Question 1

In order to find a park in a strange area, a driver stops at a local petrol station to get directions. The attendant tells the driver, 'Go to the robot, turn right, go two blocks, turn left, and the park will be a kilometre down the road on the left.' The driver then gets in her car and tries to remember the directions while driving to the park. The player is demonstrating the use of

Accepted Answer

Working memory is the cognitive system that enables individuals to temporarily store and manipulate information in their mind. In this scenario, the driver is relying on her working memory to store the directions provided by the petrol station attendant while driving to the park.

Question 2

Which sleep complaint would one least expect from an older adult?

Accepted Answer

As people age, their sleep needs generally decrease, so it is uncommon for older adults to report sleeping too long. A, C, and D are all common sleep complaints among older adults.

Question 3

Presbycusis can occur due to all of these EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss and occurs due to the natural aging process. The receptor cells and neurons in the auditory pathway degenerate over time, and there is a diminished supply of nutrients to these cells. However, softening of the vibration structures in the receptor area is not a known cause of presbycusis.

Question 4

What is the name of the disease that occurs when there is above-normal sugar in the blood and urine caused by problems in metabolising carbohydrates?

Accepted Answer

Diabetes mellitus is the disease that occurs when there is above-normal sugar in the blood and urine caused by problems in metabolising carbohydrates. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes, Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss, and pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that affects the pancreas.

Question 5

Presbycusis is the most common age-related

Accepted Answer

Presbycusis is a type of hearing problem that occurs due to age-related changes in the inner ear. It is the most common type of hearing loss among older adults. It is not a form of dementia, visual disorder, or COPD.

Question 6

Age differences in divided attention tasks depend on the level of difficulty; on easy tasks there are ____ differences, but on hard tasks ____ adults do better

Accepted Answer

On easy tasks, there are no significant age differences in performance, but on more difficult divided attention tasks, younger adults tend to perform better.

Question 7

Losing one's hearing is least likely to result in increases in

Accepted Answer

Losing one's hearing can result in social isolation, paranoia, and depression. However, it is unlikely to increase independence as communication with others may become more difficult.

Question 8

As Dr Dlamini is interested in ____, she does research in which she always measures the reaction times of her subjects.

Accepted Answer

Reaction times are a standard measure of the speed of processing, which refers to how quickly an individual can perform cognitive tasks.

Question 9

How much energy the body needs is termed

Accepted Answer

Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life, including the processes by which the body converts food and drink into energy.

Question 10

To determine whether 80-year-old Maggie's brain is active while she is reading, ____ should be used.

Accepted Answer

A functional MRI (fMRI) measures changes in blood flow to different areas of the brain and can show which areas of the brain are active during specific tasks, such as reading. This would be the best choice for determining Maggie's brain activity while reading. MRI or PET scans alone would not provide the same level of detail regarding brain function. Psychomotor tests may be useful for assessing cognitive function, but may not specifically measure brain activity while reading.

Question 11

When older adults are asked to respond to an ambiguous question, one can expect

Accepted Answer

Older adults generally have slower processing speed and may require more time to understand and respond to ambiguous questions. This may result in slower response rates compared to younger adults.

Question 12

Who is most likely to develop cancer within the next year?

Accepted Answer

The risk of developing cancer generally increases with age, making Dumi, who is 88 years old, the most likely to develop cancer within the next year.

Question 13

The only universal behaviour change in ageing that has been discovered is the fact that older adults

Accepted Answer

The only universal behaviour change in ageing that has been discovered is a slowing down of reaction times, which affects cognitive performance, driving ability, and other everyday activities.

Question 14

Psychomotor slowing is a good predictor of cognitive performance in older adulthood

Accepted Answer

Psychomotor slowing specifically affects the speed of physical movements and response times, which can have a negative impact on cognitive performance on tasks that require quick and efficient processing. This would not necessarily impact cognitive performance on tasks that do not require much effort or that do not involve physical responses.

Question 15

The most normative hearing-related change in adulthood involves the inability to hear

Accepted Answer

The most normative hearing-related change in adulthood is a decline in the ability to hear high-pitched tones, a phenomenon known as presbycusis. This occurs due to age-related changes in the inner ear, including the loss of hair cells that are responsible for detecting high-frequency sounds. The ability to hear voices, bass sounds, and loud tones may also be affected by presbycusis, but the loss of high-pitched tones is the most common and earliest change.

Question 16

The process of simultaneously holding and using information to solve a problem relies most heavily on ____ memory.

Accepted Answer

The process of simultaneously holding and using information to solve a problem requires the use of working memory. Working memory is a type of short-term memory that allows us to hold information in our minds for brief periods of time while we use it to perform a task or solve a problem. This type of memory is essential for many daily activities, such as mental math, following directions, and making decisions. Long-term memory is used to store information for extended periods of time, while sensory memory holds sensory information for a brief moment before it is either discarded or moved into working memory. Implicit memory refers to memories that are unconsciously acquired, such as how to ride a bike or tie your shoes.

Question 17

Hlengiwe is buying a bulb that will light up when someone rings her doorbell. She is buying this because although she can hear people fairly well during normal conversations, she has a very difficult time hearing the high-pitched sound of the doorbell. Hlengiwe is most likely experiencing

Accepted Answer

Presbycusis is age-related hearing loss, which typically affects one's ability to hear high-pitched sounds, such as doorbells. This is likely the cause of Hlengiwe's difficulty hearing her doorbell. Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and COPD are unrelated medical conditions that would not impact Hlengiwe's ability to hear the doorbell.

Question 18

If older adults practise making quick responses, reaction times

Accepted Answer

Practice can improve reaction times in older adults, but it is unlikely that they can be eliminated. However, regular practice can help reduce the reaction times, making them quicker and more efficient.

Question 19

Xolile is a social worker. Part of his job is doing safety inspections at the places where his older adults live. What would Xolile not want to see in these homes?

Accepted Answer

Throw rugs on floors can be a tripping hazard for older adults, and can lead to falls and injuries.

Question 20

While at a conference dealing with issues related to ageing, Dikeledi is interested in learning about how sleep patterns change in late life. She will be best served by attending a presentation entitled '____ and the elderly.'

Accepted Answer

Circadian rhythms refer to the natural changes in the body's sleep-wake cycle over a 24-hour period. As people age, these rhythms can become disrupted, leading to changes in sleep patterns. Therefore, attending a presentation about circadian rhythms and the elderly would provide insight into this topic. The other options, neuritic plaques, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and selectivity, are not directly related to sleep patterns in late life.

Quiz 14: The Personal Context of Later Life: Physical, Cognitive, and Mental Health Issues