Jeanette, a 60-year-old woman, participates in a competition in which the participants are asked to memorize a list of words and then recall them in the same order in less than 2 minutes. In this competition, the participant who recalls the maximum number of words in the right order will be the winner. Unfortunately, Jeanette is not able to recall more than 10 words. In the context of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, Jeanette is most likely showing a decline in the mental ability referred to as
- muscle memory.
- implicit memory.
- verbal memory.
- verbal comprehension.
Explicit Memory: Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.
Which of the following statements is true of research by Schaie and Salthouse?
- Both agree that adulthood is the time when the level of functioning in a number of cognitive domains is maintained or even increases.
- Salthouse recently has argued that his longitudinal research on aging and cognitive functioning should not be dismissed.
- Salthouse agrees with Schaie that cognitive functioning involving accumulated knowledge, such as vocabulary and general information, does not show early age-related decline but rather continues to increase at least until 60 years of age.
- Schaie has argued that reasoning, memory, spatial visualization, and processing speed begin declining in early adulthood and show further decline in the 50s.
Cognitive Mechanics: The “hardware” of the mind, reflecting the neurophysiological architecture of the brain. Cognitive mechanics involve the speed and accuracy of the processes involving sensory input, visual and motor memory, discrimination, comparison, and categorization.
What is the notable finding of Schaie's assessment of intellectual abilities of parents and their children?
- The second generation scored higher on numerical abilities.
- The second generation showed higher levels of cognitive functioning in inductive reasoning.
- The offspring generation showed cognitive decline from 60 to 67 years of age.
- The parent generation showed modest increase in cognitive functioning from 60 to 67 years of age.
Fluid Intelligence: The ability to reason abstractly, which begins to decline from middle adulthood onward, according to Horn.
Which of the following is the finding of the longitudinal and cross-sectional assessment of intellectual abilities conducted by Schaie?
- Decline in intellectual abilities was more likely in the cross-sectional assessments than in the longitudinal assessments.
- When assessed longitudinally, inductive reasoning showed a consistent decline in the middle adulthood years.
- When assessed cross-sectionally, inductive reasoning increased until toward the end of middle adulthood.
- People reach a peak in their cognitive functioning for many intellectual skills in early adulthood.
Cross-Sectional Approach: A research strategy in which individuals of different ages are compared at one time.
According to the Seattle Longitudinal Study of individuals aged 25 to 95, which of the following abilities showed the least decline with age?
- verbal comprehension
- spatial orientation
- inductive reasoning
- numerical abilities
Language: A form of communication, whether spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the words used by a community and the rules for varying and combining them.
According to the Seattle Longitudinal Study, which of the following abilities showed signs of early decline?
- spatial orientation
- perceptual speed
- inductive reasoning
- verbal memory
Perception: The interpretation of what is sensed.
________ refers to the ability to quickly and accurately make simple discriminations in visual stimuli.
- Spatial orientation
- Inductive reasoning
- Perceptual speed
- Verbal comprehension
Perception: The interpretation of what is sensed.
________ refers to the ability to recognize and understand patterns and relationships in a problem and use this understanding to solve other instances of the problem.
- Spatial orientation
- Inductive reasoning
- Verbal comprehension
- Perceptual speed
Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning: Piaget’s formal operational concept that adolescents have the cognitive ability to develop hypotheses, or best guesses, about ways to solve problems.
Which of the following statements is true of the Seattle Longitudinal Study?
- It involves extensive evaluation of sexual abilities during adulthood.
- It was initiated by John Horn.
- Participants have been assessed in 2-year intervals since 1985.
- New waves of participants are added periodically.
Cohort Effects: Characteristics determined by a person’s time of birth, era, or generation rather than the person’s actual age.
The Seattle Longitudinal Study concluded that middle age is a time of
- peak performance for verbal ability.
- great decline for inductive reasoning.
- moderate decline for spatial abilities.
- increased mathematical abilities.
________ refers to the ability to encode and recall meaningful language units, such as a list of words.
- Spatial orientation
- Inductive reasoning
- Implicit memory
- Verbal memory
Explicit Memory: Memory of facts and experiences that individuals consciously know and can state.
________ refers to the ability to understand ideas expressed in words.
- Verbal comprehension
- Verbal memory
- Implicit memory
- Spatial orientation
Language Acquisition Device (LAD): Chomsky’s term that describes a biological endowment enabling the child to detect the features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and semantics.
Toby is a computer programmer who has a passion for creating 3D games. He has the ability to visualize three-dimensional objects and mentally rotate them, which helps him put his ideas and drawings into virtual reality. In the context of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, Toby's mental ability is referred to as
- spatial orientation.
- inductive reasoning.
- verbal ability.
- perceptual speed.
Games: Activities engaged in for pleasure that include rules and often involve competition with one or more individuals.
According to studies, which of the following is one of the most common sexual problems of older women?
- lack of foreplay
- lack of sexual interest
- partner non-cooperation
- reduced muscular movements
Low Birth Weight Infants: An infant that weighs less than 5 pounds 8 ounces at birth.
According to studies, which of the following is one of the most common sexual problems of older men?
- premature ejaculation
- partner non-cooperation
- lack of foreplay
- lubrication difficulties
________ is a term that is used to describe the midlife transition in which fertility declines.
- Puberty
- Menarche
- Spermarche
- Climacteric
Climacteric: The midlife transition during which fertility declines.