Psych Middle/late Adulthood Definitions

Front 1

• Osteoporosis

Back 1

loss of bone mass with age resulting in more brittle and porous bones

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• Presbyopia

Back 2

normal loss of visual acuity with aging, especially the ability to focus the eyes on near objects

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• Presbycusis

Back 3

normal loss of hearing with aging, especially of high-frequency tones

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• Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Back 4

a set of disease processes in the heart and circulatory system

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• Atherosclerosis

Back 5

narrowing of the arteries caused by deposits of a fatty substance called plaques

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• Hypertension

Back 6

elevated blood pressure

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• Alcoholism

Back 7

physical and psychological dependence on alcohol

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• Selective optimization with compensation

Back 8

the process of balancing the gains and losses associated with aging

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• Episodic memories

Back 9

recollections of personal events

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• Semantic memories

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general knowledge

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• Creativity

Back 11

the ability to produce original, appropriate, and valuable ideas and/or solutions to problems

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• Generativity

Back 12

a sense that one is making a valuable contribution to society by bringing up children or mentoring younger people in some way

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• Life events approach

Back 13

a theoretical perspective on middle adulthood that focuses on normative and nonnormative events and how adults in this age group respond to them

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• Role conflict

Back 14

any situation in which two or more roles are at least partially incompatible, either because they call for different behaviors or because their separate demands add up to more hours than there are in the day

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• Multigenerational caregivers

Back 15

middle-aged adults who provide assistance to their parents and adult children at the same time

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• Caregiver burden

Back 16

a term for the cumulative negative effects of caring for an elderly or disabled person

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• Remote relationships

Back 17

relationships in which grandparents do not see their grandchildren often

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• Companionate relationships

Back 18

relationships in which grandparents have frequent contact with warm interactions with grandchildren

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• Involved relationships

Back 19

relationships in which grandparents are directly involved in everyday care of grandchildren or have close emotional ties with them

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• Burnout

Back 20

lack of energy, exhaustion, and pessimism that results from chronic stress

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• Gerontology

Back 21

the scientific study of aging

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• Activities of daily living (ADLs)

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self-help tasks such as bathing, dressing, and using the toilet

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• Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)

Back 23

more intellectually demanding daily living tasks such as doing housework, cooking, and managing money

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• Frail elderly

Back 24

older adults whose physical and/or mental impairments are so extensive that they cannot care for themselves

Front 25

• Synaptic plasticity

Back 25

the redundancy in the nervous system that ensures that it is nearly always possible for a nerve impulse to move from one neuron to another or from a neuron to another type of cell (e.g., a muscle cell)

Front 26

• Tinnitus

Back 26

persistent ringing in the ears

Front 27

• Hayflick limit

Back 27

the genetically programmed time limit to which each species is theoretically proposed to be subject, after which cells no longer have any capacity to replicate themselves accurately

Front 28

• Telomere

Back 28

a string of repetitive DNA at the tip of each chromosome in the body that appears to serve as a kind of timekeeping mechanism

Front 29

• Programmed senescence theory

Back 29

the view that age-related declines are the result of species-specific genes for aging

Front 30

• Cross-linking

Back 30

the formation of undesirable bonds between genes for aging

Front 31

• Free radicals

Back 31

molecules or atoms that possess an unpaired electron

Front 32

• Terminal drop hypothesis

Back 32

the hypothesis that mental and physical functioning declines drastically only in the few years immediately preceding death

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• Dementia

Back 33

a neurological disorder involving problems with memory and thinking that affect an individual’s emotional, social, and physical functioning

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• Alzheimer’s disease

Back 34

a very severe form of dementia, the cause of which is unknown

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• Multi-infarct dementia

Back 35

a form of dementia caused by one or more strokes

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• Wisdom

Back 36

a cognitive characteristic that includes accumulated knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge to practical problems of living, popularly thought to be most commonly found in older adults

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• Ego integrity

Back 37

the feeling that one’s life has been worthwhile

Front 38

• Reminiscence

Back 38

reflecting on past experience

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• Life review

Back 39

evaluative process in which elders make judgments about past behavior

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• Activity theory

Back 40

the idea that it is normal and healthy for older adults to try to remain as active as possible for as long as possible

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• Disengagement theory

Back 41

the theory that it is normal and healthy for older adults to scale down their social lives and to separate themselves from others to a certain degree

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• Continuity theory

Back 42

the idea that older adults adapt lifelong interests and activities to the limitations imposed upon them by physical aging

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• Successful aging

Back 43

the term gerontologists use to describe maintaining one’s physical health, mental abilities, social competence, and overall satisfaction with one’s life as one ages

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• Volunteerism

Back 44

performance of unpaid work for altruistic motives

Front 45

• Religious coping

Back 45

the tendency to turn to religious beliefs and institutions for support in times of difficulty

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• Aging in place

Back 46

living in a noninstitutional environment, to which modifications have been made to accommodate an older adult’s needs

Front 47

• Amenity move

Back 47

postretirement move away from kin to a location that has some desirable feature, such as year-round warm weather

Front 48

• Compensatory (kinship) migration

Back 48

move to a location near family or friends that happens when an elder requires frequent care because of a disability or disease

Front 49

• Institutional migration

Back 49

a move to an institution such as a nursing home that is necessitated by a disability