determinants of Health and Prevention 51. According to Infrastructure Canada (2019), ______ percent of Canadians live in a rural community. a) 15 b) 20 c) 25 d) 30 Answer: b Section Reference: Social Determinants of Health and Prevention
Short Answer 52. Describe five diseases of the cardiovascular system along with their causes. Section Reference: Diseases of the Cardiovascular System 53. What are two forms of cerebrovascular disease? Section Reference: Diseases of the Cardiovascular System 54. How do incidence rates of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease vary by sex and race in adulthood? Section Reference: Diseases of the Cardiovascular System 55. What are the four major risk factors for diseases of the cardiovascular system? Section Reference: Diseases of the Cardiovascular System 56. What three measures can people take to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease? Section Reference: Diseases of the Cardiovascular System
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Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Canadian Edition Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
58. What are the three greatest risk factors for the development of cancer? Section Reference: Cancer 59. What four forms of treatment are available for cancer? What are their side effects? Section Reference: Cancer 60. List four forms of treatment for osteoarthritis. Section Reference: Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System 61. What are five risk factors for the development of osteoporosis? Section Reference: Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System 62. List five forms of treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Section Reference: Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System
63. Describe the disease process in Type 2 diabetes. Section Reference: Diabetes 64. What are four interventions that can be implemented for people with Type 2 diabetes? Section Reference: Diabetes 65. List the two forms of respiratory disease that make up COPD. Section Reference: Respiratory Disease 66. What two forms of treatment are available for people with COPD? Section Reference: Respiratory Disease
67. Describe the issues involved in determining the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease. Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders
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68. What are three major psychological symptoms of Alzheimer's disease? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 69. What are the two major microscopic changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease? What processes are thought to be responsible for the development of these changes? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 70. What are the three genes thought to be the major causes of Alzheimer's disease? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 71. Describe three lifestyle or environmental factors thought to be causes of or contributors to Alzheimer's disease. Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 72. List the five diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 73. What four types of medical treatment are currently being tested for people with Alzheimer's disease? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 74. Psychosocial treatments for Alzheimer's disease attempt to change which two major categories of problems dealt with by caregivers? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 75. List and describe six forms of dementia that may appear to be Alzheimer's disease. Indicate how each form of dementia is different from Alzheimer's disease. Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders 76. What are six forms of reversible dementia that may be confused with Alzheimer's disease? Why is it important to identify these forms of dementia? Section Reference: Neurocognitive Disorders
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77. Take the role of a public health expert working on behalf of the American Heart Association. Design a media campaign that would help lower the risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease among the groups with the highest rates of these diseases. Justify the steps you would take and the information you would provide. 78. Diseases of later life are becoming increasingly important for physicians to understand, diagnose, and treat. What would you regard as the main lessons that physicians should learn about these diseases? How can efforts to educate physicians about gerontology and geriatrics be improved? 79. Why are First Nation and Aboriginal people at such high risk for diabetes? How would you address these risks in terms of intervention? 80. If you were designing a program to help family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease, what types of features would you emphasize to make your program as effective as possible? Why would you include those features? 81. Is your community “age-friendly”? Review the characteristic of “age-friendly communities” as they apply to your city/town/neighbourhood? What improvement would you recommend to support the health and well-being of local seniors?
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CHAPTER 6 Basic Cognitive Functions: Information Processing, Attention, and Memory LECTURE GUIDELINES Students who do not have an extensive background in cognitive psychology will find the material in this chapter somewhat tough going as it is not necessarily of inherent interest to the average undergraduate. However, with some imagination from the instructor, this material can readily be brought to life. It is important to give students as much of a concrete feel as possible for the nature of the tasks used in the experiments described in this chapter. Therefore, it is worth trying to replicate some of the stimulus materials so that students can see what was required of subjects in the experiments. It is also possible to draw out the practical implications of the material by showing how people use these cognitive skills in everyday life. Once they see the practical relevance, students will naturally be curious to see how aging affects these abilities. Helping to clarify the material in class will also be appreciated by these students, because they will find it difficult to study on their own and may be concerned about what will appear on the tests. The more the instructor can summarize findings and make clear what is important, the more that students can focus on the big picture in this area, such as the hypotheses that have been advanced to account for the effects of aging. For those students who are interested in cognitive psychology or are taking a course in this area, motivation will be far less of an issue. Nevertheless, the practical implications are worth exploring particularly as they relate to changes with age.
VIDEOS AND FILMS The PBS documentary series "Stealing Time" contains an excellent interview with Timothy Salthouse, showing how he does his experiments and presenting his views about cognitive aging. Unfortunately, this video is no longer available but you can check with colleagues to see if anyone still has the original. The area of driving and aging lends itself well to illustrating in class. There have been several news programs focusing on the driving abilities of older persons, showing laboratory studies of driving as well as intervention studies in which older drivers are given classes to improve their skills. For a humorous look at aging and driving, the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" includes a brief scene in which an older woman behind the wheel is driving erratically. Although a negative portrayal of aging, this scene can be a touching-off point for discussing attitudes toward aging drivers. Students can be asked to state whether they think such representations are fair or unfair portrayals. Students enjoy more detailed presentation of material on the Unified Field of View/Vision. Consider its implications as an assessment tool in comparison with visual acuity that is typically used. What recommendations does this suggest for all drivers?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS PROCESSING SPEED AND ATTENTION •
Although there is consistent slowing of reaction time in adulthood, is this slowing (on the order of 1/2-2 seconds) significant in its effects on everyday life?
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• • • • • • • • • •
Does the general slowing hypothesis seem sophisticated enough to you to serve as an explanation of the effects of aging on cognition? Do you have difficulty with attention and concentration? How does this affect your ability to learn and remember? How would you feel if you were a participant in an experiment involving these procedures? Do you think your performance would reflect your abilities to use attentional processes in your everyday life? What real-life situations are comparable to those used in studies involving shifts of attention? Do you think you are good at divided attention tasks? How easy or difficult is it for you to study when other people are talking or playing music? To what extent is sustained attention needed in everyday life? Do you think videogames can help older adults maintain or regain speed and attentional skills? Which attentional task is most difficult for older adults? Why might this be the case? What is the major area of support for each theory of aging and attention? Which theory do you think fits the experience you have had with older adults? Why?
DRIVING AND AGING • • • • • •
Should older drivers be required to take road tests? Why? What is the relevance of the Canadian Auto Association Simple Driving Test for Seniors? How is it useful? Would you feel more comfortable in an airplane piloted by someone 60 and older or someone who is 30 years of age? Why? Are most older drivers good at regulating their own driving habits? Have you had an encounter with an older driver who was unsafe? Given that younger drivers mix speed and alcohol, why does society have such negative attitudes toward older drivers? Do you agree that making intersections into rotaries would help reduce auto accidents? Why or why not?
MEMORY • • • • • • • • • •
What happens to people who do not have the ability to remember events from their lives? Do you feel that your memory is changing as you get older? (College students often will say that they feel they are getting "senile"!) Can you think of examples of using your working memory? Do you feel your working memory has changed? How would age differences in working memory affect other aspects of cognition? Why do you think that certain memory tasks such as implicit memory are retained in later life? Do you feel that the events in your life now will be ones that you remember for many years into the future? What do you think you'll remember and what do you think you'll forget? What strategies do you find useful to help your memory? Do you think you have a good memory or a bad memory? How does this affect the way you feel about yourself? Why do you think some memory interventions work with older adults and some do not?
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