PYC4805 (Adult Development) LONG QUESTION EXAM PREPARATION:
*Please Note: Previous years’ exam structure consisted of 20 Essay topics where one had to refer to
research findings.
*However, in 2020 the Exam Structure changed to: “The examination paper is a three-hour paper.
The first three chapters in the prescribed books will be covered by 20 multiple choice questions in the
exam paper. The rest of the exam paper will consist of 5 long questions of which you have to answer
3 questions.”
THE FOLLOWING ARE WORKED OUT ANSWERS FOR LONG QUESTIONS FROM PAST EXAMINATION
PAPERS (2017/2018/2019) AS WELL AS SUMMARY OF KEY EXAM TOPICS MENTIONED IN TL101 2020:
(From Jan/Feb 2017 and Oct/Nov 2018 Exam)
1. Discuss the contribution of Biological theories of aging to our knowledge of possible explanations
for biological and physiological aging. In your discussion, refer to the reasons why not one of these
theories explains the process of aging fully.
1.) Intro:
- The question: “Why do we age?” have spurred researchers to create a collection of theories based
on basic biological and physiological processes.
- To this day, none of the existing theories provide a complete explanation of all the normative
changes humans experience.
- The student aims to discuss and explore how biological theories contribute and provide explanations
for biological and physiological aging.
2.) Biological theories of aging:
2.1) Metabolic theories:
- Postulates that organisms have only so much energy to expend in a lifetime.
- The concept is that the rate of a creature’s metabolism is related to how long it lives.
2.2) Cellular theories:
- Proposes that causes of aging is at cellular level.
- Evidence suggests that tips of chromosomes (called telomeres) play a major role in aging by
adjusting the cell’s response to stress and growth stimulation based on cell divisions and DNA
damage, and by typically shortening with each cell replication.
- Healthy, normal telomeres help regulate the cell division and reproduction process.
2.2.1) Telomerase:
- An enzyme called telomerase is needed in DNA replication to fully reproduce the telomeres when
cells divide.
- The culprit seems to be the production of telomerase.
- Chronic stress may accelerate the changes that occur in telomeres and thereby shorten one’s
lifespan.
- Research show that moderate levels of exercise may maintain telomere length/ at least slow the
rate at which telomeres shorten – which may slow the aging process.
2.2.2) Cross-linking:
- Another cellular theory is based on a process called cross-linking: certain proteins in human cells
interact randomly and produce molecules that are linked in such a way that makes the body stiffer.
- These proteins are called collagen (make up roughly one-third of the protein in the body).
1
,- Collagen in soft body tissue acts much like reinforcing rods in concrete – the more cross-links there
are, the stiffer the tissue.
- As we age, the number of cross-links increases.
- This process may explain why muscles, such as the heart and arteries, become stiffer with age.
2.2.3) Free radicals:
- Proposes that aging is caused by unstable molecules called free radicals, which are highly reactive
chemicals produced randomly in normal metabolism.
- When these free radicals interact with nearby molecules, problems may result.
- For example: free radicals may cause cell damage to the heart.
- Antioxidants is an example of a substance that prevent the development of free radicals.
- Evidence show that ingesting antioxidants postpones the appearance of age-related diseases, such
as: cancer and cardiovascular disease.
2.3) Genetic programming theories:
- Even when cell death appears to be random, researchers believe that such losses may be part of a
master genetic program that underlies the aging process.
- Programmed cell death appears to be a function of physiological processes, the innate ability of cells
to self-destruct, and the ability of dying cells to trigger key processes in other cells, all of which are
also thought to be influenced by external environmental factors.
- At present, how the genetic self-destruct program is activated or works remains unknown.
3.) Conclusion:
- The student would like to conclude that no theory can fully explain the process of aging because, the
biological, psychological, sociocultural and life-cycle forces need to be integrated.
- These forces form a dynamic, interactive process that needs to be placed in the context of the
individual’s overall life span.
- A unified theory of aging would have to account for a wide array of changes relating not only to
biological forces, but to other forces as well.
(From Jan/Feb 2019 Exam)
2. Explain the reasons why Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields come to the following conclusion
“Confounding of the three effects [age, cohort and time-of-measurement affects] is the most serious
problem with adult development and aging research.” Refer in your explanation to problems which
occur in cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs with regard to these effects. In your
conclusion, briefly explain how sequential designs might alleviate some of the interpretation
dilemmas caused by confounding factors.
1.) Intro:
- Every study of adult development and aging is based on the following three building blocks:
Age effects, cohort effects and time of measurement effects.
- Age effects reflect differences caused by underlying processes, such as: biological, psychological or
sociocultural changes.
- Cohort effects refer to differences caused by experiences and circumstances unique to one’s
generation.
- Time of measurement effects reflect differences stemming from sociocultural, environmental,
historical, or other events at the time the data are obtained from participants.
- The student aims to discuss why confounding of the three effects presents a serious problem in
adult development and aging research.
2.) Reasons why confounding is problematic:
2
, - Confounding of the three effects (age, cohort and time-of-measurement) is the most serious
problem in adult development and aging research.
- Investigators have attempted to identify and separate the three effects, but this is not an easy task
because all three influences are interrelated.
- Confounding can be defined as: any situation in which one cannot determine which of two or more
effects is responsible for the behaviours being observed.
- For example: If one studies 40-year-olds, one must select the cohort that was born 40 years ago. In
this case, age and cohort are confounded because, one cannot know whether the behaviours
observed occur because the participants are 40 years old or because of the specific life experiences
they have had as a result of being born in a particular historical period.
- Developmental researchers look at the way in which people differ across time.
- This implies that researchers understand the difference between age change and age difference.
- An age change occurs in an individual’s behaviour over time.
- To discover an age change, one must examine the same person at more than one point in time.
- An age difference is obtained when at least two different people of different ages are compared.
3.) Problems which occur in research designs with regard to these effects:
3.1) Cross-Sectional designs:
- Developmental differences are identified by testing people of different ages at the same time.
- Allow researchers to examine age differences, but not age change.
- Cross-sectional studies are affected by cohort effects, meaning that differences between age groups
(cohorts) may result as easily from environmental events as from developmental processes.
- Cross-sectional studies assume that when the older participants were younger, they resembled the
people in the younger age groups in the study which isn’t always true.
- As a result: age and cohort effects are confounded in cross-sectional research designs.
3.2) Longitudinal designs:
- The same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different points in their lives.
- Involves a lengthy account of development and is the most direct way to watch growth occur.
- Age changes are identified because, the same people are studied over time.
- Disadvantage: age and time of measurement effects are confounded in longitudinal research
designs.
3.3) Sequential designs:
- Represent different combinations of cross-sectional or longitudinal studies.
4.) Conclusion:
- The student would like to conclude that confounding of the three effects (age, cohort and time-of-
measurement) is the most serious problem in adult development and aging research because, these
three factors are interrelated.
- Some interpretive dilemmas that are caused by confounding factors can be alleviated by using more
complex designs, such as: sequential designs.
- Sequential designs are powerful designs that provide by far the richest source of information about
developmental issues but are unfortunately expensive and time consuming.
(From Jan/Feb 2019 Exam)
3. Discuss the influence of genetic and environmental factors as well as ethnic, gender and
international differences on longevity by referring to relevant research findings. In a concluding
paragraph, give an example of how the interaction between these factors could influence longevity.
3
, 1.) Intro:
- Longevity can be defined as one’s life expectancy and is jointly determined by genetic and
environmental factors.
- Longevity can be examined from the perspective of the basic developmental forces, because how
long we live depends on complex interactions among biological, psychological, socio-economic and
life-cycle forces.
- The world in which we live (environment) can also affect longevity.
- The student aims to provide a critical discussion on the influence of various factors on longevity.
2.) Factors that influence longevity:
- Researchers distinguish between two types of longevity:
- Average longevity: one’s average life expectancy, refers to the age at which half of the individuals
born in a particular year will have died.
- Maximum longevity: the oldest age to which any individual of a species lives.
- One’s average longevity is influenced most by genetic, environmental, ethnic and gender factors:
2.1) Genetic:
- Genes are a major determinant of longevity.
- Alexander Graham Bell conducted research and discovered that children of parents who lived
beyond 80 survived about 20 years longer, than children whose parents had both died before they
were 60.
- Similar research indicates that about 25% of the variation in human longevity is due to a person’s
genetics.
- Thus: individuals born into families with many long-lived members tend to have longer average
longevity.
- Gene mapping research conducted by the Human Genome Project, is improving the medical field by
tailoring medications based on a specific individual’s genes through so-called “designer drugs” to
treat specific forms of cancer for example.
- Research on people over age 100 (centenarians) in Sicily showed a connection between genetics and
the immune system.
2.2) Environmental:
- Environmental factors can also affect the life span, often in combination with genes.
- Environmental factors, such as: disease and toxic chemicals modify our genetic heritage and can
shorten our lifetime drastically.
- Diseases such as: cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and lifestyle issues, such as:
smoking and exercise receive great attention from researchers.
- Environmental toxins, encountered mainly as air and water pollution are problematic.
- For example: cancer-causing chemicals in drinking water and airborne pollutants are major agents in
shortening longevity.
- Living in poverty shortens longevity.
- The impact of socio-economic status on longevity results from: reduced access to goods and services
and characterizes most ethnic minority groups and older adults as demonstrated in a large study of
premature mortality in community dwelling adults.
- However, factors, such as: access to high-quality medical care can offset genetic defects that would
otherwise have caused early death, thereby increasing longevity.
- How environmental factors influence average longevity, changes over time, for example: HIV/AIDS
have a devastating effect on longevity in Africa.
2.3) Ethnic:
- Individuals from different ethnic groups do not have the same average longevity at birth.
4
*Please Note: Previous years’ exam structure consisted of 20 Essay topics where one had to refer to
research findings.
*However, in 2020 the Exam Structure changed to: “The examination paper is a three-hour paper.
The first three chapters in the prescribed books will be covered by 20 multiple choice questions in the
exam paper. The rest of the exam paper will consist of 5 long questions of which you have to answer
3 questions.”
THE FOLLOWING ARE WORKED OUT ANSWERS FOR LONG QUESTIONS FROM PAST EXAMINATION
PAPERS (2017/2018/2019) AS WELL AS SUMMARY OF KEY EXAM TOPICS MENTIONED IN TL101 2020:
(From Jan/Feb 2017 and Oct/Nov 2018 Exam)
1. Discuss the contribution of Biological theories of aging to our knowledge of possible explanations
for biological and physiological aging. In your discussion, refer to the reasons why not one of these
theories explains the process of aging fully.
1.) Intro:
- The question: “Why do we age?” have spurred researchers to create a collection of theories based
on basic biological and physiological processes.
- To this day, none of the existing theories provide a complete explanation of all the normative
changes humans experience.
- The student aims to discuss and explore how biological theories contribute and provide explanations
for biological and physiological aging.
2.) Biological theories of aging:
2.1) Metabolic theories:
- Postulates that organisms have only so much energy to expend in a lifetime.
- The concept is that the rate of a creature’s metabolism is related to how long it lives.
2.2) Cellular theories:
- Proposes that causes of aging is at cellular level.
- Evidence suggests that tips of chromosomes (called telomeres) play a major role in aging by
adjusting the cell’s response to stress and growth stimulation based on cell divisions and DNA
damage, and by typically shortening with each cell replication.
- Healthy, normal telomeres help regulate the cell division and reproduction process.
2.2.1) Telomerase:
- An enzyme called telomerase is needed in DNA replication to fully reproduce the telomeres when
cells divide.
- The culprit seems to be the production of telomerase.
- Chronic stress may accelerate the changes that occur in telomeres and thereby shorten one’s
lifespan.
- Research show that moderate levels of exercise may maintain telomere length/ at least slow the
rate at which telomeres shorten – which may slow the aging process.
2.2.2) Cross-linking:
- Another cellular theory is based on a process called cross-linking: certain proteins in human cells
interact randomly and produce molecules that are linked in such a way that makes the body stiffer.
- These proteins are called collagen (make up roughly one-third of the protein in the body).
1
,- Collagen in soft body tissue acts much like reinforcing rods in concrete – the more cross-links there
are, the stiffer the tissue.
- As we age, the number of cross-links increases.
- This process may explain why muscles, such as the heart and arteries, become stiffer with age.
2.2.3) Free radicals:
- Proposes that aging is caused by unstable molecules called free radicals, which are highly reactive
chemicals produced randomly in normal metabolism.
- When these free radicals interact with nearby molecules, problems may result.
- For example: free radicals may cause cell damage to the heart.
- Antioxidants is an example of a substance that prevent the development of free radicals.
- Evidence show that ingesting antioxidants postpones the appearance of age-related diseases, such
as: cancer and cardiovascular disease.
2.3) Genetic programming theories:
- Even when cell death appears to be random, researchers believe that such losses may be part of a
master genetic program that underlies the aging process.
- Programmed cell death appears to be a function of physiological processes, the innate ability of cells
to self-destruct, and the ability of dying cells to trigger key processes in other cells, all of which are
also thought to be influenced by external environmental factors.
- At present, how the genetic self-destruct program is activated or works remains unknown.
3.) Conclusion:
- The student would like to conclude that no theory can fully explain the process of aging because, the
biological, psychological, sociocultural and life-cycle forces need to be integrated.
- These forces form a dynamic, interactive process that needs to be placed in the context of the
individual’s overall life span.
- A unified theory of aging would have to account for a wide array of changes relating not only to
biological forces, but to other forces as well.
(From Jan/Feb 2019 Exam)
2. Explain the reasons why Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields come to the following conclusion
“Confounding of the three effects [age, cohort and time-of-measurement affects] is the most serious
problem with adult development and aging research.” Refer in your explanation to problems which
occur in cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs with regard to these effects. In your
conclusion, briefly explain how sequential designs might alleviate some of the interpretation
dilemmas caused by confounding factors.
1.) Intro:
- Every study of adult development and aging is based on the following three building blocks:
Age effects, cohort effects and time of measurement effects.
- Age effects reflect differences caused by underlying processes, such as: biological, psychological or
sociocultural changes.
- Cohort effects refer to differences caused by experiences and circumstances unique to one’s
generation.
- Time of measurement effects reflect differences stemming from sociocultural, environmental,
historical, or other events at the time the data are obtained from participants.
- The student aims to discuss why confounding of the three effects presents a serious problem in
adult development and aging research.
2.) Reasons why confounding is problematic:
2
, - Confounding of the three effects (age, cohort and time-of-measurement) is the most serious
problem in adult development and aging research.
- Investigators have attempted to identify and separate the three effects, but this is not an easy task
because all three influences are interrelated.
- Confounding can be defined as: any situation in which one cannot determine which of two or more
effects is responsible for the behaviours being observed.
- For example: If one studies 40-year-olds, one must select the cohort that was born 40 years ago. In
this case, age and cohort are confounded because, one cannot know whether the behaviours
observed occur because the participants are 40 years old or because of the specific life experiences
they have had as a result of being born in a particular historical period.
- Developmental researchers look at the way in which people differ across time.
- This implies that researchers understand the difference between age change and age difference.
- An age change occurs in an individual’s behaviour over time.
- To discover an age change, one must examine the same person at more than one point in time.
- An age difference is obtained when at least two different people of different ages are compared.
3.) Problems which occur in research designs with regard to these effects:
3.1) Cross-Sectional designs:
- Developmental differences are identified by testing people of different ages at the same time.
- Allow researchers to examine age differences, but not age change.
- Cross-sectional studies are affected by cohort effects, meaning that differences between age groups
(cohorts) may result as easily from environmental events as from developmental processes.
- Cross-sectional studies assume that when the older participants were younger, they resembled the
people in the younger age groups in the study which isn’t always true.
- As a result: age and cohort effects are confounded in cross-sectional research designs.
3.2) Longitudinal designs:
- The same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different points in their lives.
- Involves a lengthy account of development and is the most direct way to watch growth occur.
- Age changes are identified because, the same people are studied over time.
- Disadvantage: age and time of measurement effects are confounded in longitudinal research
designs.
3.3) Sequential designs:
- Represent different combinations of cross-sectional or longitudinal studies.
4.) Conclusion:
- The student would like to conclude that confounding of the three effects (age, cohort and time-of-
measurement) is the most serious problem in adult development and aging research because, these
three factors are interrelated.
- Some interpretive dilemmas that are caused by confounding factors can be alleviated by using more
complex designs, such as: sequential designs.
- Sequential designs are powerful designs that provide by far the richest source of information about
developmental issues but are unfortunately expensive and time consuming.
(From Jan/Feb 2019 Exam)
3. Discuss the influence of genetic and environmental factors as well as ethnic, gender and
international differences on longevity by referring to relevant research findings. In a concluding
paragraph, give an example of how the interaction between these factors could influence longevity.
3
, 1.) Intro:
- Longevity can be defined as one’s life expectancy and is jointly determined by genetic and
environmental factors.
- Longevity can be examined from the perspective of the basic developmental forces, because how
long we live depends on complex interactions among biological, psychological, socio-economic and
life-cycle forces.
- The world in which we live (environment) can also affect longevity.
- The student aims to provide a critical discussion on the influence of various factors on longevity.
2.) Factors that influence longevity:
- Researchers distinguish between two types of longevity:
- Average longevity: one’s average life expectancy, refers to the age at which half of the individuals
born in a particular year will have died.
- Maximum longevity: the oldest age to which any individual of a species lives.
- One’s average longevity is influenced most by genetic, environmental, ethnic and gender factors:
2.1) Genetic:
- Genes are a major determinant of longevity.
- Alexander Graham Bell conducted research and discovered that children of parents who lived
beyond 80 survived about 20 years longer, than children whose parents had both died before they
were 60.
- Similar research indicates that about 25% of the variation in human longevity is due to a person’s
genetics.
- Thus: individuals born into families with many long-lived members tend to have longer average
longevity.
- Gene mapping research conducted by the Human Genome Project, is improving the medical field by
tailoring medications based on a specific individual’s genes through so-called “designer drugs” to
treat specific forms of cancer for example.
- Research on people over age 100 (centenarians) in Sicily showed a connection between genetics and
the immune system.
2.2) Environmental:
- Environmental factors can also affect the life span, often in combination with genes.
- Environmental factors, such as: disease and toxic chemicals modify our genetic heritage and can
shorten our lifetime drastically.
- Diseases such as: cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, and lifestyle issues, such as:
smoking and exercise receive great attention from researchers.
- Environmental toxins, encountered mainly as air and water pollution are problematic.
- For example: cancer-causing chemicals in drinking water and airborne pollutants are major agents in
shortening longevity.
- Living in poverty shortens longevity.
- The impact of socio-economic status on longevity results from: reduced access to goods and services
and characterizes most ethnic minority groups and older adults as demonstrated in a large study of
premature mortality in community dwelling adults.
- However, factors, such as: access to high-quality medical care can offset genetic defects that would
otherwise have caused early death, thereby increasing longevity.
- How environmental factors influence average longevity, changes over time, for example: HIV/AIDS
have a devastating effect on longevity in Africa.
2.3) Ethnic:
- Individuals from different ethnic groups do not have the same average longevity at birth.
4
