Ageing

Another "product" of the Medicine in Society module I talked about in previous articles (see The Newborn) are these short notes (I had to present for a seminar) on the ageing process, particularly the psychological aspects.

Age-associated psychological change

Almost more important than the physical slowing up is the effect of ageing on mental faculties. There is a considerable difference between the actual process of ageing and society's perception of the process.

- Facts

- Myths

Changes in intellectual ability: facts

The changes that old people commonly notice themselves, and which are often noticed by others as well, concern:

- Decline in intelligence (though this is variable and not noticeable in most old people)

- Increase in forgetfulness, particularly for names, places dates

- Slowing of thought processes (however, they are able to compensate by drawing on previous experience)

- Blunting of emotions

- Slowing of behaviour

These capacities are major components of mental life that contribute to intelligence. Most psychologists agree that "intelligence" has two qualitatively different components:

- fluid intelligence

- crystallised intelligence

Tests of fluid intelligence assess the ability to solve problems quickly for which there are no derivable solutions from cultural practices or from formal training: this ability might be regarded as "quick-wittedness".

Crystallised intelligence is often assessed through vocabulary or other tests which attempt to measure the amount of knowledge that a person has accumulated: it might be thought as a from of "wisdom".

Scores on the "fluid" tests generally decline markedly with age, but scores on "crystallised" ones decline much less, if at all.

Memory for recent events is one of the earliest mental faculties to become impaired; usually one starts by forgetting names, places & dates. Conversely, events long past may be recalled with great vividness & may be detailed over & over again to the same listener. As a result of this inability to adapt to new thoughts & routines, elderly people like to retain familiar objects & will resist change. They are easily disturbed to the point of confusion by changes in environment, routine & close contacts. Test scores also reveal more variability between individuals as they age. Some maintain optimal functioning while others decline at a variety of rates.

Research has shown that changes in mental abilities of older people vary as much as their physical abilities and that mental decline is not inevitable (Goleman, 1994). Learning a new language in later life, for example, might require more effort, but on the other hand the older language learner might be prepared to put in that effort.

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