Substages of adulthood
- Early adulthood (20-39)
- Middle adulthood (40-59)
- Late adulthood (60-death)
Different types of age (adulthood)
- Chronological age: indicates the number of years that have passed since birth
- Psychological age: the ability of a person to adjust to the environment and cope with the associated challenges, as compared to individuals of the same age
- Social age (cultural age): the degree to which the person’s role in a society meets the expectations and perceptions of that society
- Biological age the physical condition of a person in comparison with his/her peers
- psychological, social and biological age is sometimes used a unit to describe someone’s functional age; that is, the total ability of an individual of an individual to function effectively in his or her environment
Primary, secondary and tertiary ageing
Primary ageing: normal ageing, such as physical deterioration. Universal and caused by biological factors
Secondary ageing: physical or psychological deterioration that is accelerated by a disease (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s) or by external factors such as stress and an unhealthy lifestyle. Not universal and often times preventable.
Tertiary ageing: the process of terminal decline within days, weeks or months before death. Significant physical and cognitive deterioration
Optimal ageing: refers to age-related changes that improve the individual’s functioning. Refers to preventative measures such as maintaining a physically, socially and cognitively healthy lifestyle.
Personal and ageless self
Personal age: how a person perceives and experiences his or her own age. Older people report a larger gap between their personal and chronological age (feel younger than their actual age).
Ageless self: the experience of adults that the self (the core of their personality) remains basically the same regardless of their chronological age. Older people who tend to feel younger than their age have a reduced mortality. Women tend to be more anxious of growing older, but report increased life satisfaction as they age, as well as decreased rates of depression, anxiety and loneliness.
Demographic trends
- Gradual ageing of the world population
- A decline in population growth rate
- Increased urbanization and migration patterns
Biological theories on ageing: Programmed ageing theories
- reach your peak muscle power, stamina, elasticity, agility and sensory perception at the age pf 20-30 whereafter it declines. This declining is usually visible at 40.
Programmed ageing theories:
- assumption that ageing and death are built into the genetic blueprint of all individuals.
Genetic programming theory
- cells in the body age according to the master genetic program innate to every specific species.
- cell division can only occur a limited number of times. The cells of a fetus can divide 40-60 times, while the cells of adults can divide 20 times. Cells deteriorate until the person dies.
- telomeres (small tips at the ends of chromosomes) are the biological timers of of cells
- the enzyme telomerase is needed tpo replicate the telomeres and thus the cells
- telomeres are shortened with each cell division, and resultantly become too short with too little telomerase intact for cell division to continue
- cancer cells are immortal and doesn’t have an upper limit on division (can keep tolemerase levels intact)
- brain cells do not typically divide but still deteriorate
Physical development in adulthood: Brain development
- weight of brain begins to decline after 50 (deterioration of neurons)
- 10%-60% loss
- blood flow to the brain starts decreasing (decrease in oxygen and glucose consumption)
- decrease in cerebral metabolism and functioning
- neurogenesis (formation of new neurons in the brain) does occur in adults
- signals are conducted at a slower rate
- subtle reduce in mental functions such as short-term memory, the ability to learn new material and the ability to recall words
- adults between 60-90 with higher levels of education show less atrophy of the cerebral cortex (grey matter that involves higher order processes) than those with less schooling (probably due to increased stimulation)
- neuro-imaging have discovered that younger adults tend to use the right hemisphere of their brain more during cognitive tasks. Older adults are more likely to use both hemispheres, indicating higher levels of creativity
Physical development in adulthood: Sight
- best at 20 and relatively constant till 40
- visual acuity peaks between 20-30 (larger pupils)
-vision begins to deteriorate with the onset of middle age - thickening of lens, loss of lens elasticity and increased lens density. Results in a decline of accommodation
- accommodation is the ability of the lens to change shape to focus and maintain an image on the retina
- can lead to myopia (near sightedness) or presbyopia (far sightedness)
- dark adaptation becomes slower (difficulty driving at night)
- among elderly there is a decrease in peripheral vision, depth vision, color vision, and dark adaptation, while glare sensitivity increases
Common visual dysfunctions after the age of 50:
Glaucoma:
- damage to the optic nerve and vision lens due to increasing pressure of the ocular fluid inside the eye that does not drain normally.
-This causes visual defects or loss of vision over a long period of time
Cataracts:
- loss of the transparency of the lens of the eye.
- Lens becomes cloudy, causing faded colors, blurry vision, as well as trouble with bright lights and seeing at night.
-Most commonly due to ageing.
- may be due to other factors like diabetus mellitus, alcohol, smoking, or prolonged exposure to the sun
Physical development in adulthood: Muscle strength and stamina
Muscle strength
- peaks at 25-30
- decline in the amount of muscle fibre
- do not deteriorate only with regard to strength and elasticity, but they are also gradually replaced by fat
- more severe in the legs than in the arms and hands
- frailty, a syndrome characterised by weakness, weight loss, exercise intolerance, immobility and incontinence, while balance, walking performance and ability to respond to stressors may also be affected
- decrease in reaction speed
- a poor cognitive score is a significant predictor for falling
- bone fractures are more common in elderly people due to a loss in bone mass
- regular exercise and fitness can counteract the deterioration of muscle
- prevents arteriosclerosis (thickening and hardening of arteries
Stamina
- due to changes in muscle power, less effective functioning of the heart and lungs
- less oxygen is available, and the heart disperses it slower through the bloodstream to the muscles
- stamina decreases 15% between 30-50, and then a further 15% between 50-70
Physical development in adulthood: Physical appearance and height & weight
- significant changes become visible between 30-40
- skin looses elasticity and becomes thinner and wrinkled
- slackening of breasts
- thinning and greying of hair
- wounds take longer to heal
- skin cells take longer to replace and die quicker
- body posture becomes stooped, decrease in muscle elasticity
- “mask of aging” one may feel a different age than one’s looks. While external appearances change with age, the essential identity doesn’t
Height and weight
- people lose 0.65cm to 1.30cm every decade after 40-50
- more height loss in women (osteoporosis is more common after menopause)
- basal metabolism decreases between 3%-10% every decade
- calorie requirement declines by 10% every decade
- 10%-15% weight increase between the ages of 20-50 (middle-aged spread)
- weight levels off and decreases from middle to late adulthood
- heavier muscle tissue is replaced by less heavy fats
- older adults tend to eat less than adults in their middle adulthood
Physical development in adulthood: Internal organs
- heart weight increases with age
- atrophy of heart tissue takes place
- aorta looses elasticity
- hardening and shrinking of the arteries restrict the free blood flow in the body (arteriosclerosis)
- significant change in the maximum heartbeat during exercise
- heart takes longer to reach resting state
- fitness decreases hypertension
- elasticity of lungs decrease after the age of 35
- loss of lung elasticity in the elderly is known as emphysema
- lung capacity decreases by 40% between 20-70
- the lung capacity, and therefore oxygen consumption of fit elderly persons seems to equal or even exceed that of many of their younger counterparts
- capacity of the bladder decreases, and the muscle weakens
- decline in the effectiveness of the immune system and they respond more poorly to vaccines
Physical development in adulthood: Physical health
HIV and AIDS
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus that targets the immune system and weakens people’s defense systems against the infections and some types of cancer
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- people do not die from AIDS, but from diseases caused by AIDS
- higher risk for mental disorders
- 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide
Gerontology and geropsychology
Gerontology can be defined as the multidisciplinary study of old age and the ageing process
Geropsychology is the branch of psychology that deals with the multiple aspects of normal and abnormal psychological changes that occur in the later years of life
Gerontological or geriatric psychology is a branch of medicine than deals with problems and diseases of old age
Biological theories of ageing: Error theories
Error theories
- ageing reflects unplanned changes in an organism over time
- ageing is a result of external factors that gradually damage the internal cells and organs
The wear and tear theory
- bodies age because of constant use
- decades of illnesses, injuries, and wear and tear cause damage to the cells, tissues and organs
- body becomes progressively less able to repair damaged and worn-out components
- environmental factors such as toxins, radiation and poor diet can worsen the wear and tear process
- osteoarthritis is a disease where the cartilage protection of joints wear out and the joints become stiff and painful
The free radical theory
- occasionally an atom loses an electron, leaving the atom with an unpaired electron
- free radicals damage the cell membranes, causing cellular damage and resulting dysfunction
- linked to dementia, heart disease, cancer, cataracts and the formation of ageing spots
- damage DNA of normal cells
- genetic code becomes scrambles and the body’s repairing mechanisms cannot keep up with the reparation
- when free radicals kill or damage enough cells, the organism ages and eventually dies.
The cross-linking theory
- with age, body tissue becomes less flexible and therefore less functional
- certain proteins (nutrients that are necessary for the growth, maintenance and repair of the body) cross-link and produce molecules that make the body stiffer
- these proteins are called collagen, which acts like reinforcement rods in soft body tissue
- the more collagen there is, the stiffer and less flexible and functional the tissue becomes
- the number of cross-links increases as we grow older
- as the muscles, arteries and tissue becomes less flexible and effective, the functioning of the body is affected negatively
Physical development in adulthood: Hearing
- gradual decline in auditory acuity, known as presbycusis (a progressive and irreversible age-related hearing loss resulting from the degeneration of structures in the inner ear or auditory nerves
- usually occurs after the age of 50, seeing as the incidence of hearing problems among individuals in their middle-age is relatively low
- inability to hear high notes
- caused by a combination of genetics, cumulative environmental exposures and physiological changes related to ageing
- more men are effected than women
- symptoms of hearing loss:
1. sound and speech becoming dull
2. the need for increased volume on television, radio, music or other audio sources
3. difficulty in understanding soft speech, such as whispering or the speech of women and children
4. difficulty in speech discrimination against background noise
5. hyperacusis which is sensitivity to certain volumes and frequencies of sound
6. tinnitus which is the ringing, buzzing, hissing or other sounds in the ear when no external sound is present
Physical development in adulthood: Taste, smell and touch
- sense of taste becomes less sensitive (60), especially with spices and salt
- mouth produces less saliva
- sweetness perception is preserved best against age
- can lead to poor appetite and nutrition
- sense of smell decreases significantly with age
- sense of touch deteriorates substantially at the age of 65
- decline in the ability to detect and discriminate touch stimuli such as pressure, vibrations, spatial acuity, pain and temperature
- density of nerve endings in skin decreases, or myelin sheath breaks down
Climacteric and Menopause
- Climacteric or perimenopause refers to the transitional period in middle-age during which a woman’s reproductive capacity ends and ovulation stops
- begins in the 40’s and ends by 50-55
- characterised by physiological and hormonal changes associated with the decrease in the woman’s reproductive ability
- menopause refers to the cessation of menstruation and the childbearing capacity in the women
- occurs when the hormonal cycle of a woman changes because the ovaries secrete less oestrogen
- when menopause is reached, the levels of the hormones LH, FSH and oestrogen drop gradually
- in an attempt to reactivate the ovaries, large quantities of LH and FSH are secreted
- this hormonal imbalance accounts for the physiological symptoms experienced like hot flushes, night sweating, decreased sexual energy, anxiety, emotional instability, inability to concentrate and irritability
- the decrease in oestrogen eventually leads to the cessation of menstruation
- cultural and socio-economic factors account for the perceptions and experience of menopause
Sexual behaviour patterns in adulthood
- the establishment of a personal identity is a prerequisite for a mature adult sexual relationship that is characterised by emotional intimacy and by caring and respect for the other person
- the percentage of young unmarried people who have had intercourse has increased dramatically
- the percentage of females who have had sexual intercourse has increased more rapidly than in the case of males
- between the ages of 46-55, most men and women become aware of a decline in their sexual interest and activity
- however, what they lose in quantity they make up with in quality
- their sexual relationships are often more complete and satisfying, and the foreplay more leisurely and imaginative
- focused more on psychological intimacy than on physical intimacy
- adults from countries with more gender-equal sexual attitudes report higher levels of sexual satisfaction across multiple domains than do societies or countries that do not embrace gender-equality
Gardner’s view on intelligence
- broadly views intelligence as the bio-psychosocial ability to process information in order to solve problems or create products than are of value in a culture
Types of intelligence:
- Linguistic
- reading comprehension, writing, understanding spoken word, vocabulary - Logical-mathematical
- abstract thinking, reasoning skills, and solving mathematical problems - Spatial
- ability to understand relationships between objects, to get from one place to another, to read a map - Musical
- sensitivity to sound patterns, ability to compose music, to play a musical instrument, to appreciate musical structure - Bodily-kinaesthetic
- skills at dancing, athletics, eye-hand coordination, body control - Interpersonal
- social skills, sensitivity to other people’s behaviour, motives or emotions - Intrapersonal
- self-understanding, understanding one’s own feelings and inner life - Naturalistic
- understanding patterns in the natural world of plants and animals
Existential intelligence would show in persons who are concerned with fundamental questions bout existence and ponder questions about life, death and ultimate realities
Catell’s view on intelligence
- all intellectual tasks make use of a general intellectual ability, but they also use more specialised skills, depending on the specific task
Fluid intelligence (Gf)
- refers to the ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations and identify patterns
- is flexible and not domain specific
- is used whenever the solution to a problem cannot be retrieved from memory and therefore must be figured out on the spot
- it is “raw” intelligence that is largely a function of the integrity of the central nervous system and is relatively independent of social influences and culturally bases learning experiences
- examples are acquiring new skills, solving new problems, using one’s imagination, and creativity
- depends heavily on brain function, since it involves recognising connections between stimuli
Crystallised intelligence (Gc)
- ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience that one has learned or acquired previously
- a function of education, experience, and exposure to a specific cultural environment
- a person’s store of information and strategies that can be applied to problems that have been encountered before
- the term crystallised is used to indicate that with exposure to knowledge and experience, one’s skills and abilities become solidified or hardened
- examples include speaking one’s native tongue, knowing processes and rules, and repeating techniques and strategies that have worked in the past
- distributed widely in the neural cortex of the brain and is therefore less dependent on current brain functioning
Intelligence and the ageing process
- classic ageing curve: intellectual functioning rose to a peak in early adulthood, followed by an inevitable decline
- classic ageing pattern: (certain intellectual abilities) the decline was especially dramatic in the abilities related to fluid intelligence. This includes the ability to think abstractly, reason, identify patterns, solve problems, and identify relationships between pieces of information
- these abilities are considered to be age-sensitive
- abilities related to crystallised intelligence started to decline somewhat later and drastically decline after 65. These abilities are considered age-insensitive
- an average adult shows gains until the early 40’s, stability and even increase until the mid-50’s or 60’s
- after the age 60, the decline is slight until age 74 or 81
- once the 80’s or 90’s are reached, declines become more rapid and extend across most abilities because of increasing failures of sensory capacities and other physiological structures
- faster rate of decline in tests measuring fluid intelligence than in tests measuring crystallised intelligence
- variability in test scores is greater for older adults than for younger people
Baltes’ view on intelligence
Selective optimisation and compensation (SOC) theory
- Selection
- the process of specifying a particular pathway or set of pathways for development
- narrowing down possible alternatives
- a mechanism to generate new resources and higher developmental states
- may imply a reduction of advances is others
- elective selection where selection is primarily driven by goals
- loss-based selection where a reorganisation of goals is indicated due to a loss in the potential to reach desirable goals
- both selections imply the restructuring of goals - Optimisation
- the acquisition, application, coordination and refinement of internal and external means involved in attaining higher levels of functioning
- health behaviour, cognitive skills, educational learning, social support and certain personality traits such as maintaining a sense of control
- deliberate practising of skills - Compensation
- refers to means, similarly to optimisation
- counteracting (or compensating) for losses in those means previously employed in attaining goals
- using alternative means to maintain functioning, such as external cues to compensate for memory loss
- development involves the process of simultaneous maximisation of gains and minimisation of losses over the life course
- highest level of SOC occurs during adulthood, with a peak in middle adulthood
- less use of SOC during old age
- in old age, prioritisation of tasks may favour physical or bodily functioning above cognitive functioning
- people who use SOC functioning at a higher level report higher well-being and life satisfaction
- older adults may compensate for fluid loss abilities, especially those involved in the speed of processing, by making use of their expertise in specific domains of functioning (crystallised intelligence)
Expertise
- refers to having special skills, knowledge, or judgement in particular areas
- in a real-world experiential perspective, each of us becomes an ‘expert’ at something important to us, such as one’s work or career, interpersonal relationships, or hobbies and activities that we enjoy and in which we do well
- an expert is someone who is much better at a task than people who have not put much effort into it
- however, people differ regarding the ease with which they acquire complex skills and in their ultimate level of expert performance
- expert performance generally increases up to a peak age (usually middle age), then declines
- in intellectual domains, the peak age tends to be in the late thirties or forties, and in physical domains, the peak age is earlier
- declines in the performance of older adults can be attributed to fluid abilities, while others believe that reductions in domain-related engagement could contribute to the decline (practise less)
Perspectives on expertise (there are 5)
The classical perspective
- innatist view that experts are “born”, thus expertise is an innate characteristic, although some form of training is necessary
- the inborn characteristic influences the rate of acquiring a particular skill and/or ultimate level that can be reached
- environmentalist view that experts are “made”
- the view that either talent does not exist or that its effects are overshadowed by training
The cognitive perspective
- experts perceive meaningful patterns in their domain
- a set of specific aptitudes or abilities comprise talent in a specific domain
- experience plays a large role in individual differences
- “software aspects” like knowledge, skills, and strategies acquired through training differentiates novices and experts
- “hardware” aspects of cognition, like working memory, is less important
The acquired expertise perspective
- expertise is an automatic consequence of lengthy experience and considered individuals with over 10 years of full-time engagement in a domain to be experts
- orderly progression from novice to intermediate to expert, through the stages of instruction, training and experience
- criteria for identifying experts are social reputation, completed education, and length of experience in a domain
Deliberate practice view
- for novices, the goal for accomplishing an activity is to reach as rapidly as possible a satisfactory performance level that is stable and autonomous
- experts build up a wealth of knowledge about alternative ways to solve problems or make decisions
- deliberate practice, concentration, focus, and depth of planning
- key challenge is to acquire cognitive skills to support their continued learning and improvement
- experts tend to do this by continuously seeking out demanding tasks and complex mental representations to attain higher levels of control of their performance
- hard work separates the great from the merely good
Biological view
- deliberate practice only explains a part of the acquisition of expertise
- components of intelligence such as fluid intelligence, working memory capacity and processing speed indicate a positive relationship with expertise and predict success in a wide variety of complex activities
- people with higher abilities are more likely to become experts in their fields than those with average or lower abilities
