Human Behaviours Final Exam Notes

Human Behaviours Final Exam Notes
Lecture: Adolescence Storm and Stress

1. Physical Maturation
Puberty
Bio-psychosocial changes
Interrelated neurological and endocrinological changes that influence:

o Brain development
o Changes in sexual maturation
o Hormone production
o Physical growth
Hypothalamus-Pituitary Glands-Gonads Axis:
o Sex hormones, reproductive organs
Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Glands Axis:
o Stress, regulation, immune system, mood
Physical Changes
Height spurt
Maturation of reproductive system
Appearance of secondary sex characteristics
Increased muscle strength
Redistribution of body weight
Brain development continues Executive function
The way adolescents react to the physical changes of puberty depends on cultural and
social contexts:
Macho Boys
Effects of weight gains in girls as portrayed in media and culture
Secular growth trend (starting earlier and earlier) decrease over time in the average
age at which physical maturation takes place
Individual differences in maturation rate

Early and late maturing have psychological and social consequences for both boys
and girls depends on cultural development and context
Girls (Belonging to a Group)
Window of transition into puberty in expanding in the US

Reactions to breast development and menarche
o Breast development a welcome sign of growing maturity and femininity
o Menarche beginning of regular menstrual periods often met with mixed
feelings more unwelcomed
Body Dissatisfaction
o Concern about peer rejection
o Cultural links
o Eating disorders
Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
o Extreme thinness emaciation
o Relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy
weight
o Intense fear of gaining weight

Lack of menstruation among girls and women
Distorted by body image a self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions
of body weight and shape or a denial of the seriousness of low body weight
Bulimia (Over-eating) Counter Processing
o Recurrent and frequent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food
o Feeling no control over these episodes
o Binge-eating followed by behaviour that compensates for the overeating such
as:
Force vomiting
Excessive use of laxatives or diuretics
Fasting
Excessive exercise
Combination of these behaviours
o Usually maintain a healthy or normal weight
o Bulimic behaviour is done secretly because it is often accompanied by feelings of
disgust or shame
o Binge-eating and purging cycle happens anywhere from several times a week to
many times a day
o
o
Related Emotional Expressions
Depression
o Depressed mood feelings of sadness, loss of hope, sense of being overwhelmed
by the demands of the world and general unhappiness
o Depressive syndrome constellation of behaviours and emotions that occur
together
o Major depressive disorders characterized by a person who has experienced five
or more symptoms for at least 2 weeks
Characteristics of Major Depressive Disorders:
o Depressed or irritable mood most of the day
o Decreased interest in pleasurable activities
o Changes in weight or failure to gain weight in adolescence
o Sleep problems
o Psychomotor agitation or retardation
o Fatigue or loss of energy
o Feelings of worthlessness or abnormal amounts of guilt
o Reduced concentration and decision making ability
o Repeated suicidal ideation, attempts or plans of suicide
Factors associated with Adolescent Depression
o Genetic factors
o Parental loss or rejection Parents have stronger influences
o Adolescents are often exposed to more negative events and hassles than
younger children
o Adolescents are relatively inexperienced in coping with these kind of stressors
Gender differences in depression
o Most studies find no differences in depression between prepubescent boys and
girls
o From about age 11 to 15 women are more prone gender differences are
evident
o Continue to be evident into adulthood where depression is more common in
females than males
Boys
Generally welcome changes involving increased height and muscle mass
Generally not well prepared by their parent with information about maturation of their
reproductive organs
Spermarche first spontaneous ejaculation
Related Behavioural Expression
Externalizing
o Delinquency is an example of externalizing problems related to difficulties
controlling or regulating ones impulses
o Juvenile delinquent behaviours under 18 years old
o Status offences younger ones illegal for adolescents not illegal if
committed by an adult
Truancy, running away, alcohol possession, curfew violations
o Delinquent offenses applies to everyone actions for which adult could be
prosecuted
Destruction or theft of property, violent crimes against persons, illegal
weapon possessions, possession or sale of illegal drugs
2. Formal Operation
Abstract thinking
Logical reasoning and deductive approach
Brain Development
Major transformations in conscious thought, reasoning and problem-solving are

accompanied by changes in the brain
o Prefrontal cortex
o Continued myelination of nerve fibres
o Focused synaptic pruning increases by the age of 7 By 15, major ones
remains and small ones connected to major ones are strengthened, the
unimportant ones are diminished
Piagets Theory of Formal Operational Thought
Shift in thinking as early adolescents begin to use operations to manipulate and modify
thoughts
o Distinguish between reality and possibility
o Ability to raise hypotheses
Egocentrism
Personal fable deserving attention

o Intense investment in ones thoughts and feelings and a belief that these
thoughts are unique feeling of invulnerability
Imaginary Audience demands attention
o Adolescents assume that they are the centre of interests in others thoughts and
attentions
Decentring
Gaining some objectivity over ones own point of view
Factors that promote formal operational thought
Involvement in a variety of relationships that place both compatible and conflicting

demands on them
Participation in a more heterogeneous peer group

Content of high school curriculum
Criticism of the concept of formal operations
Debate over whether formal reasoning follows a qualitative, stage-like consolidation

Formal reasoning is not broad enough to encompass the many dimensions of cognitive
maturation
Some scholars claim that formal operational though does not represent the apex of
adult thought and reasoning
3. Peer Relationships
Membership
Peer group becomes more structured in early adolescence

Crowd large group that is usually recognized by a few predominant characteristics
Cliques small friendship groups of 5 to 10
Boundaries and Norms (Sustainable) Good / Bad reputations are hard to change
leadership, nicknames
Membership in cliques is relatively stable but always vulnerable to change importance

of peer pressure, peer approval and rejections
Reputational theory can be difficult to lose in a stable school population
Membership in an adolescent peer group is a forerunner of membership in adult social
groups
Parents and peers Establish fine lines over 2 communities
Childs radius of significant relationships changes from childhood to adolescence to

include extended family
Peer relationships in early adolescence takes place against a background of continuing
close, supportive relationships with family members
Adolescents describe a variety of overt signs of dependence from their families
potential conflict
Conflict with parents increase during adolescence
Quality of the home environment affects membership in peer groups as well
especially parenting practices and the quality of parent-child interactions
4. Romantic Relationships
Transition into Sexualized Relationships
Dating, feeling tenderness and love, and deepening commitments

Dating relationships provide the initial context for most sexual activity
Factors affecting the initiation of sexual intercourse include:
o Sexual motivation
o Social controls / environments
o Attractiveness
Effects of religious beliefs on sexual behaviours
Sexual Orientation
For sexual-minority youth:

o Self-labelling
o Disclosure
Problems and Conflicts Associated with Sexuality
Unwanted sexual attention

Inconsistent contraception
Sexually transmitted infections
o 25% of sexually active teens contract a sexually transmitted disease each year
o Teens are especially at risk for STD chlamydia, genital herpes and gonorrhoea
5. Parenthood
Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy

o Poverty
o Increase risk of birth complications associated with the lack of parental care
Consequences depend on the psychosocial context of the pregnancy
o Adolescent moms, single moms
Adolescent fathers
o Growing concern about adolescent fathers little systematic research
o Maintains initial contact with mother and child but drops off by the time the child
is in school
6. Group Identity
Cognitive processes that support group identity formation
Group representations
Group operations
Reflective thinking about groups
Reference groups
4 dimensions of group identity
1.
2.
3.
4.
Categorizing people and recognizing distinguishing features of group members

Experiencing a sense of history as a member of a group
Emotional investment in the group
Social evaluation of ones group and its relation to other groups
How others and I think about my group vs other groups accessing how you feel as a member
of a group
Alienation withdrawal or separation of people or their affections from an object or

position of former attachment
Peer Pressures demand for conformity to group norms and a demonstration of
commitment and loyalty
Conflicts between Belonging and Personal Autonomy
Ethnic Group Identity
Identity formation for adolescents
Majority Vs Minority Being excluded Values vs Diversity

o Between group diversity (Asian vs Americans) vs Within group diversity (Different
groups within a group)
Ethnic Identity
o Sense of belonging, inclusion vs exclusion, common values vs diversity
Sexual orientation
o Rejecting gay as an identity
Safety: Internalized homophobia
Fluidity: Philosophy, fit and policies
Lecture: Later Adolescence / Emerging Adulthood

1. Autonomy
Autonomy is the ability to regulate ones own behaviour without undue control from or
dependence on ones parents
Require independence of thoughts, emotions and actions
Differentiation is the extent to which the family system encourages intimacy while
supporting the expression of differences being away from parents pressure free to be
yourself
Distinct opinions and views expressed and welcomed

Secure attachment in a caring environment
Leaving Home Feelings of liberation
Parents and adolescent children have different views about the age at which children
are expected to leave home
Economic factors and social norms play a significant role in the timing of leaving home
Going away to college is an intermediate step between living at home and establishing
a permanent residence in early childhood
Parents might also feel liberated, but anxious at the same time
Empty Nest Syndrome all children have to leave home have to reconstruct their
social image / norms at home
Self-Sufficiency is expressed by making independent decisions, taking responsibility for

ones actions and achieving a degree of financial independence
Process of achieving self-sufficiency opens the door to changes in ego structures

Autonomous individuality and object constancy
2. Gender Identity
Acquisition of a set of beliefs, attitudes and values about oneself as a man or woman in
many areas of social life
All cultures construct gender-differentiated roles
Later adolescents learn to integrate and synthesize gender role expectations
New understanding about adult roles broaden the knowledge base regarding the
implications and consequences of gender
Gender role standards may changes within ones lifetime
During this time, young people begin to encounter a wide range of possible targets for
identification
Experience of diversity periods of time to finalize the thoughts of identification
Later adolescents add a sexual dimension to their gender identity
Physical attractiveness becomes more salient
Maturation of the hormonal system contributes to ones gender identity
Androgens, Estrogens
4 terms used in discussing gender identity include:
o Masculinity
o Femininity
o Androgyny
o Transgendered
Research on sexual orientation suggests that later adolescence is a common time for
the crystallization of gender identity
3. Mortality
Internalized mortality expansions of Kohlbergs View of Moral Reasoning

o No consistent links between a persons level of moral reasoning and a willingness
to act in a morally caring way
o Research based largely on male respondents and hypothetical situations
Experiences that promote moral reasoning:
o Broader social contexts
o Cultural diversity
Family obligations
Being moral vs being ethical code of conduct / professional standards
Expansion of the Kohlbergs View of Moral Reasoning
o Pre-conventional I do because I am told to do so
o Conventional I do because everyone else does it
o Post conventional I do because it is right
4. Career
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Career Choices
o Work experiences in alter adolescence
o Factors influencing career choices
Education
Family backgrounds
Gender role socialization
o Phases of career decision making proceed from:
Exploration Crystallization (Forming of opinion) Choice Clarification (Figuring out
whether if it is right for you) Induction (Social) Influence Integration (Being in the
place that works best for you) If there is no integration, one might return to the
exploration stage
Gender role socialization
Familial factors
Societal factors
Situational factors
Socioeconomic
factors
Individual factors
Psychosocial
Emotional factors
5. Identity
Identity Status (James Marcia)
proves Vs Career decision making process

Early childhood experiences
Mother and father as role models
Educational experiences
Peer-group influences
Mass Media
Chance
Course of least resistance
Social class
Race
Sex discrimination
Supply and demand of jobs
Self-expectancies
Abilities
Attitudes
Achievement needs
Fear of failure
Fear of cusses
Lack of confidence
Lack of assertiveness
Role conflict
Has a
commitment
been made?
Has a crisis been experienced?

Yes (High)
No (Low)
Yes (High)
Identity
Foreclosure
Achievement
(Being a doctor
because my
parents are
doctors)
No (Low)
Moratorium
Identity diffusion
(Dont ask, dont
care)
Diffuse / Avoidant Types Avoid contradictions, procrastinates and are reluctant to
face personal problems or decisions
Normative Types Conforming, closed minded and focus on the standards and
expectations set for them by others
Informational Types (Moratorium and Achievement) Exploratory and
introspective actively seek out, process and use self-relevant information
6. Role Experimentation
Central Process of Role Experimentation
Role experimentation implies an active process by which later adolescent search to find
their niche
Path towards identity status depends on how willing a person is to engage in role
experimentation
Psychosocial Moratorium is a period of free experimentation before a final identity is
achieved
5 stage model of ethnic minority identity development

1. Conformity identification with the dominant culture
2. Dissonance recognition and confusion between the dominant culture and ones own
ethnic culture
3. Resistance and Immersion involvement In ones own ethnic culture
4. Introspection critical examination of both cultures
5. Articulation and awareness unique and personal synthesis
7. Acculturation
Unacculturated Bicultural Acculturated One-dimensional model
Bi-dimensional model:
Retention of
Cultural
Identity
Positive Relationship to Dominant Society

Yes
No
Yes
Integration
Segregation
No
Assimilation
Marginalization
8. Transition to Adulthood
Depending on cultural backgrounds, differences are found in:
Family obligations and expectations

Beginning of adulthood
Definition of adults
Factors to consider in career choices, autonomy, morality and identity
Definitions of family how many extended family members are included in that
definition
Functions of family / kin / non-kin members
New Concepts:
Definition of an adult:
Do you see yourself as an adult?
How much have you achieved?
Emerging adulthood
Finding jobs
Understanding that you are in the adulthood stage Financial independence, accepting
responsibilities
Lecture: Family
1. Intimacy
Intimacy the ability to experience a open, supportive, tender relationship with another
person without the fear of losing ones own identity in the process
Isolation a crisis resolution in which situational factors or a fragile sense of self leads to a
person remaining psychologically distant from others
Mutuality Reciprocate empathetic awareness of one another, understanding of self and
other and the ability and willingness to regulate ones needs in order to respond to the needs
of ones partner
Mutuality is strengthened as 2 individuals learn to rely on each other and discover that
combined efforts are more effective that individual efforts
Love an emotion characterized by a capacity for mutuality that transcends the secure
attachment of infancy
Cohabitation cohabitation rather than marriage has become a common expression of a
committed relationship
Readiness for a long term commitment opposites attract, matching theory

Why cohabitation? What does marriage or cohabitation involve?
Forming close relationships between partners of the same sex
Diverse group with respect to their interests, backgrounds, and other important aspects
of adult roles
Civil union / partnerships Vs Marriages what does legal and legitimate mean?
2. Lifestyle
Pace of Life
o Lifestyle integrates personality characteristics, goals, convictions and inner
conflicts with social opportunities and resources into an organizing pattern of
actions and choices
The World of Work Great portion of life
o Major component in each persons life story
o Learning technical skills, authority relations, demands and hazards, interpersonal
relationships with co-workers
Competing Role Demands

o
Source of tension in adulthood
3. Family
Adjustment during the early years of union / marriage
High levels of disclosure and disclosure reciprocity are associated with greater
relationship satisfaction
Negative interactions and conflict are associated with martial distress
3 important dimensions of conflict in differentiating happy and distressed marital relationships

1. Negative communication
2. Coercive escalations arguments increasing level of disagreements
3. Lack of congruence differing views no agreements
Stress Buffer
Adjustment in dual-earner marriages
Requires redefinition of traditional family roles and the division of labor

Benefits for couples with multiple roles:
o More financial resources
o Both parties are likely to be integrated into social support systems
o Success in one role can buffer against negative experiences in other roles
o Involvement in similar roles provide partners a shared frame of reference
4. Childbearing
Dual Roles of Intimate Partner and Parent
Arrival of first child often brings joy as well as a period of stress to the relationship
Quality of marital adjustment over the transition to parenthood is related to martial
quality before the child was born
Having children does have an impact on marital companionship
Non-marital Childbearing
Majority of births to unmarried women occur at younger ages

Can be a result of divorce, widowhood, in the context of a same-sec or cohabiting
relationship or the desire to start a family without a partner
Decision to not have a children decreasing birth rates
Social context encouragement or discouragement?

Financial issues, societal factors
5. Prenatal Development
Genes and chromosomes as sources of genetic information
Chromosomes rod like structures in the nucleus store and transmit genetic
information 23 pairs of chromosomes in each human cells XX in females and XY in
males
Genetic sources of individual differences Heredity
Rate of development
Individual traits
Abnormal development
Genetics and Intelligence Heredity
Influence of genetics on intelligence can be understood through the study of family

relationships
Norm of reaction
Specific genetic irregularities can cause degrees of intellectual disabilities
6. Fetal Development
Fertilization
Gametes sperm and ovum contain only one of each chromosome rather than the full
set of 23 pairs carry genetic materials necessary for reproduction
Only one sperm can fertilize an ovum
Twins
Zygote is the cell produced when the sperm and the egg untie and fertilization occurs
Monozygotic twins result when a zygote divides in two and separates, resulting in
identical twins
Dizygotic or fraternal twins result when multiple ovulations and fertilizations occur
Infertility and Alternative Means of Reproduction
Changes of infertility increases with age

Psychological stress on the couple
Assistive reproductive technologies artificial insemination, fertility drugs, in vitro and
in vivo fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, gamete intrafallopian transfer and
surrogacy
Brings about legal and ethical questions
First Trimester Germinal and Embryonic Periods
The Germinal Period (lack of symptoms) (weeks 1-2):

o After fertilization, the zygote travels out of the fallopian tube and implants in the
uterine wall
The Period of the Embryo (weeks 3-8)
o Amniotic sac forms and encloses the developing organism in amniotic fluid
Placento (Nutrients) allows nutrients and waste to pass from the mother to the
developing child
Groundwork for all body structures and internal organs is laid down
Embryo is sensitive to teratogens agent that can produce malformations in the fetus
o Eg of teratogens are: viruses, medicines, alcohol, drugs and environmental toxins
From First to Third Trimester
The Fetal Period (week 9 to end of pregnancy)

Longest prenatal period organism begins to increase rapidly in size
In the third month, organs, muscles and nervous system start to become organized
and connected
Quickening (approx. 17-20 weeks) the new being has grown large enough that its
movements can be felt by the mother
From the Second to Third Trimester
At the end of the second trimester:

o Many organs are well-developed
o Major milestone is reached in brain development, in that all the neurons are now
in place
End of third Trimester:

o Fetal brain produces hormones triggering the birth process
Major Development in Fetal Growth During the Three Trimesters

First Trimester
Second Trimester
Third Trimester
Fertilization
Sucking and swallowing
Nervous system matures
Growth of the omniotic sac
Preference for sweet taste
Coordination of sucking and
Growth of the palcenta
Skin ridges on fingers and swallowing
Emergence of body parts
toes
Mechanisms of regulating
Differentiation of sex organs
Hair on scalp, eyebrows, body temperature
Initial formation of central back, arms and legs
More efficient digestion and
nervous system
Sensitivity to touch, taste excretion
Movement
and light
Degeneration of the placenta
Grasp reflexes
Sucking of the thumb
towards the end of the 9th
Babinski reflex
6 month average size: 10 month
Heartbeat
inches and 2 pounds
9 month average size: 20
3 month average size 3
inches and 7 to 7.5 pounds
inches and about 2/5 ounces
7. Delivery
Caesarean Delivery
o An alternative to natural childbirth removing the baby surgically through an
incision in the uterine wall
o Eg: when mother/baby are in danger, long labour, breech position and anoxia
Infant Mortality
o Number of infants who die during the first year of life per 1000 live births during
that year
o 2.3 of infant deaths occur during the first month after birth
o Many of these deaths result from severe birth defects, low birth weights (under
2.5kg), premature births (less than 37 weeks) or sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS)
Significant Events of the 5 stages of Labour

Phase 1: Early signs that labour is approaching
Lightening 10 to 14 days before delivery babys head drops into the pelvic area
Release of the plug that has kept the cervix closed
Discharge of amniotic fluid
False labour irregular uterine contractions
Phase 2: Onset of labour
Transition from home to hospital or birthing center

Strong, regular contractions 3 to 5 minutes apart
Phase 3: Transition
Accelerated labour with the contractions lasting up to 90 seconds and coming 2 or 3

minutes apart
Some sense of disorientation, heightened arousal or loss of control

Phase 4: Birth
Babys head presses down on the bottom of the birth canal

Mother experience a strong, reflexive urge to push to expel the baby
Mother typically is moved from a labour area to a more sterile delivery room
Phase 5: Postpartum period
Mother and infant have initial contact

Placenta is expelled
Rapid alternation of the hormone system to stimulate lactation and shrink the uterus
Mother and infant engage in early learning behaviours, infant attempts to nurse,
mother explores infant and begin to interpret his / her needs
Return to the home and introduction of the new born into the family setting
8. Effects
Impact of the Fetus on the Pregnant Woman
Changes in roles and social status

Changes in the mothers emotional state
Fathers involvement during pregnancy and childbirth
Impact of the Pregnant Woman on the Fetus
Mothers age
Maternal Drug use
Caffeine
Narcotics
Prescription drugs
Obstetric anaesthetics
Environmental toxins
Mothers diet
Impact of poverty
9. Cultural Context
Reactions to Pregnancy
Solicitude vs Shame
o Care, interest, and help of others vs shame, condemnation and secrecy
Adequacy vs Vulnerability
o Sign of sexual prowess and entrance into social status vs tiring, exhaustion and
lots of work
Reactions to Childbirth
Every society marks the importance of childbirth in different ways

Americans focus on safety of the mother and child and towards building a sense of
competence in the mothers and the father as they approach the care of their new born
Lecture: Middle & Later Adulthood

Career Generativity how much you want to contribute for the next generation
A major context for adult employment

Microsystem of work is embedded in a larger societal macro system
Reciprocity between work experiences and individual growth
Understanding and managing leadership and authority
Expanding interpersonal relationships

Meeting new skills demands:
o Substantial complexity others impact and contributions
o Intellectual flexibility
Work Activities and goals may change for at least 5 reasons:

1.
2.
3.
4.
Some careers end during middle adulthood

Realization that one has succeeded as much as possible in a given career
Cannot resolve conflicts between job demands and personal goals
Some women decide to make a greater commitment to career once their children are in
high school or college
5. With the restructuring of the workforce, some workers are laid off and cannot be rehired
in the same field
Balancing Work and Family Life
Many individuals manage a career while juggling commitments to spouse, children,

parents, other household members and friends
Combination of role overload, conflict and spill over can lead to reduced satisfaction in
work and family roles
Areas of conflict in dual-earner couples often focus on household tasks and child care
Dual centric equal emphasis on work and personal life
Work-family facilitation is supported by resources in the workplace
The Impact of Joblessness
Difference in how people cope with:

o Seasonal / short term (less than 5 weeks) vs chronic unemployment
o Voluntary vs involuntary unemployment (being fired, lack of chances for
employment external factors)
Job loss has been associated with both physical and psychological consequences such
as self-doubt, passivity and social withdrawal
2. Relationships
Deeper Intimacy
Happiness in an intimate relationship is a stronger predictor of overall well-being in

adulthood than is satisfaction with work
3 themes contribute to long, happy marriages:
1. Strengths of the individual partners
2. Nature of interpersonal interactions
3. Commitment to nurturing the future of the relationship Planning Quality
Preserving passion in long term relationships
Sternbergs three-dimensional model of love passion is the first thing to go

Preserving passion continues to play a role in fostering vital relationships
Physical changes in sexual response occur for men and women
Nurturing vitality in an intimate relationship is a long term task
Caring Relationships
Parenting Parenting alliances

o The capacity of a spouse to acknowledge, respect and value the parenting roles
and tasks of the partner
o Diversity in philosophy about and approach towards parenting

Developmental stages of the family
o At each stage of a childs life, the demands on parents change:
Children in early and middle childhood
Children become adolescents
No children are living at home
Parents become grandparents
Caring for ones aging parents
o Filial obligations
o The sandwich generation have to support parents and peers
o Who provides the help? daughters assume much more of the responsibility of
their aging parents than sons do
o Costs and rewards of the caring role
o What are the healthy relationships
3. Understanding Dementia
Refers to a cluster of behavioural symptoms
Suspected disease, cause, primary site of damage cortical 0 grey, subcortical white
Progressive Dementias
Cortical Dementias
o Alzhimers Disease, motor neuron disease, Picks disease, progressive aphasia,
Wilsons disease
Subcortical Dementias
o Huntingtons disease, Parkinsons disease, progressive supranuclear palsy,
IADS dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Mixed Dementias
o Lewy body dementia, vascular dementias (multi infarct dementia and MID),
Binswangers disease
Potentially Static Dementias
Toxic Conditions
o Alcoholic dementia, heavy metal poisoning lead and mercury
Infectious Conditions
o Herpes encephalitis
Miscellaneous Conditions
o Tumour, normal pressure hydrocephalus, trauma
Potentially Reversible Dementias
Systemic illness
o Severe anemia, uremia
Deficiency States
o B12 deficiency
Endocrine Disorders
o Addisons disease, thyroid disorder
Drug toxicity
o Anticholinergics, Antipsychotics
Pseudodomentia
Depression

4. Understanding Alzheimers
More than 60% of diagnosed dementia cases
Twice as many women as men whole brain structure changes
Clinical Presentation
Memory and fluent anomic aphasia

o Difficulty learning new declarative information
o Perseveration and intrusion errors memory and recollection repeating what
was just said
o Entire organization of knowledge is impaired semantic networks associations
of meaning
Visual-spatial difficulties
Executive functioning personality changes and little insight
Retain normal strength and simple motor speed
5. Understanding Parkinsons
Does not inevitably lead to dementia proportion of cases is large enough to warrant
inclusion
Men are 1.5 times more likely than women to develop
Motor Systems Symptoms

Resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia (walking, arm swinging, blinking, swallowing, facial
expressiveness slowness of movement), masked faces (emotionless face), rapid, small,
shuffling festinating gait
Language / Speech
Dysplonia monotonous voice

Tachiphemia segmented accelerated bursts of speech
Palialia compulsive word or phrase repetition
Executive functioning difficulty

Mood Depression
6. Managing the Household
Remarriage and Blended Families
About 40% of marriages involve a remarriage for the bride, the groom or both
Relationship of step parents to non-biological step children
One-parent Families
27% of all families are one-parent families 83% are headed by women
Greatest stressor for single mother is the lack of financial resources
Single parents may also suffer from social isolation, continuous pressure to meet the
needs of their children and role overland
People who live alone
27% of US population lived alone

Age, gender, occupation and other relationships

7. Developmental Perspective
How can I contribute to the world?
+ : Generating
Capacity to contribute to the quality of life for future generations
: Stagnation
Lack of psychological movement or growth during middle adulthood that may result
from self-aggrandizement or from the inability to cope with developmental tasks
Stagnation may differ for narcissistic people and depressed people
Role stagnation is common is middle childhood
Prime Adaptive Ego Quality and the Core Pathology
Care is the commitment to be concerned

o Parenting contributes to the expansion of caring
Rejectivity is the unwillingness to include certain others or groups of others in ones
generative concerns
Food for Thought
What is the dis-involvement happens involuntarily?

Career discontinuity
Discrimination and exclusion of certain workers on the basis of age, gender, racial or
ethnic group characteristics
o Disparities in income and the occupational structure
o How discrimination perpetuates itself
Discrimination and coping
8. Later Adulthood
Acceptance
Personality and well-being

o 5 personality characteristics have been linked with life satisfaction in
later life:
Extraversion
Lack of neuroticism (Hidden messages)
Usefulness / Competence
Optimism
Sense of control predicting the future
Affecting satisfaction of life and understanding the end of life
Intellectual Vigor
Problems in defining and studying intelligence in later adulthood

o Age differences vs age changes
o Definition of abilities
o Relevance of the tasks used abilities vs performances
o Factors associated with health are interviewed with cognitive functioning
Intelligence of older people studying of grandparents
Concurrent studies and compare differences
Performance is less relevant to older people
Memory
Several aspects of cognitive functioning show evidence of decline with age, including:
o Reaction time
o Visual-motor flexibility
o Memory
Sensory register
Speed of processing can be slowed as a result of illness
Short term memory interference blocks encoding
Long term memory slow processing hurts retrieval
Studies of memory focuses on different kinds of tasks, each with its own trajectory of
growth and decline
o Semantic memory
Semantic and procedural memory decline the least
o Episodic memory
Episodic and source memory decline most
o Prospective memory
Interaction of heredity and environment on mental functioning:
o 7 factors associated with retaining high level of cognitive functioning in later
adulthood
1. Absence of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases
2. Favourable environment linked to high socioeconomic status
3. Involvement in a complex and intellectually stimulating environment
4. Flexible personality style at midlife
5. High cognitive functioning of spouse
6. Maintenance of a high level perceptual processing seed
7. Rating oneself as being satisfied with life accomplishments in middle
9. Redirection
Grandparenthood
Styles
o Grandparents perceived / considered as formal figures, fun seekers, surrogate
parents, reservoir of family wisdom and distant figures
o Intergenerational solidarity what aspects? What relationships? affectional,
associational, consensual, functional and structural solidary
Caregiving 5.4 million children under the age of 18 live with a grandparent in 2010
Widowhood
Among those who are 65 years and older, 14% and men and 45% are women marital
status as widowed
Psychological consequences of widowhood intense emotional grief, loss of social and
emotional support, loss of material and instrumental support
Most widowers remarry, but widow remained unmarried and liv alone:
o Widowers suffer grief increases in depression than widows
o Widows must learn to function socially and in their own households without the
presence of a spouse
Patterns of adaptation during widowhood
o Common grief 18 months
o Resilience 6 months
o Chronic grief
o Chronic depression
o Depression followed by improvement 10%
Changing perspective about death
o Development of a perspective on death is a continuous process that begins in
childhood and is not fully resolved until later adulthood

o
Kubler-Ross stages of death and dying age is not a fixed sequence but it
is a useful model for considering the dynamic ego processes that are engaged as
one faces death
Developmental Perspective
Integrity
o The ability to accept the facts of ones life and to face death without great dear
Despair
o Feeling of loss of all hope and confidence
Depression
o State of feeling sad, often accompanied by feelings of low personal worth and
withdrawal from relations
Introspection
o Deliberate self-evaluation and examination of private thoughts and feelings
Wisdom
o 5 basic features of wisdom:
Factual knowledge
Procedural knowledge
Life span contextualization understanding others point of view and
appreciate the differences
Relativism of values and life goals
Recognition and management of uncertainty
Disdain
o Feeling of weakness and frailty of oneself and others
o Often a defensive response to ones failed past
o Unable to view anothers contribution
Lecture: Old Age, Dying, Bereavement and Spirituality

New Psychosocial Stage
Very Old Age

o Psychosocial stage occurs after one has exceeded the life expectancy for ones
birth cohort
o Increase numbers of people:
Women outlive men in virtually all countries of the world more so in
developed countries
Social issues of aging viewed as women issues
1. Physical Change
Sleep and Rest
Trouble falling asleep and staying asleep

Complicated with various medical conditions
Behavioural Slowing
More complex the task, the greater the processing load

Biological, learned and motivational factors may account for behavioural slowing
Since slowing occurs gradually, most adults compensate by making their environments
more convenient or by changing their lifestyles
Sensory Changes
Every sense modality vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell vulnerable to age-related
changes

Health, Illness and Functional Independence
Mild and persistent declines in the immune system
2. Uncharted Territory
Life Structures of the Very Old
Changes in role relationships present significant challenges to the preservation of a

coherent self-concept
Distinction between usual and successful aging
Avoiding disease, engagement with life, maintaining high cognitive and physical
functions
Living Arrangements
Living alone increasing numbers of very old women are establishing a new single
lifestyle as heads of households
o Different by race and ethnic groups
Majority of the very old men, about 70%, are married and live with their spouses
Interstate Migration and Housing Options
Older adults remain in their home communities, but the trend towards interstate
migration has increased since the mid-1960s
Majority of older adults live in urban areas
Differences in lifestyle, health, interest, ability to perform daily activities, marital status
and income enter into the very old persons preference for housing arrangements
Institutional Care
About 1.5 million adults over age of 65 live in nursing homes

Many nursing homes are part of a continuing care retirement community
Assisted Living
Fastest growing component of the Medicare program is community-based long-term

health care
o Provides medical and social services to the chronically ill
o Designed to supplement and support informal caregiving
Gender Role Definitions
Gender role convergence transformation of gender role orientation in which men and
women become more androgynous and more similar in gender orientation during later
life
Men and women appear to be similar in affilliative values and differ in instrumental
values
Romance & Sexuality & Ageism & Sexuality
Sexuality, intimacy and romance remain important among older married couples
Older adults continue to have negative ageist social attitudes about sexual activity that
may inhibit their sexual behaviour
Developmental Perspective
Sense of immorality person transcends death through a sense of symbolic

continuity
o Living on through ones children
Belief in an afterlife
Creative achievements
Participation in the chain of nature
Experiential transcendence
of extrication ones life and its end amount to nothing conflict
Without social support and adequate physical or psychological resources, a
significant number of the very old end their own lives committing suicide
The Central Process: Social Support
o Benefits social support plays a direct role in promoting health and well-being
o Dynamics many older adults see themselves as part of reciprocal, supportive
relationships
o Social Network Support usually family members in later life
The Prime Adaptive Ego Quality and The Core Pathology
o Confidence a conscious trust in oneself and in the meaningfulness of life
o Diffidence inability to act due to overwhelming self-doubt
o
o
o
o
Fear
o
Applied Topics
Meeting the Needs of the Frail Elderly

o Defining frailty
Difficulties in the activities of daily living (ADLs) or difficulties in managing
instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
o Support optimal functioning
What a person is capable of doing when he or she is motivated and well
prepared
o Role of the community
Interventions at the community level may be necessary to meet the
safety, health and social needs of some older adults
o Role of creative action
o O
lder adults can alter the structure of their environment to enhance their
sense of well being
3. Morality
Morality and Psychosocial Development
Each psychosocial crisis shapes ones orientation towards risk, transitions and
ultimately towards death
Developing a point of view about death is a major developmental tasks during later
adulthood
Beginning with the works of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross the needs of the dying person were
given a voice:
o Denial, Anger, Bargaining / Negotiate, Depression, Acceptance meaning making
process
Definitions of Death
Criteria of death was the lack of a heartbeat and respiration cardiopulmonary death
Criteria were identified for the determination of whole-brain death in 1981
Persistent vegetative state when a persons brainstem functions even when there is
no cortical functioning
Advanced Directives
Make clear what you want in our own life
Because technologies exist that can extend life when a person is no longer able to
communicate, advance directives such as power of attorney or living will are
recommended
4. Process of Dying
Confronting ones Death
A dying trajectory is the time during which the persons health goes from good to death
People can experience death in many different ways:
o Gradual decline
o Unpredictable and sudden death
o Ambiguous decline
A gradual decline allows people more time to acknowledge their death and to plan for it
Goals for high quality end of life care Hospice Education Institute 2001
Promote relief from pain

Integrate the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care
Offer a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death
Help the family cope during the patients illness and their own bereavement
Ideals of a good death include:
Spouse was at peace with the idea of dying

Spouse was aware of the impending death
Respondent and spouse discussed the death
Respondent was with spouse at the moment of death
Spouse led a full life
Spouse was not in pain
Spouse did not receive negligent care
Hospice Care
Integrated system of medicine, nursing, counselling and spiritual care for the dying
person and family
Differs from traditional hospital care
o Focus is on enhancing the quality of life for the dying person and his or her loved
ones rather than treating the disease or intervening to delay the end of life
Euthanasia
Euthanasia is the practice of ending someones life for reasons of mercy

Passive euthanasia
Active euthanasia
o Mercy killing
o Physician-assisted suicide
Ethical Issues at End of Life
Ethical principles focus on standards of right and wrong

End of life decisions are not only relevant for the elderly but also for family members
The matter is made even more complex as decisions about ending life conflict with the
commitment of the medical profession to prolong life
Despite public opinion supporting measures to actively end life, these measures were
illegal in the US and continue to be a topic of ethical controversy
Some opponents argue that legalizing assisted suicide might put unnecessary pressure
on the elderly to end their lives
5. Death Related Issues

Death is usually accompanied by a range of symbolic rituals involving:
Care of Body
Care of Spirit
Care of Surviving family, friends and community
Grief and Bereavement
Grief cognitive and emotional reactions that follow the death of a loved one
o Grief can vary in duration and intensity and it can fade and reappear at
unexpected moments
o Bereavement is the long term process of adjustment to the death of a loved one
and is more all-encompassing than grief
Grief Work need to work through the reality of loss as well as the feelings that
accompany it
o Lindermanns 3 phases of Grief Reaction
Emancipation from bondage to the deceased
Adjustment to aspects of the environment which the deceased is missing
Person must begin to form new relationships
Bereavement and Coping with Stress
o Double ABC = X Model valuable model for describing bereavement as it
emphasizes
A = Initial Stressor
B = Resources
C = Perception
X = Adaptation
o Individual contexts of death
o Dynamic nature of the stressor over time
o Role of meaning-making in determining how a person adapts
Aa = Build-up of stressor events
Bb = Resources build up to deal with the situation
Cc = Family perceptions of this and previous stressor events
Xx = Outcome in terms of family adaptation
Distress of Survivors
o Bereavement may be more difficult depending on the context of loss
If death is sudden or ambiguous loss occurs
If dying person is unable to receive effective pain control in their last days
of their life
If the survivor has experienced positive benefits of caregiving for an ailing
spouse
Unacknowledged and Stigmatized Loss
o Bereavement process is influenced by social interpretations
o Unacknowledged mourners may be confused about their status and feel guilty or
embarrassed by their attachment to the dead person
o Stigmatized deaths are those in which people attribute the death to an immoral,
illegal or evil cause
Growth through Bereavement
o Psychological Growth through Bereavement
Bereavement brings new opportunities for psychosocial growth
Process of bereavement alternates between loss-oriented coping and

restoration-orientated coping
Introjection allows the bereaved person to keep the dead person alive and
to preserve their relationship
Thoughts are likely to turn to ones own death

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Human Behaviours Final Exam Notes

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