13: Later Life - Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Development

Question 1

the age at which 50% of a population is older and 50% is younger - rising due to baby boomers, longevity, and low fertility

Answer 1

median age

Question 2

people in their sixties and seventies, who are still relatively healthy

Answer 2

young-old

Question 3

people age 80 and older, who have declined physically

Answer 3

old-old

Question 4

stereotypical and intensely negative ideas about old age

Answer 4

ageism

Question 5

a difficult memory challenge involving memorizing material while simultaneously monitoring something else - becomes almost impossible in old age

Answer 5

divided-attention task

Question 6

a framework that divides memory into three types - procedural, semantic, and episodic memory

Answer 6

memory-systems perspective

Question 7

in the memory-systems perspective, the most resilient type of memory - refers to material, such as well-learned physical skills, that we automatically recall without conscious awareness (second nature)

Answer 7

procedural memory

Question 8

in the memory-systems perspective, a moderately resilient type of memory - refers to our ability to recall basic facts (ex. George Washington is first president)

Answer 8

semantic memory

Question 9

in the memory-systems perspective, the most fragile type of memory, involving the recall of the ongoing events of daily life

Answer 9

episodic memory

Question 10

a strategy for aiding memory by using imagery or enhancing the emotional meaning of what needs to be learned (“I’ll remember Mrs. White by her white hair”)

Answer 10

mnemonic technique

Question 11

Laura Carstensen’s theory of aging, describing how knowing the amount of time we have left to live affects our priorities and social relationships - people in later life prioritize the present and being with their closest attachment figures

Answer 11

socioemotional selectivity theory

Question 12

the fact that, despite their physical and mental losses, elderly people report being just as happy and often happier than younger adults - optimism takes an upswing in later life

Answer 12

paradox of well-being

Question 13

older people’s tendency to focus on positive experiences and screen out negative events

Answer 13

positivity effect

Question 14

Erikson’s eighth psychosocial stage, in which elderly people decide that their life missions have been fulfilled and so accept impending death

Answer 14

integrity

Question 15

U.S. government’s national retirement support program - paid by current working adults to fund today’s retirees

Answer 15

Social Security

Question 16

the major source of nongovernmental income support for U.S. retirees, in which workers and an employer put a portion of each paycheck into an account to help finance retirement

Answer 16

private pensions

Question 17

illegally laying off workers or failing to hire or promote people on the basis of age

Answer 17

age discrimination

Question 18

fraction of people over age 60 compared to younger, working-age adults - ratio has been rising dramatically in recent decades

Answer 18

old-age dependency ratio

Question 19

balancing the needs of younger and older people - the idea that U.S. government entitlements, such as Medicare and Social Security, “over-benefit” older adults at younger people’s expense

Answer 19

intergenerational equity

Question 20

an elevated risk of death among surviving spouses after being widowed

Answer 20

widowhood mortality effect