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Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Middle Adulthood Physical and Cognitive Development
Chapter 14
14
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Middle AdulthoodPhysical and Cognitive Development
• Development in Middle Adulthood
• Physical Continuity and Change
• Disease and Health
• Cognitive Continuity and Change
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Development in Middle Adulthood
• Middle adulthood is usually defined as the ages of 40 to 60 or 65.
• People enter at different ages, depending on different cues:– social and family status
– physical and biological status
– psychological state
– job or career path
– economic and historical events
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Development in Middle Adulthood
• Prime Time or the Beginning of the End?
– Many realize that they are no longer young, but feel in the “prime of life”
– They are the command generation, making policy decisions that affect us all
– For some, middle age is a time of ambivalence
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Development in Middle Age
• Midlife Crisis: Is It Real?
• The crisis model of Daniel Levinson argues that men experience midlife crisis between the ages of 40 and 45.
• The transition model maintains that crises are event-related, not age-related
• Middle age is a time when people begin to take stock of their lives
• Midlife crisis is the exception rather than the rule
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Physical Continuity and Change
• The most obvious changes associated with middle years are physical
• Physical abilities peak in early adulthood
• Changes in capabilities include:
– sensation
– motor skills and reaction time
– internal changes
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Physical Changes of Middle Adulthood
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Physical Changes
• The Climacteric – Broad complex of physical and emotional symptoms that accompany reproductive changes in middle adulthood
• In women, the most dramatic aspect is menopause. Menopause involves:
– physical changes and symptoms
– emotional effects
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Physical Changes—Climacteric
• Menopause typically occurs between ages of 45 and 55
• Some women take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to deal with symptoms
• Male hormones decline gradually in middle age and some men experience decreased sexual desire
• Men may suffer erectile dysfunction; drugs are available for treatment
• Frequency of sexual activity declines, time for orgasm increases for men and women
• Sexual partners place more emphasis on sensuality
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Video Clip
Video on the usefulness and the risk factors related with bioidentical hormone treatments for menopause:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItyGSbpe0Pk
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disease and Health
• As people age, they become more vulnerable to disease
• Most deaths in middle age are from cancer and heart attacks
• Women are generally more healthy than men
• Education level is related to health quality
• Longevity is related to good health habits
• Poor habits—especially smoking and over eating—take their toll in middle age
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Causes of Death in Middle Adulthood, 2005
SOURCE: From the Statistical abstract of the United States: 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau, 2009. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Offices.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Limitation of Activity Caused by Chronic Health Conditions, 2004-2005
SOURCE: From National Health Interview Survey: 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Age-adjusted Death Rates by Sex, 2005
SOURCE: From Health, United States, 2007, by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2009. Hyattsville, MD: Author.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Death Rates From All Causes According to Educational Level, 2005
SOURCE: From Health, United States: 2007, by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2009. Hyattsville, MD: Author.
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disease and Health
• Smoking, Alcohol, and Obesity
– Nearly 25% of adults smoke
– Smoking is responsible for more than 25% of all deaths among people ages 35 to 64
– Alcohol consumption is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
– Today, 65% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disease and Health
• Stress and Health– Stress is a normal part of life, but excessive
stress plays a role in many diseases of middle adulthood
– Extreme or prolonged stress weakens the immune system
– Adults who live in poverty or who are members of disadvantaged minority groups have higher stress levels, poorer health and earlier death
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Stress Scale for Selected Life Events, 1967 and 2007
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disease and Health
• Members of disadvantaged minority groups and those who live in poverty are more likely to have:
– poor health habits
– less access to health care
– lower levels of educational attainment
• All of these factors are linked to higher rates of chronic disease and early death
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cognitive Continuity and Change
• Cognitive function declines with age, though in middle adulthood it is not serious nor universal
• Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence
– Fluid – abilities involved in acquiring new knowledge and skills
– Crystallized – cognitive pragmatics, accumulated knowledge
– Over time, fluid intelligence generally decreases and crystallized intelligence generally increases
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Crystallized vs. Fluid Intelligence
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cross-Sectional Comparison of Changes in Intellectual Abilities with Age
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cognitive Continuity and Change
• Experience and Expertise– If a person is intellectually active, both
declarative and procedural knowledge increase and contribute to one’s expertise
– There may be age-related declines in functioning, but expertise allows for compensation
– As people gain experience, individuals continually restructure their knowledge system
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Video Clip
Interview with AARP Workforce Issues Director discussing the changing nature of the nation’s older workforce:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDsxNKxbBOc
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Video Clip
Describes a program that aims to attract and retain older workers at Scottsdale Healthcare:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAD_yF4SPe0
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cognitive Continuity and Change
• Today, adults have many more years to work than they did in 1900, when average life expectancy was 47.3 years
• Average life expectancy in 2000 was 77 years
• Intellectual flexibility is important to employment success
• Engaging in complex tasks seems to be a key in maintaining intellectual processes at their highest possible levels
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Summary
• Middle adulthood constitutes a substantial portion of a person’s normal life span
• People in middle age make up the command generation
• Some adults experience a midlife crisis, but not all do
• The most obvious changes during this period are physical ones. Physical abilities begin to decline around the age of 50
• Women experience menopause; men may face impotence, and the frequency of sexual activity declines
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Summary
• Most death during this stage is from cancer and heart-attacks
• Women are generally healthier than men• Poor health habits begin to take their toll here,
with smoking, obesity, and excessive alcohol consumption being the three leading preventable causes of death
• Some adults at this stage experience excessive stress due to life events
• Cognitive functioning may decline, but age may bring with it expert knowledge
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Summary
• The average life expectancy today is 77 years, increasing the time adults are on the job
• Intellectual flexibility is becoming more important in this age of technology
• Engaging in complex tasks will help adults maintain a high level of intellectual functioning