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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heart Disease: A woman’s issue too

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

Death From Heart Disease Worldwide
15-16

E. Lung Capacity
15-17

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

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

Cancer in Middle Adulthood
15-20

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

Psychological Factors Related to Cancer
15-22

Sexual Activity
15-23

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

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

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

(fluid intelligence)

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