“I am still learning.” - Michelangelo, 1560, at age 85

Developmental Psychology The study of YOU from womb to tomb. We are going to study how we change physically, socially, cognitively and morally over our lifetimes. OLD AGE AND GRIEVING

Physical Changes Muscular strength, reactionary time, sensory keenness, and cardiac output all crest in the mid-twenties

In 2002, George Blair became the world’s oldest barefoot water skier, 18 days after his 87th birthday.

Gradual Decline in Fertility Chances of pregnancy for a 35-39 year old are half that of a 19-26 year old There is a gradual decline in sperm count and testosterone for men.

Adulthood: Physical Development Menopause – approximately age 50 the time of natural cessation of menstruation also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Adulthood: Physical Development The Aging Senses A 65-year old’s eye only receives 1/3 as much light as a 20 year old’s does “Don’t you need light for reading?” 1.00 Most stairway falls taken by older people occur on the top step, precisely where the person typically descends from a window-lit hallway into the dark stairway. 0.75 Proportion of normal (20/20) vision when identifying letters on an eye chart 0.50 0.25 10 30 50 70 90 Age in years

Adulthood: Physical Development The Aging Senses 10 30 50 70 90 Percent correct when Identifying smells Age in years

Adulthood: Physical Development The Aging Senses 90 Percent correct when identifying spoken words 70 50 10 30 50 70 90 Age in years

Adulthood: Physical Development Fatal accident rate Slowing reactions contribute to increased accident risks among those 75 and older. 12 10 Fatal accidents per 100 million miles 8 Fatal accidents per 10,000 drivers 6 4 2 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 and over Age

French woman Jeanne Calment, the oldest human in history with authenticated age, died in 1998 at age 122. At age 100, she was still riding a bike. At age 114, she became the oldest film actor ever, by portraying herself in Vincent and Me.

Health Good news: accumulation of anti-bodies results in less short-term ailments (flu or cold) Bad news: immune system weakens, making the body more susceptible to ailments such as pneumonia or cancer

Memory Brain regions important to memory atrophy with aging By age 80, contributes to a total brain weight reduction of 5% Frontal lobe atrophies – causes overly blunt questions such as “Did you put on weight?” Exercise promotes neurogenesis – birth of new brain cells

Adulthood: Physical Development Incidence of Dementia by Age Risk of dementia increases in later years 60-64 70-74 80-84 90-95 65-69 75-79 85-89 Age Group 40% 30 20 10 Percentage with dementia Dementia: mental erosion of the brain (substantial loss of brain cells)

Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s Disease a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by first loss of smell, then a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, emotion, language, and finally, physical functioning Deterioration of brain cells that produce acetylcholine - messenger “I don’t want to attain immortality through my work; I want to attain immortality by not dying.” – Woody Allen (film director)

Adulthood: Cognitive Development 100 Older age groups have poorer performance Recalling new names introduced once, twice, or three times is easier for younger adults than for older ones (Crook & West, 1990). Percent of names recalled 90 80 After three introductions 70 60 50 After two introductions 40 30 20 After one introductions 10 18 40 50 60 70 Age group

Crystallized Intelligence Types of Intelligence Crystallized Intelligence Fluid Intelligence Accumulated knowledge. Increases with age. Ability to solve problems quickly and think abstractly. Peaks in the 20’s and then decreases over time.

Adulthood: Social Development Early-forties midlife crisis? Females Males No early 40s emotional crisis 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 Age in Years 24% 16 8 Emotional instability

Adulthood: Social Changes Social Clock the culturally preferred timing of social events marriage parenthood retirement

Marriage Most likely to occur when after 20 and educated Why is divorce rate going up? Women’s lessened economic dependence Rising expectations on both sides

Adulthood: Social Changes Multinational surveys show that age differences in life satisfaction are trivial (Inglehart, 1990). Percentage “satisfied” with life as a whole 80 60 40 20 15 25 35 45 55 65+ Age group

Adulthood: Social Changes

Death Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s Stages of Death/Grief. Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance **Not everyone goes through them all and not necessarily in this order