Exam 16: Old Age: Physical, Neurobiological, Sensorimotor and Cognitive Development

Cutler and Grams (1988) found that in their sample of men and women over age 55, around 25 percent claimed that they were frequently troubled by forgetfulness.

According to Park (2002), in contrast to the placebo group, matched on other variables, women taking __________________________ were found to have a significantly elevated risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

In recent longitudinal studies, cognitive abilities have been shown to improve from early to later adulthood (Schaie, 2000).

Greek philosopher Hippocrates described 'ultimate old age' or 'caducity' as between 50 and 55 years of age.

Baltes (1993) studied the spontaneous use of memory strategies in older adults, and found that older adults used them _____________ often than young adult students.

Horin (2002) found that in a sample of 1000 large Australian companies in the financial and business sector, nearly _____________ percent had no employees who were over the age of 50.

According to Braithwaite (1990), ageism and bigotry against older people were distressingly evident in her Australian sample.

_____________ refers to an individual's use of private recollection or storytelling as a means of substituting memories of a more pleasant past for the painful present.

According to Goldman &Goldman (1982), schoolchildren's ideas about the old were overwhelmingly pessimistic, with more than 75 percent of seven- year- olds using derogatory terms to portray them.

Much of the ill health during adulthood and old age is caused directly by:

Baltes (2002) defines the term __________________________ as the oldest group in any given population with at least 50 percent of its birth cohort still alive.

A recent survey of employment practices in Australia (Horin, 2002) revealed that _____________ job out of every ten is currently being filled by an applicant over the age of 45.

Longitudinal studies have shown that a terminal drop in intelligence occurs consistently, though not invariably, several months before a person dies.

Which of the following is true about an average 75- year- old, as compared to an average 30- year- old?

Schaie (2000) found that for the average adult, the decline in IQ did not begin until after age _____________ on any of the subtests of the Wechsler IQ scale apart from one measure of word fluency.

According to Baltes (1987), depending on the prevailing cultural conditions during an individual's development, the level and course of intellectual ageing can vary markedly. Any single _____________ - _____________ observation does not tell the final story on the nature of intellectual ageing.

Which of the following in not true in relation to changes in the visual system in old age?

According to Moskovich and Winocur (2002), older adults' memories are rich in _____________ memory features, including narrative accounts, meaningful connections, emotional associations and familiar oft- repeated routines. In contrast, young adults' accounts are rich in _____________ memory for discrete details.

The patterns of electrical activity (EEG) in the brain typically change during old age, and the conduction speed of the impulses along neuronal fibres throughout the body also slows down. This is owing to a reduced rate of production of certain biochemical substances involved in _____________ , including serotonin, glucamate, dopamine and acetylcholine (Rosenzweig, Breedlove and Leiman, 2002).

In Japan, Hori (1994) asked a group of 400 adults over the age of 60, 'Do you think you are an oldman/woman?' About _____________ percent of the group aged 70 to 74 years answered 'No' to this