Chapter 15 Physical and Cognitive development in Middle Adulthood Changes in Senses Vision Age related visual problems occur in 5 areas 1 near vision 2 dynamic vision reading moving signs 3 sensitivity to light 4 visual search locating a sign 5 Speed of processing visual information Reading glasses are often needed for presbyopia Presbyopia age related progressive loss of the eyes ability to focus on nearby objects due to the loss of elasticity in the lens May need bifocals and trifocals in which lenses for reading is combined with lenses to see far away Adjust eyes to see near and far objects Myopia nearsideness Hearing speeds up in the fifties Presbycusis Age related gradual loss of hearing which accelerates after the age of 55 hearing loss occurs twice as quickly I men than in women This is changing now because women are doing jobs that only men did in the 20th century Such as construction hearing loss due to environmental cues can be avoided by using ear plugs or special muffs Taste and Smell generally declines in midlife food may seem more bland Taste buds become less sensitive Number of olfactory cells decline women tend to retain these senses longer than men some people become less sensitive to salty foods some to sweet bitter or salty foods it can be different for each individual Changes in Appearance Skin may become less taut and smooth due to Layer of fat underneath the skin becomes thinner Collagen molecules become more rigid Elastin fibers become more brittle Production of melanin a pigmenting agent declines hair is thinner hair greys Slowed hair replacement rate midlife people tend to gain weight Accumulation of body fat Inactivity midlife people tend to lose height Due to shrinkage of the intervertebral disks bone density tends to decline Bone loss is a cause of more calcium being absorbed than replaced Bone lost accelerates in the 50 s and 60 s Twice as quickly in women than in men and it can lead to osteoporosis Menopause it is the cessation of menstruation and of the ability to bear children Meaning women completely stop ovulating occurs one year after the last menstrual period generally average age 50 to 52 Most women experience it between ages 45 to 55 it is a process called menopausal transition Mid 30 s to mid 40 s women s production of mature ova begin to decline Ovaries produce less female hormone estrogen Prior to and during the first year of menopause is called perimenopause aka the climacteric or change of life menstruation becomes irregular less flow and longer time between each menstrual period if the 19th century it was viewed as a disease today it is viewed more positively Transition to second part of adulthood personal growth symptoms hot flashes night sweats sudden sensations of heat due to erratic changes in hormone secretion This affects the temperature control in the center of the brain treatment low dose administration of artificial estrogen NO LONGER POPULAR because of serious risk factors nonhormonal therapies phytomedicines vitamin c black cohosh and other natural or herbal preparations Stress in Middle age Stress response to physical and psychological demands Stressors perceived and environmental demands that may produce stress people in early middle age tend to experience higher more frequent levels of stress and different types of stressors compared to younger or older adults Chief stressors or certain age groups 35 54 family relationships work money housing 18 34 stressed by unhealthy behaviors such as smoking losing sleep and skipping meals 55 and up health and age related stress stress for midlife tends to come from role changes Career transitioning Grown children leaving home Renegotiation of family relationships women report more extreme stress than men classic stress response fight or flight primarily masculine women s response is more so tend and befriend nurturant activities that promote safety Cognitive Development in real life Fluid intelligence Type of intelligence proposed by Horn and Cattell that is applied to novel problems and is relatively independent of educational and cultural influences EXAMPLE discovering a pattern in a sequence of figures Crystallized intelligence Type of intelligence proposed by Horn and Cattell involving the ability to remember and use learned information it is largely dependent on education and culture Fluid intelligence peak in twenties working memory capacity also begins to decline at this age Encapsulation In Hoyers terminology progressive dedication of information processing and fluid thinking to specific knowledge systems making knowledge more readily accessible With experience become experts at problem solving Notice different aspects of a situation Integrative thought Important feature of postformal thought Mature adults integrate logic with intuition and emotion and new information with what they already know Chapter 16 Psychosocial Development in Middle Adulthood Individuation Jungs term for emergence of the true self through balancing or integration of conflicting parts of the personality Two necessary difficult tasks of midlife Giving up the image of the youth Acknowledging morality Generativity vs Stagnation Erikson s seventh stage of psychosocial development in which the middle aged adults develops a concern with establishing guiding and influencing the next generation or else experiences stagnation a sense of inactivity or lifelessness Generativity Eriksons term for concern of mature adults for guiding the next generation Women report higher levels of generativity Ex Volunteering for community service or a political cause People who are happy with their life are more likely to be generative Interiority Midlife review Neugarten s term for a concern with inner life introversion or introspection which usually appear in middle age Can be a time of stocktaking yielding new insights into the self and spurring midcourse correction in the design and trajectory of one s life introspective examination that often occur in midlife leading to reappraisal and revision of values and priorities can be dependent on developmental deadlines such as child bearing Identity Assimilation and Accommodation identity assimilation Identity accommodation overuse of either is unhealthy Overuse of assimilation Whitbournes term for effort to fit new experience into existing self concept Whitbourne s term for adjusting the self concept to fit the new experience People tend to be more inflexible and do not learn
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