Developmental Psycholoogy/Late Adulthood

Solution Preview

*Analyzing late adulthood and the death of an individual as a culmination of the life span developmental process.

Researchers suggest that potential psychosocial problems develop across the lifespan. Santrock (2006) points to research to describe several theories to explain why people age. For example, based on the biological theory (or cellular theory) our bodies age because there is a biological limit on the number of times that cells can divide and multiply; after we have reached that limit, the cells begin to die and aging occurs. The Free Radical theory suggest that people age because otherwise normal metabolism begins to produce unstable oxygen known as free radicals. Finally, the Mitochondrial theory holds that aging is due to the decay of mitochondria (energy-generating) cells that supply fuel for function, growth and repair as the body ages. For instance, in late adulthood (ages 50 and 60) individuals may experience gradual biological deficits such as: (1) decrease in bone density, (2) output of lungs and kidneys (3) deterioration in joints, and (4) memory loss. In addition, sensory organs become less sensitive resulting in a loss of sight and hearing. Thus, researchers hypothesize that aging leads to a decline in physical, emotional and cognitive functioning.

Examine ageism and stereotypes associated with late adulthood.

Some of the negative stereotyping experienced by older adults includes views that old people are irritable, boring, incompetent, grumpy, weak, and cognitively impaired (Couldin & Alexopoulos, 2010, p. 316). A body of research is presented that ...