Developmental Psychology

Achieve Test Prep: Developmental Psychology

Cognitive Development: After the age of sixty, many individuals begin to experiences cognitive decline. Such declines are most noticeable in information processing, which includes a number of categories: - Sensory Register: this category is the first aspect of memory and functions for a split second. - Working or Short-Term Memory: this category handles the current mental activity and begins to show noticeable declines in old age. - Implicit Memory: this category of memory functions with the unconscious part of the brain and is responsible for automatic memory. - Explicit Memory: this category is involved with the conscious portion of the brain and is responsible for learned words, facts, and concepts. - Control Processes: this category is also called the executive function and is responsible for the regulation of information flow. Another issue that elderly individuals often face is negative self-stereotyping . Negative self-stereotyping is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more an elderly person holds a negative view of themselves, the more they become negative. Dementia and Alzheimer’s: Dementia is extreme memory loss that begins with minor lapses in memory. As dementia progresses, the minor lapses become greater and eventually the individual may forget family members or their own identity. The loss of memory is irreversible due to being caused by organic brain disease. Dementia is not ’normal’, even in older age. Subcortical dementia begins in the lower part of the brain, beginning with motor impairments and leading to cognitive impairment. Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease are subcortical dementias. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease occurs because the neurofibrillary tangles of the brain begin to destroy normal brain function. There are other organic causes of dementia, for example, Pick’s disease . In Pick’s disease, there is an atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes, and always proves fatal. The cause of Pick’s disease is unclear, but genetics are implicated. Another cause of dementia is infectious disease, such as HIV. In the later stages of AIDS, cognitive problems are common. When there are cognitive problems associated with AIDS, it is referred to as AIDS-Related Dementia . Chronic alcoholism can also cause a form of dementia called, Korsakoff’s syndrome , which involves the impairment of short-term memory.

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