Cognitive Aspect of the Mind at the Middle Age - Research Paper Example

Cognitive Aspect of the Mind at the Middle Age Abstract Studies on the cognitive aspect of the middle-aged mind are only limited. Some view the middle adulthood as a crisis and also a point where they are starting to go downwards, while for the others, midlife is considered the prime of life. Socially, to be old or getting old is not preferred in this American youth-oriented society. In this regard, the focus of this research mainly delves at studying the middle- age process with a particular look at the mind of the middle age. Specifically, it aims at answering three points. First, it aims to grasp an understanding on how the middle-aged adult’s mental capacity is viewed socially. Second, it aims to define in what characteristics the cognitive performance of the middle- aged adult are said to be weak. Third, it intends to establish the strong aspects of the mind at the middle age. This research has found out that being in a midlife stage is the point where an individual state of mind can perform at its best. Thus, the society creates images towards old age and aging, as well as favoring the younger adults more than the others in the society. In the realms of cognitive aspect, the middle age is the point where it performs at its best. The Middle-Aged Mind Generally, capacities of human beings in different physical and mental aspects decline as they age. Same is true for the human characteristics which change as they grow older. Indeed, various signs of aging have started to manifest as the young adults enter the middle age. In terms of the physical aspect, one of the most noticeable remarks on aging is when the gray hairs have started to appear and grow strand by strand. In addition to that, physically, Berger (2007) stated that apart from the more fine lines and wrinkles around the forehead, eyes and mouth uncovering themselves, sagging and discoloration of the skin also materialize due to the fact that the skin of the middle-aged is now less elastic as to compared when they were younger. Moreover, physical fitness decreases too. This later on affects the middle-aged through the manifestation of different ailments. These signs of aging are to be the most visible ones, though. On the one hand, the cognitive aspect of the middle-aged mind is also a subject to several criticisms. Some argue that mental ability declines when people age. In fact, the brain function in the middle years has a reputation that it does not operate at a fast rate relative to the time of its youth. However, despite such reputation, Phillips (2011) found out that the middle-aged mind is capable of preserving a number of capacities during its youth and all the more so, has the potential to foster some new strengths. In this regard, the focus of this research mainly delves at studying the middle-age process with a particular look at the mind of the middle age. In particular, it intends to address three specific objectives. First, it aims to understand how the society perceives the middle-aged adult’s mental capacity. Second, it targets to describe the perceived weak cognitive characteristics of the middle-aged adult. Third, it points to determining what the strong aspects of the mind at the middle age are. Indeed, society views aging negatively. People attach a lot of negative images to those individuals who are no longer young. These negative images include undesirably describing the mental capacity of the older individuals. However, only a few researchers investigated the cognitive ability of the middle-aged adult. It is in this regard why this research is of importance. Through grasping an understanding on the abilities of mind of the middle age, this study can contribute to viewing the mental abilities of the human mind positively. A Critical Review of the Cognitive Aspect of the Mind at the Middle Age Understanding How Society Perceives the Cognitive Performance of the Middle-Aged Almost all societies in the world, America in particular, are generally youth-oriented. That is to say, individuals prefer to a greater extent being young instead of being old. Individuals fear the notion of getting old yet could not avoid the reality that they can get old any time in the future. Given the little research investigating how the society views the middle-aged adult, only limited number of researches delve how the people views the middle-aged adult’s thinking capacity within the context of society. Nonetheless, on the overall, a number of studies suggested the negative image and attitudes of all segments of society towards aging and the aged. Kite, Stockdale and Johnson (2005) suggested that the stereotypes associated to older adults are much more negative than those of the young adults. In terms of cognitive aspects, people attribute perceptions of decline in mental health among the older adults (Boduroglu, Yoon, Luo & Park, 2006). This negative image later on becomes a factor to seeing them as useless old adults (Boduroglu, Yoon, Luo & Park, 2006). As a consequence, this impacts how the older adults also view themselves in a negative light. Moreover, it is the case that both the middle-aged and the older adults generally perceive the aging process as a transition to their old age. According to Steverink, Westerhof, Bode and Dittmann – Kohli (2001), how people shape their perceptions as well as experiences of aging is due to the dynamic processes of the interplay between self and social norms. In addition to that, Levy (2003) argued that the internalization of the normative standards of society is a factor on how people perceive and reflect themselves. That is to say, how individuals view the physical as well as mental impacts of aging on the self are due to the stereotypes attached to aging (Levy, 2003). Westerhof and Barrett (2005) also agreed on such a manner of how the society reflects its image and attitude towards age as an identity. They suggested that in the American context, the concept of “being old” and how individuals see such are mainly due to the influence of the social norms (Westerhof & Barrett, 2005). According to Levy (2003), the age-related stereotypes result to older people as well as the younger adults to consider negatively the context of aging and old age. In the perspective of the Western societies, in general, people do usually favor more the young while less preferring those who are old (Westerhof & Barrett, 2005). More often than not, people consider the middle-aged adults to be categorized not between these divisions but belonging more in the older-aged segment. This is because they are in transition to getting old. Krueger, Heckhausen and Hundertmark (1995) suggested that the negative stereotypes about mid-life starts to manifest at the age of 45 years old. Hence, the closer these individuals get to reach the peak of being a middle-aged adult, the more negatively their images become. Weak Characteristics of the Cognitive Performance of the Middle-Aged Adult Willis and Schaie (1999) claimed that majority of the individuals in their middle adulthood believe that their mental capacities have declined as they age. For them, they are not as intelligent as they were in their youth (Willis & Schaie, 1999). While there are some who think that middle age is the prime of life, there are some who consider middle adulthood being over the hill (Willis & Schaie, 1999). In the American context, the period of nearly approaching the age of 50 years old marks the fear of getting old. Moreover, Willis and Schaie (1999) suggested in their analysis of six basic mental abilities namely vocabulary, verbal memory, inductive reasoning, special orientation, number and perceptual speed, that the middle-aged adult’s performances do decline in number and perceptual speed abilities. This is because numerical ability and perceptual speed peaks at a young age and declines starting from middle age continuously lowering when an individual is at an old age. In this study, verbal memory was not found to be a concern where in fact this is one of the most common issues raised in terms of the middle adult cognitive performance. Study suggested that the average middle – aged adult can perform well on different parameters, memory in particular, though this is put in decline when approaching the age of nearly 60 years old. Thus, decline in these basic mental abilities only becomes significant in their 60s. In addition to that, recent studies proved that the middle-aged adults also do suffer decline in mental skills. The American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP) (2012) acknowledged the fact that when exactly cognitive decline starts in the middle adulthood is still a subject to deliberation. While some states that this decline in cognitive performance starts at the age of 65 and older, a new study suggested by AAFP (2012) had stated that decline in mental ability starts as early as 45 years of age. Strong Aspects of the Mental Capacities of the Middle-Aged Adult The midlife is claimed by some to be the stage where people perform at the peak of their performance. In fact, Willis and Schaie (1999) pointed out that they had observed higher level of mental performance across the middle-aged adults. Sternberg, Grigorenko, and Oh (2001) suggested that the developmental tasks as well as everyday demands that the middle-aged adults face are so much different from the experiences of the young adults. Such makes their mental performance be considered a strength during those times. Meanwhile, according to Willis and Schaie (1999), a middle-aged adult can perform better that what they did when they were 25 years old, in following mental ability parameters such as inductive reasoning, vocabulary, verbal memory and spatial orientation. Cognitive performance is at its peak in all ages of middle adulthood from early 40s to 60s. On the one hand, Phillips (2011) found out in her research that the middle-aged mind is capable of preserving a number of capacities during its youth and all the more so, has the potential to foster some new strengths. The brain at the middle age seems to have the ability of reshaping itself well (Phillips, 2011). It appears to have the capacity to incorporate years of experiences as well as behaviors to make its cognitive abilities improve at the middle age. Likewise, it is suggested that mental processes of individuals at the middle adulthood are much calmer compared to its younger state (Phillips, 2011). The middle-aged state of the mind also tends to be less neurotic relative to its younger condition (Phillips, 2011). In addition to that, it functions much better to stand through social situations unlike when it was younger. Moreover, Grady suggested that the middle-aged adults are used to exerting more of their brains as compared to the younger adults when completing particular tasks (Phillips, 2011). On the one hand, Taylor, Kennedy, Noda and Yesavage (2007) conducted a three – year longitudinal study on the relationship of performance and age in expertise predict flight simulator. In this study, while it is true that the middle-aged pilots demonstrated decline in capacity of memory as well as processing speed, they had found out that more of these older pilots did perform better than the younger pilots on the overall. Though it is the case that the 40-to-69-year-old pilots acquired longer time to learn how to operate the simulators, they were much better that the younger colleagues in avoiding collisions. Given this, this directs toward considering that the midlife is the stage where the adults perform at their best on the overall. This is true enough for the brain. The cognitive skills of the middle-aged adults are also functioning at its peak because of the ability to re- organize themselves based from its years of experiences and behaviors. Conclusion In the critical analysis of the middle-aged process with a particular look at the cognitive skills of individuals in their middle adulthood, there are two opposing views that can be raised with regards to the middle stage of life. One is that it is the peak of one’s life while the other is that it marks the beginning of inoperative years. To a larger extent, the negative images towards aging and old age are brought by the how the society constructed these images of the older individuals. In specifically answering the aims of this research study, first, it can be suggested that generally, being young is much more favored than being old. Individuals do fear aging but could not stop it happening to themselves. On the one hand, the middle adulthood being in the between of young and old stages of life is indeed a stage where life is at its peak. However, at the same time, being in the middle life stage creates fear to these people. This is because being in the middle age is the transition to getting old. Basically, the fear of getting old is because of how the society constructed its views on aging and old age. Second, the cognitive abilities of the middle-aged adult have some weaknesses. True enough, studies suggested that the middle adulthood is the period where its cognitive skills start to decline. However, on the large part, these weaknesses are just limited given the number of strengths that can outstrip such limitations. Nonetheless, this weak reputation is exaggerated because of how the society shapes the normative standards towards aging and old age. Last, the mind at a middle age may be at a slower rate compared to the younger mind though it performs better than its younger counterpart. In terms of basic mental skills itself, the middle-aged adult's mind outperforms their younger state in four out of six parameters. This suggests the capacity of the middle-aged adults to improve their performance, cognitive ability in particular. To sum it up, being in a midlife stage is not a crisis in itself. It is the point where an individual state of mind can perform at its best. Thus, the images of society towards old age and aging materialize not because of its objective and physical elements but purely due to the social constructs of society. Hence, these negative images are just social notions. In the realms of cognitive aspect, the middle age is the point where it performs at its best. In this review, the focus mainly delves at the mind of the middle-aged adult. However, given that this research concludes that life especially the cognitive aspect is at its best at the middle age, recommendation for future research is to study the concept of “midlife crisis”. This hypothesizes that instead of having a midlife crisis, middle age should be regarded as a stage for an improved and better self, especially, enhanced state of mind. The middle-aged stage is the period where it offers so many new opportunities to capitalize one’s own cognitive reserve. On the one hand, this paper also recommends considering an investigation of how middle life is viewed within the social context. In particular, there is a need to consider the gap between young and old with regards to the age-related stereotypes. This is because, in this study, the categorization of the middle adult is more in the older segment despite the case that this life stage is just in between being young and being old. References American Association of Family Physician. (2012). Even Middle-aged Adults Experience Cognitive Decline, Says Study. Retrieved from: Berger, K.S. (2007). The developing person through the life span (7th edition). New York: Worth Publishers. Boduroglu, A., Yoon, C., Luo, T., & Park, D. (2006). Age-related stereotypes: A comparison of American and Chinese Cultures. Gerontology, 52, 324–333. Kite, M.E., Stockdale. G.D., Whitley, B.E., & Johnson, B.T. (2005). Attitudes toward younger and older adults: an updated meta-analytic review. Journal of Social Issues 61, 241–266. Krueger, J., Heckhausen, J. & Hundertmark, J. (1995). Perceiving the middle – aged adults: Effects of stereotype – congruent and incongruent information. 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