About This Chapter
This test collection examines features exam questions on topics such as the hormonal changes in men, leisure, and the meaning in life. It delivers multiple choice questions with correct answers, detailed explanations, and glossary definitions arranged by difficulty scales featuring verified solutions, comprehensive explanations, and key term glossaries. Comprehensive glossaries and key term definitions support concept understanding and vocabulary development.
The learning outcomes are:
✓ Summarize physical development in middle adulthood.
✓ Summarize trends in work, retirement, and education in middle adulthood.
✓ Explain the roles of religion, spirituality, and meaning of life during middle adulthood.
Question 1
Howard, a middle-aged man, is suffering from erectile problems. He consults his doctor to know about the likely causes for his condition. He tells his doctor that he has been suffering from diabetes and low blood pressure. He also tells his doctor that he is a weight lifter and hence spends 2 hours every day at the gym. He also tells his doctor that his recent blood test shows a lower level of natural killer (NK) cells. In this scenario, which of the following would the doctor mention as the most likely cause for Howard's condition?
- diabetes
- low blood pressure
- low level of NK cells
- excessive weight lifting
Correct Answer:
diabetes
Glossary:
Chronic Disorders: Disorders that are characterized by slow onset and long duration. They are rare in early adulthood, increase during middle adulthood, and become common in late adulthood.
Question 2
The gradual decline in men's testosterone levels in middle age can reduce their
- lung capacity.
- sexual activity.
- infertility.
- thyroid levels.
Correct Answer:
sexual activity.
Glossary:
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs): Infections that are contracted primarily through sexual contact, including oral-genital and anal-genital contact.
Question 3
Brandon is a chain smoker and has been smoking cigarettes since college. He is currently 50 years old and has been recently diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. He consults his doctor to know more about his condition. Which of the following would the doctor most likely tell Brandon during the consultation?
- Erectile dysfunction only occurs in males over 70 years of age and seldom occurs in younger males.
- Erectile dysfunction is a fatal condition in males.
- Obesity and elevated cholesterol levels are the only known causes for erectile dysfunction.
- The main treatment for men with erectile dysfunction has focused on Viagra and similar drugs.
Correct Answer:
The main treatment for men with erectile dysfunction has focused on Viagra and similar drugs.
Glossary:
Erectile Dysfunction (ED): The inability to adequately achieve and maintain an erection to attain satisfactory sexual performance.
Question 4
Which of the following is most likely a factor that is associated with erectile problems in middle-aged men?
- smoking
- moderate exercises
- excessive sexual activity
- high testosterone levels
Correct Answer:
smoking
Glossary:
Addiction: A pattern of behavior characterized by an overwhelming involvement with using a drug and a preoccupation with securing its supply.
Question 5
Douglas is diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. He consults his doctor to know about the treatment options available for his condition. Which of the following drugs that are similar to Viagra will the doctor most likely prescribe to treat Douglas's condition?
- Rogaine and Prozac
- Levitra and Cialis
- Oxycodone and Prozac
- Naproxen and OxyContin
Correct Answer:
Levitra and Cialis
Glossary:
Erectile Dysfunction (ED): The inability to adequately achieve and maintain an erection to attain satisfactory sexual performance.
Question 6
Meghan is conducting a seminar in her office on the importance of investing time in leisure activities. She explains that a lot of research has been conducted on the importance of leisure activities and that the research findings indicate that middle-aged adults need to make some changes to their current lifestyle. Which of the following research findings would Meghan most likely mention in her seminar?
- If an adult develops leisure activities that can be continued into retirement, the transition from work to retirement will be highly stressful.
- When middle-aged adults engage in active leisure pursuits, they show a lower level of cognitive performance in late adulthood.
- When those who had worked in occupations with fewer cognitive challenges prior to retirement engaged in physical and cognitive leisure activities during retirement, they showed less cognitive decline.
- It has been observed that after individuals experienced stressful events, if they engaged in more leisure time than usual on those days, the leisure time seldom helped improve their moods.
Correct Answer:
When those who had worked in occupations with fewer cognitive challenges prior to retirement engaged in physical and cognitive leisure activities during retirement, they showed less cognitive decline.
Glossary:
Leisure: The pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests of their own choosing.
Question 7
Caroline, a 25-year-old professional, has been dating Mike, her colleague, for the past 6 years. She wants to get married to him by the age of 30 and have kids with him before she turns 35. She feels that getting married to Mike and raising a family with him are her main goals in life and that these goals will show her the meaning of life. In the context of the four main needs for meaning proposed by Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs, which of the following needs is highlighted in this scenario?
- the need for self-worth
- the need for values
- the need for purpose
- the need for self-efficacy
Correct Answer:
the need for purpose
Question 8
Which of the following statements is true of Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs's need for efficacy?
- This need refers to the fact that present events draw meaning from their connection with future events.
- This need can lend a sense of goodness or positive characterization of life and justify certain courses of action.
- This need involves the belief that one can make a difference.
- This need implies that most individuals want to be good, worthy individuals.
Correct Answer:
This need involves the belief that one can make a difference.
Glossary:
Self-Efficacy: The belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes.
Question 9
Which of the following statements is supported by Crystal Park's research on chronic stress and religious experiences?
- Individuals who are religious rarely experience a disruption in their values after the death of a loved one.
- Religion can serve as a meaning system through which the bereaved are able to reframe their loss.
- Non-religious individuals show better adjustment to the loss of a loved one than religious individuals.
- Initially, religion is linked with less depressed feelings about a loved one's death.
Correct Answer:
Religion can serve as a meaning system through which the bereaved are able to reframe their loss.
Glossary:
Religion: An organized set of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols that increases an individual’s connection to a sacred or transcendent other (God, higher power, or higher truth).
Question 10
Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs believe that a meaningful life can be understood in terms of four main needs for meaning. Which of the following is a need for meaning according to Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs?
- the need for shelter
- the need for intimacy
- the need for values
- the need for food
Correct Answer:
the need for values
Question 11
According to Viktor Frankl, the three most distinct human qualities are freedom, responsibility, and
- authority.
- spirituality.
- fraternity.
- industry.
Correct Answer:
spirituality.
Glossary:
Spirituality: Experiencing something beyond oneself in a transcendent manner and living in a way that benefits others and society.
Question 12
Cathy, a pious individual, strongly believes in the power of prayer and that she will understand the meaning of her life in due course. She volunteers at the church every weekend to help the needy and during one such volunteering session, a well-read pastor tells her that a life that has purposes and values but no efficacy would be tragic. She ponders over this thought for days and finally decides to read up on Roy Baumeister's and Kathleen Vohs's four main needs for meaning that guide how people try to make sense of their lives. In this scenario, which of the following statements related to the four main needs for meaning most likely supports the pastor's declaration?
- The person will do what it takes to achieve his or her own goals and purposes and thus be satisfied but not necessarily happy with his or her life.
- The person will ignore others' needs and focus on his or her own needs over everything else.
- The person might know what is desirable but would not be able to do anything with that knowledge.
- The person might consider the greater good of humanity and do what it takes to achieve these goals, even at the cost of his or her self-worth.
Correct Answer:
The person might know what is desirable but would not be able to do anything with that knowledge.
Glossary:
Egocentrism: The inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s (salient feature of the first substage of preoperational thought).
Question 13
Drawing on beliefs, values, and goals to change the meaning of a stressful situation is known as
- self-efficacy.
- problem-focused coping.
- meaning-making coping.
- proactive coping.
Correct Answer:
meaning-making coping.
Glossary:
Meaning-Making Coping: Involves drawing on beliefs, values, and goals to change the meaning of a stressful situation, especially in times of chronic stress such as when a loved one dies.
Question 14
Which of the following statements is true of Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl?
- He argued that examining the finiteness of our existence and the certainty of death adds meaning to life.
- He said that the two most distinct human qualities are religiousness and philanthropy.
- Spirituality, in his view, has a religious underpinning.
- He argued that freedom refers to a human being's uniqueness of spirit, philosophy, and mind.
Correct Answer:
He argued that examining the finiteness of our existence and the certainty of death adds meaning to life.
Glossary:
Meaning-Making Coping: Involves drawing on beliefs, values, and goals to change the meaning of a stressful situation, especially in times of chronic stress such as when a loved one dies.