Lifespan Psychology Module 13: Physical and Cognitive Changes in Early Adulthood

Key Terms:

 Primary aging (senescence): age-related physical changes that have a biological basis

and are universally shared and inevitable

 Secondary aging: age-related changes that are due to environmental influences, poor

health habits, or disease

 Limbic system: the part of the brain that regulates emotional responses

 Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max): a measure of the body’s ability to take in and

transport oxygen to various body organs

 Locus of control: a set of beliefs about the causes of events

 Pelvic inflammatory disease: an infection of the female reproductive tract that may

result from a sexually transmitted disease and can lead to infertility

 Intimate partner abuse: physical acts or other behavior intended to intimidate or harm

an intimate partner

 Sexual violence: the use of physical coercion to force a person to engage in a sexual act

against his or her will

 Phobia: an irrational fear of an object, a person, a place, or a situation

 Personality disorder: an inflexible pattern of behavior that leads to difficulty in social,

educational, and occupational functioning

 Schizophrenia: a serious mental disorder characterized by disturbances of thought such

as delusions and hallucinations

 Substance abuse: a pattern of behavior in which a person continues to use a substance

even though it interferes with psychological, occupational, educational, and social

functioning

 Postformal thought: types of thinking that are associated with a hypothesized fifth stage

of cognitive development

 Relativism: the idea that some propositions cannot be adequately described as either true

or false

 Dialectical thought: a form of thought involving recognition and acceptance of paradox

and uncertainty

 Reflective judgment: the ability to identify the underlying assumptions of differing

perspectives on controversial issues

 Crystallized intelligence: knowledge and judgment acquired through education and

experience

 Fluid intelligence: the aspect of intelligence that reflects fundamental biological

processes and does not depend on specific experiences

 Postsecondary education: any kind of formal educational experience that follows high

school
I) Physical Functioning

a) Primary and Secondary Aging

 Primary aging (senescence): age-related physical changes that have a biological

basis and are universally shared and inevitable.

(1) Examples include gray hair, wrinkles, and changes in visual acuity.

 Secondary aging: age-related changes that are due to environmental influences, poor

health habits, or disease.

b) The Brain and Nervous System

 Two spurts in brain growth occur in early adulthood. A major spurt in the growth of

the frontal lobe begins around age 17 and continues until age 21 or 22.

 The second spurt happens in the mid- to late 20s and involves the limbic system.

 Limbic system: the part of the brain that regulates emotional responses.

 The brain contains two types of tissues: gray matter and white matter.

(1) Gray matter is made up of cell bodies and axon terminals.

(2) White matter contains myelinated axons that connect one neuron to another.

 Men have a higher proportion of white matter than women do.

 Men’s overall superior spatial perception is associated with sex differences in the

distribution of gray and white matter.

 More recent research has suggested that the reason women more often than men

respond to an emotion-provoking stimulus with reappraisal, a strategy in which a

cognitive interpretation of such a stimulus moderates its effects on a person’s

emotions, is due to the greater number of myelinated neurons that connect the

amygdala to the cortex.

 c) Other Body Systems

 The most common measure of aerobic fitness is maximum oxygen uptake.

 Maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max): a measure of the body’s ability to take in and

transport oxygen to various body organs.

II) Health and Wellness

a) Health Habits and Personal Factors

 Locus of control: a set of beliefs about the causes of events.

 Undiagnosed chlamydia, a bacterial STD, can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease.

 Pelvic inflammatory disease: an infection of the female reproductive tract that may

result from a sexually transmitted disease and can lead to infertility.

b) Intimate Partner Abuse

 Intimate partner abuse: physical acts or other behavior intended to intimidate or

harm an intimate partner.

 Sexual violence: the use of physical coercion to force a person to engage in a sexual

act against his or her will.

c) Mental Health Problems

 Phobia: an irrational fear of an object, a person, a place, or a situation.

 Personality disorder: an inflexible pattern of behavior that leads to difficulty in

social, educational, and occupational functioning.

 Schizophrenia: a serious mental disorder characterized by disturbances of thought

such as delusions and hallucinations.

d) Substance Use and Abuse

  Substance abuse: a pattern of behavior in which a person continues to use a

substance even though it interferes with psychological, occupational, educational, and

social functioning.

III) Cognitive Changes

a) Formal Operations and Beyond

 Postformal thought: types of thinking that are associated with a hypothesized fifth

stage of cognitive development

 Relativism: the idea that some propositions cannot be adequately described as either

true or false.

 Dialectical thought: a form of thought involving recognition and acceptance of

paradox and uncertainty.

 Reflective judgment: the ability to identify the underlying assumptions of differing

perspectives on controversial issues.

b) Intelligence

 Crystallized intelligence: knowledge and judgment acquired through education and

experience.

 Fluid intelligence: the aspect of intelligence that reflects fundamental biological

processes and does not depend on specific experiences.

 Response-inhibition: when you take a multiple-choice test, the ability to resist writing

down the first answer your think of without considering the other answer choices.