1. Development Through the Lifespan
Chapter 17
Physical and Cognitive
Development in
Late Adulthood
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2. Functional Age Young-Old Old-Old
Appear physically young for their actual age
Old-Old
Appear physically frail and show signs of decline

3. Active Lifespan Around the World

4. Life Expectancy Crossover

5. Aging and the Nervous System
Loss of brain weight accelerates after 60
Neurons lost in visual, auditory and motor areas, cerebellum (balance)
Autonomic nervous system less efficient
Brain can compensate
New fibers
New connections
Use more parts of brain

6. Visual Impairments and Aging
Lower visual acuity
Poor dim light vision
Cataracts
Macular degeneration

7. Hearing Impairments and Aging

8. Aging Systems of the Body
Cardiovascular
Heartbeat less forceful; slower heart rate, blood flow
Vital lung capacity cut by half
Immune
Effectiveness declines
More autoimmune disorders
Sleep
More difficulties
Sleep apnea, insomnia

9. Physical Appearance and Mobility
Skin thinner, rougher wrinkled, spotted
Ears, nose, teeth and hair change
Lose height and weight after 60
Muscle strength declines
10–20% by 60–70
30–50% by 70–80
Bone strength drops
Less flexibility

10. Factors in Good Health and Aging
Optimism
SES
Ethnicity
Sex
Nutrition
Exercise

11. Sexuality in Late Adulthood
Most have sex
Married couples: regular, enjoyable sex
Singles: 70% men, 50% of women have sex
Continue patterns from earlier years
“Good sex in the past, good sex in the future”
Enjoy activities other than intercourse
Men sometimes stop all activities if erection problems

12. Primary and Secondary Aging
Genetically influenced declines
Affect all members of species
Even happen if health is good
Secondary
Declines due to heredity and environment
Effects individualized
Illnesses and disabilities
Arthritis
Diabetes
Mental disabilities

13. Leading Causes of Death in Late Adulthood

14. Mental Disabilities in Late Adulthood
Dementia - thought and behavior impairments that disrupt everyday life
Parkinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease
Cerebrovascular dementia
Strokes
Misdiagnosis and reversible dementia
Depression
Medication side effects

15. Long-Term Care in Late Adulthood
More with advanced age
Severe disorders
Loss of support network
Varies by SES, ethnic group
Alternatives
Home care by family
Home care professionals
Assisted living

16. Selective Optimization with Compensation
Choose personally valued activities, avoid others
Optimize
Devote diminishing resources to valued activities
Compensate
Find creative ways to overcome limitations

17. Associative Memory Declines in Late Adulthood
Difficulty creating or retrieving links between pieces of information
Using memory cues, enhancing meaningfulness of information help

18. Remote and Prospective Memory
Remote Memory
Very long-term recall
Autobiographical memory
Prospective Memory
Remembering to engage in planned actions
Use reminders, repetition to help

19. Language Processing in Late Adulthood
Comprehension changes very little
Problems retrieving specific words
Use more pronouns
Pauses in speech
Problems planning what to say
Hesitations, false starts, repetition, sentence fragments, disorganized statements

20. Wisdom Depth and breadth of practical knowledge Reflect on knowledge
Apply knowledge to improve life
Listening and evaluating
Advice

21. Factors Related to Cognitive Change
Previous cognitive activity
Health
Retirement
Distance to death
Terminal decline
Cognitive interventions
Memory, problem-solving training

22. Lifelong Learning Educational participation increasing Many benefits
Elderhostel
College courses
Many benefits
New facts, ideas
New friends
Broader world perspective
Improved self-image