PSYC290N - Lifespan Development Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity: LessonMinimum of 2 scholarly sources (in addition to course text)Instructions A review of the

Cognitive Development/Decline in Late Adulthood

Most individuals in late adulthood experience some degree of cognitive decline. There is a concept called, "Use it or Lose It." This concept proposes that if you stop using your cognitive faculties, there is a steady decline in those faculties. And if we think about it (no pun intended), as most individuals age, they perform cognitive activities less efficiently and effectively because they have family and friends performing those tasks for them (e.g. driving, getting them dressed, cooking for them, etc.). Now, you may be thinking, those are all physical tasks, but let's think about this. Driving requires that we used decision-making skills. Getting dressed and choosing what to wear requires multiple layers of executive functioning, metacognition, and processing speed. You can read more about this in your text.

But, the experience of aging often involves learning to offset these cognitive weaknesses, such as increasing forgetfulness, with strengths like practicality and inventiveness. For instance, if Karen knows that she is starting to forget where she leaves her house slippers, she may buy two extra pairs and leave them in different places around the house.

Reflect: Think about some of the elderly people in your life. What are some of the ways that they have become creative and inventive to account for their cognitive weakness?

Physical Development/Decline in Late Adulthood

When you visualize a 70-year-old woman, what do you see? Do you see a woman with white hair, sitting in a rocking chair, knitting a scarf next to a warm fire with a blanket on her lap? Or, do you envision a person outside moving deliberately, gently to the sounds of robins singing in her garden as she poses to each tai chi motion? Depending on your culture and upbringing, it could be either of those pictures?

For some of us, we saw our grandparents in hospital beds or always sitting. While others grew up with our grandparents teaching us to play or globetrotting once they retired. And even still, some of you were raised by your grandparents. Our textbook discusses the many factors that contribute to the physical longevity experienced by those in late adulthood. These factors include exercise, diet, mental health and many more.

Reflect: What 2 factors do you think are the most significant in preserving physical fitness in late adulthood? Why?

Socioemotional Development in Late Adulthood

Maintaining a sense of personal uniqueness can be especially challenging for older adults who are in danger of being stereotyped by others as disabled, incapable or incompetent. Moreover, changes in social roles and relationships are just as important as the cognitive and physical changes that occur in late adulthood. Is it fair to assume that late adulthood is perhaps the most socially and personally challenging period of life?

The importance of successfully reaching Erikson’s ego integrity stage has been legitimized in studies that examine social functioning in older adults. But like most research, there are always researchers who find differing results. Some of these studies suggest that the ego integrity stage is not essential to mental health in old age. As researchers, we must weigh the pros, cons, and findings of each study that we consider. Do you think that successfully reaching this stage is a part of optimum social functioning in older adulthood?

Our readings have shown us that our social functioning and work-life are closely tied. This makes sense if you consider that most jobs require some level of social interaction. Traditionally, the retirement age in the United States has been 65 years of age. However, over 20% of individuals between the ages of 65 and 69 years of age continue to work according to our textbook.

As we have learned in this course, a person’s work is an integral part of their identity. Knowing this, how emotionally taxing must it be for a person who is forced to retire due to illness? And we have also seen in our readings, unsuccessfully moving through these stages of development can contribute to depressive symptoms. Unfortunately, even though depression is common in late adulthood, most elderly individuals never receive any treatment, even when they are at a much higher risk for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Knowing these things, what is your responsibility as a nurse, friend or family member of someone in advanced age?

Challenge Yourself: Imagine that your two adult children (in their 50s) and their children all live 200 miles away from you. You have had a hip replacement and have been placed in a nice senior citizen home. It is a high-end facility, but you have always been introverted. You can play the piano, and there is one in the great room, but you don't know anyone. You still have trouble getting around and your "apartment" is on the second floor. Consider what you have learned in the course so far: do you think that it would be difficult for you to make new friends in late adulthood? Why or why not?

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