Chapter 5 – Adulthood and Old Age
Menopause – the biological event in which a woman’s production of sex hormones is sharply reduced
Generativity – the desire, in middle age, to use one’s accumulated wisdom to guide future generations
Stagnation – a discontinuation of development and a desire to recapture the past
Decremental model of aging – idea that progressive physical and mental decline are inevitable with age
Ageism – prejudice or discrimination against the elderly
Senile dementia – decreases in mental abilities experienced by some people in old age
Alzheimer’s disease – a condition that destroys a person’s ability to think, remember, relate to others and care for herself or himself
Thanatology – the student of dying and death
Hospice – a facility designed to care for the special needs of the dying
Notes:
Adulthood – is a time of transition. It involves shifting priorities and outlooks on life from adolescence and throughout the remainder of life
For most adults the process of physical decline is slow and gradual
The adult years are a time when lifestyle may set the stage for problems that will show up then or in later life
Good physical and mental health seem to be the key factors affecting sexual activity in adulthood
The ability to comprehend new material and to think flexibility improves in early adulthood, and overall intelligence improves with age
An individual’s basic character remain relatively stable throughout life
Old Age – As we age, our priorities and expectations change to match realities, and we experience losses as well as gains.
The misbelief that progressive physical and mental decline in inevitable with age has resulted in a climate of prejudice against old age
The health of older people, for the most part, is related to their health when they are younger
In late adulthood, life transitions are often negative and reduce responsibilities and increase isolation
The frequency and regularity of sexual activities during earlier years is the best overall predictor of such activities in later years.
Crystallized intelligence, or the ability to use accumulated knowledge and learning in appropriate situations, increases with age, fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve abstract relational problems and to generate new hypotheses, decreases with age
Dying and Death – death is inevitable. Most people face death by going through stages or an adjustment process
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified five stages of psychological adjustment to death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
A hospice is a special place where terminally ill people go to die; it is designed to make the patient’s surrounding pleasant and comfortable.