Exam 13: Making It in Midlife: the Biopsychosocial Challenges of Middle Adulthood

Describe how stresses and rewards can result from providing care for an aging parent.

Newt is known for being very opinionated, extremely sociable, and loving a challenge. According to the five-factor model, Newt is BEST thought of as being:

Nina feels like she is being pulled apart from two different directions. On the one hand, she has her two daughters to take care of, and on the other hand, she now has to also take care of her ailing mother and father. Which term BEST describes the situation in which Nina finds herself?

The primary reason that elderly women show a decline in sexual activity involves:

Costa and McCrae's model of personality, which includes dimensions like conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience, is commonly referred to as the ____ model.

The comment, "My parents cared for me for 18 years; I really should not complain about having to take care of them for a while when they are ill" provides an example of:

Costa and McCrae argue that personality traits undergo significant changes between young and old adulthood.

Which statement describes the normal pattern of pragmatics and mechanics intelligence development between ages 25 and 70?

Erik Erikson believes that midlife involves a psychosocial crisis involving characteristics of:

Compared to the average middle-aged man, the average middle-aged woman tends to rate stressful experiences:

The metabolic slowdown common to individuals in their early 30s and mid-50s will lead to ____ in many males.

Jim wonders if his wife Ann (age 25) will have the same personality when she gets to be middle-aged. Use research provided in the text to describe which aspects of Ann's personality are most and least likely to change.

Misha often experiences severe swelling and joint pain in her fingers and wrists each morning. This pattern of symptoms is MOST likely due to:

Most adults are motivated to learn by external factors.

Describe how coping and appraisals are involved in the stress and coping paradigm.

Though Elsa does not score particularly high on traditional intelligence tests, she is very good at understanding income tax forms, can deal well with all different kinds of people, and is a good troubleshooter around the home and office. Elsa exhibits:

Some males experience an age-related decline in ____ production, resulting in menopause-like symptoms.

As a caring uncle, Ben derives a lot of satisfaction when his niece performs well in her basketball games. Ben, however, has no real interest in actually teaching her how to improve her basketball skills. McAdams would cite this as a good example of:

Erikson viewed the key crisis of midlife as one of stagnation versus generativity.

Experts are always faster and use more rules than novices.