PSYCH 250 1st Edition Lecture 21 Outline of Last Lecture I. Generativity vs. StagnationII. Social Clock and Trends in MarriageIII. Marital SatisfactionIV. Midlife CrisisV. Empty Nest SyndromeVI. The Sandwich GenerationOutline of Current Lecture VII. Life ExpectancyVIII. SenescenceIX. Theories of AgingX. Changes in MemoryXI. Control ProcessesXII. Cognitive Changes in Late AdulthoodCurrent LectureLife ExpectancyThe average life expectancy in America has risen dramatically over the last century. As of 2010 life expectancy in the U.S. was 78 years. SES, race, and nationality all have an influence on life expectancy. Women on average live 4-7 years longer than men do.Before the age of 85, members of minorities and low SES groups have a much lower life expectancy than white and more well off individuals. After age 85 however, these minority and low-income groups actually had a slightly higher life expectancy. Researchers believe this is due to the fact that because these groups have lived as long as they have under their circumstances,they are much more hardy individuals.Active Lifespan: the number of years of healthy life a person can expect. The goal of active lifespan is to compress morbidity.Compression of morbidity means that an individual’s lives healthy while living long. They are healthy for most of their lives and only get sick a very short time before their death. Lifestyle plays a large role in compression of morbidity.Similarly, maximum lifespan is the upper limit of life under ideal conditions which tends to be about 122 years.SenescenceSenescence refers to the process of aging that begins in late adolescence and continues throughlate adulthood. Aging is universal, but the rate and degree of physical decline is highly variable between individuals. There are two kinds of aging:Primary Aging: universal and irreversible changes that occur as we grow older (wrinkles, gray hair, thinning of the skin)Secondary Aging: refers to more specific illnesses that tend to occur with aging, but are caused by lifestyle and genetic disposition. Secondary aging largely varies from person to person and includes illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension The brain also ages, and shrinks throughout adulthood, but especially after age 60. By 80, the brain has shrunk by 5-10%. This shrinking causes slower information processing in older adults. To compensate for this decline in processing, older adults use more parts of their brains, and both hemispheres. Along with the brain and the body, the senses also age. Both vision and hearing decline during late adulthood, common characteristics of these declinesinclude:- Decreased visual acuity, poor adaptation to darkness and decreased color and depth perception- Cataracts, Glaucoma, and Macular Degeneration- Decline in speech perception – hearing is difficult to lose because older adults often feel like they’re missing out. Higher tones are the first sounds to be lostAdditionally, taste and odor sensitivity are reduced after the age of 60, and older adults often experience a sharp decline in touch perception after age 70. Body systems also age over time:CardiovascularSystem- Less Forceful Heartbeat- Slower Heart beat and Blood FlowRespiratory- Vital Capacity of the Lungs Cut in Half- Less Oxygen Makes it to the Tissues Immune System- Becomes Less Efficient- Greater Susceptibility to Infections and Autoimmune Diseases- Stress-Related Susceptibility Theories of AgingWear & Tear Genetic Adaptation Cellular AgingThe body wears out due to the passing of time and exposure to stressors in the environment There is a genetic clock in our DNA that regulates the aging process We age because our cells get old, damaged, or exhausted - On/Off Switch - Errors in duplication- Immune System weakens- No more replication Does not give place to lifestyle Hayflick limit: cells divide 50 times, and then they cannot divide anymore. The fastest growing group in the United States are the Centenarians, individuals who are near, at, or are over 100. In the past 40 years, the number of centenarians has increased 10 fold. This is due to a number of factors:Heredity: longevity tends to run in familiesEnvironment and Lifestyle: longevity can be attained through a healthy diet and exercise, a good immune system, an attitude of optimism and faith, social support, a happy marriage, and involvement in the community.Genes and lifestyle both work to impact longevity, but lifestyle tends to play a larger role.Changes in MemorySo what else changes as we age?Speed of processing declines with age. This is the cause of slower reaction times and attention spans that are common in older adults. There is also a decrease in sensory input and interference, or a dual – task deficit. In other words, older adults can no longer multitask effectively.Additionally, the amount of information that can be stored in one’s working memory decreases between the 20s and 60s. The nature and degree of decline depend on the type of memory:o Explicit and Implicit Memoryo Long – Term and Selective Memoryo Control ProcessesExplicit memory is purposeful and requires much more effort than implicit which is unconscious and requires very little effort. Recall and Explicit Memory (think of it like taking an essay test or giving a note-card less speech – you have to think about all of the possible answers) shows larger declines with age than Recognition and Implicit Memory (like a multiple choice test, you see an answer you recognize). In terms of long – term and selective memory, older adults have more difficulty remembering events that occurred in the recent past. However, long – term memory for vocabulary increasesand remains intact into the 80s. This is why older people like to do crosswords. Memory that pertains to information regarding a person’s area of expertise often remains good. Additionally, autobiographical memory is easier to remember. Older adults are more likely to recall happy events that occurred between the ages of 10 and 30, and have a more difficult time recalling events that occurred during middle adulthood. Source amnesia is also common at this age; meaning that older adults have a harder time remembering who did and said what. Cognitive Changes in Late AdulthoodControl processes such as memory and retrieval strategies that help us think clearly, selective attention, storage mechanisms, and logical analysis tend to decline with