{"id":386,"date":"2014-09-29T20:52:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T20:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/lifespandevelopment1x1\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=386"},"modified":"2024-04-30T19:52:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T19:52:37","slug":"cognitive-development-and-memory-in-late-adulthood","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/chapter\/cognitive-development-and-memory-in-late-adulthood\/","title":{"raw":"Cognitive Development and Memory in Late Adulthood","rendered":"Cognitive Development and Memory in Late Adulthood"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Discuss the impact of aging on memory<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Explain how age impacts cognitive functioning<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h1>How does aging affect memory?<\/h1>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_939\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"461\"]<img class=\"wp-image-939\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1496\/2016\/03\/17020455\/Old_couple_in_love-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Affectionate older couple\" width=\"461\" height=\"307\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. During late adulthood, memory and attention decline, but continued efforts to learn and engage in cognitive activities can minimize aging effects on cognitive development.[\/caption]\r\n<h2>The Sensory Register<\/h2>\r\nAging may create small decrements in the sensitivity of the <span style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\">senses.<\/span>\u00a0And, to the extent that a person has a more difficult time hearing or seeing,<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0<\/span>that information will not be stored in memory.\u00a0This\u00a0is an important point, because many older people assume that if they cannot remember something, it is because their memory is poor.\u00a0In fact, it may be that the information was never seen or heard.\r\n<h2>The Working Memory<\/h2>\r\nOlder people have more difficulty using memory strategies to recall details (Berk, 2007).\u00a0<b>Working memory<\/b>\u00a0is a cognitive system with a limited capacity responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing.\u00a0As we age, the working memory loses some of its capacity.\u00a0This\u00a0makes it more difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time or to\u00a0remember details of an event.\u00a0\u00a0However, people\u00a0often compensate for this by writing down information and avoiding situations where there is too much going on at once to focus on a particular cognitive task.\r\n\r\nWhen an older person demonstrates difficulty with multi-step verbal information\u00a0presented quickly, the person is exhibiting problems with working memory. Working memory is among the cognitive functions most sensitive to decline in old age. Several explanations have been offered for this decline in memory functioning; one is the processing speed theory of cognitive aging by Tim Salthouse. Drawing on the findings of general slowing of cognitive processes as people grow older, Salthouse argues that slower processing causes working-memory contents to decay, thus reducing effective capacity.[footnote]Salthouse, TA (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychology Review. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8759042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8759042<\/a>.[\/footnote] For example, if an older person is watching a complicated action movie, they may not process the events quickly enough before the scene changes, or they may processing the events of the second scene, which causes them to forget the first scene. The decline of working-memory capacity cannot be entirely attributed to cognitive slowing, however, because capacity declines more in old age than speed.\r\n\r\nAnother proposal is the inhibition hypothesis advanced by Lynn Hasher and Rose Zacks. This theory assumes a general deficit in old age in the ability to inhibit irrelevant, or no-longer relevant, information. Therefore, working memory tends to be cluttered with irrelevant contents\u00a0which\u00a0reduce the effective capacity for relevant content. The assumption of an inhibition deficit in old age has received much empirical support but, so far, it is not clear whether the decline in inhibitory ability fully explains the decline of working-memory capacity.\r\n\r\nAn explanation on the neural level of the decline of working memory and other cognitive functions in old age was been proposed by Robert West. He argued that working memory depends to a large degree on the pre-frontal cortex, which deteriorates more than other brain regions as we grow old.[footnote]West, Robert (1996). An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging. Psychological Bulletin. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8831298\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8831298<\/a>.[\/footnote] Age related decline in working memory can be briefly reversed using low intensity transcranial stimulation, synchronizing rhythms in bilateral frontal and left temporal lobe areas.\r\n<h2>The Long-Term Memory<\/h2>\r\n<strong>Long-term memory<\/strong> involves the storage of information for long periods of time. Retrieving such information depends on how well it was learned in the first place rather than how long it has been stored. If information is stored effectively, an older person may remember facts, events, names and other types of information stored in long-term memory throughout life. The memory of adults of all ages seems to be similar when they are asked to recall names of teachers or classmates.\u00a0And older adults remember more about their early adulthood and adolescence than about middle adulthood (Berk, 2007). Older adults retain\u00a0semantic memory\u00a0or the ability to remember vocabulary.\r\n\r\nYounger adults rely more on mental rehearsal strategies to store and retrieve information.\u00a0Older adults focus rely more on external cues such as familiarity and context to recall information (Berk, 2007).\u00a0And they are more likely to report the main idea of a story rather than all of the details (Jepson &amp; Labouvie-Vief, in Berk, 2007).\r\n\r\nA positive attitude about being able to learn and remember plays an important role in memory.\u00a0When people are under stress (perhaps feeling stressed about memory loss), they have a more difficult time taking in information because they are preoccupied with anxieties. Many of the laboratory memory tests require\u00a0comparing the performance of older and younger adults on timed memory tests in which older adults do not perform as well.\u00a0However, few real life situations require speedy responses to memory tasks.\u00a0Older adults rely on more meaningful cues to remember facts and events without any impairment to everyday living.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/e577d300-59f1-46d5-8014-bb8ed78371d8\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>New Research on Aging and Cognition<\/h2>\r\nCan the brain be trained in order to build cognitive reserve to reduce the effects of normal aging?\u00a0ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), a study conducted between 1999 and 2001 in which 2,802 individuals age 65 to 94, suggests that the answer is \"yes.\" These participants received 10 group training sessions and 4 follow up sessions to work on tasks of memory, reasoning, and speed of processing.\u00a0These mental workouts improved cognitive functioning even 5 years later.\u00a0Many of the participants believed that this improvement could be seen in everyday tasks as well (Tennstedt, Morris, et al, 2006).\u00a0Learning new things, engaging in activities that are considered challenging, and being physically active at any age may build a reserve to minimize the effects of primary aging of the brain.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>WAtch It<\/h3>\r\nWatch this video from SciShow Psych to learn about ways to keep the mind young and active.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5DH9lAqNTG0\r\n\r\nYou can <a href=\"https:\/\/oerfiles.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/Lifespan+Development\/Transcriptions\/TheBestWaysToKeepYourMindYoung_transcript.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">view the transcript for \"The Best Ways to Keep Your Mind Young\" here (opens in new window)<\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Wisdom<\/h2>\r\nWisdom is the ability to use common sense and good judgment in making decisions.\u00a0A wise person is insightful and has knowledge that can be used to overcome obstacles\u00a0they encounter in their daily lives.\u00a0Does aging bring wisdom?\u00a0While living longer brings experience, it does not always bring wisdom.\u00a0Those who have had experience helping others resolve problems in living and those who have served in leadership positions seem to have more wisdom.\u00a0So\u00a0it is age combined with a certain type of experience that brings wisdom. However, older adults\u00a0generally\u00a0have greater emotional wisdom or the ability to empathize with and understand others.\r\n<h2>Changes in Attention in Late Adulthood<\/h2>\r\nDivided attention has usually been associated with significant age-related declines in performing complex tasks. For example, older adults show significant impairments on attentional tasks such as looking at a visual cue at the same time as listening to an auditory cue because it requires dividing or switching of attention among multiple inputs. Deficits found in many tasks, such as the Stroop task\u00a0which\u00a0measures selective attention, can be largely attributed to a general slowing of information processing in older adults rather than to selective attention deficits per se. They also are able to maintain concentration for an extended period of time. In general, older adults are <em>not<\/em> impaired on tasks that test sustained attention,\u00a0such as watching a screen for an infrequent beep or symbol.\r\n\r\nThe tasks on which older adults show impairments tend to be those that require flexible control of attention, a cognitive function associated with the frontal lobes. Importantly, these types of tasks appear to improve with training and can be strengthened.[footnote]Glisky EL. Changes in Cognitive Function in Human Aging. In: Riddle DR, editor. Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press\/Taylor &amp; Francis; 2007. Chapter 1. Available from: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK3885\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK3885\/<\/a>[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nAn important conclusion from research on changes in cognitive function as we age is that attentional deficits can have a significant impact on an older person\u2019s ability to function adequately and independently in everyday life. One important aspect of daily functioning\u00a0impacted by attentional problems is driving.\u00a0This is an activity that, for many older people, is essential to independence. Driving requires a constant switching of attention in response to environmental contingencies. Attention must be divided between driving, monitoring the environment, and sorting out relevant from irrelevant stimuli in a cluttered visual array. Research has shown that divided attention impairments are significantly associated with increased automobile accidents in older adults [footnote]McDowd JM, Shaw RJ. Attention and aging: a functional perspective. In: Craik FIM, Salthouse TA, editors.\u00a0<span class=\"ref-journal\">The Handbook of Aging and Cognition.<\/span>\u00a02.[\/footnote]\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Therefore, practice and extended training on driving simulators under divided attention conditions may be an important remedial activity for older people.[footnote]Erlbaum; Mahwah, NJ: 2000. p. 221., FN Park DC, Gutchess AH. Cognitive aging and everyday life. In: Park D, Schwarz N, editors. Cognitive Aging: A Primer. Psychology Press; Philadelphia, PA: 2000. p. 217.[\/footnote]<\/span>\r\n<h2>Problem Solving<\/h2>\r\nProblem solving tasks that require processing non-meaningful information quickly (a kind of task\u00a0which\u00a0might be part of a laboratory experiment on mental processes) declines with age. However, real life challenges facing older adults do not rely on speed of processing or making choices on one\u2019s own.\u00a0Older adults are able to\u00a0resolve everyday problems by relying on input from others such as family and friends.\u00a0They are\u00a0also less likely than younger adults to delay making decisions on important matters such as medical care (Strough et al., 2003; Meegan &amp; Berg, 2002).\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/9e753613-b861-4710-8358-b347a827d76a\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\r\n[glossary-page]\r\n[glossary-term]long-term memory:[\/glossary-term]\r\n[glossary-definition]the storage of information over an extended period[\/glossary-definition]\r\n\r\n[glossary-term]working memory:[\/glossary-term]\r\n[glossary-definition]a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing[\/glossary-definition]\r\n[\/glossary-page]\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Discuss the impact of aging on memory<\/li>\n<li>Explain how age impacts cognitive functioning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h1>How does aging affect memory?<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_939\" style=\"width: 471px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-939\" class=\"wp-image-939\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1496\/2016\/03\/17020455\/Old_couple_in_love-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Affectionate older couple\" width=\"461\" height=\"307\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-939\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. During late adulthood, memory and attention decline, but continued efforts to learn and engage in cognitive activities can minimize aging effects on cognitive development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Sensory Register<\/h2>\n<p>Aging may create small decrements in the sensitivity of the <span style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\">senses.<\/span>\u00a0And, to the extent that a person has a more difficult time hearing or seeing,<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0<\/span>that information will not be stored in memory.\u00a0This\u00a0is an important point, because many older people assume that if they cannot remember something, it is because their memory is poor.\u00a0In fact, it may be that the information was never seen or heard.<\/p>\n<h2>The Working Memory<\/h2>\n<p>Older people have more difficulty using memory strategies to recall details (Berk, 2007).\u00a0<b>Working memory<\/b>\u00a0is a cognitive system with a limited capacity responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing.\u00a0As we age, the working memory loses some of its capacity.\u00a0This\u00a0makes it more difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time or to\u00a0remember details of an event.\u00a0\u00a0However, people\u00a0often compensate for this by writing down information and avoiding situations where there is too much going on at once to focus on a particular cognitive task.<\/p>\n<p>When an older person demonstrates difficulty with multi-step verbal information\u00a0presented quickly, the person is exhibiting problems with working memory. Working memory is among the cognitive functions most sensitive to decline in old age. Several explanations have been offered for this decline in memory functioning; one is the processing speed theory of cognitive aging by Tim Salthouse. Drawing on the findings of general slowing of cognitive processes as people grow older, Salthouse argues that slower processing causes working-memory contents to decay, thus reducing effective capacity.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Salthouse, TA (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychology Review. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8759042.\" id=\"return-footnote-386-1\" href=\"#footnote-386-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> For example, if an older person is watching a complicated action movie, they may not process the events quickly enough before the scene changes, or they may processing the events of the second scene, which causes them to forget the first scene. The decline of working-memory capacity cannot be entirely attributed to cognitive slowing, however, because capacity declines more in old age than speed.<\/p>\n<p>Another proposal is the inhibition hypothesis advanced by Lynn Hasher and Rose Zacks. This theory assumes a general deficit in old age in the ability to inhibit irrelevant, or no-longer relevant, information. Therefore, working memory tends to be cluttered with irrelevant contents\u00a0which\u00a0reduce the effective capacity for relevant content. The assumption of an inhibition deficit in old age has received much empirical support but, so far, it is not clear whether the decline in inhibitory ability fully explains the decline of working-memory capacity.<\/p>\n<p>An explanation on the neural level of the decline of working memory and other cognitive functions in old age was been proposed by Robert West. He argued that working memory depends to a large degree on the pre-frontal cortex, which deteriorates more than other brain regions as we grow old.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"West, Robert (1996). An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging. Psychological Bulletin. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8831298.\" id=\"return-footnote-386-2\" href=\"#footnote-386-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> Age related decline in working memory can be briefly reversed using low intensity transcranial stimulation, synchronizing rhythms in bilateral frontal and left temporal lobe areas.<\/p>\n<h2>The Long-Term Memory<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Long-term memory<\/strong> involves the storage of information for long periods of time. Retrieving such information depends on how well it was learned in the first place rather than how long it has been stored. If information is stored effectively, an older person may remember facts, events, names and other types of information stored in long-term memory throughout life. The memory of adults of all ages seems to be similar when they are asked to recall names of teachers or classmates.\u00a0And older adults remember more about their early adulthood and adolescence than about middle adulthood (Berk, 2007). Older adults retain\u00a0semantic memory\u00a0or the ability to remember vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>Younger adults rely more on mental rehearsal strategies to store and retrieve information.\u00a0Older adults focus rely more on external cues such as familiarity and context to recall information (Berk, 2007).\u00a0And they are more likely to report the main idea of a story rather than all of the details (Jepson &amp; Labouvie-Vief, in Berk, 2007).<\/p>\n<p>A positive attitude about being able to learn and remember plays an important role in memory.\u00a0When people are under stress (perhaps feeling stressed about memory loss), they have a more difficult time taking in information because they are preoccupied with anxieties. Many of the laboratory memory tests require\u00a0comparing the performance of older and younger adults on timed memory tests in which older adults do not perform as well.\u00a0However, few real life situations require speedy responses to memory tasks.\u00a0Older adults rely on more meaningful cues to remember facts and events without any impairment to everyday living.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_e577d300-59f1-46d5-8014-bb8ed78371d8\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/e577d300-59f1-46d5-8014-bb8ed78371d8?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_e577d300-59f1-46d5-8014-bb8ed78371d8\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>New Research on Aging and Cognition<\/h2>\n<p>Can the brain be trained in order to build cognitive reserve to reduce the effects of normal aging?\u00a0ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly), a study conducted between 1999 and 2001 in which 2,802 individuals age 65 to 94, suggests that the answer is &#8220;yes.&#8221; These participants received 10 group training sessions and 4 follow up sessions to work on tasks of memory, reasoning, and speed of processing.\u00a0These mental workouts improved cognitive functioning even 5 years later.\u00a0Many of the participants believed that this improvement could be seen in everyday tasks as well (Tennstedt, Morris, et al, 2006).\u00a0Learning new things, engaging in activities that are considered challenging, and being physically active at any age may build a reserve to minimize the effects of primary aging of the brain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>WAtch It<\/h3>\n<p>Watch this video from SciShow Psych to learn about ways to keep the mind young and active.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"The Best Ways to Keep Your Mind Young\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5DH9lAqNTG0?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can <a href=\"https:\/\/oerfiles.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/Lifespan+Development\/Transcriptions\/TheBestWaysToKeepYourMindYoung_transcript.txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">view the transcript for &#8220;The Best Ways to Keep Your Mind Young&#8221; here (opens in new window)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Wisdom<\/h2>\n<p>Wisdom is the ability to use common sense and good judgment in making decisions.\u00a0A wise person is insightful and has knowledge that can be used to overcome obstacles\u00a0they encounter in their daily lives.\u00a0Does aging bring wisdom?\u00a0While living longer brings experience, it does not always bring wisdom.\u00a0Those who have had experience helping others resolve problems in living and those who have served in leadership positions seem to have more wisdom.\u00a0So\u00a0it is age combined with a certain type of experience that brings wisdom. However, older adults\u00a0generally\u00a0have greater emotional wisdom or the ability to empathize with and understand others.<\/p>\n<h2>Changes in Attention in Late Adulthood<\/h2>\n<p>Divided attention has usually been associated with significant age-related declines in performing complex tasks. For example, older adults show significant impairments on attentional tasks such as looking at a visual cue at the same time as listening to an auditory cue because it requires dividing or switching of attention among multiple inputs. Deficits found in many tasks, such as the Stroop task\u00a0which\u00a0measures selective attention, can be largely attributed to a general slowing of information processing in older adults rather than to selective attention deficits per se. They also are able to maintain concentration for an extended period of time. In general, older adults are <em>not<\/em> impaired on tasks that test sustained attention,\u00a0such as watching a screen for an infrequent beep or symbol.<\/p>\n<p>The tasks on which older adults show impairments tend to be those that require flexible control of attention, a cognitive function associated with the frontal lobes. Importantly, these types of tasks appear to improve with training and can be strengthened.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Glisky EL. Changes in Cognitive Function in Human Aging. In: Riddle DR, editor. Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press\/Taylor &amp; Francis; 2007. Chapter 1. Available from: https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK3885\/\" id=\"return-footnote-386-3\" href=\"#footnote-386-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>An important conclusion from research on changes in cognitive function as we age is that attentional deficits can have a significant impact on an older person\u2019s ability to function adequately and independently in everyday life. One important aspect of daily functioning\u00a0impacted by attentional problems is driving.\u00a0This is an activity that, for many older people, is essential to independence. Driving requires a constant switching of attention in response to environmental contingencies. Attention must be divided between driving, monitoring the environment, and sorting out relevant from irrelevant stimuli in a cluttered visual array. Research has shown that divided attention impairments are significantly associated with increased automobile accidents in older adults <a class=\"footnote\" title=\"McDowd JM, Shaw RJ. Attention and aging: a functional perspective. In: Craik FIM, Salthouse TA, editors.\u00a0The Handbook of Aging and Cognition.\u00a02.\" id=\"return-footnote-386-4\" href=\"#footnote-386-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Therefore, practice and extended training on driving simulators under divided attention conditions may be an important remedial activity for older people.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Erlbaum; Mahwah, NJ: 2000. p. 221., FN Park DC, Gutchess AH. Cognitive aging and everyday life. In: Park D, Schwarz N, editors. Cognitive Aging: A Primer. Psychology Press; Philadelphia, PA: 2000. p. 217.\" id=\"return-footnote-386-5\" href=\"#footnote-386-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Problem Solving<\/h2>\n<p>Problem solving tasks that require processing non-meaningful information quickly (a kind of task\u00a0which\u00a0might be part of a laboratory experiment on mental processes) declines with age. However, real life challenges facing older adults do not rely on speed of processing or making choices on one\u2019s own.\u00a0Older adults are able to\u00a0resolve everyday problems by relying on input from others such as family and friends.\u00a0They are\u00a0also less likely than younger adults to delay making decisions on important matters such as medical care (Strough et al., 2003; Meegan &amp; Berg, 2002).<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_9e753613-b861-4710-8358-b347a827d76a\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/9e753613-b861-4710-8358-b347a827d76a?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_9e753613-b861-4710-8358-b347a827d76a\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\n<div class=\"titlepage\">\n<dl>\n<dt>long-term memory:<\/dt>\n<dd>the storage of information over an extended period<\/dd>\n<dt>working memory:<\/dt>\n<dd>a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-386\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Modification, adaptation, and original content. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Sonja Ann Miller for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Psyc 200 Lifespan Psychology. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Laura Overstreet. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/opencourselibrary.org\/econ-201\/\">http:\/\/opencourselibrary.org\/econ-201\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of old couple. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Ian MacKenzie. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Flickr. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Remarriage#\/media\/File:Old_couple_in_love.jpg\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Remarriage#\/media\/File:Old_couple_in_love.jpg<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">All rights reserved content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>The Best Ways to Keep Your Mind Young. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: SciShow Psych. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5DH9lAqNTG0\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5DH9lAqNTG0<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em>Other<\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Standard YouTube License<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-386-1\">Salthouse, TA (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychology Review. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8759042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8759042<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-386-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-386-2\">West, Robert (1996). An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging. Psychological Bulletin. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8831298\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/8831298<\/a>. <a href=\"#return-footnote-386-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-386-3\">Glisky EL. Changes in Cognitive Function in Human Aging. In: Riddle DR, editor. Brain Aging: Models, Methods, and Mechanisms. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press\/Taylor &amp; Francis; 2007. Chapter 1. Available from: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK3885\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK3885\/<\/a> <a href=\"#return-footnote-386-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-386-4\">McDowd JM, Shaw RJ. Attention and aging: a functional perspective. In: Craik FIM, Salthouse TA, editors.\u00a0<span class=\"ref-journal\">The Handbook of Aging and Cognition.<\/span>\u00a02. <a href=\"#return-footnote-386-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-386-5\">Erlbaum; Mahwah, NJ: 2000. p. 221., FN Park DC, Gutchess AH. Cognitive aging and everyday life. In: Park D, Schwarz N, editors. Cognitive Aging: A Primer. Psychology Press; Philadelphia, PA: 2000. p. 217. <a href=\"#return-footnote-386-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":74,"menu_order":9,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Psyc 200 Lifespan Psychology\",\"author\":\"Laura Overstreet\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/opencourselibrary.org\/econ-201\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of old couple\",\"author\":\"Ian MacKenzie\",\"organization\":\"Flickr\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Remarriage#\/media\/File:Old_couple_in_love.jpg\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Modification, adaptation, and original content\",\"author\":\"Sonja Ann Miller for Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"copyrighted_video\",\"description\":\"The Best Ways to Keep Your Mind Young\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"SciShow Psych\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5DH9lAqNTG0\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"other\",\"license_terms\":\"Standard YouTube License\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"0fbfaec9-ef75-4824-9c2f-c0c431a3a1c9, 5f40a92e-d0b6-428f-9003-038c9894d424, 74002ad5-2428-4549-b397-092633fca162","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-386","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":372,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7854,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/386\/revisions\/7854"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/372"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/386\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=386"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=386"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-lifespandevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}