Chapter 13: Later Life: Cognitive and Socioemotional Development

Chapter 13. Later Life: Cognitive and Socioemotional Development

Introduction

Chapter 13: Later Life: Cognitive and Socioemotional Development
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You learned in your book’s chapter on cognitive and socioemotional development in later life that memory tends to decline as we get older. Society is aware of these changes, and, many people interpret the memory loss of those in their late sixties or seventies as a result of Alzheimer’s disease or some other negative event (Erber & Prager, 1999; Rodin & Langer, 1980). Even with the stereotypes of the elderly as forgetful, research has demonstrated that the elderly perform worse than those in earlier stages of adulthood in various aspects of cognitive functioning (Dixon et al., 2007).

Activity

In this activity, you will examine three approaches for improving memory.

Match the strategy of memory improvement to the tasks listed below.

1. Marla is going shopping at the new mall that just opened up and is parking her car in the parking lot. To remember where she has parked, Marla takes a photo on her phone of her car in its parking spot.
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2. John wants to make sure that he remembers where he puts his wallet and car keys. When placing these items in the top dresser drawer he focuses on where he has placed them and tries hard to encode the location in his brain.
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3. Steven has been continuously depressed since his wife died over five years ago. He has also experienced significant cognitive decline since her death. Steven and his wife had three children, all of whom now live out of state. Steven’s son thinks it is a good idea for his father to move to a continuing care community and Steven agrees. Shortly after moving Steven feels more upbeat and shows cognitive improvements.
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4. Mr. Wright is at a dinner party and is meeting several new people. One person is named Mr. Whealan and Mr. Wright needs to remember his name. Now, Mr. Whealan has a large mouth and Mr. Wright thinks his mouth might be “as big as a whale’s” in order to remember his name.
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5. Shelly’s grandmother has a degree in psychology and currently Shelly is taking a social psychology course. Shelly is having problems remembering the Big Five factors of personality. Her grandmother tells her to remember OCEAN.
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6. Judith suffers from what she thinks is the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. She is often sad and lonely. Judith’s daughter asks her if she would like to move in with her. Shortly after moving in with her daughter Judith’s memory begins to improve.
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Something to Consider

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While memory loss as we age can be expected, there are a variety of techniques that can be used to improve cognitive functioning. These include selective optimization with compensation, using mnemonic techniques, and maintaining a good mental state. Research has shown that teaching memory improvement techniques to those in late adulthood is effective (Borella et al., 2014). However, the elderly must be motivated to try these new techniques and to continue to use them. Otherwise, the effectiveness of such techniques will be lost.

How would you motivate your elderly friends and loved ones to use memory techniques to improve their own cognitive functioning?

Borella, E., Carretti, B., Cantarella, A., Riboldi, F., Zavagnin, M., & De Beni, R. (2014). Benefits of training visuospatial working memory in young–old and old–old. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 714–727.

Dixon, R. A., Rust, T. B., Feltmate, S. E., & See, S. K. (2007). Memory and aging: Selected research directions and application issues. Canadian Psychology, 48(2), 67–76.

Erber, J. T., & Prager, I. G. (1999). Age and memory: Perceptions of forgetful young and older adults. In T. M. Hess & F. Blanchard-Fields (Eds.), Social cognition and aging (pp. 197–217). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Rodin, J., & Langer, E. J. (1980). Aging labels: The decline of control and the fall of self-esteem. Journal of Social Issues, 36, 12–29.