This document discusses physical and cognitive development in middle adulthood. Physically, people experience declines in muscle mass, bone density, height, senses, and reaction time. Health issues like arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease become more common. Cognitively, intelligence is stable until the mid-20s and then declines slowly, though memory remains largely intact through middle age with effective strategies. Overall, middle adulthood brings biological aging but also experience and wisdom.

1. Chapter 13
Physical and Cognitive
Development in Middle
Adulthood
1
© 2006 Pearson Education/Prentice-Hall Publishing

2. I. Physical Development in Middle Adulthood
A. The Double Standard
 Middle adulthood > begin to be aware of gradual
changes in body that marks the aging process.
 Characterized by variations
 Better educated, more productive than a generation
ago. (Starts later, lasts longer.) Most educated, most
affluent cohort.
 Double standard in terms of appearance?
15-2

3. B. Biological changes (senescence)
 Bio functions decline
 Sarcopenia – age-related loss of muscle mass and
strength
 exercise reduces the decline
 Cartilage and connective tissue becomes less
efficient
 joint stiffness and difficulty in movement
 Visible signs
 skin begins to wrinkle and sag
 areas of pigmentation in skin produce age spots
 gray hair
15-3

4. B. Biological changes (cont’d)
 Women 2X the rate of bone loss
 Bones break more easily and heal more slowly
 Ht reaches a max during mid/ late teens to
early 20’s; remains stable until ~ 55.
 After ~ 55, bones become less dense; women
lose ~2 inches; men lose ~1 inch in ht. Up to 4
 Women more prone to declining height due to
Osteoporosis
 lack of calcium
 lack of exercise.
15-4

5. Osteoporosis
 Sloping shoulders
 Curve in the back
 Height loss
 Back pain
 Hunched posture
 Protruding abdomen
15-5

7. C. The Senses
1. Hearing
 Presbycusis – Conductive
hearing loss
 ~10% at 50
 ~50% at 75
 There will be large
increases!
 More men than women
 Men lose sensitivity earlier
15-7

8. D. Reaction time
 Reaction time increases due to slight loss of muscle;
slower NS processing
 Can compensate
15-8

9. II. Health
A. Chronic health complaints
 Arthritis
 Diabetes
 Hypertension
 Death rate between 40 and 60 is less than half
of what it was in 1940
15-9

10. B. Ethnic and Gender Variations in Health
 Differences in health among blacks and whites
disappear when holding SES constant.
 Gender also makes a difference in health.
 E.g., Arthritis more common
in men < 45;
in women > 45
15-10

11. Disability & Income Level
Why are workers living in poverty more likely to become
disabled than those with higher income levels? 15-11

12. C. Stress in Middle Adulthood
 Stress continues to significantly impact health during
middle adulthood.
 Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
15-12

14. Heart Disease: A woman’s issue too

15. E. Heart Disease in Middle Adulthood
 A) Modifiable Factors B) Non Modifiable Factors
 Stress • Increasing age
 High Cholesterol • Male
• Family History
 High Triglycerides
 Low HDL Cholesterol
 Lack of Exercise
 Diabetes
 High Blood Pressure
 Overweight or obesity
 Smoking /
Chewing Tobacco
 Type A personality/
Behavior
15-15

16. Death From Heart Disease Worldwide
15-16

17. E. Lung Capacity
15-17

18. F. Sleep Problems
Why are there more sleep problems in
middle adulthood?
15-18

19. H. Cancer in Middle Adulthood
 Cancer is associated with several risk factors.
 Genetics (family history)
 Poor nutrition, smoking, alcohol, sunlight, exposure to radiation,
occupational hazards (e.g., certain chemicals)
 With early detection (and sometimes without), survival rate
is VERY high for most forms of cancer
 E.g., breast cancer: 81% for < 45 years old; 45-64: 85%; > 65: 86%
 Incidence of breast cancer increases with age:
 By 30 > 1 out of 2,212
 By 50 > 1 out of 54
 By 70 > 1 out of 14
 Ever > 1 out of 7 (13%)
15-19

20. Cancer in Middle Adulthood
15-20

21. Psychological Factors Related to Cancer
 Close family ties
 Group therapy reduces anxiety and
pain; increases survival rates.
 A + psychological outlook >
tendency to adhere to a strict
treatment regimen.
 A + psychological outlook may
boost the body's immune system.
[next]
15-21

22. Psychological Factors Related to Cancer
15-22

23. Sexual Activity
15-23

24. Female Climacteric & Menopause
 Female Climacteric –transition from being able to bear children to being
unable to do so. ~ 45. The transition lasts ~15-20 years.
 Perimenopause – changes in hormones beginning about 10 years prior to
menopause
 Menopause = cessation of menstruation for 1 year
 Irregular periods for a couple of years
 Drop in Estrogen and Progesterone production
 Side effects vary
 Racial and ethnic differences.
 ~Half of women have few, if any, symptoms
 Men too
15-24

26. III. Cognitive Development
 Results are complicated because many IQ
tests include a physical performance
portion.
 Results may be due to physical changes
not cognitive changes
15-26

27. Cognitive Development
 Cross-sectional studies - older people scored worse
than younger people on traditional IQ tests.
 “Intelligence peaks at 18,
stays steady until mid-20s,
and declines till end of life.”
 Crystallized or fluid? [next]
15-27

28. (fluid intelligence)

29. Memory
 Most people show only minimal losses, and many
exhibit no memory loss in middle adulthood.
 Sensory memory and ST memory > no decline in middle
age.
 Long-term memory
 Some decline in middle age.
 Storage is less efficient.
 A reduction in efficiency
of retrieval.
 Effective strategies stave off
some inefficiencies
15-29