Deck 5: The Psychology of Aging

Question 1

Recent research on mental ability in old age indicates that

A) gradual changes occur in mental ability as a person ages.
B) no changes occur in mental ability as a person ages.
C) people do not adapt very well to changes in mental ability.
D) dramatic changes occur in mental ability in later life.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Memory refers to

A) the learning process.
B) recall after learning.
C) information gathering.
D) the storage of information.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is not an element in the process of remembering?

A) sensory memory
B) short-term memory
C) long-term memory
D) working memory

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Studies find that older people may perform better than younger people when tested on

A) short-term memory.
B) long-term memory.
C) emotional memory.
D) recall memory.

Question 5

Studies have found the greatest difference in function between young and old people in ________ memory.

A) short-term
B) sensory
C) recall
D) episodic

Question 6

A number of studies report a decrease in ________ memory with age.

A) short-term
B) sensory
C) working
D) long-term

Question 7

Working memory selects, manipulates, and stores ________ memory.

A) sensory
B) short-term
C) long-term
D) recent

Question 8

The process of long-term memory does not include

A) perception.
B) encoding.
C) storage.
D) retrieval.

Question 9

According to Salthouse (1996), ________ processing speed underlies much of the age-related decline in mental ability found in research.

A) increased
B) decreased
C) erratic
D) fluctuating

Question 10

Recent work supports the idea that changes in the structure and function of ________ lead to changes in cognitive performance.

A) the body
B) the body and brain
C) the brain
D) physical activity

Question 11

In the laboratory, older people do less well than younger people when they have to learn

A) under time pressure.
B) irrelevant information.
C) under time pressure or irrelevant information.
D) irrelevant information under time pressure.

Question 12

Researchers conclude that older people do as well as younger people

A) in problem-solving situations.
B) in solving problems in defined situations.
C) on problems related to real-life dilemmas.
D) in answering clearly structured problems.

Question 13

Meade and Park (2009) say that ________ allows older people to act effectively as they age.

A) flexibility in brain function
B) medical science
C) technology
D) stress

Question 14

According to the "brain reserve hypothesis," intelligence, ________, an active lifestyle, genetic makeup, or a large brain provide a reserve capacity.

A) wealth
B) education
C) medicine
D) technology

Question 15

Phillips and her colleagues (2006) found that people show a decline in performance based on ________ for abstract planning tasks.

A) socioeconomic statuses
B) gender
C) age
D) education

Question 16

Researchers conclude that a decrease in ________ account(s) for the decrease in performance by older subjects on abstract tasks.

A) information processing speed
B) education
C) health
D) information processing speed and education

Question 17

Craik (2000) reports that ________ memory shows little decline with age.

A) working
B) semantic
C) long-term
D) short-term

Question 18

Recent studies show that older people can improve their mental performance through

A) training and practice.
B) diet.
C) exercise.
D) recall.

Question 19

According to Dixon and Cohen (2001), ________ can improve with age.

A) competence
B) long-term memory
C) short-term memory
D) sensory memory

Question 20

Studies of memory in everyday life show that healthy older people

A) function well throughout life.
B) rapidly decline after age 65.
C) improve as they age.
D) become forgetful.

Question 21

________ refers to the mind's ability to function.

A) Memory
B) Semantic memory
C) Intelligence
D) Comprehension

Question 22

Studies up to the 1960s used cross-sectional methods. They showed a peak in intelligence around age ________ and a steady decline after that.

A) 30
B) 40
C) 55
D) 65

Question 23

Longitudinal studies showed a decline in intelligence after age

A) 30.
B) 40.
C) 50.
D) 60.

Question 24

Laboratory studies reveal a systematic ________ in memory with age.

A) decline
B) loss
C) fluctuation
D) improvement

Question 25

Horn and Cattell propose a multidimensional mode of intelligence composed of

A) fluid intelligence and comprehension.
B) crystallized intelligence and comprehension.
C) fluid and crystallized intelligence.
D) comprehension and organization.

Question 26

Researchers suggest that ________ declines after adulthood.

A) crystallized intelligence
B) fluid intelligence
C) crystallized and fluid intelligence
D) memory

Question 27

Studies found declines in crystallized intelligence after age

A) 14
B) 55.
C) 60.
D) 90.

Question 28

The ________ model of mental development describes how individuals can experience "adaptive reconfiguration of the existing behavioral repertoire" without changes in the brain's structure.

A) flexibility
B) psychometric
C) compensatory
D) active life management

Question 29

Research shows that ________ can enhance mental ability at any age.

A) training
B) practice
C) education
D) training, practice, and education

Question 30

According to Stern (2007), activities such as ________ seem to contribute to cognitive reserve.

A) education
B) leisure activities
C) education, literacy, and leisure activities
D) leisure activities and literacy

Question 31

Research suggests that ________ can delay or compensate for mental decline.

A) a healthy lifestyle
B) wealth
C) a sedentary lifestyle
D) cognitive training

Question 32

Studies on aging and mental potential suggest that ________ help maintain good mental function.

A) education
B) physical activities
C) education and training
D) education, training, and physical activities

Question 33

A person who displays wisdom has

A) no knowledge about the practical aspects of life.
B) a good ability to solve problems in defined situations.
C) good structured problem-solving skills.
D) insight into life's conditions and shows good judgment.

Question 34

Wisdom makes older people

A) more skilled at working on problems related to real-life situations.
B) boring and tiresome.
C) less able to enhance the quality of life for everyone.
D) less able to function in daily life.

Question 35

________ improves with age despite a decline in ________.

A) Fluid intelligence; social reasoning
B) Social reasoning; fluid intelligence
C) Crystalized intelligence; social reasoning
D) Semantic memory; social reasoning

Question 36

Cohen (2005) calls the development of wisdom in later life

A) fluid intelligence.
B) crystallized intelligence.
C) developmental intelligence.
D) plasticity.

Question 37

Cohen's brain research (2005) describes three ways that wisdom can manifest as developmental intelligence in older people. Which of the following is not a form of developmental intelligence?

A) relativistic thinking
B) socialistic thinking
C) dualistic thinking
D) systematic thinking

Question 38

In some fields, like ________, older people can produce more creative works than younger people.

A) physics
B) mathematics
C) history
D) sports

Question 39

According to Lehman (1968), in general, ________ decreases with age.

A) creativity
B) wealth
C) physical activity
D) mental development

Question 40

________ developed a model of the life course that has eight stages.

A) Freud
B) Erikson
C) Novak
D) Jung

Question 41

Erikson describes ________ as a time of life that emphasizes inwardness and reflection.

A) adulthood
B) infancy
C) old age
D) childhood

Question 42

Other life span psychologists have expanded Erikson's last stage of life. They recognize this stage as a time

A) of development and growth.
B) of death.
C) of despair.
D) for reducing activity.

Question 43

Research findings raise questions about Erikson's stages. They point to a more ________ pattern of development.

A) universal
B) rigid
C) varied
D) stable

Question 44

According to the text, critics of stage models call for a more ________ model of the self in later life.

A) reflective
B) universal
C) rigid
D) flexible

Question 45

Aging poses a number of challenges to a person's sense of self. These challenges come from at least three sources:

A) social attitudes, physical decline, and loss of social roles.
B) social attitudes, physical decline, and social norms.
C) retirement, widowhood, and empty nest.
D) impulses, instinct, and fear.

Question 46

Tomstam (2005) describes the expanded self and a cosmic view of the meaning of life that can emerge in old age as ________.

A) Gerogoical
B) Altruogical
C) a normal part of growing older
D) gerotranscendence

Question 47

Studies show that spiritual practices can lead to

A) poor health.
B) a decline in health, but an improvement in social relations.
C) a decline in satisfaction.
D) better health, social relations, and life satisfaction.

Question 48

A Gallup poll (Newport, 2006) found that __% of older people consider religion very important to them.

A) 10
B) 18
C) 52
D) 74

Question 49

An AARP study found that __% of Baby Boomers reported satisfaction with their spiritual and religious lives.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 47
D) 89

Question 50

Research on ________ finds a decrease in religious participation within the cohort.

A) the Baby Boom generation
B) older African Americans
C) Mexican Americans
D) women

Question 51

Social psychologists propose at least three ways for a person to adapt to challenges as they age. According to the text, which theory is not a social psychological change?

A) disengagement theory
B) dependency theory
C) continuity theory
D) activity theory

Question 52

Disengagement theory sees ________ as inevitable and satisfying to the individual and society.

A) aging
B) death
C) withdrawal
D) sickness

Question 53

Most recent research finds that ________ leads to higher life satisfaction in later life.

A) widowhood
B) mandatory retirement
C) inactivity
D) activity

Question 54

Continuity theory suggest that mildly active people in their middle years will

A) feel most satisfied with a mildly active old age.
B) look forward to retirement.
C) become inactive in old age.
D) become extremely active in old age.

Question 55

Studies suggest that the disengagement theory may apply best to people in

A) middle age.
B) late old age.
C) adolescence.
D) old age.

Question 56

The main psychological problems in old age are

A) organic diseases.
B) Alzheimer's disease and other mental disorders.
C) depression and suicide.
D) organic and functional disorders.

Question 57

Functional and cognitive disorders are examples of

A) normative aging.
B) abnormal aging.
C) history graded life events.
D) environmental effects.

Question 58

Psychological problems like loneliness, depression, and thoughts of suicide are called ________ disorders.

A) organic
B) developmental
C) functional
D) proactive

Question 59

Functional disorders have no ________ cause.

A) psychological
B) social
C) financial
D) biological

Question 60

Some older people suffer from diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and strokes. These are called

A) social problems.
B) organic diseases.
C) inorganic diseases.
D) psychological diseases.

Question 61

________ is the most common form of dementia among older people.

A) Alzheimer's
B) Parkinson's
C) Paranoia
D) Schizophrenia

Question 62

Functional disorders have roots in a person's

A) social setting.
B) psychology.
C) social setting and psychology.
D) physiology.

Question 63

Which cause does not contribute to the high rates of suicide among old people?

A) depression
B) loneliness
C) alcoholism
D) social interaction

Question 64

Blazer (2003) calls ________ the most frequent cause of suffering in later life.

A) depression
B) loneliness
C) illness
D) social conditions

Question 65

Researchers find that depression, isolation, loneliness, bereavement, and illness all put older people at risk of

A) apathy.
B) poor ability to concentrate.
C) insomnia.
D) suicide.

Question 66

Researchers suggest that maintaining ________ can buffer depression and suicidal thoughts.

A) social supports
B) medicine
C) a physician
D) social supports, a hobby, good physical health, a religious practice, and a positive state of mind