Before middle age, women attain their full breast and hip size and men reach their full shoulder and upper arm size
Physical strength, such as that requires to lift a heavy load, peaks at age 30
The older a person is, the longer it takes his or her body to adapt to, and recover from physical stress
As they mature from early adolescence towards middle adulthood, women become more likely to experience orgasms during love making
At about 15% of all married couples are infertile
Most physicians recommend that women begin their childbearing before age 30
Of all the stages of life, the beginning of young adulthood is time when problem drinking and illicit dug use are most becoming
Women actually use drugs more than men do
(Changing policy) An obsession with weight in common in the U.S. but not in countries such as Egypt, Russia, Japan, and Brazil
Young adult males are less likely than any other age group to die a violent death.
Chapter 18
Compared to adolescent thinking, adult thinking is more personal, particle, and integrative
Traditoi9ona models of mature though stress objective feeling and personal experience
Most developmentalist believe that thinking that considers two sides of an idea or argument to be an immature form of cognition
Virtually all adults eventually achieve post-formal thinking
Developmentalist agree that post-formal thinking is universal and builds on the accomplishments of formal operations
In matters of moral reasoning, males and females tend to be concerned with somewhat different issues
Some theorist believe that as people’s experience of life expands during adulthood, they begging to develop moral principles that re more relative and changeable
Years of education per se are less strongly correlated with cognitive development than either age are socioeconomic status
College education leads people to become more tolerate of political, social, and religious views that differ from their own
Life events such as parenthood can trigger new patterns of thinking and thus further cognitive development
Chapter 20
the overall impact of changes in appearance on the individual in middle age depends in large measures on how strongly affected the individual is by cultural values
Women develop hearing difficulties at an earlier age than men do
65% of all deaths from cancer are contributed to lifestyles
Adults who drink alcohol in moderation many live longer than those who never drink
About 2 of every 3 all middle aged Americans are overweight
In the U.S., middle-aged people living in the South are healthier than those living in the West or Midwest
During middle age, mortality related are higher for African Americans than for Asian Americans
Although their mortality rate is lower, middle ages women have higher rates of disease than middle-aged men
(Research report) Menopause is a time of difficulty and depression for most women
(Research report) the average level of testosterone in men declines markedly during middle age
Chapter 21
Most developmentalist today conceive of intelligence as a singe underlying ability
Declines in fluid intelligence may be masked by increase in crystallized intelligence
Most middle-aged and older adults believe that their practical intelligence, like all forms of intelligence, declines throughout adulthood
Intellectual abilities are m multidirectional in that they can follow different trajectories with age
Some individuals are just as intellectually capable at age 70 as they were in earlier ages
Individual differences in intelligence are "fixed’ in that they remain roughly the same over the life span
(A life span view) Both cross-section and longitudinal research indicate that intelligence declines systematically during adulthood
A person’s IQ is not affected by number of years in formal education
Cohort differences have a powerful influence on intellectual differences in adulthood
Compared to novices, experts tend to rely on more formal procedures in solving problems.
Chapter 22
Most middle-aged men experience a midlife crisis that provokes a radical reexamination of their lives and leads to change
By the age 30, several personality traits stabilize and remain so throughout adulthood
In many cultures, rigid gender-role demands seem to loose during middle age.
With recent changes in the structure of the typical American family, family links have become significantly weaker.
The relationship between parent and their children usually worsens as the parents pass through middle age
Middle-aged grandparents tend to be less involved with grandchildren than grandparents in the past
After the first 10 years or so, the longer a couple has been married, the happier they are
Divorce in middle adulthood is generally easier to cope with than divorce earlier or later in life
Remarried people generally report higher rates of happiness than people in the first marriages
During middle adulthood, men and women engage in scaling back in order to balance work and parenthood.
Chapter 23
(A Life-Span View) By the year 2030, it is predicated that the proportion of those over 65 will double worldwide
Most of the visual and auditory losses of the aged cannot be corrected
Most elderly people, most of the time, consider their health good or excellent
(research report) the most effective treatment for insomnia is pharmacological
The most widely held theory of aging is that we wear out our bodies just by living our lives
Individuals with stronger immune systems live longer than those with weaker immune systems
Women tend to have weaker, and less efficient, immune systems than men
By the age 50, the thymus gland is only 15% of the size it was during adolescence
Current average life expectancy is about 28 years more than it was at the turn of the century
Most scientists believe that aging results from the ticking of the genetic clock.
Chapter 24
As long as their vision and hearing remain unimpaired, older adults are no less efficient than younger adults at imputing information.
Older adults are less efficient than younger adults at managing control processes
Cognitive functioning during late adulthood is directly related to the size, weight, and volume of the brain.
A majority of the elderly feel frustrated and hampered by memory loss in their daily lives
Older adults often have great difficulty applying their problem-solving skills to problems in their own lives
The general symptoms associated with dementia are essentially the same regardless of what causes the disorder
Alzheimer’s disease is in some cases inherited
People who have heart disease also tend to show reduced intellectual ability
Many older adults who are actually suffering from depression are misdiagnosed with a brain disease
Late adulthood is often associated with a narrowing interests and an exclusive focus on self.
Chapter 25
Developmentalists agree that in old age, the individual and society mutually withdrawal for each other.
Adults are waiting longer to retire, generally working into their 70s.
Most older adults leave the work force because of failing health
As many as two-thirds of the elderly are involved in some form of volunteer work.
Nearly one in two older adults make a long-distance move following retirement
Women have a harder time than men coping with the emotions of losing a spouse
Loneliness during the late adulthood is greater for individuals who were never married than any other group
Most older people suffer significantly from a lack of close friendships.
Older people’s satisfaction with life bears relatively little relationships to the quantity or quality of their contact with the younger members of their own family
Nearly all older Americans who are frail live in the nation’s inner cities.
Epilogue
The dying pass through a predictable sequence of emotional stages.
The terminally ill generally do not want to know about or discuss their condition.
Modern life-prolonging medical technologies have tended to make dying a "good death: more difficult and less likely to occur.
(A Life-Span View) generally speaking, sudden deaths are particularly difficult to bear.
(Changing Policy) The hospice is accepted uncritically as a preferred alternative to a hospital death.
Today, voluntary euthanasia is an accepted medical procedure.
The study of death reveals that a culture often has more influence on variations in death practices than religion does.
In keeping with the denial of death in the modern Western world, mourning the loss of loved ones has nearly gone out of fashion.
In recent times, mourning became a more private and less emotional affair.
The best advice to offer the bereaved is to "get on with life" as quickly as possible.