Chapter 13:

1. Chapter 13: Late Life: Cognitive and Socioemotional Development

2. Setting the Context The world is old and getting older In 2000, 1 in 9 people was over 65 In Europe, 1 in 6 was over 65 In 25 years, in many developing world countries, the percent of older adults in the population will triple

3. The Aging World Life expectancy has dramatically increased We are living to much older ages Our late life expectancy � the time we can expect to live after 65 � has increased to 20 years Health and personal care have made living beyond the age of 65 much better than 100 years ago Birth rates are declining We are putting fewer young people on the planet More old and less young means an older average population

4. Two Old Stages The young-old are between 60 and 79 Typically they have good health They live relatively well The old-old are over 79 years of age They are more likely to be in poor health They are more likely to be of poor wealth They have more old-age disabilities

5. Later Life: Memory The wider world expects the elderly to have memory issues Low expectations create low self-efficacy in the old Low self-efficacy produces self-fulfilling prophecies The elderly do perform more poorly on some tests As memory tasks get more difficult the old do poorly Time sensitive testing produces poor results Divided attention tasks are difficult for the old But this isn�t just for the old We start showing fluid memory declines in our 30�s In many types of memory tasks the old do very well

6. An Information Processing Model Working memory �bin space� declines The executive processor is unable to stay focused Extraneous noise seeps into the bin space We think this is due to neural deterioration Research shows that the old use more of their brain in memory tasks than the young Intense mental work only seen in specific memory situations

7. A Memory System Perspective Three types of memories: Procedural memories Most resilient; longest lasting; rarely fade due to old age Habitual thought patterns and actions like riding a bicycle They are the last to go in patients with brain diseases These memory traces are possibly in a different area of the brain and do not require the frontal lobe functions after they are stored Semantic memories Moderately resilient; long lasting This is the basic factual knowledge you hold Your crystallized memories Episodic memories The visual memory of the episodes in your life This is the most fragile memory system of all three

8. Good Memory News Balte�s Selective Optimization with compensation Select - focus on what you want to remember Optimize - elaborate on what you know to encode Compensate - use memory aids like a voice recorder Mnemonic techniques Use emotional attachment to help store information Emotionally vivid material is almost as easy for the old to remember as it is for the young Use songs, rhymes, and visual imaging

9. Emotions of the Old Shifting emotional priorities Carstensen�s socioemotional selectivity theory says: The young look to the future We often give up immediate desire to achieve a goal The old shift to a more present life perspective They make the most of every moment They do what makes them feel good now Social priorities also change Concentration on their loving relationships Prioritize their social contacts This is not limited to the old Anyone with a limited future view will follow this path

10. Emotions of the Old Emotions � the upside People over 65 have much lower rates of emotional problems than adults at any other age Less prone to feel furious Older people are better at regulating their emotions Older people shut out negatives to remain positive The amygdala is more active with positive things Emotions � the downside By minimizing lows we may reduce the highs Less likely to feel exuberance Depression is low among the young-old but increases in the old-old after 75

11. Emotions of the Old Only in high SES countries does old age bring more positive emotions In other countries, elderly are far less happy Eastern European countries have few social services for the elderly There is a difference between feeling happy and feeling peaceful: The old put more emphasis on peaceful. Although the average person may slowly slip into poor health and poverty by 80, some live full generative lives well into old age.

12. Memory and Emotion Intervention Keep environments less distractive Allow more time for memorizations Don�t stereotype the elderly as having bad memories Keep self-efficacy high Connect learning to one�s personal passions The elderly may not want to make new friends Don�t stereotype the elderly as unhappy Be alert for signs of depression in the old-old Help them maintain interest: in the world, in loving relationships, and in living a generative life.

13. Later Life Transitions Retirement Age 65 is the traditional marker to retire Only one in ten U.S. adults are working after 64 In 1950, people lived about 6 years after age 65 In the U.S., we can expect to live another 20 years after retirement with little to no income other than social security. Retirement is a socially constructed life stage When governments provide a financial cushion for older citizens to live without working the stage is set In some countries, there is no retirement In some countries, it is a dream to retire In other countries, it is a nightmare

14. Later Life Transitions

15. Variations in Retirement Bangladesh, Jamaica, and Mexico More than half of all elderly are working Rwanda 33% of women and 50% of men over 75 are still working France and Luxemburg Only 2% over 65 are working Germany Created the first government-funded retirement program Attempts to keep people financially comfortable Pays 75% of the last years pay Indexed to standard of living increases

16. Variations in Retirement Hong Kong No government retirement exists Children traditionally responsible for their parents Change from communal to individualistic culture Children no longer feel obligated to help their parents With no savings and questionable child help, the current generation approaching old age is very anxious about the future

17. The U.S. System Social (in)Security supposed to be one half of your last year�s pay: Meant to reduce late life poverty Old-age dependency ratio will not support it Number of employees to retirees is decreasing dramatically You will probably NOT get 50% of your last year�s pay There is no guarantee you will get it at any age Corporate private pension plans Employee and employer contributes a portion of each paycheck to a growing account. Low wage jobs do not have pensions. Personal savings plans We live in a spend economy�even the government spends more than it takes in!

18. Average American In the United States, the average retiree: Uses up their savings Uses up their pension Ends up living only on Social Security income Slides into poverty in their old-old years The low income U.S. worker starts retirement in poverty So why do people retire? We dream of living healthy without having to continue to work

19. Retirement Choices Forced into retirement Poor health can force us to retire Disabilities and health concerns are high at the low SES level At the upper SES levels, pensions lure us into early retirement Age discrimination is illegal Older employees have higher salaries and health care costs Employers cannot fire you because of your age They can: Offer a one shot take it or leave it retirement package Use work overload to make working miserable and then fire you for poor performance

20. Retirement Choices Happily choosing to leave or stay Some people choose to leave because their job was boring, had low-autonomy, and was non-flow-inducing Who stays at work? Healthy and highly educated people may not retire at 65 People who love their job and get satisfaction from the work People with financial obligations (children in school) People working on a retirement package, but not there yet People who choose to retire without pressure feel good about their decision Retirees report fewer day to day life stresses and take better care of their health than when they worked

21. Retirement Stages Retirees go through stages when they retire Honeymoon Letdown Connection Many people use retirement to be generative Elderhostels are education-travel programs for those 55 and older People held back by discrimination at work can blossom in retirement Retirement can be a separation from work and a connection to life

22. Retirement Stages Differences in cultures Our cultural ideal is �not to go gently into that good night� Some culture embrace the �night� The Hindu culture uses this time to disengage from earthly pleasures Undoing retirement 50% of all U.S. retirees go back to work They find out they need income to live The second job is usually low pay and not very flow inducing By the old-old years, most retirees are widows

23. Widowhood Researchers rank death of a spouse as life�s most traumatic change You shared your life for decades You must make an identity other than �married person� You must learn to do the things your spouse did There will be mourning for the loss

24. Mourning For awhile, people are obsessed with the spouse�s last hours alive They impulsively follow habits that required the spouse In some cultures, mourning should last forever In other cultures, mourning should lead to recovery and life without the spouse Continuing bonds make people feel the spouse is still around Studies show that newly widowed people find pain in memories, but after around two years, both negative and positive emotions are invoked by the memories

25. Religion and Widowhood One study showed that during the first six months after death of a loved one, people attended religious services more frequently. This gave the widowed a feeling of being more spiritually connection to God. Those who attended services grieved less than those who did not attend services. Depression rates were the same between the two groups. After two years, service attendance returned to pre-widowed levels.

26. Moving On Men are more likely to become disabled after a spouse dies. Men are at higher risk of dying unless they find a new mate. For elderly men living alone, suicide is a major concern. People totally dependant on a spouse have trouble constructing a new identity when that spouse dies. Cultures influence how we deal with death. Communal cultures may insulate the widowed from loss In the Igbo tribe in Africa, a widow must prove they did not kill their spouse by sleeping with the corpse In other tribes, all the property reverts to the husband�s family leaving the widow with nothing

27. Resiliency Widowed people are resilient Many cope and adjust to the death of the spouse Wives with low self-esteem become more confident Life�s traumas, when handled successfully, can bring emotional growth. Too much help from friends and family can hinder recovery Scaffold the newly widowed Give them the help they need but no more Help build their confidence to do things on their own Give them a chance to build self-confidence and efficacy

28. Later Life: Thriving and Surviving