ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING CHAPTERS
1 TO 13 EXAM 2026 COMPLETE QUESTION SET
AND CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A PLUS
◉ Why biopsychosocial perspective matters.
Answer: Aging is multifactorial — you can't explain health or
behavior by only genes, or only attitude, or only social context.
◉ Components of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Biological: genetics, disease processes, hormonal changes
(e.g., menopause), sensory decline.
◉ Psychological component of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Cognition, personality, coping styles, mental health (e.g.,
depression).
◉ Social component of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Socioeconomic status, social networks, cultural
expectations, policies (retirement age).
◉ Use of biopsychosocial perspective.
,Answer: Clinicians and researchers ask questions across all three
domains; interventions often target more than one domain (e.g.,
exercise + social groups + CBT).
◉ Lifelong development.
Answer: Change continues throughout adulthood — not just in
childhood. Gains and losses occur at every age.
◉ Example of lifelong development.
Answer: Vocabulary increases into older age while processing speed
declines.
◉ Multi-directionality.
Answer: Some capacities grow while others decline (different
directions for different functions).
◉ Example of multi-directionality.
Answer: Emotional regulation may improve even as memory
declines.
◉ Plasticity.
Answer: Abilities are modifiable; experience, training, and
environment can change trajectories.
,◉ Example of plasticity.
Answer: Cognitive training, exercise can improve working memory
or balance.
◉ Contextualism.
Answer: Development depends on historical time, cohort, culture,
and socioeconomic context.
◉ Example of contextualism.
Answer: Baby boomers vs. Millennials have different retirement
expectations and health profiles.
◉ Chronological age.
Answer: Years since birth — easiest to measure but coarse.
◉ Biological (functional) age.
Answer: Physical condition of body systems compared to population
norms (e.g., blood pressure, grip strength).
◉ Psychological age.
Answer: Cognitive, emotional functioning relative to norms (e.g.,
memory, emotional resilience).
, ◉ Social (role) age.
Answer: Age-related roles and expectations (e.g., parent, retiree).
◉ Personal aging.
Answer: The internal, subjective experience of getting older —
changes in identity, self-concept, goals, cognitive/health changes.
◉ Social aging.
Answer: Changes in roles, relationships, and social status that occur
as society assigns different expectations to different ages (e.g.,
retirement, grandparenthood).
◉ Social indicators in adult development and aging.
Answer: Measurable social statistics that reflect societal conditions
for older adults (e.g., poverty rates among the elderly,
unemployment, housing stability, social participation).
◉ Demography of aging.
Answer: Study of population-level aging dynamics — age structure,
birth/death rates, migration, dependency ratios.
◉ Population aging.
Answer: Increasing median age due to lower fertility + longer life
expectancy.
1 TO 13 EXAM 2026 COMPLETE QUESTION SET
AND CORRECT ANSWERS GRADED A PLUS
◉ Why biopsychosocial perspective matters.
Answer: Aging is multifactorial — you can't explain health or
behavior by only genes, or only attitude, or only social context.
◉ Components of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Biological: genetics, disease processes, hormonal changes
(e.g., menopause), sensory decline.
◉ Psychological component of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Cognition, personality, coping styles, mental health (e.g.,
depression).
◉ Social component of biopsychosocial perspective.
Answer: Socioeconomic status, social networks, cultural
expectations, policies (retirement age).
◉ Use of biopsychosocial perspective.
,Answer: Clinicians and researchers ask questions across all three
domains; interventions often target more than one domain (e.g.,
exercise + social groups + CBT).
◉ Lifelong development.
Answer: Change continues throughout adulthood — not just in
childhood. Gains and losses occur at every age.
◉ Example of lifelong development.
Answer: Vocabulary increases into older age while processing speed
declines.
◉ Multi-directionality.
Answer: Some capacities grow while others decline (different
directions for different functions).
◉ Example of multi-directionality.
Answer: Emotional regulation may improve even as memory
declines.
◉ Plasticity.
Answer: Abilities are modifiable; experience, training, and
environment can change trajectories.
,◉ Example of plasticity.
Answer: Cognitive training, exercise can improve working memory
or balance.
◉ Contextualism.
Answer: Development depends on historical time, cohort, culture,
and socioeconomic context.
◉ Example of contextualism.
Answer: Baby boomers vs. Millennials have different retirement
expectations and health profiles.
◉ Chronological age.
Answer: Years since birth — easiest to measure but coarse.
◉ Biological (functional) age.
Answer: Physical condition of body systems compared to population
norms (e.g., blood pressure, grip strength).
◉ Psychological age.
Answer: Cognitive, emotional functioning relative to norms (e.g.,
memory, emotional resilience).
, ◉ Social (role) age.
Answer: Age-related roles and expectations (e.g., parent, retiree).
◉ Personal aging.
Answer: The internal, subjective experience of getting older —
changes in identity, self-concept, goals, cognitive/health changes.
◉ Social aging.
Answer: Changes in roles, relationships, and social status that occur
as society assigns different expectations to different ages (e.g.,
retirement, grandparenthood).
◉ Social indicators in adult development and aging.
Answer: Measurable social statistics that reflect societal conditions
for older adults (e.g., poverty rates among the elderly,
unemployment, housing stability, social participation).
◉ Demography of aging.
Answer: Study of population-level aging dynamics — age structure,
birth/death rates, migration, dependency ratios.
◉ Population aging.
Answer: Increasing median age due to lower fertility + longer life
expectancy.
