Q&A Hero

Q: Women's __________ may lead them to feel less need to remarry following the death of a spouse. A) kinkeeper role B) financial dependence C) elevated risk of mortality D) gender-role expectations

Q: Men show more physical and mental health problems than women following the death of a spouse because men A) have greater financial worries. B) are also mourning the loss of their career. C) have a large number of emotionally satisfying ties outside of marriage. D) tend to rely on their wives for social connectedness and coping with stress.

Q: Resilient widowed older adults A) still have more lasting problems than younger widowed adults. B) try to preserve social relationships that were important before the spouse's death. C) rely on others to handle tasks of daily living. D) usually have reserved personalities and are used to being alone.

Q: David's wife, Esther, recently died. If David is like most recently widowed older adults, his greatest problem is most likely A) profound loneliness. B) financial instability. C) anxiousness. D) declining health.

Q: Ethel, age 65, and Raymond, age 72, cohabit. If they are typical of cohabiting older adults, which of the following is most likely true? A) They have plans to marry. B) They are as satisfied with their partnered lives as are their married counterparts. C) They are willing to give up their independence in order to be together. D) They have conventional values.

Q: Today, more older adults who enter a new relationship choose A) cohabitation. B) remarriage. C) younger partners. D) long-term engagements.

Q: Compared with younger adults, older adults who divorce A) find it easier to separate their identity from that of their former spouse. B) suffer less from a sense of personal failure. C) seldom express regret over leaving an unhappy marriage. D) are less likely to spend their remaining years living alone.

Q: Which of the following statements about divorce in late adulthood is true? A) Less than 1 percent of all U.S. divorces involve couples over age 65. B) The divorce rate among people 65 and older has decreased over the past three decades. C) About half of older adults' dissolving marriages are lengthy30 years or more. D) Compared with younger adults, seniors are less likely to experience a sense of personal failure following divorce.

Q: Which of the following statements about gay and lesbian partnerships in late adulthood is true? A) Few report happy, highly fulfilling relationships in late adulthood. B) They face unique challenges because of continuing prejudice and lack of societal recognition of their partnerships. C) Compared with homosexual older adults who live alone, couples rate their physical and mental health less favorably. D) A lifetime of coping with an oppressive social environment may have weakened homosexuals' skill at dealing with late-life changes.

Q: Which of the following statements about late-life marital discord is true? A) Older adults are less likely than younger adults to say that their partner makes too many demands. B) Men tend to expend more energy trying to work on a troubled relationship. C) Women often protect themselves from the energy drain of a troubling relationship by avoiding discussion. D) When marital dissatisfaction exists, it often takes a greater toll on women than on men.

Q: Which of the following statements about marriage in late adulthood is true? A) Marital satisfaction decreases from middle to late adulthood, when it is at its low-point. B) One in every four or five first marriages lasts at least 50 years, despite the high U.S. divorce rate. C) Late-life marriages involve more stressful responsibilities that can negatively affect relationships. D) Compared to younger couples, aging couples disagree more often and rate their relationship as lower in quality.

Q: The __________ is an influential model of changes in our social networks as we move through life. A) social convoy B) social clock C) kinkeeper role D) continuity chain

Q: Forrest lives in a Green House-style nursing home. In comparison with traditional nursing home residents, which of the following is most likely true? A) Physically, Forrest will decline more quickly. B) Forrest will report substantially better quality of life. C) Forrest will interact less often with other residents. D) The timing of Forrest's social contact will more often be deterred by staff.

Q: Define and describe terminal decline.

Q: What is assisted living, and how is it beneficial for older adults?

Q: Discuss some nondrug protective factors that help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Q: Toby, age 85, is extremely infirm and displays wasted muscle mass and strength. In recent months, Toby has experienced weight loss, severe mobility problems, and cognitive difficulties. Explain Toby's condition. What contributes to it?

Q: How much sleep do older adults require? Discuss some common sleep disturbances of aging.

Q: What is the maximum lifespan of humans? Does this figure actually reflect the upper bound of human longevity, or can it be extended? Should it be increased as far as possible?

Q: Which of the following statements about continuing education for older adults is true? A) Community senior centers experience little demand for course offerings for low-SES older adults. B) Continuing education opportunities help older adults overcome their own ingrained stereotypes of aging. C) Government-sponsored programs often partially cover Road Scholar costs for seniors. D) Higher-educated participants in Road Scholar courses report learning the most from their experiences.

Q: Aimee is coordinating a continuing education program for older adults. Which of the following pieces of advice should she follow? A) Relate new material to what older adults have already learned by drawing on their experiences. B) Present the information in one session or in several short sessions. C) Present information at a fairly rapid pace so it is not quickly forgotten. D) Do not provide handouts and outlines because they are often cumbersome.

Q: Which of the following statements about lifelong learning programs is true? A) They primarily cater to older adults with little education and limited income. B) The Road Scholar program originated in France and provides Western Europeans with university-sponsored courses. C) Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes offer older adults a wide array of stimulating learning experiences. D) The University of the Third Age was formerly called Elderhostel and attracts nearly 100,000 American and Canadian older adults.

Q: Participation of older adults in continuing education programs A) has increased substantially over the past few decades. B) has decreased slightly over the past decade. C) is expensive and physically taxing. D) reinforces negative stereotypes by challenging them beyond their capabilities.

Q: Which of the following statements about cognitive intervention is true? A) Cognitive intervention is of limited usefulness to adults over age 65. B) Most older adults are unaware of memory declines and do not know that they need to take extra steps to ensure recall. C) Older adults' relatively well-preserved metacognition is a powerful asset in cognitive training efforts. D) Cognitive intervention rarely results in improved day-to-day problem solving.

Q: For most of late adulthood, cognitive declines are A) swift. B) extensive. C) gradual. D) rare.

Q: An extended falloff in cognitive performance or in emotional investment in life is A) unusual in healthy older adults. B) a sign of loss of vitality and impending death. C) expected in adults soon after age 100. D) due to disuse of skills rather than biological aging.

Q: __________ refers to acceleration in deterioration of cognitive functioning prior to death. A) Increased morbidity B) Cognitive mortality C) Life expectancy crossover D) Terminal decline

Q: Arn recently retired from an assembly line job. To facilitate cognitive functioning, Arn should A) find leisure activities that are similar in nature to the job he left. B) maintain a relaxed, unstructured life. C) develop stimulating leisure activities. D) seek out a more fulfilling job.

Q: Which of the following statements about factors related to cognitive maintenance and change is true? A) There is no genetic contribution to individual differences in cognitive change in late adulthood. B) Retirement affects cognitive change both positively and negatively. C) As seniors grow older, their cognitive scores show smaller fluctuations from one occasion to the next. D) Most chronic conditions are not associated with cognitive declines.

Q: Which of the following individuals is the most likely to show greater cognitive declines with age, even after initial health status, mental test performance, and SES are controlled? A) Gus, a cigarette smoker B) Maria, a recent widow C) Betty, an aging homemaker D) Sal, a college graduate

Q: Compared to their agemates, older adults with the cognitive, reflective, and emotional qualities that make up wisdom are A) less open to experience. B) involved in fewer positive relationships. C) more likely to be experiencing physical challenges. D) more favorably adjusted to aging.

Q: One group of researchers described wisdom as A) a cumulative benefit of age. B) expertise in the conduct and meaning of life. C) an intrinsic characteristic that develops with age. D) general familiarity with everyday dilemmas.

Q: Earl has broad practical knowledge, emotional maturity, and the ability to apply his knowledge to make life more worthwhile. Earl is demonstrating A) fluid intelligence. B) crystallized intelligence. C) wisdom. D) generativity.

Q: __________ problem-solving abilities show improvement as adults age. A) Traditional B) Health-related C) Abstract D) Linguistic

Q: Older adults A) generate a smaller number of strategies compared to young and middle-aged adults. B) seek advice of spouses, adult children, friends, and neighbors less often than in the past. C) have a difficult time adapting strategies to fit problem conditions. D) tend to adopt a "wait and see" approach in favor of gathering more facts when it comes to health issues.

Q: After retirement, older adults' problem-solving activities typically involve A) relating to their children. B) management of IADLs. C) marital difficulties. D) situations that arise in volunteer work.

Q: Older adults __________ than do younger people. A) resolve tip-of-the-tongues at a higher rate B) show a lower frequency of tip-of-the-tongue states C) speak with fewer sentence fragments and hesitations D) use more complex grammatical structures

Q: A common technique used by many older adults to compensate for their difficulties in producing language is to A) speak more loudly and forcefully. B) avoid talking as much as possible. C) convey information through sign language. D) use more sentences to convey their message.

Q: Which of the following statements about age-related losses in language production is true? A) Language comprehension changes significantly in late life. B) Planning what to say and how to say it is harder in late adulthood. C) Older adults have few compensatory techniques for language production difficulties. D) Older adults tend to use fewer pronouns and more detailed references than younger adults.

Q: Van sometimes has trouble finding the right words to convey his thoughts. He often says, "It is right on the tip of my tongue." Like many older adults, Van is most likely A) having a harder time comprehending language. B) attending more closely to features of speech. C) having difficulty retrieving words from long-term memory. D) quickly losing interest in conversational topics.

Q: Difficulties with prospective memory seen in the laboratory do not appear in real life because older adults often compensate for declines in working memory by A) relying on external memory aids. B) resorting to strategies like rehearsal. C) using elaboration. D) focusing more on recognition than on recall.

Q: Which of the following is an example of an event-based memory task? A) taking medicine when an alarm goes off B) taking medicine every 4 to 6 hours C) remembering to set the alarm at night D) remembering a special event from the past, like high school graduation

Q: Which of the following is an example of prospective memory? A) remembering your second-grade teacher's name B) remembering the capitals of all 50 states C) remembering to go to a dentist appointment next week D) remembering the name of a movie you saw recently

Q: The reminiscence bump A) is the period of time in which older adults recall intermediate events more readily than remote or recent events. B) is evident in the autobiographical recall of other adults from diverse cultures. C) characterizes emotionally negative, but not positive, memories. D) usually involves events that occurred in midlife.

Q: Mary Jane loves to tell stories about her childhood. When she remembers these events, she is exhibiting __________ memory. A) implicit B) remote C) recall D) prospective

Q: At a recent family reunion, Philip's uncle recognized him as his brother's son, but could not recall his name. Philip's uncle exhibited a(n) __________ memory deficit. A) associative B) implicit C) remote D) prospective

Q: Age differences in __________ memory are much smaller than in __________ memory. A) explicit; implicit B) deliberate; implicit C) implicit; deliberate D) associative; implicit

Q: Nina sees her neighbor in the supermarket and immediately knows her. Nina's experience is an example of __________ memory. A) temporal B) recognition C) associative D) implicit

Q: Ethel is having difficulty recalling everyday experiences. Ethel is experiencing __________ memory loss. A) remote B) episodic C) implicit D) associative

Q: In setting personal goals, older adults A) often deny their physical and cognitive limitations. B) focus on maintaining abilities and preventing losses. C) focus on gains in physical goals and losses in cognitive goals. D) focus on gains in cognitive goals and losses in physical goals.

Q: Older adults who sustain high levels of functioning A) become less selective in their activities. B) tend to show gains in fluid intelligence only. C) show losses in crystallized intelligence only. D) engage in selective optimization with compensation.

Q: Mental abilities that decline at an earlier age typically depend on __________ intelligence, while those that are sustained longer in life depend on __________ intelligence. A) crystallized; fluid B) fluid; crystallized C) cognitive; emotional D) emotional; cognitive

Q: Michael and Franklin moved into a homelike housing arrangement for seniors who require more care than can be provided at home. They have moved into A) a nursing home. B) assisted living. C) an institution. D) hospice care.

Q: Overall, __________ provide(s) about 60 to 80 percent of all long-term care in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Western Europe. A) the government B) nursing homes C) nonprofit organizations D) families

Q: Which of the following older adults is the most likely to be institutionalized? A) Reggie, an 83-year-old African American B) Ethel, an 80-year-old Caucasian American C) Rosa, a 90-year-old Hispanic American D) Akari, an 84-year-old Asian American

Q: Which of the following older adults is the most likely to enter a nursing home? A) Mr. Holzman, who has dementia B) Mrs. Nairon, who has cancer C) Mr. Overholser, who has cardiovascular disease D) Mrs. Pegel, who has Type 2 diabetes

Q: U.S. Medicare funds about _____ percent of older adults' medical needs. A) 25 B) 40 C) 50 D) 75

Q: Depression A) declines with age. B) affects about 10 percent of people over age 65. C) is rarely related to physical illness or pain. D) can lead to cognitive deterioration.

Q: __________ is the disorder most often misdiagnosed as dementia. A) Atherosclerosis B) Depression C) Parkinson's disease D) Diabetes

Q: Cerebrovascular dementia A) is more common than Alzheimer's disease. B) results from a combination of genetic and environmental forces. C) affects more women than men. D) is more common in the United States than in Japan.

Q: Mr. Ponyo had a series of strokes that left areas of dead brain cells, causing step-by-step degeneration of his mental ability. Mr. Ponyo is experiencing A) familial Alzheimer's disease. B) sporadic Alzheimer's disease. C) Parkinson's disease. D) cerebrovascular dementia.

Q: Martin is a caregiver for a 70-year-old Alzheimer's patient. If he is like most caregivers, which of the following types of assistance would he most desire? A) knowledge about the disease B) coping skills C) caregiving skills D) respite

Q: Which of the following statements about caregivers of older adults with dementia is true? A) The majority of home caregivers are older adults themselves. B) Caregiving of older adults with dementia is sometimes known as the "36-hour day" because of its constant demands. C) Few communities offer interventions designed to support family caregivers. D) The number of hours dedicated to caregiving decreases with caregiver age.

Q: __________ is associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's and cerebrovascular dementia. A) Taking ginko biloba B) Having Down syndrome C) Taking folic acid D) Exercising regularly in midlife

Q: Which of the following seems to reduce an individual's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease? A) hormone therapy B) a "Mediterranean diet" C) folate supplements D) anti-inflammatory drugs

Q: The abnormal ApoE4 gene is the most commonly known risk factor for A) familial Alzheimer's disease. B) vascular dementia. C) sporadic Alzheimer's disease. D) Parkinson's disease.

Q: Which of the following statements about familial Alzheimer's disease is true? A) It has no obvious family history. B) It progresses more slowly than the sporadic type. C) About half of people affected have an abnormal gene on chromosome 19. D) It generally has an early onset, between ages 30 and 60.

Q: Marion has just learned that her brain contains an abundance of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. Marion's doctors are probably concerned that she might have A) stroke. B) Parkinson's disease. C) Huntington's disease. D) Alzheimer's disease.

Q: A diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is made A) by administering a blood test. B) through exclusion, after ruling out other causes of dementia. C) by a physical examination. D) by taking an MRI image of the brain.

Q: As Alzheimer's disease progresses, A) skilled and purposeful movements disintegrate. B) vision and hearing are adversely affected. C) anxiety and depression decrease. D) digestion slows.

Q: Which of the following statements about Alzheimer's disease is true? A) By 2030, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's is expected to be cut in half. B) At first, recent memory is most impaired, but as serious disorientation sets in, recall of distant events evaporates C) Among the early symptoms of the disease are depression, loss of the ability to speak, and imaginary fears. D) Alzheimer's accounts for about one-quarter of all dementia cases, though at older ages, the percentage declines.

Q: __________ is the most common form of dementia. A) Cerebrovascular dementia B) Parkinson's disease C) Alzheimer's disease D) Subcortical dementia

Q: Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular dementia are both types of A) cardiovascular dementia. B) cortical dementia. C) subcortical dementia. D) cerebral hypertrophy.

Q: A form of dementia that involves deterioration in subcortical brain regions is A) Alzheimer's disease. B) cerebrovascular dementia. C) reversible dementia. D) Parkinson's disease.

Q: About 50 percent of adults over age 90 are affected by A) Alzheimer's disease. B) emphysema. C) dementia. D) Parkinson's disease.

Q: Harold, age 82, has little difficulty walking but, nonetheless, recently experienced a fall. What is the best thing that Harold's family can do to help prevent further falls? A) encourage Harold to decrease his activity level B) take Harold to the eye doctor to ensure that he has proper corrective eyewear C) encourage Harold to rely on a cane or a walker D) discourage Harold from walking unassisted

Q: The risk of __________ fracture increases fifteenfold from age 65 to 85 and is associated with a 20 percent increase in mortality. A) hip B) elbow C) skull D) ankle

Q: Which of the following statements about falls in late adulthood is true? A) Declines in vision, hearing, and mobility increase the risk of falling. B) Because of weakened bones, serious injury results about 40 percent of the time. C) The risk of serious injury due to falling far outweighs the health benefits of activity. D) Nearly all older adults who have fallen admit that they purposefully avoid activities because they are afraid of falling again.

Q: Which of the following statements about older adult drivers and motor vehicle accidents is true? A) Because of anxiety over declining vision, older adults tend to drive less and, consequently, are at low risk for traffic accidents and fatalities. B) They have higher rates of traffic violations, accidents, and fatalities per mile driven than any other age group, including drivers under age 25. C) Compared with young drivers, older adults are less likely to drive quickly and recklessly but more likely to fail to heed signs, yield the right of way, and turn appropriately. D) They are at low risk for collisions at intersections because they tend to compensate for slower reflexes by being extra cautious.

Q: At age 65 and older, the death rate from unintentional injuries is A) at an all-time low. B) about half as great as in adolescence. C) about the same as in middle adulthood. D) at an all-time high.