Unit10 Peer Response

Response Guidelines

Your responses to other learners are expected to be substantive in nature and to reference the assigned readings, as well as other theoretical, empirical, or professional literature to support your views and writings. Use the following critique guidelines:

The clarity and completeness of your peer’s post.

The demonstrated ability to apply theory to practice.

The credibility of the references.

The structure and style of the written post.

Peer1

Raymond Lam

Broderick & Blewitt (2015) define fluid intelligence as “basic operational characteristics that seem to directly reflect how well the hardware of the nervous system is working, affecting the efficiency of processes like reasoning.” Crystallized intelligence is defined as “the compilation of skills and information we have acquired in the course of our lives.” In simpler terms, fluid intelligence can be seen as the speed and efficiency of our intellectual processes. Crystallized intelligence is the accumulated knowledge of a person’s lifetime that includes things like languages, skills, and other things that a person has memorized.

As adults age, their level of fluid intelligence seems to decrease, which results in slower and less efficient processing ability. Older adults can also still learn, though it will be a slower and more difficult process due to the decline in working memory. However, older adults tend to be better at solving familiar, every-day problems and memory games than younger adults due to their large crystallized resources (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Professionals could use this information to support positive adjustment for aging adults by providing more relatable examples in training for a new role or being patient when the older adult is learning something new. Additionally, fluid intelligence should be assessed directly for older adults because it cannot be significantly predicted using subjective or objective measure (Shakeel & Goghari, 2017). Since fluid intelligence cannot be predicted, this encourages a case-by-case approach to the training or education of older adults. Interestingly, Cooper et al. (2009) found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with better cognition in regions of France. However, that study’s results would need further research to eliminate any confounds and expand applicability. If the effect still stands, moderate alcohol intake could be advised to older adults to benefit their cognition.

Broderick, P.C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). THE LIFE SPAN: Human Development for Helping Professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Cooper, C., Bebbington, P., Meltzer, H., Jenkins, R., Brugha, T., Lindesay, J. E. B., & Livingston, G. (2009). Alcohol in moderation, premorbid intelligence and cognition in older adults: Results from the psychiatric morbidity survey. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 80(11), 1236. http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1136/jnnp.2008.163964

Shakeel, M. K., & Goghari, V. M. (2017). Measuring fluid intelligence in healthy older adults. Journal of Aging Research, http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1155/2017/8514582

Peer2

Jenisha Mixson

Individuals experience gradual losses in cognitive functioning in late adulthood. Cognition and healthy brain function depends on the preservation of white matter and synaptic connections (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). During this stage, pragmatic (crystallized) intelligence, such as verbal ability and factual knowledge can increase until age ninety for healthy individuals (Ziegler, Cengia, Mussel, & Gerstorf, 2015). However, mechanic (fluid) intelligence is normally categorized by a gradual decline in processing speed and inhibitory functions. Fluid intelligence is considered the processing efficiency of the cognitive system, while crystallized intelligence is viewed as the product of that process (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). These intellectual resources, in relation to the gradual declines and increases within late-adulthood, tend to balance one another. In other words, the visible decline in learning and problem solving during this stage can be balanced by crystallized intelligence (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The understanding of emotional intelligence and health behaviors in late-adulthood are vital to an individual’s positive transition.

During late-adulthood, individuals are adjusting to the decline in cognitive functioning that they experience. In order to positively support this transition, professionals must understand the importance of emotional intelligence in relation to cognitive functioning. Typically, a person with a high degree of openness is imaginative and easily able to deal with conflict and various situations. The “differential preservation hypothesis” describes openness as the key element in decelerating cognitive decline before the age of seventy (Ziegler, Cengia, Mussel, & Gerstorf, 2015). However, after seventy years of age, individuals who are more open or able to express themselves and invest their time effectively, show a relatively stable decrease in functioning (Gerstorf et al., 2015). Professionals can utilize these findings to increase the level of life-satisfaction that individuals in late-adulthood. They can create a foundation of positivity for their clients by suggesting that they are open to the transitions that will occur.

Healthy behaviors are vital to life-satisfaction and positive transitioning in late-adulthood. In order to foster positive adjustments for aging adults, professionals must understand the necessity of pro-health activities. These activities include healthy habits such as diet, exercise, and other preventative behaviors (Sygit-Kowalkowska, Sygit, & Sygit, 2015). These actions are directly associated with the ability to understand and control the emotions of older people (Sygit-Kowalkowska et al., 2015). Professionals may consider the importance of pro-health activities and incorporate them into their client’s daily routine. This process could support the transition that aging adult’s experience.

Broderick, P.C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). THE LIFE SPAN: Human Development for             Helping Professionals (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Sygit-Kowalkowska, E., Sygit, K., & Sygit, M. (2015). Emotional intelligence vs. health behaviour in selected groups in late adulthood. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 22(2), 338-343. doi:10.5604/12321966.1152092Ziegler,

M., Cengia, A., Mussel, P., & Gerstorf, D. (2015). Openness as a buffer against cognitive decline: The Openness-Fluid-Crystallized-Intelligence (OFCI) model applied to late adulthood. Psychology And Aging, 30(3), 573-588.