Cognition and Aging
The present paper illustrates my reflections regarding the article “Memory and Aging: Selected Research Directions and Application Issues”, the third lecture “Psychosocial Issues”, and our class discussion. All of them brought up important issues regarding the psychological health of older adults, however, one theme was common across them: the role of social interaction on cognition and emotion.
About the Article
Historically, memory has been a recurring topic in cognition research. Through the years, many scientific findings have helped us to understand how memory works. Since, older adults are the subgroup most affected by frequent memory deficiencies, they would be highly benefited with the advance of the cognitive
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In this aspect, it grabbed my attention how friendship, in general, brought emotional satisfaction, sometimes, even greater than family relationships. I recalled that while I read the article, when they shared the findings on how older adults with a more complex social circle tend to present less memory problems. On the contrary, when older adults suffer from memory loss there is a tendency of avoiding social encounters because of the shame of putting them in evidence wither friends. As mental health providers, we should consider this issue, and observe when clients start to reduce their social event frequency. If there is the case, it would be always helpful to advice them on keeping their interpersonal relationships activities, as they enhance their memory …show more content…
Before that, I had never thought that an older married woman would see her widow friend as a threat. I held the belief that after the fertile years, that sort of defense was not common (thinking from an evolutionary perspective). Subsequently, it made me think that need to preserve a partner was not only for reproductive purpose, but instead, marriage turns to fulfill companion need.
Another interesting part of our discussion was related to the preference of inviting more the mother than the father to live with their children. I wondered why was that the case, and I came up with two possible explanations. First, usually, fathers in their younger years are more focused on bringing financial stability to home than to develop a rich and solid relationship with their children. Second, it may be possible that mothers result being more helpful to their adult children, regarding housekeeping and children’s care. These assumptions are based on traditional family roles performed by who are today our grandparents’
In the few minutes that it takes to do a physical assessment, a breathing treatment, a bath, or a gastric tube feeding, we could engage in 5 to 10 minutes of eye to eye contact, therapeutically reminiscing with our elders, and in doing so could possibly influence the health of our patients profoundly. With the collective efforts among health care workers, it could eventually turn out to be a measurable cause and effect when thousands of injuries that occur every year, as a result of the many effects of Depression begin to show a significant decrease because of our joint efforts of Reminiscence therapy. Then we would see it as a preventive safety measure just as important as administering the right medication to the right patient. Perhaps then we would never have to face regret of dismissing the benefits of such a therapy that could have been bestowed upon our elders (who needed the reminiscing in the last stage of their life in order to find inner satisfaction and ward off depression). Let it not be said: Benefits that were never brought into fruition, because it simply wasn’t facilitated by us, their Health Care
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
...tions in the number of synaptic spines and functional synapses contribute to annual reductions of as much as 0.5% to 1.0% in cortical thickness (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain) and sub-cortical volume in some regions of the brain (Fjell & Walhovd, 2010). Working memory declines in both speed and function, so they forget names, locations of important objects, appointments and medication schedules (Smart, 2012). Both physical fitness and exercise in the form of stimulation among multiple channels aid in slowing cognitive decline and could potentially provide success to individuals (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2010). However, Horn and Cattell found that memory, crystallized intelligence, and fluid knowledge all decreased after age of 70 despite level of education, physical activeness and the number and variety of stimulating experiences (Smart, 2012).
Having worked in the field of geriatrics, in a nursing home setting, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the direct care of the elderly. Over a period of time, I have come to accept living one's last years in a nursing home as an eventual "normal" response to the aging process. As a result of this study, I anticipate having an enlarged perspective and an enhanced sensitivity to the psychosocial aspects of aging.
The horrible feeling of forgetting a coworker’s or an acquaintance’s name may be one of the most frustrating things a person can experience. This is a fact that many patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s face on a reoccurring basis. Loss of memory is a common part of the aging process and is sometimes referred to as dementia. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is not reversible in this day and age. In fact, 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s and in 2015 more than 5.1 million cases age 65 or older were reported (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). The most startling statistic is that by 2050, 14 million Americans and 81 million worldwide cases are expected (Wierenga & Bondi, 2011). While dementia is a part of Alzheimer’s it also affects an afflicted patient ability to perform day to day tasks, increased mood swings, and in the later stages, the ability to even walk or care for themselves. This horrible disease
“Men’s greater involvement at home is good for their relationships with their partner and also good for their children. Hands-on fathers make better parents than men who let their wives do all the nurturing and child care” (Coontz 99). Coontz believed that if men come home after work and share the chores with their wife, then they will have stronger bonds and the marriage will stay longer. Children’s are very observant, therefore they will learn valuable lessons from both of their parents. Carver showed how his father not being involved in the family has affected his relationship with his
Knapton, S 2014, ‘Brains of elderly slow because they know so much’ Telegraph Media Group, published in the Journal of Topics in Cognitive Science, viewed on the 22nd of march 2014
People that are diagnosed with Dementia have an advanced brain disorder that can make it progressively more difficult for them to think clearly, remember things, communicate to others, or even take care of themselves on their own. I have been personally affected by this disorder through members of my family and that is why this particular lecture caught my attention the most. I didn’t realize how serious this disorder can be and how much it not only impacts a person’s memory loss, but many other aspects of their life. The topics that interested me the most and ones I wanted to learn more about were normal aging memory loss versus symptoms of Dementia, how families cope with a loved one with Dementia, and the difference between Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Folk wisdom has long noted that as individuals age, they experience decline in memory performance such that many accept cognitive decline and even "senility" as normal affects of aging, along with graying hair and wrinkled skin. The effects of time on the brain in humans is more complex than simple gradual decay until one shuffles off the mortal coil, as it were. The implications of memory loss, and cases in which cognitive function does not decline, has implications for our understanding of how memory works in general, the treatment of debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, and for the role of the "I-function" in learning and recollection.
According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of past experiences for information to be used in the present. The retrieval of memory is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether it is for academics, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied on because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flashbulb memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications in providing precise details of past events. (The British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay, I would put forth arguments that human memory, in fact, is not completely reliable in providing accurate depictions of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who found that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who found that there is a predisposition for memory to decline with increasing age.
for this “important” social occasion. But the example also brings us quickly to the main question we pose here: When men and women try to recall the past, who remembers what ?
Since the beginning of time, fathers have had a profound effect on their child’s development. Over the years, the norm for traditional family dynamics of having a father figure in the household has changed drastically, and so did the roles of the parents. It is not as common as it used to be to have a father or father figure in the home. In this day and age, women are more likely to raise children on their own and gain independence without the male assistance due to various reasons. The most significant learning experience and development of a person’s life takes place in their earlier years when they were children. There are many advantages when there is a mother and father combined in a
Throughout history, the roles of men and women in the home suggested that the husband would provide for his family, usually in a professional field, and be the head of his household, while the submissive wife remained at home. This wife’s only jobs included childcare, housekeeping, and placing dinner on the table in front of her family. The roles women and men played in earlier generations exemplify the way society limited men and women by placing them into gender specific molds; biology has never claimed that men were the sole survivors of American families, and that women were the only ones capable of making a pot roast. This depiction of the typical family has evolved. For example, in her observation of American families, author Judy Root Aulette noted that more families practice Egalitarian ideologies and are in favor of gender equality. “Women are more likely to participate in the workforce, while men are more likely to share in housework and childcare (apa…).” Today’s American families have broken the Ward and June Cleaver mold, and continue to become stronger and more sufficient. Single parent families currently become increasingly popular in America, with single men and women taking on the roles of both mother and father. This bend in the gender rules would have, previously, been unheard of, but in the evolution of gender in the family, it’s now socially acceptable, and very common.
It was a pleasant day at the Dementia unit and I was assigned to care for a lady whom we can call Miss K. She is a lovely, warm and nice lady who was recently admitted to the Dementia unit two weeks ago. I went to her room to meet her, I introduced myself, greeted her and gave her a hand shake for me to establish rapport. She was very cooperative, participative and independent with her cares. From my observation, I noticed that she is very organised and very particular when it comes to cleanliness. She also wakes up early in the morning and makes sure that all of the things that she needs for morning care are neatly arrange in the bathroom. When having a shower, she cleans her body very well. She also brushes her teeth and cleans her dentures very well. She always likes to wear red coloured clothes and red floral nighties. Before leaving her room, she makes sure that her glasses are clean before wearing it, her used clothes are neatly kept in the empty drawer and she wants to have a handkerchief in her pocket. I also noticed that there is always a glass
When it comes to the elderly minority, the social theories of aging resonate like no other. More specifically, the gerotranscendence theory. This theory involves the transition of aging as developmental process which is done internally, largely focusing on inner thoughts and emotions. So much so that “The individual reaches a fundamental acceptance of life lived, regardless of how good ...