Deck 18: Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood

Question 1

Cognitive _____ declines in old age,whereas cognitive _____ appears to remain constant or increase.

A) mechanics; pragmatics
B) pragmatics; mechanics
C) pragmatics; reasoning
D) learning; reasoning

Answer 1

mechanics; pragmatics

Question 2

Which of the following is true about attention?

A) The more difficult the competing tasks are,the more effectively older adults divide attention than younger adults.
B) When the two competing tasks are reasonably easy,age differences among adults are minimal or nonexistent.
C) On simple tasks involving a search for a feature,age differences are dramatic even when individuals are given sufficient practice.
D) Generally,older adults are more adept at selective attention than younger adults are.

Answer 2

When the two competing tasks are reasonably easy,age differences among adults are minimal or nonexistent.

Question 3

_____ attention involves concentrating on more than one activity at the same time.

A) Sustained
B) Selective
C) Divided
D) Executive

Answer 3

Divided

Question 4

An example of _____ attention is the ability to focus on one voice among many in a crowded room or a noisy restaurant.

A) selective
B) divided
C) sustained
D) executive

Question 5

Which of the following concepts have distinctions similar to the ones between cognitive mechanics and cognitive pragmatics?

A) Gross motor skills and fine motor skills
B) Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence
C) Physiological control and psychological control
D) Generativity and stagnation

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a component of cognitive pragmatics?

A) Language comprehension
B) Knowledge about the self
C) Life skills
D) Comparison and categorization

Question 7

_____ attention is focused and extended engagement with an object,task,event,or some other aspect of the environment.

A) Selective
B) Sustained
C) Divided
D) Executive

Question 8

Zack is having a conversation with his friend Ben in a crowded room.Despite the presence of many voices around him,Zack focuses on what Ben is saying.This is an example of _____ attention.

A) selective
B) divided
C) implicit
D) executive

Question 9

The term _____ refers to the ability to focus on a specific aspect of experience that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant.

A) divided attention
B) selective attention
C) attention deficit
D) sustained attention

Question 10

Speed and accuracy of the processes involved in sensory input,attention,visual and motor memory,discrimination,comparison,and categorization are components of:

A) cognitive perceptions.
B) cognitive pragmatics.
C) cognitive mechanics.
D) cognitive intelligence.

Question 11

Recent research indicates that the greater distractibility of older adults is associated with less effective functioning in neural networks running through the _____ of the brain,which are involved in cognitive control.

A) occipital and temporal lobes
B) frontal and parietal lobes
C) cerebellum
D) medulla

Question 12

Selective attention is _____,whereas divided attention is _____.

A) vigilance; focusing on a specific event
B) paying attention only occasionally; constantly paying attention
C) focusing on one thing; focusing on many things
D) paying attention to detail; paying attention to significant events

Question 13

The term Baltes uses to describe the "hardware" of the mind,meaning the neurophysiological architecture of the brain that was developed through evolution,is:

A) cognitive mechanics.
B) cognitive perceptions.
C) crystallized pragmatics.
D) crystallized intelligence.

Question 14

Which of the following factors are most likely to contribute to the decline in fluid mechanics in late adulthood?

A) Decline in writing skills
B) Decline in processing speed
C) Decline in language comprehension
D) Decline in life skills

Question 15

Which of the following is a term used to describe sustained attention?

A) Executive functioning
B) Transitivity
C) Vigilance
D) Multitasking

Question 16

_____ are the culture-based "software programs" of the mind.

A) Cognitive functions
B) Cognitive perceptions
C) Cognitive mechanics
D) Cognitive pragmatics

Question 17

One study found that following six months of _____ older adults showed improvement on reaction time tasks.

A) eating a macrobiotic diet
B) cognitive behavioral therapy
C) aerobic exercise
D) attending regular religious services

Question 18

An example of _____ attention is making a decision about which stimuli to attend to when making a left turn at an intersection.

A) executive
B) divided
C) sustained
D) selective

Question 19

As a result of aging,which of the following is NOT likely to deteriorate?

A) Discrimination
B) Comparison
C) Language comprehension
D) Categorization

Question 20

Which of the following statements about cognitive mechanics and cognitive pragmatics is true?

A) Educational qualifications and professional skills are components of cognitive pragmatics.
B) Cognitive mechanics improves in late adulthood.
C) Decline in cognitive pragmatics may begin as soon as early midlife.
D) Knowledge about the self and life skills that help people to master or cope with life are components of cognitive mechanics.

Question 21

_____,which is closely linked to short-term memory,is like a place for doing mental jobs and allows children and adults to manipulate and assemble information when making decisions,solving problems,and comprehending written and spoken language.

A) Working memory
B) Episodic memory
C) Working cognition
D) Source memory

Question 22

Which of the following is the probable reason for the decline in working memory in older adults?

A) Increased distractibility
B) Efficient inhibition
C) Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
D) Lowered implicit memory

Question 23

Travis,who is 25 years old,knows that Beijing is the capital of China,but he cannot remember when or where he learned this.This is an example of how:

A) semantic memory improves with age.
B) semantic memory is closely linked to an individual's personal identity with the past.
C) semantic memory begins to decline in early adulthood.
D) semantic memory is independent of an individual's personal identity with the past.

Question 24

A common memory problem for older adults is _____,in which individuals cannot quite retrieve familiar information but have the feeling that they should be able to retrieve it.

A) dementia
B) the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
C) temporary memory loss
D) mental block

Question 25

Frank,aged 67,recites a poem that he learned in grade school,much to the amazement of his grandchildren.This is an example of Frank's _____ memory.

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

Question 26

Older adults have more difficulty determining the time required to step on the brakes when a traffic light suddenly turns red.This is because they have:

A) a decline in explicit memory.
B) slower perceptual speed.
C) inferior semantic memory.
D) lost the ability to use their episodic memory.

Question 27

The retention of information about the when and where of life's happenings is called _____ memory.

A) episodic
B) prospective
C) source
D) semantic

Question 28

Remembering the name of a person's favorite toy when he or she was a child is an example of _____ memory.

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

Question 29

Jonas is being tested for decline in cognitive functioning.The test involves assessing his ability to action planning,allocating attention to goals,detecting errors,monitoring progress on tasks,and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances.The researchers are testing Jonas' _____ attention.

A) sustained
B) executive
C) divided
D) selective

Question 30

Explicit memory is also called _____ memory.

A) collective
B) procedural
C) declarative
D) false

Question 31

Although Alicia has a great memory for trivia,she has difficulty remembering important events in her life.Alicia has good _____ memory but poor _____ memory.

A) episodic; procedural
B) procedural; semantic
C) semantic; episodic
D) explicit; implicit

Question 32

Which of the following statements about the relationship between semantic memory and aging is true?

A) Episodic memory declines more than semantic memory in older adults.
B) Older adults are usually unable to retrieve semantic information.
C) Episodic memory and semantic memory remain unchanged in older adults.
D) Older adults can retrieve semantic information from long ago but not from the recent past.

Question 33

A person's knowledge about the world is called _____ memory.

A) schematic
B) functional
C) normative
D) semantic

Question 34

Perceptual speed shows considerable decline in late adulthood and is strongly linked with declines in _____.

A) selective attention
B) semantic memory
C) working memory
D) divided attention

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of explicit memory?

A) John summarizes the plot of a novel that he has just read to his friend.
B) Max drives the car from his office to his home.
C) Linda turns off the lights before going to bed.
D) Maria types on her computer while talking to her friend.

Question 36

According to a study by Mahoney and others,a lower level of _____ attention in older adults was linked to low blood pressure,which likely is related to reduced blood flow to the brain's frontal lobes.

A) sustained
B) executive
C) divided
D) selective

Question 37

Remembering where a person went on vacation last summer is an example of _____ memory.

A) situational
B) semantic
C) prospective
D) episodic

Question 38

A recent study of older adults found that the greater the variability in their _____ attention,the more likely they were to experience falls.

A) sustained
B) selective
C) divided
D) executive

Question 39

Helen's knowledge of calculus and statistics is part of her _____ memory.

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

Question 40

_____ is a cognitive resource that involves the ability to perform tasks such as deciding whether pairs of two-digit or two-letter strings are the same or different or determining the time required to step on the brakes when the car directly ahead stops.

A) Sustained attention
B) Executive attention
C) Episodic memory
D) Perceptual speed

Question 41

Eighty-year-old Lucia has difficulty remembering to call her son every Sunday at noon.This is most likely due to a decline in her:

A) perceptual speed.
B) episodic memory.
C) implicit memory.
D) prospective memory.

Question 42

According to research by Baltes and his colleagues,which of the following statements about wisdom is TRUE?

A) Wisdom does not require experience,practice,or complex skills.
B) Wisdom increases dramatically from midlife to late adulthood.
C) Cognitive factors are better predictors of wisdom than personality-related factors.
D) High levels of wisdom are rare.

Question 43

Older adults especially perform well when decision making:

A) is not constrained by time pressures.
B) does not hold any meaning for them.
C) involves high risks.
D) requires high perceptual speed.

Question 44

Which of the following is TRUE of decision-making and aging?

A) Older adults perform well when decision making is constrained by time pressures.
B) Older adults are far more inconsistent with their choices as compared to younger adults.
C) Older adults perform well when decisions involve high risks.
D) Older adults' decision-making skills are more likely to be unaffected by age-related decreases in memory.

Question 45

Which of the following is true of the influence of education on the cognitive functioning of older adults?

A) Today's older adults were less likely to go to college when they were young adults as compared to their parents or grandparents.
B) Fewer older adults are returning to college today to further their education than in past generations.
C) For older adults with less education,frequently engaging in cognitive activities improved their episodic memory.
D) Educational experiences have no impact or are negatively correlated with scores on intelligence tests and information-processing tasks.

Question 46

In his studies on wisdom,Paul Baltes has found all of the following EXCEPT:

A) wisdom is correlated with cognitive factors such as intelligence.
B) wisdom is associated with creativity and openness to experience.
C) higher levels of wisdom is achieved through certain life experiences,such as being trained and working in a field concerned with difficult life problems.
D) having wisdom-enhancing mentors contribute to higher levels of wisdom.

Question 47

Which of the following is an example of implicit memory?

A) Being at a grocery store and remembering what an individual wanted to buy
B) Typing on a computer while talking to a friend
C) Being able to name the capital of Illinois
D) Recounting the events of a movie an individual has seen

Question 48

Which of the following has been linked to lower cognitive performance,not only in older adults but also in young and middle-aged adults?

A) Hypertension
B) Arthritis
C) Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
D) Decreased inhibition

Question 49

Which of the following is TRUE of memory and aging?

A) Memory decline occurs primarily in explicit,episodic,and working memory.
B) Successful aging means reducing the decline and adapting to it.
C) Memory decline occurs primarily in implicit memory or semantic memory.
D) Successful aging means eliminating memory decline altogether.

Question 50

Why are older adults more likely to forget what items they wanted to buy at a grocery store (unless they write them down on a list and take it with them)than they are to forget how to drive a car?

A) Perceptual speed declines with aging.
B) Implicit memory is less likely to be adversely affected by aging than explicit memory.
C) Source memory is more likely to decline with aging than prospective memory.
D) Explicit memory declines more rapidly with aging than implicit memory.

Question 51

Venette recounts a funny story that she had recently heard to her friend Clarice.Clarice tells her that she has heard the story before,and,in fact,she had been the one to originally tell the story to Venette.Venette is having a failure of her _____ memory.

A) prospective
B) source
C) fluid
D) procedural

Question 52

Adeline,aged 90,still drives her car to the senior center every Friday.Last week she tells her friends that someone they know from her church died.When they ask her for the person's name she says,"I can't remember her name.She sits near the altar and always has a hat on." Clearly Adeline has better _____ memory than _____ memory.

A) explicit; implicit
B) implicit; explicit
C) explicit; procedural
D) source; trait

Question 53

According to research by Baltes and his colleagues,the time frame of _____ is the main age window for wisdom to emerge.

A) early midlife and late midlife
B) midlife and late adulthood
C) late adolescence and early adulthood
D) young-old and oldest-old

Question 54

Which of the following statements about prospective memory is NOT true?

A) Older adults are more likely to forget an event-based task than a time-based task.
B) Prospective memory declines with age.
C) Decline of prospective memory depends on complex factors.
D) Declines in prospective memory occur more in laboratory than real-life settings.

Question 55

A recent study reported by Lachman and others revealed that older adults with less education had _____ than those with more education.

A) lower interpersonal skills
B) lower cognitive abilities
C) higher incidence of mental disorders
D) higher distractibility

Question 56

Which of the following is true about implicit memory?

A) It is also known as declarative memory.
B) It is more likely to be adversely affected by aging than explicit memory.
C) It involves skills and routine procedures that are automatically performed.
D) It is memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.

Question 57

_____ memory is memory without conscious recollection.

A) Implicit
B) Prospective
C) Source
D) Explicit

Question 58

_____ is expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits practical judgment about important matters.

A) Enlightenment
B) Wisdom
C) Proficiency
D) Competence

Question 59

Remembering how to ride a bike without having to consciously think about it is a part of an individual's _____ memory.

A) declarative
B) prospective
C) implicit
D) explicit

Question 60

Michael's mother always forgets to take her heart medication.So,every night Michael calls her after dinner to remind her about her medicines.This demonstrates that Michael's mother is experiencing a decline in _____ memory.

A) source
B) episodic
C) prospective
D) implicit

Question 61

The concept of "use it or lose it" is a significant component of the _____ model of cognitive optimization that addresses strategies to buffer age-related declines in intellectual development.

A) engagement
B) constructivist
C) peer-to-peer
D) social learning

Question 62

Which of the following statements about older workers is true?

A) Older workers have more accidents than younger workers.
B) Older workers have higher rates of absenteeism than younger workers.
C) Older workers are of considerably less value to a company than younger workers.
D) Older workers experience more job satisfaction than younger workers.

Question 63

Cognitive neuroscience has uncovered some important links between aging,the brain,and cognitive functioning.Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) Decline in neural circuits is linked to poorer performance by older adults on complex reasoning tasks.
B) Older adults are more likely than younger adults to use both hemispheres of the brain.
C) Older adults show greater activity in the frontal and parietal regions while engaging in simple tasks.
D) In older adults,the functioning of the hippocampus declines more than the functioning of the frontal lobes.

Question 64

Senior Odyssey is a 20-week program:

A) involving creative problem solving skills in older adults.
B) aimed at improving motor-skills and general physical health in older adults.
C) aimed at teaching adults to multitask.
D) involving exposure of older adults to younger people through shared social activities.

Question 65

The concept of _____ emphasizes that changes in cognitive activity patterns might result in disuse and consequent atrophy of cognitive skills.

A) multiple intelligence
B) "mind over matter"
C) terminal decline
D) "use it or lose it"

Question 66

Studies conducted in 2006 revealed that approximately _____ retired Americans return to work after they have retired.

A) 1 million
B) 7 million
C) 15 million
D) 25 million

Question 67

Which of the following is one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer disease?

A) Increased irritability and aggressiveness
B) Word-finding/generating difficulties
C) Decrease in ability to produce well-formed sentences
D) Decreased eye-hand coordination

Question 68

Which of the following is one of the BEST predictors of job performance in older adults?

A) Cognitive ability
B) Educational attainment
C) Distaste for retirement/complexity of work
D) Being married to a working spouse

Question 69

Senior Odyssey participants showed increased _____ that involves generating new ideas,being open to new information,and being aware of multiple perspectives.

A) openness to diversity
B) other-centeredness
C) multitasking
D) mindfulness

Question 70

On average,today's workers in the United States will spend _____ to _____ of their lives in retirement.

A) 1 percent; 5 percent
B) 5 percent; 10 percent
C) 10 percent; 15 percent
D) 15 percent; 20 percent

Question 71

One of the most common language difficulties that older adults experience is:

A) expressive aphasia.
B) stuttering.
C) making up new words that other people do not understand.
D) the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

Question 72

In 2011,in the United States,the average age of retirement was _____ for men and _____ for women.

A) 65; 67
B) 64; 62
C) 66; 64
D) 70; 72

Question 73

After 1995,of the adults 65 and older in the workforce,those _____ rose substantially.

A) who are retiring early
B) engaging in volunteer work
C) engaging in part-time work
D) engaging in full-time work

Question 74

According to Denise Park and Patricia Reuter-Lorenz,neurocognitive _____ involves the use of complementary,neural circuits to protect cognitive functioning in an aging brain.

A) scaffolding
B) bypassing
C) extension
D) regeneration

Question 75

Phyllis Moen described seven paths that individuals in their sixties usually follow.Which of the following is NOT one of those paths?

A) Some retire from career work and take up a new and different job.
B) Some go to work for the first time after being homemakers.
C) Some move to a disability status due to poor health.
D) Some who are laid off define their status as "retirement".

Question 76

The concept of _____ emphasizes that changes in cognitive functioning may be linked more to distance from death or cognition-related pathology than to distance from birth.

A) terminal decline
B) terminal slide
C) cognitive shift
D) cognitive slide

Question 77

Which of the following statements about language skills of older adults is NOT true?

A) The vocabulary of individuals often continues to increase throughout most of the adult years.
B) Older adults seldom report difficulty in retrieving words to use in conversation.
C) Understanding spoken language in certain contexts is a common complaint for older adults.
D) In less than ideal listening conditions,older adults can have difficulty in understanding speech.

Question 78

Mae is 87 years old.She is most likely to have difficulty understanding a person when he or she:

A) speaks slowly.
B) has a face-to-face conversation with her.
C) calls her on the phone.
D) picks a quiet place to have a conversation.

Question 79

_____ refers to extended verbal expression in speech or writing.

A) Narrative
B) Embellishing
C) Discourse
D) Characterization

Question 80

Which of the following can be attributed to giving Americans the option to retire?

A) The Age Discrimination Act of 1967
B) The deletion of mandatory retirement in 1986
C) Establishment of the Social Security system in 1935
D) The extension of the mandatory retirement age in 1978