Review the changes a typical 20-year-old might experience across the adult lifespan with respect to the five major areas of cognition described in the textbook.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: (1) Vocabulary: Generally consistent across the lifespan, some individuals experience an increase in vocabulary in their 60s. (2) Perceptual speed: The ability to quickly compare basic, usually symbolic information such as letters, numbers, and patterns declines slowly from age 30 onward. (3) Episodic memory: The ability to recall information, usually presented in the form of a story or anecdote, is generally stable until around age 60 and then gradually drops off. (4) Spatial visualization: Spatial visualization is the ability to manipulate figures in one’s mind to solve problems, such as imagining the 3-dimensional form of a 2-dimensional representation, using small shapes to fill in a large shape, or imagining and describing how a pattern would look on a piece of paper. Spatial visualization is best in one’s 20s through 30s, then stable from 40 through the 60s. Like most other cognitive abilities, spatial visualization begins to drop off in one’s 60s. Reasoning: Reasoning skills peak in one’s 20s and 30s and remain intact into one’s 90s.
Learning Objective: 15.1 Summarize the major cognitive and brain changes in older adulthood