Chapter 13: Physical & Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Which of the following best explains why middle adulthood starts later and lasts longer now than in the early 1900s?
A. People today have less anxiety in their lives than people in the early 1900s.
B. People today have a higher income than people in the early 1900s.
C. People today have fewer children than people in the early 1900s.
D. People today have healthier lifestyles than people in the early 1900s.
D. People today have healthier lifestyles than people in the early 1900s.
Erikson proposed that middle-aged adults face a significant issue that he called
A. intimacy versus isolation.
B. integrity versus despair.
C. autonomy versus shame and doubt.
D. generativity versus stagnation.
D. generativity versus stagnation.
Reductions in _____ have been linked to small declines in memory functioning and to the severe memory loss associated with Alzheimer disease.
A. gamma-aminobutyric acid
B. adrenaline
C. acetylcholine
D. dopamine
C. acetylcholine
According to Erik Erikson, which of the following stages of development does an individual experience in late adulthood?
A. generativity versus stagnation
B. industry versus inferiority
C. integrity versus despair
D. autonomy versus shame
C. integrity versus despair
Which of the following was considered to be a clear sign of death 25 years ago?
A. the end of certain biological functions such as breathing
B. the end of electrical activity in the brain
C. a flat EEG (electroencephalogram) reading for a specified period of time
D. the lack of response to sensory stimuli
A. the end of certain biological functions such as breathing
Which of the following is a reason for the decrease in height with age advancement?
A. brittleness of bones of the limbs
B. increase in weight
C. bone loss in the vertebrae
D. a stooping posture
C. bone loss in the vertebrae
According to Levinson, the transition to middle adulthood requires the adult male to come to grips with four major conflicts. Which of the following is one of the major conflicts?
A. being attractive versus being unattractive
B. being young versus being old
C. being married versus being single
D. being extroverted versus being introverted
B. being young versus being old
The vision of older adults can be affected by age-related changes. One of these changes that can make steps or street curbs difficult to manage is a decline in
A. ocular elasticity.
B. depth perception.
C. color vision.
D. eye–hand coordination.
B. depth perception.
Which of the following is likely to be an outcome of reminiscence therapy?
A. improved motor skills
B. physical well-being
C. improved life satisfaction
D. financial independence
C. improved life satisfaction
Turning off a respirator or a heart-lung machine is an example of _____ euthanasia.
A. deliberate
B. active
C. passive
D. sustained
C. passive
A recent study of middle-aged adults (Swainson, Ingle, & Carroll, 2019) found that _____ predicted lower rates of cardiovascular disease.
A. higher consumption levels of beef
B. regular consumption of red wine
C. frequent ingestion of hydroxychloroquine
D. higher cardiorespiratory fitness
D. higher cardiorespiratory fitness
Which of the following super traits deals with emotional stability and describes an individual as being either calm or anxious?
A. neuroticism
B. openness
C. extraversion
D. conscientiousness
A. neuroticism
In the context of work and aging, which of the following statements is true of older adults?
A. Employment gaps involving unemployment or sickness are associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.
B. When older adults engage in complex working tasks and challenging daily work activities, their cognitive functioning shows less age-related decline.
C. For older adults who work in low-complexity jobs, experiencing novelty in their work is linked with a reduction in processing speed and working memory.
D. Working in a job with a high level of mental demand is linked to lower levels of cognitive functioning before retirement in older adults.
B. When older adults engage in complex working tasks and challenging daily work activities, their cognitive functioning shows less age-related decline.
A recent study of older adult women (Spence, Jacobs, & Bifulco, 2020) found that avoidant attachment was linked to higher levels of
A. physical independence.
B. executive function.
C. social isolation.
D. emotional security.
C. social isolation.
_____ can be used to avoid the destructive impact of shock by delaying the necessity of dealing with one's death.
A. Anger
B. Denial
C. Depression
D. Acceptance
B. Denial
Sandra is turning 50 this year. At this age, she can expect certain age-related conditions to affect her—such as loss of strength in her legs and back and difficulty in viewing objects and hearing clearly. Of the vision-related issues that affect individuals, which of the following is Sandra most likely to experience because of her age?
A. difficulty in viewing close objects
B. difficulty in viewing complicated patterns
C. difficulty in viewing moving objects
D. difficulty in viewing bright objects
A. difficulty in viewing close objects
Which of the following is a major difference between Levinson's and Valliant's views on midlife?
A. Levinson maintains that the transition period to midlife is six years, while Valliant holds it to be eight years.
B. Unlike Levinson, Valliant's study was mainly focused on the White, middle-aged, upper-SES, male population.
C. Unlike Levinson, Valliant maintains that only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis.
D. Unlike Valliant, Levinson believes that only males experience a midlife crisis.
C. Unlike Levinson, Valliant maintains that only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis.
Aaron is a healthy, 65-year-old man. Compared with his 24-year-old son Harry, Aaron has much less brain volume. Which of the following is most likely the reason for this difference?
A. Harry has reduced tree-like branching in the dendrites of his brain.
B. Aaron is experiencing shrinkage of neurons.
C. Aaron has a thicker corpus callosum than Harry has.
D. Harry has a lower number of synapses than Aaron has.
B. Aaron is experiencing shrinkage of neurons.
Olivia believes that the more dynamic and involved older adults are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives. Thus, she believes in
A. Erikson's theory of integrity versus despair.
B. activity theory.
C. socioemotional selectivity theory.
D. selective optimization with compensation theory.
B. activity theory.
Terry is in the final stages of skin cancer, a condition that causes her severe pain and discomfort. At Terry's insistence and her family's approval, her doctor agrees to end her pain by administering a lethal dose of a drug. This is an example of _____ euthanasia.
A. passive
B. universally legal
C. natural
D. active
D. active
Jeanette, a 60-year-old woman, participates in a competition in which the participants are asked to memorize a list of words and then recall them in the same order in less than 2 minutes. In this competition, the participant who recalls the maximum number of words in the right order will be the winner. Unfortunately, Jeanette is not able to recall more than 10 words. In the context of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, Jeanette is most likely showing a decline in the mental ability referred to as
A. muscle memory.
B. verbal memory.
C. verbal comprehension.
D. implicit memory.
B. verbal memory.
Ronan is careless, impulsive, and disorganized. According to the Big Five personality factors, Ronan is most likely to score low on
A. openness to experience.
B. neuroticism.
C. conscientiousness.
D. agreeableness.
C. conscientiousness.
Cynthia is 91 years old. Doctors have found that Cynthia's optic nerves have been damaged because of accumulation of fluid in the eye. Cynthia is worried that she will lose her vision, but the doctor has told her that her condition can be treated with eye drops. The disease that has marred Cynthia's vision is
A. retinopathy.
B. macular degeneration.
C. glaucoma.
D. cataracts.
C. glaucoma.
The late Arthur Rubinstein, during his old age, maintained his status as an admired pianist by a few simple strategies. One of those was reducing the scope of his performances and playing fewer pieces. Which aspect of Baltes's theory does this reflect?
A. organization
B. compensation
C. optimization
D. selection
D. selection
Irene, a terminally ill cancer patient, has finally accepted the certainty of her death. Now, she refuses to have any visitors in her hospital room and spends most of her time crying and grieving. In this scenario, Irene is most likely in which of the following stages of dying?
A. depression
B. anger
C. bargaining
D. acceptance
A. depression