Aging

• Nutrition

• Medicine 

• Sanitation

• Safety

• Health care of a country

• Risk factors such as heart disease

• Aging starts early in life

• Subtle faults accumulate continuously

• Each time they are corrected

• Resources to repair the faults are limited

• Start to run out of the resources

• Nervous system - brain weight declines and there is loss of myelin coating, neurons and synapses

• All sensory systems are affected but hearing and vision are most common

• Cardiovascular and respiratory systems not as strong

• Weaker immune system, especially with stress

• Lower quality sleep

• Memory recall declines

• Poor memory for meaningless information 

• Cross sectional studies show intelligence could possible decline - little effect on intellectually active people

• Longitudinal studies show a stable or increasing intelligencs

Crystallised intelligence

• Broad spectrum of general knowledge 
• Accumulated information
• Increases with age

Fluid intelligence 

• Quick reasoning ability
• Problem solving 
• Decreases with age 

Not much cognitive growth in old age

Ego integrity

• Coming to terms with one's life 
• Satisfied with achievements 
• Ability to view one's life in context of humanity

Despair

• Hopelessness and defeat as death is near
• Blaming others for personal failures

• Gender differences in sequence of stages e.g. women need a partner before they can form their identity and men achieve it before intimacy

• Not universal across cultures

• Not as relevant in recent times e.g. variety of roles for women now 

• Based on limited data collected from men

• Decreased interaction of older adults with society

• Natural for older adults to disengage

• External pressures to retire - allowing more jobs for young people

• Internal pressures to retire - health problems 

• Longer life and better well being if activity is encouraged

• Enforced retirement provides alternative activities/roles

• Well being depends on social financial security, close relationships and coping strategies

• Patterns of behaviour consistent over time, regardless of life changes

• Outgoing personalities will not become shy

• Past coping strategies used to deal with aging

• Doesn't take into account ethnicity, gender, SES or lifestyle

• Pre-retirement - saving up and dreaming 

• Honeymoon - enjoyment of free time

• Disenchantment - depression and boredom

• Reorientation - re-evaluation of priorities

• Stability - routine and purpose

• Terminal - inability to work or be independent