Unit 1 Flashcards
(14 cards)
Describe three principles of the lifespan perspective.
- Development = both gains and
losses - With age, more losses and fewer gains. - Development is plastic, capacity for change in response to environmental demands - Declines with age
- Development occurs in historical, contextual, dynamic systems
Define primary, secondary, and tertiary aging. Give an example of each.
Primary aging - aging that is experienced by all people. Example: the loss of melanin which results in grey hair.
Secondary aging - non-normative changes caused by illnesses, injuries and the environment. Example: Diabetes
Tertiary aging refers to the physical and cognitive deteriorations signaling impending death. Example: rapid loss of cognitive abilities shortly before death
Compare and contrast three ways of conceptualizing “age.”
Chronological age - time since birth
Biological age/physical age - depends on physical well being
Perceived age - feeling like you’re 30 when you’re 50 or the other way around
Sociocultural age - women being considered adults when having menstruation in some places
Describe the three types of gene-environment correlations. Give an example of each.
Three types of gene-environment correlations are passive, evocative and active.
Passive gene-environment:
Correlations refer to that environment is supportive of both parent & offspring genes. In adulthood, influence through assortative mating.
Evocative gene-environment:
Correlations refer to phenotypic variation elicits different environmental responses, halo-effect
Active gene-environment
Correlations refer to “niche picking”, phenotype drive us to pick our environment.
Compare and contrast gene-environment interactions with gene-environment correlations. Compare and contrast gene-environement interactions with epigentic effects.
Gene-environment interactions:
Are genotypic variation, specific genotype has potential. Phenotype expressed only when triggered by environment. Example a teenager smoking weed which in turn triggers schizophrenia.
Gene-environment interactions are useful for understanding some diseases, individuals with different genotypes are affected differently by exposure to the same environmental factors, for example skin cancer
Gene-environment correlations:
Passive means that environment supportive of both parent and offspring genes. In adulthood it influences through assortative mating. Evocative means phenotypic variation elicits different environmental responses. Niche picking is an example of active, phenotypes drive us to pick our environment.
Epigenetic inheritance:
Is change in phenotype as a result of environmental trigger. Example is transgenerational transmission of trauma, where trauma leads to DNA methylation and suppresses transcription. Transcription errors passed on to offspring through changed to gemes or during pregnancy. Example, offspring to those who were in holocaust, or first-nation residential schools & trauma in Canada
There’s an interplay between genes & environment in 2 major ways:
Where genes influence exposure to environments – gene-environment correlations
Where genes influence sensitivity to environmental exposure – gene-environment interaction
Epigenetics looks beyond the genotype itself & studies how the same genotype can be expressed in different ways. Same genotype leads to different phenotypes
Name, define, and give an example of each system of influence described in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model.
Compare and contrast age-graded influences with history-graded influences.
Age-graded influence is experienced by a whole population and experienced at specific age or age range. Example: menopause (biological) and retirement (sociocultural)
History-graded influence is experienced by a whole population but experienced during a historic time-period, such as cataclysmic events, epidemics(biological) etc.
Compare and contrast cross-sectional designs, longitudinal designs, and sequential designs.
Cross-sectional designs:
One assessment, different ages. Age-related differences not change. Age-cohort confounded.
Developmental differences are identified by testing people of different ages at the same time. Allow researchers to examine age differences but not age changes. Learn nothing about the continuity of development because only one assessment
Confounds: age & cohort
Longitudinal designs:
Multiple assessment, same age. Change but may not generalize to other cohorts or provide reliable estimate of change. At least three waves, more assessments – the better, varied ‘lags’ between assessment.
The same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different point in their lives. Age changes can be identified.
Confounds: age & time of measurement
Cohort or Cross-sequential designs:
Multiple longitudinal assessments of different cohorts.
Represents different combinations of cross-sequential or longitudinal studies.
Are costly, a lot of commitment
Name and define the four ways researchers describe length of life.
- Average longevity – age at which half of the people in any given year died.
- Maximum longevity – The oldest known age
- Active life expectancy – years expected to live healthy and independent
- Dependent life expectancy – years of living after becoming dependent on others.
Provide four reasons why people are living longer today than 100 years ago.
- Better education, leading to more knowledge on how to take care of one’s physical and mental well being.
- Better health care, pretty self explanatory.
- Better living conditions, aging friendly environments such as quality care for elders.
- More wealth, people have more wealth now than ever before as well as food costing less than it ever has, leading to people being able to afford meals.
What is the Hayflick limit? Have humans reached it or not? Defend your response.
Hayflick limit:
Refers to causes of aging at cellular level, this focuses on the number of times cells can divide, which presumably limits the life span of a complex organism.
It was found that cells grown in laboratory culture dishes undergo only a fixed number of divisions before dying. The number of possible divisions dropping depending on the age of the donor organism. Cells from human fetal tissue are capable of 40-60 divisions, cells from a human adult are capable of only about 20. Appears as Hayflick limit sets an upper bound on the number of cell divisions possible even in the absence of other factors.
What contributes to DNA mutations that are thought to limit the human lifespan?
What causes cells to limit their number of divisions? Evidence suggest the tips of the chromosomes, called telomeres, play major role in aging by adjusting the cell’s response to stress and growth stimulation based on cell divisions & DNA damage, & by typically shortening with each cell replication.
The enzyme telomerase is needed in DNA replication to fully reproduce the telomeres when cells divide. Telomerase is normally not present in somatic cells, wo with each replication the telomeres become shorter. The chromosomes become unstable & cannot replicate because the telomeres become too short.
Research shows that moderate levels of exercise may maintain telomere length or slow the rate at which it shortens. Chronic stress may accelerate the changes that occur in telomeres & thereby shorten one´s life span.
Cross-linking is a theory in which certain proteins in human cells interact randomly & produce molecules that are linked to make the body stiffer. The proteins called collagen, the more cross-links there are, the stiffer the tissue. As we age, the number of cross-links increases.
Another theory proposes that aging is caused by unstable molecules called free radicals, which are highly reactive chemicals produces randomly in normal metabolism. When there interact with nearby molecules, problems may result. Free radicals may cause cell damage to the heart by changing the oxygen levels in cells. Also, evidence that free radicals may have role in development of Alzheimer’s disease.
What characterizes the transition to adulthood? What are some cultural differences in the transition?
o Removal from context of childhood o Knowledge imparted or skills developed o Testing of knowledge/skills o Community recognition o Rites of passage Example of cultural differences in the transition can be bar mitzvah, confirmation, quincinera and native ceremonies.
What is “emerging” adulthood? Why does Arnett argue for this idea? What evidence suggests that he is correct? What evidence suggests that he is wrong?
New period, stage etc. that applies to 18-29-year old’s’ that is characterized by 5 core themes that is connected to exploring identity.
Applies in contexts where education is prolonged.
Arnett argue for this idea because it captured the extended freedom to explore identity.
Evidence suggest he might be correct when it comes to some demographic groups, people with high socioeconomic status for example…
