Essentials of Life Span Development - Essay Example

Humans have been living longer, making the number of people in their late adulthood grow dramatically. This has helped scholars studying individuals in their late adulthood. Studies have shown cognitive actions in late adulthood are multidimensional and multidirectional. Unlike the stereotype of older people being unwilling to learn, adapt, or all growing senile, researchers have learned that depending on their age and experiences, individuals in their late adulthood grow multidimensional and multidirectional.

Two groups define late adulthood. The two groups are the “young old” and “oldest old” (Santrock, 2008, p. 13). The first group is 65-84 years old and the second group is 85 and older. Individuals in the first group have “substantial potential for physical and cognitive fitness” (Santrock, 2008, p. 13). The young-old can deal with growing older through plans to mitigate their losses. For example, many young old change diet and exercise routines to fit their aging bodies and capabilities.

The young-old can live productive lives. The oldest-olds’ cognitive ability declines rapidly. This causes stress to the oldest old. To make matters worse, the oldest olds’ physical ability declines. These individuals are frail. To compensate for their loss of cognitive skills, the oldest old tend to focus on the past. The cognitive abilities for the oldest old vary depending on the individual.