Deck 15: Gains and Losses in Late Adulthood

Question 1

In the dual-process model of grieving,what aspect of the process seems to provide balance by working parallel with the process of confronting the painful reality of death?

A)Restoration focused activities
B)Loss focused activities
C)Emotion focused rumination
D)Approach mode of coping

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The core principles for end-of-life care include steps toward compassionate care of the dying.These principles,adopted by many specialties of medicine,include each of the following steps EXCEPT:

A)Managing psychological,social,and spiritual/religious problems
B)Providing treatment even when the patient refuses treatment
C)Sensitivity and respect for the wishes of the patient and family
D)Providing access to palliative care and hospice care

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to studies of bereaving individuals,what method of coping with loss is highly related to depression?

A)Reappraising the loss to find benefit
B)Finding meaning in the experience of loss
C)Ruminating to make sense of the inexplicable
D)Deactivating or suppressing emotional systems

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Aging adults take different approaches or pathways to retirement and use varying strategies.Based on work by Schlossberg,which of the following common strategies is most likely to result in depression following retirement?

A)Continuers
B)Easy gliders
C)Searchers
D)Retreaters

Question 5

The philosophy of hospice care is compatible with which of the following ideas about dying?

A)Withhold information about patient conditions and offer comfort.
B)Manage patient symptoms and let them maintain control of their care.
C)Continue all efforts to cure patients until their dying breath.
D)Encourage patients to adopt religion or maintain religious ties.

Question 6

According to researchers in Germany,five criteria are associated with being a wise person.In this typology,what is the first criterion for a wise person?

A)Procedural knowledge about making decisions
B)Ability to view challenges from another's perspective
C)Factual knowledge about life,human nature,relationships
D)Recognition of the certainty of answers to life's messy problems

Question 7

In old age,what autobiographical memories are adults most likely to recall as "flashbulb memories" or personally relevant recollections?

A)Memories from childhood
B)Memories from young adulthood
C)Memories of grandparenting experiences
D)Memories that are most recent

Question 8

Among the culturally diverse proverbs about anger,what do the wise Lakota (Sioux)say about "force,no matter how concealed"?

A)Lacks direction
B)Is inescapable
C)Always wins
D)Begets resistance

Question 9

Based on findings from research studies,retaining as many social connections as possible in old age is important for the following reasons EXCEPT:

A)Help to prevent onset of dementia
B)Prevent sensory deficits
C)Promote recovery after an illness
D)Enhance cognitive resilience

Question 10

Common physical changes in old age include sensory deficits and osteoarthritis (pain,stiffness,and swelling of joints resulting in reduced movement).By age 65,what is the frequency of osteoarthritis?

A)25% of women and men
B)30% of women and men
C)Half of women and 40% of men
D)More than half of all aging adults

Question 11

Adjusting to retirement occurs in stages,according to Atchley.Which of the stages of retirement involves finding a functional path that achieves selective optimization with compensation?

A)Stage 1,honeymoon
B)Stage 2,Disenchantment
C)Stage 3,reorientation
D)Stage 4,stability

Question 12

In studies that measure six dimensions of well-being from interviews of adults in different age groups,the analysis shows older adults scoring higher (than younger groups)on which dimension?

A)Positive relationships
B)Environmental mastery
C)Autonomy
D)Self-acceptance

Question 13

Mary,age 82,keeps insisting that someone has been sneaking into her apartment and turning on her stove when she isn't looking.Her family has noticed that Mary has been more and more forgetful lately,and now she has begun rambling in her speech and using many word substitutions,like "horse" for "dog." Mary is likely suffering from

A)osteoarthritis.
B)negative stereotyping.
C)diabetes.
D)Alzheimer's disease.

Question 14

The key processes used by aging adults to help them cope with aging and loss include the following EXCEPT:

A)Compensation
B)Familiarization
C)Optimization
D)Selection

Question 15

As people age and experience declines in fluid intelligence,what effects provide evidence of this cognitive change?

A)Slower processing speed
B)Increased inhibitory functions
C)Declines in pragmatics
D)Loss of factual knowledge

Question 16

What changes in social relationships typically occur during old age?

A)The number of less close social partners increases.
B)Aging adults in Western cultures become less selective about social partners.
C)Aging adults in Eastern cultures become less selective about social partners.
D)The number of very close social partners remains the same.

Question 17

Based on a study spanning 26 countries,what traits (positive or negative)are associated with age stereotyping of elderly people across all cultures?

A)Unpatriotic,liberal,and fateful
B)Quick-thinking,witty,and coherent
C)Less active,impulsive,extroverted
D)Uncaring,self-centered,and negligent grandparent

Question 18

In the United States,what portion of the current population lives beyond the age of 65?

A)58%
B)64%
C)73%
D)80%

Question 19

Dementia affects millions of adults worldwide,with 60% of those cases experiencing which type of dementia?

A)Frontotemporal dementia
B)Vascular dementia
C)Dementia with protein build-up (Lewy bodies)
D)Alzheimer's disease

Question 20

In the prodromal period or early stages of dementia,which one of the following procedures provides the greatest benefit for reducing symptoms?

A)Pharmaceutical treatments
B)Transitioning to full-care facility
C)Surgical procedures to remove plaques in the brain
D)Daily exercise and cognitive stimulation

Question 21

When Jeanine,a successful surgeon,began to suffer from arthritis in her hands,she stopped doing surgery,continuing only the consulting portion of her medical practice,and accepted a position as Dean of the medical school at the university hospital where she had her practice.Narrowing her medical practice to consulting work represents an example of

A)selection.
B)optimization.
C)compensation.
D)giving up.

Question 22

Henry,at 79,has always enjoyed relatively good health.However,he has recently begun feeling like he is slowing down and has reported to his doctor that he is doing poorly,although his doctor can find no specific cause.When Henry participated in a research study at a local university where his intellectual functioning was tested,his score had dropped dramatically since his last testing session a year earlier.Henry has the signs of

A)diabetes.
B)terminal drop.
C)osteoarthritis.
D)double effect.

Question 23

One theory about grief and mourning after the loss of a loved one is that bereaved individuals eventually reorganize their grief,discovering ways to hold on to the memory of the deceased and integrate that memory into their current life and new attachments.This idea is attributable to the work of

A)Freud.
B)Kubler-Ross.
C)Dame Cicely Saunders.
D)Bowlby.

Question 24

In end-of-life-care,the "double effect" refers to

A)aa counseling care provided for both the dying individual and caregivers.
B)injection of a medication by someone other than the dying individual to cause immediate death.
C)medication that is given to relieve pain even when this may also result in death.
D)a patient's written statement indicating his wishes for end-of-life care.

Question 25

How do the attitudes toward death among elderly people compare to the attitudes of younger age groups?

A)Elderly people report more anxiety about death than middle-aged adults.
B)Elderly people report less anxiety about death than middle-aged adults.
C)Elderly people are less realistic about its inevitability than middle-aged adults are.
D)There are no differences between the elderly and other age groups in regard to attitudes toward death.

Question 26

In self-determination theory,which of the following is considered one of the basic psychological needs that motivates our adaptation or coping efforts at any age?

A)Autonomy
B)Optimization
C)Avoidance
D)Generativity

Question 27

In Erikson's concept of the final stage of life,achievement of integrity can be construed as "a gift of courage and caring for the generations that follow" because

A)death comes to be seen as a natural stage of life,not something to be feared.
B)integrity includes providing for the financial security of the next generation.
C)integrity means making certain that no financial or other burdens are passed on to the next generation.
D)integrity means expressing religious commitment at the end of life.
Essay Questions (Chapter 15)

Question 28

Which of the following are aspects of palliative care?

A)Pain management and emotional care
B)Life-sustaining treatments
C)Nursing-centered care
D)Physician-assisted suicide

Question 29

Explain the three combined processes of successful development called "selective optimization with compensation." Provide a clear example of this process at work and specify which aspects of your example illustrate selection,optimization,and compensation.

Question 30

Which of the following describes a typical stage progression in retirement,according to Atchley?

A)Honeymoon,stability,reorientation,disenchantment,termination
B)Honeymoon,disenchantment,reorientation,stability,termination
C)Disenchantment,honeymoon,stability,termination,reorientation
D)There is no typical sequence for the stages of retirement

Question 31

When Francesca,age 62,discovered that her retirement plan had suffered losses in the stock market,she realized she would not be able to retire within the next year as she had expected to do.Francesca began to spend a great deal of time ruminating about her situation,especially about how sad she was that this problem had arisen after she had worked so hard all of her life.Which of the following is an accurate description of Francesca's coping at this point?

A)She is using a problem-focused mechanism.
B)She is using an emotion-focused mechanism.
C)She is using a primary control strategy.
D)She is using no coping strategy.

Question 32

How is the gender of an elderly person linked to whether or not others have negative,stereotyped expectations of that person?

A)Gender of the elderly person has no effect.
B)Elderly men are more likely to be seen in a negative way.
C)Elderly women are more likely to be seen in a negative way.
D)Elderly women are more likely to be seen in a positive way.

Question 33

Several factors at preretirement are strong predictors of positive attitudes toward retirement later,including

A)religiosity.
B)feeling confident in relationships with friends.
C)number of close relatives,especially children.
D)mandatory retirement age.

Question 34

Research on the use of control strategies indicates that flexibility in adjusting one's goals

A)is more characteristic of 20-year-olds than 60-year-olds.
B)is less characteristic of 20-year-olds than 60-year-olds.
C)does not change across the life span.
D)has no effect on happiness or well-being.

Question 35

When Jeanine,a successful surgeon,began to suffer from arthritis in her hands,she stopped doing surgery,continuing only the consulting portion of her medical practice,and accepted a position as Dean of the medical school at the university hospital where she had her practice.Shifting her attention to administration and teaching in her position as Dean after the onset of arthritis represents an example of

A)selection.
B)reduction.
C)compensation.
D)giving up.

Question 36

In several studies of the benefits of searching for meaning in the loss of a loved one,which individuals were likely to show the most distress in the long run?

A)Those who were able to find some meaning in the loss without the benefit of religion
B)Those who did not initiate a search for meaning
C)Those who tried but failed to find meaning in their loss
D)Those who began with no religious faith

Question 37

When Francesca,age 62,discovered that her retirement plan had suffered losses in the stock market,she realized that she would not be able to retired within the next year as she had expected to do.After she learned of her predicament,Francesca met with a financial consultant provided by her company,and she has decided to postpone her retirement by just two years.She hopes that the economy will improve and the additional years of work will help her to achieve her financial goals.Which of the following is an accurate description of Francesca's coping at this point?

A)She is using a problem-focused mechanism.
B)She is using an emotion-focused mechanism.
C)She is using a primary control strategy.
D)She is just being practical,she is not using a copy strategy.

Question 38

Heckhausen found in a study of young,middle-aged,and elderly adults that elderly people had fewer aspirations regarding work,finances,and family and more aspirations related to health,community,and leisure pursuits than young adults.These age-related shifts in aspirations illustrate

A)increasing use of primary control strategies with age.
B)increasing use of secondary control strategies with age.
C)fewer needs for autonomy in old age.
D)disenchantment.

Question 39

"The reminiscence bump" refers to

A)the large number of stereotypes about older people rambling on about their lives.
B)the large number of autobiographical memories that are retained from the late adolescent through early adult period.
C)the large number of autobiographical memories that are retained from the most recent past,even for elderly people.
D)the increase in medical expenses experienced by most people after age 65.

Question 40

Training in some professions is more likely to foster wisdom than training in other professions.Which of the following is one of the professions that seem to benefit wisdom development?

A)Clinical psychology
B)Economics
C)Mathematics
D)Business management

Question 41

What is a dual-process model of the grief process? Explain why the available research indicates that a complex model of this sort is needed.

Question 42

In counseling elderly clients,success depends on being flexible and making accommodations that meet their specific needs.Discuss three ways in which flexibility is needed and explain why.