Question 1

Early cross-sectional research usually showed that crystallized intelligence reaches its peak during ; fluid intelligence reaches its peak during .
A) middle adulthood; adolescence
B) middle adulthood; middle adulthood
C) early adulthood; middle adulthood
D) adolescence; early adulthood

Accepted Answer

Early cross-sectional research consistently showed that crystallized intelligence, which reflects knowledge acquired through education and experience, continues to increase throughout adulthood and may even peak in middle age. On the other hand, fluid intelligence, which involves problem-solving and abstract reasoning, tends to peak in adolescence or early adulthood and then declines gradually with age.

Question 2

If you were going to advise a middle-aged adult on how to best maintain and improve her cognitive abilities into older adulthood, your best advice would be to tell her to:
A) quit working, relax, and watch more TV
B) stay intellectually engaged in complex tasks
C) create a stable routine, in which the tasks she does are done repeatedly so forgetting does not occur
D) make sure she gets enough sleep each night so her brain has a chance to store the new information she learned that day

Accepted Answer

As the text notes, engaging in complex tasks throughout adulthood seems to be a key in maintaining intellectual processes at their highest possible levels.

Question 3

According to the text, about what percent of the adult population either maintains a stable level of intellectual performance or increases their performance well into their 70s?
A) about 40-45%
B) about 60-70%
C) about 80-85%
D) nearly 100%

Accepted Answer

The text notes that when we look at how individuals change as they grow older, we find that 45 to 60% of people maintain a stable level of overall intellectual performance-both fluid and crystallized-well into their 70s. An additional 10-15% show increases in performance into their mid-70s.

Question 4

In comparison to how well a group of young adults performs, a group of older adults would likely perform LEAST well on which of the following tasks?
A) typing quickly and accurately
B) spelling
C) recalling historical facts, such as the
D) reading for meaning

Accepted Answer

The most noticeable decline in abilities associated with aging involves tasks that require speed. Typing is such a task. Other types of knowledge do not show as much age-related decline, if any decline at all.

Question 5

Which of the following provides the best example of declarative knowledge?
A) being able to operate a computer program, such as Word
B) knowing the names of the capitals of the states in the United States
C) hitting a serve in a tennis game
D) driving a car

Accepted Answer

Declarative knowledge is factual knowledge - it is what you know, such as names of the state capitals. The other options all reflect procedural knowledge - knowing how to do something.

Question 6

If you were to choose a few words to describe how an older adult's cognitive processes differ from those of a younger adult, you would be most accurate to conclude that the older adult's mental processes were:
A) less complex and slower
B) less complex but faster
C) more complex but slower
D) more complex and faster

Accepted Answer

If there is a decline in intellectual functioning associated with age, it is most likely to be seen in tasks involving speed, since various psychomotor processes gradually begin to slow down in middle age. Such declines are commonly compensated by increases in efficiency and general knowledge, contributing to more complexity.

Question 7

In earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, the typical finding was that crystallized intelligence _________ and fluid intelligence _________ during middle adulthood.
A) remained the same or increased; remained the same or increased
B) declined; declined
C) remained the same or increased; declined
D) declined; remained the same or increased

Accepted Answer

Crystallized intelligence typically remains the same or increases during middle adulthood due to the accumulation of knowledge and experience, while fluid intelligence tends to decline during this time due to declines in processing speed and problem-solving abilities.

Question 8

This type of skill is action-oriented, involving how activities are carried out:
A) declarative knowledge
B) procedural knowledge
C) crystallized intelligence
D) fluid intelligence

Accepted Answer

Procedural knowledge includes one's knowledge of how to carry out activities.

Question 9

If you are tested longitudinally for skills involving the use of crystallized intelligence, at which of the following ages would you expect to have the highest score?
A) age 20
B) age 30
C) age 40
D) age 50

Accepted Answer

Research shows that crystallized intelligence remains high and perhaps even increases throughout middle age, thus the oldest person should have the highest score with regard to crystallized intelligence.

Question 10

Marge has acquired knowledge of the law through her 30 years as a litigator and from her years studying in law school. Her knowledge, accumulated over the years, is called:
A) fluid intelligence
B) mechanical intelligence
C) pragmatic intelligence
D) crystallized intelligence

Accepted Answer

Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge and skills based on education and life experiences.

Question 11

According to earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, scores on which of the following tests would be most likely to decline the LEAST with age?
A) vocabulary
B) figural relations
C) overall intelligence
D) inductive reasoning

Accepted Answer

Vocabulary is considered a crystallized intelligence task, meaning it relies on previously acquired knowledge and is less likely to decline with age compared to fluid intelligence tasks such as inductive reasoning or figural relations. Overall intelligence is a broad construct that encompasses both crystallized and fluid intelligence, so it may show some decline with age.

Question 12

The age-related changes that occur in intellectual skills have been traced to which of the following brain changes?
A) enlargement of the cerebellum, which controls balance and some motor control
B) shrinkage of the prefrontal regions of the brain
C) build up of protein plaques around the axons in the hypothalamus
D) enlargement of the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right hemisphere, thereby making transfer of information slower

Accepted Answer

As people age, there is a reduction in the size and metabolism of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functioning, attention, and working memory. This leads to declines in intellectual skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, and planning.

Question 13

An older adult's ability to recall well a second language used and practiced mostly in early adulthood would best be considered an example of:
A) fluid intelligence
B) crystallized intelligence
C) mechanical intelligence
D) practical intelligence

Accepted Answer

Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge and skills based on education and life experiences. Recalling a language reflects this type of intelligence.

Question 14

Since Ed has been a tax attorney for over 25 years, he is now able to analyze clients' problems and draw conclusions from experience-based information and knowledge. Although he does not solve problems as quickly as he did when he was younger, his solutions are more complex and therefore better. The fact that his solutions are more complex best illustrates which of the following concepts?
A) crystallized intelligence
B) fluid intelligence
C) cognitive mechanics
D) inductive reasoning

Accepted Answer

Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge and skills based on education and life experiences. It is logical that this accumulation of a variety of knowledge and skills would allow Ed to develop more complex solutions. In fact, research has shown that crystallized intelligence remains high and perhaps even increases throughout middle age.

Question 15

Since 1900, the life expectancy at birth in the United States has increased by about:
A) 10 years
B) 18 years
C) 24 years
D) 31 years

Accepted Answer

In 1900, the average life expectancy at birth was 47.3 years; in 1950, it was 68.2 years; in 2000, it was 77.0 years; and by 2020, it is expected to be 79.5 years. Thus, today the difference is about 31 years.

Question 16

According to the results of the MIDUS survey, the words that best describe the respondents of minority status who were economically poor, would be:
A) "they did the best they could"
B) "they gave up too easily"
C) "they wasted their chances"
D) "their resentment made it impossible for them to succeed"

Accepted Answer

The survey generally showed that hard-working, proud, low-income minority adults in their 40s and 50s had usually done the best they could with the cards they were dealt, which included such things as caring for grandchildren, wrestling with chronic disease, and lacking retirement and health care coverage.

Question 17

Which of the following terms come closest to meaning the same thing as "factual knowledge" ?
A) declarative knowledge
B) procedural knowledge
C) crystallized intelligence
D) fluid intelligence

Accepted Answer

Declarative knowledge is defined as factual knowledge.

Question 18

According to the text
A) less; more
B) more; less
C) less; less
D) more; more

Accepted Answer

The text suggests that the first quantity is less and the second quantity is more.

Question 19

Intelligence that comes with experience and education and is based on the body of knowledge and information accumulated over the years is called:
A) fluid intelligence
B) crystallized intelligence
C) declarative intelligence
D) pragmatic intelligence

Accepted Answer

Crystallized intelligence is the intelligence that comes with experience and education and is based on the body of knowledge and information accumulated over the years. It is different from fluid intelligence, which refers to the ability to solve new problems, independent of knowledge gained through experience. Declarative intelligence and pragmatic intelligence are not commonly used terms in psychology.

Question 20

According to earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, scores on which of the following tests would be most likely to DECREASE most substantially with age?
A) vocabulary
B) general information
C) overall intelligence
D) inductive reasoning

Accepted Answer

Inductive reasoning involves the ability to understand abstract relationships and draw conclusions based on them. This is considered a more complex cognitive task than vocabulary or general information, and is more likely to decline with age. Overall intelligence is a broad construct that includes multiple cognitive abilities, so it may not necessarily decrease significantly with age.

Quiz 14: Middle Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Development

Early cross-sectional research usually showed that crystallized intelligence reaches its peak during ; fluid intelligence reaches its peak during .

If you were going to advise a middle-aged adult on how to best maintain and improve her cognitive abilities into older adulthood, your best advice would be to tell her to:

According to the text, about what percent of the adult population either maintains a stable level of intellectual performance or increases their performance well into their 70s?

In comparison to how well a group of young adults performs, a group of older adults would likely perform LEAST well on which of the following tasks?

Which of the following provides the best example of declarative knowledge?

If you were to choose a few words to describe how an older adult's cognitive processes differ from those of a younger adult, you would be most accurate to conclude that the older adult's mental processes were:

In earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, the typical finding was that crystallized intelligence _ and fluid intelligence _ during middle adulthood.

This type of skill is action-oriented, involving how activities are carried out:

If you are tested longitudinally for skills involving the use of crystallized intelligence, at which of the following ages would you expect to have the highest score?

Marge has acquired knowledge of the law through her 30 years as a litigator and from her years studying in law school. Her knowledge, accumulated over the years, is called:

According to earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, scores on which of the following tests would be most likely to decline the LEAST with age?

The age-related changes that occur in intellectual skills have been traced to which of the following brain changes?

An older adult's ability to recall well a second language used and practiced mostly in early adulthood would best be considered an example of:

Since 1900, the life expectancy at birth in the United States has increased by about:

According to the results of the MIDUS survey, the words that best describe the respondents of minority status who were economically poor, would be:

Which of the following terms come closest to meaning the same thing as "factual knowledge" ?

According to the text

Intelligence that comes with experience and education and is based on the body of knowledge and information accumulated over the years is called:

According to earlier cross-sectional studies of age-related changes in intelligence, scores on which of the following tests would be most likely to DECREASE most substantially with age?