Deck 14: Elderhood 75 Until Death

Question 1

Which effect is least likely to be an age-related change in vision experienced by most older adults?

A) Samuel has a slower adaptation time.
B) Ingrid experiences increased sensitivity to glare.
C) Dennis has noticed a decrease in color discrimination.
D) Ignacio has an increased need for illumination.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is considered a factor in describing "aging issues" as "women's issues"?

A) The majority of those 85 years old and over are women.
B) Women are better prepared for aging than men.
C) Men aren't interested in aging issues.
D) Men don't show many physical characteristics of aging.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In a comparison of changes in bodily functions from age 40 to age 75, which function shows the greatest amount of decline?

A) Maximum breathing capacity
B) Metabolism
C) Kidney filtration
D) The velocity of nerve conduction

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Why do older adults need higher levels of illumination to see clearly?

A) The number of cones in the retina decreases.
B) Hardening of the lenses begins at about age 20.
C) Pupil size decreases with age.
D) There is a flattening of the retina.

Question 5

In order for Hacienda to face the later years in the best possible physical condition, a commitment to _________ is the most important factor for her.

A) religious beliefs
B) physical activity
C) family values
D) sedentary behavior

Question 6

How is behavioral slowing related to processing load?

A) The greater the processing load, the more likely one is to observe behavioral slowing with age.
B) The greater the processing load, the less likely one is to observe behavioral slowing with age.
C) Processing load is related to behavioral slowing only in younger subjects.
D) Processing load is related to behavioral slowing only in tasks involving motor skills.

Question 7

Which of the following has been shown to retard the degenerative effects of aging?

A) Working at a desk job
B) Sleeping nine hours per day
C) Spending substantial time in strong sunshine
D) Following a regular program of physical activity

Question 8

Because variations in life experience and outlook among the very old are great, _______ becomes a less useful indicator of functioning in late life.

A) functional independence
B) health
C) chronological age
D) social participation

Question 9

Raquel is among those in the fastest growing age group in the United States. How old is Raquel?

A) 2 years old
B) 12 years old
C) 34 years old
D) 85 years old

Question 10

Eighty-year-old Thalia suffers from the most common sleep problem of people her age. What does Thalia suffer from?

A) Excessive napping
B) Difficulty breathing
C) Depression
D) Insomnia

Question 11

According to Neugarten, which of the following is a characteristic of the "old-old"?

A) They are competent, vigorous, and relatively healthy.
B) They live in their own households.
C) They participate in activities in their communities.
D) They have suffered major physical or mental decrements, which increase their dependence on health and social services.

Question 12

Which statement concerning food intake in elderhood is most accurate?

A) Because of the reduced need for calories, very old people have less of a chance of malnutrition than younger people.
B) Because of the increased need for calories, very old people will feel very weak and lose resilience if they keep eating only as much as they have previously.
C) Slowed metabolism increases the very old person's need for calories.
D) Because of a diminished appetite, the very old person must become more conscientious in selecting foods that will provide the nutritional elements necessary for healthy functioning.

Question 13

Which statement concerning physical fitness for aging adults is most accurate?

A) For people who lead an inactive life, there is less of a decline in physical capacity than for those who engage in regular fitness activity, particularly after the age of 60.
B) After the age of 75, regular physical fitness activity can build muscle strength and help a person maintain cognitive functioning.
C) Maintenance of optimal physical condition in very old age depends primarily on having been active in adolescence.
D) Overweight people are better off reducing their physical activity after age 65.

Question 14

Janet is 73 years old. Her son has observed a relatively sudden change in her tempo of movement recently. She has begun to move more slowly and change position very deliberately. What is the most likely explanation for her behavior?

A) She is purposefully attempting to prevent dizziness due to normal respiratory and circulatory degeneration.
B) She is too tired to move any faster.
C) She is thinking, "At my age, why should I rush?"
D) She is showing signs of senility due to neural degeneration.

Question 15

From an evolutionary perspective, one possible adaptive advantage of longevity is greater:

A) competition for limited resources within a group.
B) support for the care and protection of the young.
C) attractiveness for females in the mating process.
D) competition among males for finding a suitable female partner.

Question 16

Which approach is considered to be the most effective way for an older adult to cope with behavioral slowing?

A) Marcus makes a greater effort to be in harmony with the tempo of others.
B) Abner adopts a sedentary lifestyle.
C) Samantha selects fewer activities to accomplish each day.
D) Thomas takes vitamins and minerals.

Question 17

Age-related changes in the sensory system begin in  ________and their effects increase throughout the remainder of a person's life.

A) later adolescence
B) early adulthood
C) middle adulthood
D) later adulthood

Question 18

Aging adults tend to be characterized by a gradual slowing in response to stimuli. This is called

A) fatigue.
B) loss of resilience.
C) behavioral slowing.
D) sedentary inhibition.

Question 19

Which factor has the greatest impact on increasing life expectancy at birth?

A) Reduction of the fertility rate
B) Prevention of illness that affects those over age 70
C) Prevention of illness that leads to death in infancy and early childhood
D) Delay of age at marriage

Question 20

Elder adults may exhibit behavioral slowing because of

A) erratic neural firing.
B) age-related decline in crystallized intelligence.
C) lack of plasticity and adaptive reorganization in brain function.
D) learned cautiousness to avoid making mistakes.

Question 21

One way that elder people pass on to their grandchildren a shared and collective identity that has been learned from their own grandparents is through

A) hereditary traits.
B) a program of regular exercise.
C) a living will.
D) storytelling.

Question 22

Changes in taste and smell that occur with age, especially the reduced ability to detect specific tastes, are likely to result in

A) experimenting with new kinds of foods.
B) learning more about food preparation.
C) loss of appetite.
D) greater appreciation for the visual presentation of foods.

Question 23

Which symptom is least characteristic of organic brain syndromes?

A) Disorientation
B) Confusion
C) Loss of vision
D) Loss of control over daily functions such as toileting, feeding, and dressing

Question 24

Which of the following is TRUE of older adults who are the most likely to cope effectively with hearing loss?

A) They have high self-esteem.
B) They have low levels of vision loss.
C) They have strong feelings of isolation.
D) They have children who live near them.

Question 25

What is the best approach for an older person to develop a psychohistorical perspective?

A) Learning to accept alternative solutions
B) Developing a commitment to essential positive values
C) Learning to accept alternative solutions and developing a commitment to essential positive values.
D) Ultimately identifying with his or her own national, economic, or religious group

Question 26

Which age-related change in vision is most likely to interfere with an older adult's ability to read road signs from a moving automobile?

A) A decline in near vision
B) Sensitivity to glare
C) Glaucoma
D) Difficulties with tasks that require speed of visual performance

Question 27

An especially important implication of insensitivity to salt is that older adults may add additional salt to food, which may

A) result in malnutrition.
B) aggravate hypertension.
C) increase lung congestion.
D) increase dental problems.

Question 28

One of the most serious psychological problems associated with vision loss is that it leaves older people with

A) tendencies toward irritability.
B) increased feelings of helplessness.
C) increased feelings of rejection.
D) tendencies toward stubbornness.

Question 29

Which of the following do studies of people in their later 90s and older find?

A) That they are struggling with one health crisis after another
B) That they appear to be more disease free than those 10 to 15 years younger
C) That a majority are bedridden
D) That most are malnourished

Question 30

In the process of developing a psychohistorical perspective, elder adults develop a personal understanding of all of the following EXCEPT

A) stability and change in social norms.
B) the effects of political leadership on society.
C) the effects of history on individual lives.
D) the effects of mutations on the evolution of the species.

Question 31

Mary explains to her grandchildren how her grandparents came to the United States on a boat many years ago. The homeland of her grandparents is Slovakia and she retells the stories of her childhood and her grandparents' childhood. Mary's sharing of her identity is an example of

A) storytelling.
B) mementoes.
C) written work.
D) inheritance.

Question 32

Which statement describes a common link between impaired vision and independence in very old age?

A) As people lose their vision, their hearing improves, which makes them more attuned to the environment.
B) Loss of vision leads to giving up driving which reduces independence.
C) Loss of vision makes people more self-reliant and independent.
D) As vision declines, people spend more time visiting with friends and neighbors.

Question 33

Which factor is least likely to improve the daily functioning that has been observed in recent cohorts of elders?

A) Improved design of interior space in senior housing
B) New devices that make it easier for older adults to compensate for physical limitations
C) Medications that help alleviate the symptoms of chronic diseases
D) Increased availability of reconstructive plastic surgery

Question 34

Eighty-five year-old Abigail has a psychohistorical perspective, which means she has the ability to

A) remember historical events.
B) anticipate the future.
C) know future history at a psychic level.
D) integrate information about past, present, and future.

Question 35

Eighty-five year-old Wanda suffers from the most common effect of hearing loss in people her age. From which of the following does Wanda suffer?

A) Decreased ability to understand spoken messages
B) Increased sensitivity to high-frequency sounds
C) Increased sensitivity to low-intensity sounds
D) Selective attention to familiar sounds

Question 36

Which of the following is TRUE of the proportion of elderly people needing help with activities of daily living, over the last decade?

A) It has declined.
B) It has increased.
C) It has remained the same.
D) It has approached 100%.

Question 37

Eighty-nine year-old Darlene is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Which of the following  symptoms will her family caregivers most likely find are the most difficult to manage?

A) Sleep disturbances and wandering
B) Agitation and declining mental functioning
C) Confusion and bowel/bladder accidents
D) Physical decline and uncooperativeness

Question 38

Mark has been having some lapses in memory and he finds that he cannot always explain himself verbally. He told his wife, Allison, that he was going to the store for a few items, and came home 3 hours later. He told Allison that he got lost on the way back and could not remember his address. When Allison asked him to go see their doctor to find out what might be going on, he shouted at her-something he had rarely done in their 40 years of marriage. What is a possible explanation for Mark's behaviors?

A) Mark is tired and stressed out.
B) Mark has the early stages of arthritis.
C) Mark has Alzheimer's disease.
D) Mark has psychohistorical anxiety.

Question 39

Eighty-eight year-old Brenda needs assistance with basic tasks of self-care (activities of daily living) other than walking. What percentage of her age mates also need this level of assistance?

A) Less than 10%
B) Roughly 20%
C) Roughly 33%
D) More than 50%

Question 40

Ninety year-old Arthur has for the last four years rates his health as good, very good, or excellent. What percentage of his age mates rate their health similarly to Arthur?

A) 0%
B) 10%
C) 25%
D) Over 50%

Question 41

Older men and women appear to be very similar in their    ________values, or the amount of time they spend and the degree of satisfaction they get in helping or pleasing others.

A) instrumental
B) affiliative
C) cognitive
D) democratic

Question 42

The case of Mr. Z illustrates that maintaining vitality and a sense of meaning while living in a nursing home during elderhood is most dependent on which factor?

A) Accessibility of neighborhood services
B) Giving up control of daily activities
C) One's psychological outlook and love of life
D) The importance of a loving spouse

Question 43

Agnes and her friends are all between the ages of 75 and 84. What percentage of them live with their spouse?

A) 10%
B) 33%
C) 53%
D) 75%

Question 44

Juan's living arrangement is just like the majority of elder men. Which of the following is TRUE of Juan?

A) He is married and lives with his spouse.
B) He lives alone.
C) He lives with his children in a three-generation household.
D) He lives in a nursing home.

Question 45

Which life circumstance might result in the heightened importance of a sense of agency for very old women?

A) Having a husband who is active and healthy
B) Living alone after widowhood
C) Living with one's adult children after widowhood
D) Experiencing one or more chronic illnesses

Question 46

As part of a new interdisciplinary perspective on aging, how is usual aging defined?

A) Low risk for various diseases
B) A psychohistorical approach to aging
C) Functioning well but at a high risk for disease or disability
D) The lack of introspection

Question 47

The theory that men become more nurturant with age and women become more achievement-oriented is called

A) gender role convergence.
B) heterogeneity of gender.
C) affiliative transformation.
D) selective identification.

Question 48

What happens to instrumental values with increasing age?

A) They become somewhat more important
B) They become somewhat less important.
C) They stay the same.
D) They become more important for men, and less important for women.

Question 49

Which of the following has been found to help older adults maintain a sense of well-being?

A) Finding meaning in one's existence
B) Blood pressure medicine
C) Self-absorption
D) Living with one's children

Question 50

A residential setting offering private housing, medical and preventive health services, social services, and nursing care as needed is referred to as a

A) continuing care retirement community.
B) nursing home.
C) gentrified condominium.
D) utopia.

Question 51

What is the most likely effect of gentrification for older adults?

A) A significant reduction in low-cost housing
B) Improved access to health care services for the elderly
C) An increase in high quality, low-cost housing
D) An opportunity to develop new forms of leisure

Question 52

The developmental task of traveling uncharted territory assumes that elder adults are

A) creating their own definitions of this life stage.
B) readying themselves for the process of dying.
C) preoccupied by issues relating to any kind of travel.
D) unable to think clearly about the end of life process.

Question 53

According to the model described by Rowe and Kahn, successful aging is characterized by three interconnected features: avoiding disease, maintaining high cognitive and physical functioning, and

A) storytelling.
B) reminiscence.
C) engagement with life.
D) living alone.

Question 54

In a comparison of living arrangements of older adults, in which setting was it more common for older adults to head up a large household that included young children?

A) Asia
B) Latin America
C) North America
D) Africa

Question 55

Loretta gets a lot of pleasure in fixing broken toys that her grandchildren bring to her. She has developed a variety of novel techniques for toy repair and she takes pride in this new area of mastery. This reflects her ____________ values.

A) introspective
B) instrumental
C) affiliative
D) moral

Question 56

Which statement about living in a nursing home is most accurate?

A) Once people are admitted to a nursing home, they usually stay there until they die.
B) About 75% of those in nursing homes have spouses.
C) About 85% of nursing home residents are age 85 and older.
D) Many enter nursing homes after hospitalization and eventually return home.

Question 57

Which of the following best describes the current pattern of living arrangements for women 75 and older in the U.S.?

A) Approximately 50% live with their children in three generation households.
B) Approximately 50% live with their spouses.
C) Approximately 50% live in nursing homes.
D) Approximately 50% live alone.

Question 58

According to research done by Offenbacher and Poster, which dictate is NOT part of the "code of conduct" older adults use to guide to their behavior?

A) Don't feel sorry for yourself.
B) Accept dependence gracefully.
C) Don't just sit there, do something.
D) Be sociable.

Question 59

In countries with higher levels of education in the general population, older adults are more likely to

A) live with family.
B) live alone.
C) live in retirement housing.
D) die before reaching very old age.

Question 60

In the case of Mr. Z, who lives in a nursing home, what seems to be the impact of the nursing home environment on his functioning?

A) It has prevented him from getting medical care.
B) It has provided opportunities for him to entertain and encourage others.
C) It has reduced his capacity for helping others.
D) It has fostered a sense of despair.

Question 61

Which statement best indicates that older men and women tend to be tied to the gender-role standards of their historical cohort?

A) Today's older women believe that the only kinds of relationships possible between men and women are romantic.
B) Many very old women have friendships with very old men.
C) Older women enjoy having the opportunity to date again.
D) Very old men prefer to "play the field" when they become widowers.

Question 62

Which phrase best describes the psychosocial concept of extinction?

A) Being bound by the limits of one's own life history
B) A welcoming of death
C) A sense of nurturing future generations
D) The epigenetic principle

Question 63

Which statement is most accurate within the first 18 months of widowhood?

A) Widowed women are more likely to remarry than widowed men.
B) The more social support a man has, the less likely he is to be interested in remarriage after widowhood.
C) Most widowed men and women remarry.
D) The most important predictor of whether a widow or widower will remarry is the dead spouse's wishes.

Question 64

A feeling that there is a "continuous present" in the "here and now" that is also inseparable from past and future is called

A) universal consciousness.
B) symbolic existentialism.
C) experiential transcendence.
D) time absorption.

Question 65

What enlightenment was achieved from the experiences linked to the desecration of Hawaiian burial grounds, as discussed in the text?

A) Native Hawaiians learned that large corporations will build their hotels on the least expensive land possible.
B) Native Hawaiians are indifferent to the ancient traditions which no longer hold any meaning.
C) Native Hawaiians have protected the ancestral remains at Honokahua through the intervention of the President of the United States.
D) Native Hawaiians learned that there is a reciprocal relationship in which the living and the dead care for one another and protect each other.

Question 66

What does the term norm of reciprocity mean?

A) You are obliged to return in full value what you receive.
B) You expect to give more than you receive.
C) You expect to receive more when you are young, and to give more when you are old.
D) You and your friends gather all your resources and share them.

Question 67

According to the text, which belief is least likely to result in achieving a symbolic sense of immortality?

A) A belief that one lives on through one's achievements
B) A belief in an afterlife
C) A belief in democracy
D) A belief that one lives on through the lives of one's offspring

Question 68

In the future, it is______ that older adults will engage in a new type of intimacy.

A) more likely
B) less likely
C) financially unfeasible
D) improbable

Question 69

What is the central process for 88-year-old Jean to resolve the psychosocial crisis of her old age?

A) Social support
B) Introspection
C) Hope
D) Transcendence

Question 70

Based on Rosenfeld's study of very old men, approximately what percentage of 90-year-old Walter's 90-year-old male friends feel that their lives were rich and rewarding?

A) 10-15%
B) 25-30%
C) 50%
D) 90%

Question 71

A sense of immortality is least likely to be achieved through

A) living through children.
B) belief in an afterlife.
C) creative achievements.
D) experimental transcendence.

Question 72

For some older adults, a consequence of reaching a sense of extinction in later life is

A) transcendence.
B) building new sources of social support.
C) suicide.
D) trusting in interdependence.

Question 73

If an elder person tells you she will live on through the lives of her children and grandchildren and their offspring, you may conclude she is expressing a sense of

A) procreation.
B) immortality.
C) diffidence.
D) competence.

Question 74

Hugo's high level of social integration in his later life are associated with which of the following?

A) Living in a nursing home
B) Serious illness
C) Increased longevity
D) High suicide rates

Question 75

The positive pole of the psychosocial crisis of very old age involves a belief in continuous existence and transformation through the development of a sense of

A) immortality.
B) transcendence.
C) pre-eminence.
D) superiority.

Question 76

If an elder person has achieved integrity as a result of the resolution of the psychosocial crisis of later adulthood, the remaining years of life are filled with the belief that

A) death must be confronted directly.
B) the end of life is an end to motion, attachment, and change.
C) life makes sense.
D) better choices could have led to more favorable outcomes.

Question 77

The psychosocial crisis of very old age is

A) integrity versus despair.
B) immortality versus extinction.
C) wisdom versus disdain.
D) generativity versus stagnation.

Question 78

Social support contributes to a very old adult's health and sense of well-being in a variety of ways. Which of the following is NOT one of these ways?

A) It reduces isolation.
B) It provides a flow of critical resources such as affection, transportation, and advice.
C) It reduces the impact of stressors.
D) It provides a source of conflict that is intellectually stimulating.

Question 79

In Erikson's advice on aging, which of the following does he recommend?

A) Be willing to give and receive help as needed.
B) Hang on to your possessions.
C) Use your pride to remain independent.
D) Keep striving toward new achievements and levels of excellence.

Question 80

Which statement is an accurate description of the sexual behavior of older adults?

A) Research indicates that older adults no longer have sexual needs.
B) Research indicates that older adults are able to remain sexually active.
C) Most older adults give up sexual activity in favor of companionship.
D) Most older widows readily integrate sexuality into their single lifestyles.