Psychology Adult & aging Development - Essay Example

Psychology Adult and Aging Development We observe a loss of muscle tissue, with accompanying loss of strength, over the years of adulthood. What explanations of this phenomenon have been offered? What kind of evidence exists for and against each explanation? What conclusions do you come to? Sarcopenia is the steady loss of muscle tone and muscle strength while aging. This is the usual cause why old people are not able to perform activities that require brute strength since it is quite taxing for their physique.

The etiology or cause of sarcopenia could be trace from “a multifactorial disease process that may result from sub-optimal hormone levels, inadequate dietary protein, and other nutritional imbalances, lack of exercise, oxidative stress, and inflammation (Brink 1-4).” As a person grows older, he or she losses a percentage of muscle tone yearly. And as the individual reach the age of 75, the percentage of muscle mass is typically half of what it was during young adulthood. Muscle mass decreases because as people grow older their physical activities become less.

Studies likewise show that growth hormones and testosterone levels that helps in muscle development diminishes. And as this happens the muscles cannot contract as fast as before because “more fast-contracting (fast-twitch) muscle fibers are lost than slow-contracting (slow-twitch) muscle fibers (The Merck Manuals 2).”2. Do health practices play more of a role in predicting rate of death than age, gender, and race? If so, discuss how. Use relevant research from your text to back up your claims.

The lifestyle of an individual plays a major role in his overall health and well being. While there may be studies that show the lifespan of a person basing it on age, gender and race, the possibilities of beating the odds by properly taking good care of one’s self could actually beat the odds. An example of this is: when you start smoking at a young age, say at age 12 or 13, the probability of you acquiring a disease related to smoking is greater that those who smoked at a later age like 25.

The explanation here is that at the age of 12 your respiratory system has not still been fully developed to withstand the bad effects of smoking. Thus, at that age most of your lung capillaries were already destroyed and your system is already pumped up with nicotine.Another example is: having a balanced diet and doing regular exercise. By eating properly you nourish your body with nutrients that it needs in order to perform daily activities. And by exerting you tome you muscles and strengthen your overall physique.

But if you are a couch potato who simply wants to just lie around and eat junk food – then you could be a candidate for obesity and early stroke – even if studies show that at your age you are less likely to have a stroke.3. Baltes (1993) argues that cognition is like a computer where the hardware becomes less efficient and the software can be maintained. Argue for or against this position and use research from your text to support your position. I agree with Baltes, because what he meant was that, people who are in their late adulthood may seem frail and incapacitated to doing arduous tasks most of them still retain sharp keen minds that could process knowledge.

While there may be no cure for losing the memory as one grows old, it does not mean the old people cannot comprehend or understand what is going on. They may be slow and hesitant at first but once they get the hang of it, they could beat a young adult at word games hands-down. Although it should be considered that the decline of memory is gradual. The sudden loss of memory indicates a disease, either severe dementia or Alzheimer’s (eVitamins 1).4. Evolutionary psychology argues that gender stereotypes reflect genetic programming with the species.

Describe their argument; do you agree with this view? Why or why not? Yes I agree with this view because evolutionary psychology applies the principles of evolutionary biology to test the hypotheses about the operation of the human mind (Abstracts of Posters 1), thus when it discusses about gender stereotyping it pertains to how the female and male has been oriented with regards to their roles as individuals. So when a female has been trained to do household chores and a male has been oriented to engage in machinery work at a young age, both sexes consider the fact that they are better than the other at doing what they were trained to do (Abstracts of Posters ).5. What do theorists mean by an internal working model of attachment?

How might such a model affect an adult’s relationships- with parents, with partner, with friends? Cite relevant research from your text where available.The internal working model of attachment pertains to the attachment relationships during infancy that processes “emotional regulation, social relatedness, access to autobiographical memory, and the development of self-reflection and narrative (Attachment Theory 342-345).”The following principles are summarized as follows:1. The initial forms of attachment are created by age seven (7) months.2. Most infants become emotionally involved.3. Attachments are formed with limited individuals, such as the parents or the primary caregiver.4. The “selective attachments” is a consequence of social interactions with the attachment figures.5. They normally lead to certain organizational changes in an infant’s behavior and brain functions.

The attention given to the needs of an infant during the formative years and as that infant grow, will inculcate in him or her, feelings of security or unease depending on how they were actually treated and taken care of while they were still at a very young age. Now these feeling as they grow older could develop into a cognitive way of thinking and interpretation based on the situation and actions related to situations in the past. For example: a boy toddler was often left with the nanny and the mother has little time to bond with him.

As time goes by and the situation does not change, the boy will now feel closer and more secure with the nanny than the biological mother. So when the body becomes an adult his attitude toward the mother may either be indifference or just tolerant. Hence, the situation must be corrected or altered as soon as the child exhibits more liking for the presence of his nanny.References Abstracts of Posters Tenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID2001).

October 11, 2008.http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~meesh/psyweb/Research/Conferences/ISSID2001/abstracts.htmlAttachment Theory A supplement to pages 342-345 in Aronson et. October 11, 2008 al.http://frontpage.uwsuper.edu/psychology/310/attachment.htmlBrink, Will. January 2007. Preventing Sarcopenia: Maintaining Healthy Muscle Mass as You Age, LE Magazine. October 12, 2008.Changes in the Body, The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library (n.d.) October 12, 2008. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/au/sec01/ch003/ch003b.

htmleVitamins, Age Related Cognitive Decline. October 12, 2008. http://www.evitamins.com/healthnotes.asp?ContentID=1011007