How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood?

Joshua Lansberry

Ashford University

PSY 304 Lifespan Development

Prof. Pamela Vincent

May 18, 2015

How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood?

As we age does our mind simply begin to deteriorate in the same fashion as our body does in regards to it physical capabilities? Have you wondered what affect does peri and post-menopause have in relation to memory decline in women? Is dementia directly related to cognitive aging? All of these conditions have one thing in common, they all occur as the human body starts to age into late adulthood. Aging from early to late adulthood has an …show more content…

In early adulthood dualistic thinking gives way to reflective thought and relativism, thinking becomes more subjective and reflexive. In middle adulthood cognitive development continues to change. Cognition abilities peak in knowledge and problem solving most other abilities continue to improve, however there may be some delays in memory retrieval. Additionally, physical fitness is will aid in contributing to a lack of decline in cognition. In later adulthood there is much variation in cognition. Some people will have little degradation, while others suffer from severe dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Short-term memory is not as efficient, whereas long term memory remains largely intact. Additionally, learning is still a vital part of cognitive development for most (Mossler, 2013).

The article Age Related Decline in Mentalizing Skills Across Adult Life Span (Pardini, 2009) also addresses a study involving cognitive decline. In this study 120 subjects were tested. The participants were divided by age group into four groups of 30 subjects. One group ranged from 20 to 25 years old, the second group was 45 to 55 years old, the third group consisted of 55 to 65 year olds, and the fourth group was 70 to 75 year olds. The groups were matched regarding sex and education levels. The subjects were all administered the same Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. The mean correct recognition scores depicted a consistent decline of about two