Deck 14: The Personal Context of Later Life: Physical, Cognitive, and Mental Health Issues

Question 1

The most rapidly growing segment of the United States population is the group of people

A) between the ages of 40 and 55.
B) between the ages of 55 and 65.
C) between the ages of 65 and 80.
D) over the age of 85.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

By the year 2040, China expects to have over ______ people over the age of 60 living in that country.

A) 75 million
B) 150 million
C) 225 million
D) 300 million

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Christopher suffers from a terrible illness that has rendered him unable to care for himself, to hold a job, or to live independently. He is only 32 years of age. Reevis is a 70-year-old college professor who has considered retirement but thinks that it is still three or four years away. Which of the following statements is the MOST accurate regarding these two gentlemen?

A) Christopher has a shorter average life expectancy than Reevis.
B) Christopher has a shorter longevity than Reevis.
C) Christopher has a shorter useful life expectancy than Reevis.
D) Christopher will have a shorter maximum life expectancy than Reevis.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

By the year 2030, it is estimated that approximately ____ percent of older adults in the United States will have earned a college degree.

A) 45
B) 60
C) 75
D) 90

Question 5

As a demographer, Sherwood would be most interested in studying

A) implicit memory.
B) the number of neural connections contained in the central nervous system.
C) the distinction between presbyopia and presbycusis.
D) how the number of young people in a population has changed over the past 50 years.

Question 6

Elijah asks his doctor how long he can plan to live without any major medical problems or impairments. Elijah is asking about _____ life expectancy.

A) maximum
B) useful
C) average
D) modal

Question 7

Why is it that Japan has experienced such a rapid increase in the proportion of their population that is over the age of 65 years?

A) Because of the declining birth rate in that country.
B) Because of the influx of older adults from nearby impoverished countries.
C) Because of the recent government mandate that adults must work until the age of 75 before being eligible for retirement.
D) Because of the declining health care standards in that country.

Question 8

Why is it that population pyramids have changed so drastically over the last 60 years and will continue to do so over the next several decades?

A) Because the number of people living to an old age has increased significantly.
B) Because the rate of juvenile death due to illness and accident has skyrocketed.
C) Because more people are choosing to get married at a later age.
D) Because the age at which people are choosing to have children is getting later and later.

Question 9

In which ethnic group(s) do older women outnumber older men in the United States of America?

A) This trend is only true in European Americans.
B) This trend is true in Native Americans and Latinos.
C) This trend is true in African Americans and Asian Americans.
D) This trend is true in all major ethnic groups.

Question 10

Why is it, do you think, that people with more education tend to live longer lives?

A) More education provides more income, which allows access to better medical care.
B) More education is associated with living in safer neighborhoods.
C) More education provides more information about prenatal care, which allows for healthier pregnancies.
D) People who have more education are more likely to get married, and statistics show that married people live longer than unmarried people.

Question 11

When Jay and Emilie got married, both at the age of 25, they had a fun conversation about how long their marriage would last. "Well, if we both live long enough," Emilie said, "we'll get to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary!" Emilie is speculating about their ________ when she factors the length of their lives into this conversation.

A) average life expectancies
B) lifespans
C) longevity
D) useful life expectancies

Question 12

The rate of growth of older adults in ________ is the highest in the industrialized world.

A) India
B) Japan
C) China
D) The United States of America

Question 13

Currently, the average life expectancy for women in the United States of America is 80.4 years. This means that

A) half of all women in the USA will live to the age of 80.4 without suffering from any debilitating illness or impairment.
B) half of all women in the USA will die by the age of 80.4.
C) the maximum age that most women in the USA can expect to live to is 80.4 years.
D) the oldest woman currently living in the USA is 80.4 years of age.

Question 14

Dr. Nebinger is discussion population trends and their changes with her students. "As you can see looking at these graphics," she says, "in _____ the population of the United States looked most like a pyramid."

A) 1910
B) 1950
C) 1980
D) 2010

Question 15

If you were in charge of developing programs aimed at elderly individuals in the United States, for which group would you LEAST plan to expand services in the next decade?

A) Native Americans
B) Asian Americans
C) European Americans
D) Pacific Islanders

Question 16

The number of years a person can expect to live is their _________.

A) maximum life expectancy
B) average life expectancy
C) useful life expectancy
D) longevity

Question 17

Currently, the average life expectancy in the United States of America is _____ for women and ____ for men.

A) 72.6; 78.1
B) 76.0; 74.0
C) 78.2; 73.6
D) 80.4; 75.4

Question 18

A graphic technique that is used to illustrate population trends is called a ________.

A) histogram
B) population pyramid
C) frequency distribution
D) segmented bar graph

Question 19

According to figures presented in your textbook, between the years 1995 and 2050 the largest percentage change in the population of US minority adults is expected to be seen in

A) Asian Americans.
B) African Americans.
C) Latino Americans.
D) Native Americans.

Question 20

Jesse is earning his Master's degree, and he is interested in having a career in which he will study population trends. Jesse is preparing for a career as a(n) ________.

A) demographer
B) psychometrician
C) statistician
D) ethnographer

Question 21

Because neurons do not physically touch each other, they must use ________ in order to communicate.

A) neurofibrillary tangles
B) neurotransmitters
C) telomeres
D) radicals

Question 22

The tips of chromosomes, which may play a role in the manner in which we age, are called ________.

A) telomeres
B) free radicals
C) beta-amyloids
D) neurofibrillary tangles

Question 23

_________ are chemicals that are produced randomly during normal cell metabolism that bond easily to other substances inside of cells. They can cause damage and impair cellular functioning.

A) Corticosteroids
B) Beta-aminos
C) Amyloids
D) Free radicals

Question 24

Perhaps you've seen commercials on television that advertise skin products that "reduce free radicals and enhance your youthful appearance." These products are actually forwarding a ________ theory of aging.

A) programmed
B) damage or error
C) longevity
D) abnutrition

Question 25

Dr. Gregoire is interested in studying detailed images of the anatomical features of his patient's brain. He will be most eager to have that patient undergo ________ neuroimaging, such as a CT scan or MRI.

A) static
B) functional
C) structural
D) adaptive

Question 26

One current theory of why cancer cells can replicate so rapidly and why they may, in fact, be able to live with no time limits, is because they

A) are not susceptible to the "programmed" longevity in one's genotype.
B) are immune to the destructive nature of free radicals.
C) have the ability to activate telomeres on the tips of chromosomes.
D) replicate human cells so perfectly that they human body cannot fight them.

Question 27

A large number of ________ in the brain has been found to have an association with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

A) telomeres
B) free radicals
C) neurofibrillary tangles
D) neurotransmitters

Question 28

Which of the following theories suggest that the waste byproducts of normal cellular activity actually cause the problems associated with aging?

A) telomerease theory
B) free radical theory
C) metabolic discharge theory
D) reuptake theory

Question 29

Damaged and dying neurons sometimes collect around a core of protein and produce ________, which likely interferes with the normal functioning of other, healthy neurons.

A) neurofibrillary tangles
B) neuritic plaques
C) free radicals
D) antioxidant telomeres

Question 30

Genetic factors appear to play _____ role in determining whether people reach centenarian status.

A) no
B) a minimal
C) some
D) a major

Question 31

Currently, scientists estimate that 120 years is the _________ for human beings, because there is a limit to how long certain organ systems can last without replacement.

A) maximum life expectancy
B) longevity
C) useful life expectancy
D) average life expectancy

Question 32

Of countries examined, the lowest life expectancy is 38 years in _________.

A) Sana'a, Yemen
B) Brasilia, Brazil
C) Sierra Leone, Africa
D) Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, Sri Lanka

Question 33

____ is best explained by the wear-and-tear theory of aging.

A) AIDS
B) Joint deterioration during osteoarthritis
C) A misshapen blood cell in sickle-cell disease
D) Alzheimer's disease

Question 34

What best describes the potential role of telomeres in the aging process?

A) They are the packets of fuel that feed each cell.
B) They are "glue" that binds together the base pairs of DNA molecules.
C) They are the scrubber cells that clear all debris from our arteries.
D) They are a portion of a chromosome that gets shorter until DNA replication is no longer possible.

Question 35

Which theory of aging would be most useful at explaining why muscle tissue and some arteries get stiffer over time, leading to potentially severe consequences?

A) free radical theory
B) cross-linking theory
C) programmed theory
D) wear-and-tear theory

Question 36

The longevity of women tends to be higher than that of men in most developed countries, but that advantage is not found in developing countries. Which of the following is a reason for this loss of extra female longevity?

A) Women are more susceptible to fatal infections in developing countries, because they do not work outside of the home and are not physiologically able to develop natural immunities.
B) Women are not provided with health care in many developing countries, and thus often die before the age of 30 years.
C) There is more female death in childbirth in developing countries, which partially explains the loss of female longevity advantage.
D) The rates of honor killings of women are so high in developing countries that the longevity advantage is eliminated.

Question 37

Ruphail is a European American child who was born yesterday. Donald is an African American child who was also born yesterday. Which of the following is the MOST accurate statement about these two children?

A) Ruphail begins his life with a lower maximum life expectancy than Donald.
B) Donald begins his life with a lower useful life expectancy than Ruphail.
C) Ruphail begins his life with a lower longevity than Donald.
D) Donald begins his life with a lower average life expectancy than Ruphail.

Question 38

The innate ability of human cells to self-destruct, the clocklike changes in some hormones, and the decline of effectiveness of the human immune system are all factors that lend support to ________ theories of aging.

A) wear-and-tear
B) programmed
C) error
D) diathesis

Question 39

Salvatore is discussing the issue of aging and death with some of his classmates. "I don't know about the rest of you," he says, "but I think that we're all born with a predetermined amount of time that we are going to live, and there isn't much we can do to extend that time." Salvatore seems to be a proponent of ________ theories of aging.

A) error
B) damage
C) programmed
D) longevity

Question 40

Which part of a normal human neuron gets twisted together to form a neurofibrillary tangle?

A) neurotransmitters
B) somas
C) dendrites
D) axons

Question 41

The most important factor that is related to surviving cancer for older adults is

A) the use of radiation-based treatments.
B) aggressive chemotherapy.
C) early detection.
D) the ability to tolerate carcinotoxic medications.

Question 42

Myna's grandchildren have recently insisted on installing grab bars in her bathroom shower. They are probably worried about Myna

A) getting hurt when she falls down.
B) remembering to bathe.
C) having difficulty with bowel control.
D) having difficulty with urinary control.

Question 43

Chelsea is an older woman who has been having some difficulty with her hearing lately. If she is experiencing the normal age-related changes in her hearing that you'd expect, which of the following would she have the MOST difficulty hearing?

A) A young girl's high-pitched voice.
B) The thunder of a raucous rainstorm.
C) The loud siren of a fire truck passing by her house.
D) Her husband's deep voice over the breakfast table.

Question 44

Nancy and Joel are concerned about Joel's aging father, who lives alone. They are worried that he will fall and severely injure himself, and will be unable to call for help. There are several steps they can take to reduce the chances of this happening. Which of the following would NOT be a suggestion you'd make to them in this situation?

A) Encourage Joel's father to stay active and fit.
B) Move Joel's father in with them so that they can keep an eye on him at all times.
C) Ensure that there is sufficient light in all walking areas of Joel's father's home.
D) Make sure there are no loose rugs or carpets in Joel's father's home.

Question 45

________ is the most common form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A) Emphysema
B) Asthma
C) Rhonchi
D) Cystic fibrosis

Question 46

Presbycusis is the most common age-related

A) form of dementia.
B) variety of COPD.
C) visual disorder.
D) type of hearing problem.

Question 47

The most common approach to understanding how people process information involves the use of a ________neuroimaging technique, such as functional MRI.

A) task-related
B) structural
C) dynamic contract
D) lucid on-demand

Question 48

Ruth has recently experienced a cerebral vascular accident that caused an interruption of the flow of blood to her brain. If you were going to use the more common term for this medical event, you'd say that she had a(n) ________.

A) aneurysm
B) stroke
C) heart attack
D) syncopal episode

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT one of the sleeping trends that are seen in older adults when compared to younger adults?

A) They experience more nightmares in the average month.
B) It takes roughly twice as long to fall asleep.
C) They get less sleep in the average night.
D) They feel more negative effects after a night of poor sleep.

Question 50

Which of the following does NOT belong?

A) MRI
B) PET
C) x-rays
D) CT scan

Question 51

Maurice has suffered a series of small strokes, each of which has caused a small amount of damage to his brain. As a result, he has now been diagnosed with ________ dementia.

A) vascular
B) ischemic
C) singular-infarct
D) myocardial

Question 52

One of these things is not like the others. Which one is it?

A) CT
B) NIRSI
C) SPECT
D) PET

Question 53

Dr. Kobayashi wants to know what is going on in her patient's brain. Specifically, she wants to know how the activity of the brain changes when certain tasks are being performed. She is most likely to order a round of _________ neuroimaging tests.

A) dynamic
B) functional
C) adaptive
D) structural

Question 54

Older adults often experience transient ________ attacks, which involve interruption of the blood flow to the brain and may be an early warning sign of a stroke.

A) idiopathic
B) hyperbaric
C) ischemic
D) arrhythmic

Question 55

One of the reasons that a poor night (or several poor nights!) of sleep can cause such problems in a person's life is that it disrupts their ________ rhythm.

A) circadian
B) programmed
C) neuritic
D) diurnal

Question 56

Which of the following eye diseases would be most likely to impair the ability of light to reach the back of the eye?

A) retinitis pigmentosa
B) macular degeneration
C) cataracts
D) glaucoma

Question 57

Research on the relationship between immigration, ethnicity, and health status of older adults has shown that

A) immigration status has no impact on physical or mental health.
B) immigrants tend to have better health than US-born individuals of the same ethnicity.
C) immigrants tend to have poorer health than US-born individuals of the same ethnicity.
D) immigration status has a negative impact on physical health but not on mental health.

Question 58

________ disease is known mostly for its characteristic motor symptoms, including slow walking, difficulty getting in and out of chairs, and tremors.

A) Crohn's
B) Huntington's
C) Alzheimer's
D) Parkinson's

Question 59

Stephanie has been a smoker for many years, and has lately developed a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Her doctor tells her that her illness is probably a result of her smoking, though some cases have genetic roots as well. Stephanie is probably suffering from

A) emphysema.
B) lung cancer.
C) asthma.
D) chronic bronchitis

Question 60

When Izzy gets home from school, she hands her book report to her grandmother to show off the A that she got. She is surprised when her grandmother holds the report at arm's length to read it rather than holding it closer to her eyes. Izzy's grandmother seems to be suffering from

A) cataract.
B) presbycusis.
C) presbyopia.
D) glaucoma.

Question 61

Gina is recalling the time last year that she hiked up a big hill in the rain with a group of her friends. This memory would be best described as a(n) ____ memory.

A) episodic
B) vigilance
C) semantic
D) implicit

Question 62

What is the primary reason why people's reaction times slow down as they get older?

A) Because older adults necessarily have more neurofibrillary tangles in their brains, and these tangles interfere with the cognitive processing of various tasks.
B) Because older adults have a decreased ability to distinguish important from unimportant information, and thus they need more time to process a given situation.
C) Because older adults have fewer "healthy" neurons, and thus neural messages take longer to process in the brain.
D) Because older adults take longer to decide that they need to respond to a given situation.

Question 63

Generally speaking, research has found that creativity tends to peak during a person's ________ and declines thereafter.

A) twenties
B) thirties
C) forties
D) fifties

Question 64

Which of the following is a component of wisdom, as identified by Baltes and several of his colleagues?

A) The intent of the act does not matter.
B) It involves a narrow focus.
C) It involves "average" judgment or advice, as opposed to specified areas of input.
D) It deals with important life issues.

Question 65

While you are studying for your psychology exam, you are using a form of memory that is intentional, conscious, and remembered at a specific time. In other words, you are using ________ memory.

A) autonomic
B) implicit
C) didactic
D) explicit

Question 66

Explicit memory is to implicit memory as

A) visual is to auditory.
B) auditory is to visual.
C) conscious is to unconscious.
D) unconscious is to conscious.

Question 67

The Useful Field of View measure does an excellent job of assessing

A) an individual's IQ.
B) one's risk for Alzheimer's disease.
C) working memory.
D) the type of skills necessary to drive.

Question 68

On which of the following types of memory tests do older adults tend to perform much worse than younger adults?

A) tests of iconic memory
B) tests of implicit memory
C) tests of semantic memory
D) tests of episodic memory

Question 69

Cedric is taking a vocabulary quiz in his grammar class. Because the information he is being tested on is a set of general meanings that are not tied to a specific time or event, the test is examining ________ memory.

A) procedural
B) universal
C) semantic
D) episodic

Question 70

The two general subdivisions of explicit memory are

A) semantic memory and procedural memory.
B) episodic memory and semantic memory.
C) procedural memory and working memory.
D) working memory and episodic memory

Question 71

________ is often assumed to be a strongpoint of younger people, while ________ is often assumed to be the strength of older people.

A) recall; recognition
B) creativity; wisdom
C) recognition; recall
D) wisdom; creativity

Question 72

The universal finding with regard to changes in our reaction time as we age is that

A) cognitive speed on crystallized tasks gets faster but cognitive speed on fluid tasks gets slower as people get older.
B) cognitive speed on fluid tasks gets faster but cognitive speed on crystallized tasks gets slower as people get older.
C) people slow down as people get older.
D) people get cognitively faster as they get older.

Question 73

Jonathan is a 72-year-old man who is generally in good health. As he has aged his reaction times have gotten predictably slower. For which of the following activities would this post the greatest concern?

A) remembering to take his prescription medications on a daily basis
B) continuing his work as an architect
C) caretaking for his grandchildren while their parents go out for an evening
D) driving an automobile

Question 74

The _________ framework was developed by Camp and colleagues (1993; 2007) to help older adults utilize two different types of aids to compensate for normal declines in memory skill.

A) A-B-B-A
B) E-I-E-I-O
C) X-R-X-R
D) C-D-E-F-G

Question 75

How is the AAA Roadwise Review tool administered to help senior drivers determine how fit they are to be behind the wheel of an automobile?

A) It is a battery of neuroimaging tests.
B) It is a pencil and paper test.
C) It is an "on the road" adaptation of a driver's test.
D) It is an online inventory.

Question 76

Why is it that older adults seem to have declines in their psychomotor speed and their working memories when compared to younger adults?

A) Because they experience a reduction in neurofibrillary tangles, which inhibits the ability of neurons to send messages at a maximally efficient speed.
B) Because they experience a reduction in the ability of the corpus callosum to send messages from one cerebral hemisphere to the other.
C) Because they experience more neuronal death in the diencephalon (the thalamus and hypothalamus), which hinders these cognitive skills.
D) Because they show greater activation of the prefrontal cortex on easier tasks, thus "using up" their brain power before they ascend to more difficult tasks.

Question 77

Once information is taken in, it is held in a memory facility where it can either be both stored or actively used to help solve problems. This facility is called ________ memory.

A) eidetic
B) working
C) iconic
D) echoic

Question 78

The rapidness with which a person can execute a mental function and provide a specific response is called ________ speed.

A) visuographic
B) psychomotor
C) working
D) cognitive

Question 79

The changes in memory that occur as we age have been found to have a neurological basis; specifically, shrinking of different brain structures, including the ________ as we age is related to declines in the recall of stored information.

A) hypothalamus
B) hippocampus
C) thalamus
D) medulla

Question 80

Patsy is an enormously creative person. Her peers often wonder at the way she comes up with new and innovative solutions to difficult problems. If Patsy were to undergo neuroimaging tests, you would probably find that she had a very well-developed set of ________ structures in her brain.

A) white matter
B) frontal
C) parietal
D) gray matter