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Lyons, Bobbie Alexander. "Racism, Sexism and Ageism in America." W&M ScholarWorks, 1991. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539625704.
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Drury, Lisbeth. "Using psychological mechanisms to reduce intergenerational ageism via intergroup contact." Thesis, University of Kent, 2017. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/63785/.
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Positive social interaction between members of opposing social groups (intergroup contact) is an effective method of prejudice reduction (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). This thesis explores how intergroup contact theory can be applied to age groups to reduce ageism towards older adults. Chapters 1 to 3 form the theoretical chapters of the thesis. Chapter 1 defines psychological processes underpinning ageism, provides details of its prevalence, outlines its consequences in society, and gives a justification for its reduction. Chapter 2 introduces the psychological processes underpinning intergroup contact theory and its different formations. This is followed by a literature review of intergenerational contact research, which identifies research gaps in the field and research questions addressed in this thesis. Four empirical chapters then present findings from eight studies. In Chapter 4, Study 1 provides initial correlational evidence of the relationships between direct intergenerational contact, ageism and related psychological processes. Chapter 5 addresses the research question of whether extended contact can be successfully applied to age groups. Studies 2, 3 and 4 provide novel evidence that extended intergenerational contact reduces ageism and is effective via reduced intergroup anxiety, ageing anxiety and ingroup norms. These studies also support prior research demonstrating that direct contact reduces ageism via intergroup and ageing anxieties. Chapter 6 presents two studies that extend the focus of the thesis to include age stereotypes. Secondary analysis of national survey data in Study 5 explores the perception of older adults' competence across the lifespan and friendships with older adults. The degree to which young and middle-aged adults perceive that competence declines with age is attenuated by having as little as one older friend. Building on these findings, Study 6 explores the relationships between direct and extended intergenerational contact, ageist attitudes and warmth and competence stereotypes. Corroborating Chapter 4, both direct and extended contact predicted reduced ageism and are effective via increased competence stereotypes and increased warmth stereotypes. In the final empirical chapter in the thesis Chapter 7 presents two studies that explore intergenerational contact theory in applied contexts. Using an experimental design, Study 7 evaluated an intergenerational programme in which students had conversations with older adults about their technology use. Compared to a control group, the experimental group rated older adults as warmer yet more incompetent. However, only warmth and not incompetence stereotypes formed indirect pathways to subsequent attitudes towards older adults more widely. Study 8 examined care workers positively and negatively experienced intergenerational contact with care home residents. Although care workers experienced more positive than negative contact, negative (but not positive) contact was associated with their attitudes towards care home residents and it generalised to older adults more widely. This indirect effect of negative contact to older adults was effective only for subtle and not blatant ageist attitudes. Overall, the thesis provides a range of evidence suggesting that intergroup contact theory can be successfully applied to the reduction of ageism. It presents a detailed overview of current knowledge, corroborates existing evidence and presents novel findings for extended contact and mediators of both direct and indirect intergenerational contact.
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Walker, Ruth Virginia. "Expanding Our Conceptualization of Ageism: Moving Toward an Intersectional Lifespan Approach." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1467905345.
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Ashman, Ori. "Lifespan development: a social-cultural perspective." Thesis, Ashman, Ori (2006) Lifespan development: a social-cultural perspective. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2006. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/150/.
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This thesis explores some of the social factors that may affect individuals as they age. A lifespan developmental perspective is employed in investigating the effects of societal aging stereotypes on will-to-live and risk-taking skills. Results suggest negative aging stereotypes may have deleterious effects on the elderly, but not young individuals in terms of will-to-live, but have no effect on risk-taking abilities. Furthermore, a cross-cultural analysis of Americans and Japanese reveals robust differences in self-concept between countries, which in turn partially mediate the effects of culture and age on control strategies. It appears culture and age may play important roles in determining individuals' self-concept, motivation, and regulation of behavior.
The first part of Study 1 examined whether stereotypes of aging contribute to decisions the elderly make about when to die. Elderly and young participants (n = 64) were subliminally primed with either negative or positive stereotypes of old age using a computer, and then responded to hypothetical medical situations involving potentially fatal illnesses. Consistent with my prediction, the aged participants primed with negative stereotypes tended to refuse life-prolonging interventions, whereas those primed with positive age stereotypes tended to accept the interventions. This priming effect did not emerge among the young participants for whom the stereotypes were less relevant. The results suggest that socially transmitted negative stereotypes of aging can weaken elderly will-to-live, or at the very least, willingness to pursue medical intervention.
The second part of Study 1 examined whether the older adults demonstrate similar risk-taking skills to the younger adults, and whether this ability is preserved, even after exposure to age stereotypes. Sixteen young and 16 older participants were tested on a risk-taking decision task following exposure to subliminal aging stereotypes. In all conditions, both the old and young participants systematically and equivalently increased their willingness to take risks as risk level decreased. Furthermore, response times were an inverted U shape curve with slower response times recorded at the medium risk level and faster times as risk levels shifted up or down. The findings suggest the ability to make decisions based on risk level is maintained into old age.
Study 2 investigated results reported by a number of studies finding that primary control remains stable in old age, is lower in Asian countries, and that secondary control increases in old age and is higher in Asian countries. I examined whether these patterns may be due to the mediating influence of an interdependent self-concept. In a sample of 557 young and older adults in Japan and the United States, primary and secondary control, age, and interdependence were studied. I found that interdependence partially mediated the influence of culture on secondary control and interdependence partially mediated the influence of age on both primary and secondary control. Findings suggest that interdependence is an important factor that should be considered in trying to understand the determinants of control crossculturally and developmentally.
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Ashman, Ori. "Lifespan development : a social-cultural perspective /." Ashman, Ori (2006) Lifespan development: a social-cultural perspective. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2006. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/150/.
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This thesis explores some of the social factors that may affect individuals as they age. A lifespan developmental perspective is employed in investigating the effects of societal aging stereotypes on will-to-live and risk-taking skills. Results suggest negative aging stereotypes may have deleterious effects on the elderly, but not young individuals in terms of will-to-live, but have no effect on risk-taking abilities. Furthermore, a cross-cultural analysis of Americans and Japanese reveals robust differences in self-concept between countries, which in turn partially mediate the effects of culture and age on control strategies. It appears culture and age may play important roles in determining individuals' self-concept, motivation, and regulation of behavior.
The first part of Study 1 examined whether stereotypes of aging contribute to decisions the elderly make about when to die. Elderly and young participants (n = 64) were subliminally primed with either negative or positive stereotypes of old age using a computer, and then responded to hypothetical medical situations involving potentially fatal illnesses. Consistent with my prediction, the aged participants primed with negative stereotypes tended to refuse life-prolonging interventions, whereas those primed with positive age stereotypes tended to accept the interventions. This priming effect did not emerge among the young participants for whom the stereotypes were less relevant. The results suggest that socially transmitted negative stereotypes of aging can weaken elderly will-to-live, or at the very least, willingness to pursue medical intervention.
The second part of Study 1 examined whether the older adults demonstrate similar risk-taking skills to the younger adults, and whether this ability is preserved, even after exposure to age stereotypes. Sixteen young and 16 older participants were tested on a risk-taking decision task following exposure to subliminal aging stereotypes. In all conditions, both the old and young participants systematically and equivalently increased their willingness to take risks as risk level decreased. Furthermore, response times were an inverted U shape curve with slower response times recorded at the medium risk level and faster times as risk levels shifted up or down. The findings suggest the ability to make decisions based on risk level is maintained into old age.
Study 2 investigated results reported by a number of studies finding that primary control remains stable in old age, is lower in Asian countries, and that secondary control increases in old age and is higher in Asian countries. I examined whether these patterns may be due to the mediating influence of an interdependent self-concept. In a sample of 557 young and older adults in Japan and the United States, primary and secondary control, age, and interdependence were studied. I found that interdependence partially mediated the influence of culture on secondary control and interdependence partially mediated the influence of age on both primary and secondary control. Findings suggest that interdependence is an important factor that should be considered in trying to understand the determinants of control crossculturally and developmentally.
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Lester, Ethan G. "An Experimental Study of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Skills for Internalized Ageism in Older Adults and College Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2019. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1538734/.
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This project explored whether mindfulness and acceptance-based practices (MABPs) for older adults would reduce the negative effects of ageism and negative attitudes and beliefs related to aging. In addition, state affect and stress were explored. This study used an experimental design to compare two groups of older adults and two groups of undergraduate students – those who received a MABP and those who did not, after being presented with negative ageist stereotypes. Condition and condition by age sample comparisons revealed several findings. Following the MABP, undergraduates who received a MABP had significantly lower ageism scores than did undergraduates who did not. Older adult findings were opposite of proposed hypotheses, with older adults having higher scores on ageism after receiving the MABP, as compared to the scores of older adults who were in the comparison condition. Differences in state mindfulness were seen between conditions, with the MABP condition exhibiting more state mindfulness than in the comparison condition. However, there was no significant condition by age sample interaction effect. Change scores for state affect after the MABP were non-significant at either level of analysis, and older adults showed no difference in digit span stress scores based on their condition assignment. Exploratory analyses revealed some research consistent, as well as nuanced, findings. These findings suggest that undergraduates may respond to MABPs for recontextualizing aging, discrimination, and stigma. These findings also suggest that older adults may employ different coping strategies when confronted with ageism in an experimental context when asked to reflect, as oppose to participate in MABPs. Overall, a need for aging education, experimental research with older adults, and empirical understandings of MABPs for age-related issues, is needed. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
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Kirk, Robert Michael. "Age Differences in Identity Processing Styles and Self-Consciousness: A Moderation Analysis and Examination of Ageism." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1428926536.
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Manuel, Rhoda. "Effects of target age and participant age on attitude inferences and their accuracy." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0005/MQ42411.pdf.
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Engle, Christine M. "Aging and categorization : using generalized equivalence classes and their characteristics to compare older and younger adults /." Electronic version (PDF), 2005. http://dl.uncw.edu/etd/2005/englec/christineengle.pdf.
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Tuck, Robin Liane. "An examination of the perceptions held towards older workers: A comparison of information technology and non information technology companies." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2003. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2410.
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The focus of this thesis is to examine perceptions held towards older workers across industries. The perceptions of Human Resource personnel and hiring managers recruiting for Information Technologist were compared to the perceptions of Human Resource personnel and hiring managers recruiting for various other positions.
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Bravo, Rachel. "COLLEGE STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD OLDER WORKERS." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/442.
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As college students are preparing to enter the workforce as professionals, it is important that we examine their explicit and implicit attitudes toward older workers to investigate what organizations can do on behalf of older workers. For instance, organizations may have policies that are giving preferential treatment toward older workers and reinforcing younger workers’ negative attitudes. For the present study, I used a scenario based-procedure in which participants read about an older worker who has been promoted based on an employment policy that favors older workers or the most competent workers. I examined students’ pre- and post explicit and implicit attitudes toward older individuals for each condition. Students in the preferential treatment condition did not have significantly different explicit attitudes from students in the merit condition, thus Hypothesis 1 was supported. Aside from treatment, students’ post implicit attitudes significantly decreased (i.e., were less negative) from students’ pre-implicit attitudes. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was partially supported. In addition, students in the preferential treatment condition exhibited only negative emotions toward the older worker and not harmful behaviors. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was partially supported. Finally, there was no impact of preferential treatment toward older workers on students’ aging anxiety. Implications of these findings with regard to both implicit and explicit attitudes toward older workers are discussed.
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Vila, Victor Christian. "Social Networks, Health & Hispanic Gay Men Living in South Florida." FIU Digital Commons, 2017. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3194.
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Aging Hispanic populations are expected to increase in the United States (U.S.) to 21.5 million by 2060 according to the National Council on Aging (NCA) (2014). Although actual estimates vary, Gates (2013) asserts that over one million Hispanics identify as gay or bisexual and their unique needs must be explored (Clover, 2006; Cohn & Taylor, 2010; Fenkl, 2014). Unfortunately, few studies examine aging Hispanic men who identify as gay or bisexual according to the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) (2013). The objective of the current study was to extend the limited research on aging gay/bisexual men in the southeastern U.S. (e.g., Fenkl, 2014) by focusing on Hispanic gay/bisexual men in South Florida. The current study identifies social networks that serve to help this population’s health and well-being concerns related to aging. Findings from the 20 male participants in the current study provided evidence that there are unique health concerns associated with aging within this population. The current project has the potential to help health care providers, social service providers and policy makers, with an increased understanding of the special needs and challenges experienced by aging gay ethnic minorities in communities throughout the U.S.
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Erskine, James Anthony Keith. "Wisdom, ageing and counselling psychology : a preliminary investigation of wisdom." Thesis, Regent's University, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.646071.
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Seventy-one participants wrote down their wisest general and practical life advice. These transcripts were then rated for wisdom by twenty independent raters, and analysed using thematic content analysis. Participants also completed questionnaire measures of wisdom (3-Dimensional Wisdom Scale, 3DWS, Ardelt 2003) mental and physical health in order to examine convergent and divergent validity for this new method of eliciting wisdom. Participants were chosen to test whether their age or background would affect wisdom. Specifically 59 participants had no psychological background in training (degrees/courses) or occupation (worked in non-psychological professions). Of these non-psychologists, 20 were young (18-30) 18 were middle aged (31-64) and 21 were older adults (over 65). The remaining 12 participants were counselling psychologists in training with at least 5 years psychology teaching and 100 clinical practice hours. Results indicated this method of eliciting wisdom correlated positively and significantly with Ardelts (2003) 3DWS. Our younger sample was significantly less wise than our middle aged, older or counselling psychologists. The counselling psychologists were significantly wiser than the young and middle aged samples, and showed a trend towards being wiser than older adults (p=.09). Qualitative analysis indicated the main general wisdom themes were persistence in the face oflifes' obstacles, do unto others as you would have done to you, look after your health, and be independent. Younger and older adults saw persistence in the face of difficulty as most important. For middle aged concerns about money predominated. For counselling psychologists the most important concerned being independent. The main themes from practical wisdom were: looking after money, the value of education, being independent, and working hard. For young the most important was gaining education and avoiding danger. For middle aged the most important was looking after your health. For older adults it was education. For counselling psychologists it was being independent.
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Richardson, Cassandra. "Awareness in ageing." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2008. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/66450/.
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Deficits in awareness are found in diseases of ageing, and with acute and traumatic brain injury. Despite investigations of awareness in ageing patient populations, little is known about any potential effects of normal ageing on awareness. The Hierarchies of Processing model (Stuss, Picton & Alexander, 2001) provided a theoretical framework for an investigation of different types of awareness in healthy ageing. Four empirical studies are reported in this thesis. An investigation of sensory processing using ERP components found that older adults had reduced attentional capture of auditory stimuli and allocated less attention to processing target stimuli. However, behavioural performance was equivalent across groups, indicating that the underlying differences found in sensory processing did not significantly impact on functioning. Age-related differences were also found in ERP components associated with performance monitoring: error detection; error processing; and, in reaction times. However, again, behavioural performance was similar, and indicated that older adults were able to compensate for underlying brain changes. In the third study, there were no age differences in any of the measures of awareness specifically focusing on current functioning and abilities, which suggested that awareness of abilities, did not alter as a function of healthy ageing. The final exploratory study found that the different levels of awareness were related, and, that the pattern of relationships was similar for younger and older adults. Normal healthy ageing was associated with subtle differences in some processes underlying different types of awareness, but without any functional impairment. It was concluded that older adults may adapt to underlying brain and cognitive changes occurring during later life.
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Harvey, Jessica. "Ageing and health literacy." Thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University, 2018. http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/17653/.
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Background: Older people are more likely to have poorer health literacy skills, experience more health problems and worse health outcomes compared to younger people. Aims: The aim of the study was to explore whether age differences between older people’s and younger people’s performance on a health literacy task would reduce with multimodal health information, presented by video, compared with unimodal information presented by audio and text on its own. Method: 24 older adults and 25 younger adults completed a test predictive of intelligence and an experimental task where they were shown information about health conditions presented by video, audio and text and then asked forced-choice questions on its content. Older adults also completed a cognitive screening test. Results: No significant differences in performance between the age groups were found for video stimuli presentation. Conversely, older adults performed significantly worse than younger participants when shown the audio and text-based stimuli in isolation. The pattern of findings suggests the older group benefited more than the younger group from video stimuli. Conclusions and implications: Older people may benefit more from receiving multimodal health-improving information. Clinicians have a responsibility to communicate health advice in ways most accessible to the older population. Additional work is needed to further investigate how presenting health information to more than one sensory channel could improve older people’s health literacy and health outcomes.
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Brümmer, Laura. "Ageing and emotion regulation." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2009. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/153301/.
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The thesis commences with a review of trends in declining psychological disorders as a person ages. These findings are understood in terms of differences between older and younger adults’ emotion processing. Socio-emotional selectivity theory is introduced as one account of these age differences. Literature is reviewed which illustrates how certain emotion regulation strategies are utilised differently in older and younger adults. The consequences of these emotion regulation strategies on affect, cognition and mental and physical health are illustrated. Inconsistencies and gaps in the literature are discussed and suggestions made for future research. Following from this, the empirical paper examines the use of emotion regulation strategies across the life span and the effect of these strategies on emotional awareness and psychological distress. A cross sectional design was used and the findings suggest that older adults make greater use of the emotion regulation strategy, suppression compared to younger and middle aged adults. This greater use of suppression by older adults was not related to greater reporting of psychological distress. By contrast, younger adults who reported high levels of suppression also reported higher levels of psychological distress. Older adults reported less anxiety and stress than younger adults, with no age differences in depression. Contrary to predictions, we found no relationship between suppression and emotional awareness. These data suggest a decoupling of the use of emotional suppression and psychological distress with age. These findings were understood in terms of differences in types of stressors experienced with age and a shift towards emotion regulation goals.
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Norris, Jade Eloise. "Numerical cognition in ageing : investigating the impact of cognitive ageing on foundational non-symbolic and symbolic numerical abilities." Thesis, University of Hull, 2015. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:13762.
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Healthy ageing is associated with a gradual decline in several cognitive functions, including processing speed, inhibitory control, memory, executive functions, and problem solving. However, the trajectory of ability in numerical cognition in older age remains unclear. Some research investigating exact skills such as arithmetical problem solving have found declined numerical abilities in older age due to reduced access to effective strategies. However, other research has indicated stable or even enhanced mathematical and arithmetical abilities in older age. Furthermore, limited research is available on the impact of ageing on foundational numerical abilities. The effect of cognitive ageing on such foundational abilities poses an interesting question due to the innate, evolutionary nature of foundational numerical skills. It is possible that such automatic, innate and primitive abilities may be spared in ageing, alongside emotional processing, autobiographical memory, and vocabulary and verbal skills. Available studies investigating basic numerical abilities in ageing present contradictory results and methodological variation. Furthermore, although a limited number of studies have investigated foundational non-symbolic abilities in ageing, the effect of older age on foundational symbolic abilities is yet to be directly tested. The thesis therefore explicitly investigated the impact of healthy ageing on foundational non-symbolic and symbolic numerical processing with a series of experiments. Chapter 2 presents the first study to use classic numerosity discrimination paradigms to compare the non-symbolic and symbolic foundational numerical skills of a group of younger and older adults. Chapter 3 served to further investigate enhanced symbolic numerical abilities in older age found in chapter 2 using a number priming paradigm. The impact of life experience using numbers on foundational numerical skills in older age was studied in chapter 4, whereby older adults with a degree in mathematics were compared with those without explicit further mathematical education. The final two experimental chapters of the thesis examine the reliable measurement of the Approximate Number System in ageing, considering the impact of inhibitory control and mathematical achievement on acuity. Chapter 5 compares non-symbolic acuity in younger and older adults when using either spatially separated or intermixed non-symbolic dot displays. Finally, chapter 6 directly studies the impact of perceptual variables on ANS acuity in ageing, specifically focusing on total cumulative area, dot size, and convex hull (perimeter) congruency. The series of experiments presented in the thesis indicate that foundational numerical abilities are preserved in healthy ageing. Specifically, non-symbolic numerical abilities remain stable in older age, whereas foundational symbolic abilities are enhanced, possibly due to lifetime exposure to and experience with symbolic numbers. Furthermore, the thesis demonstrates the importance of task design in measuring non-symbolic numerical abilities in ageing, identifying methodological aspects which may lead to poorer acuity in older adults as a result of decline in other cognitive functions (e.g. inhibitory control). The thesis therefore contributes to the literature regarding numerical cognition in ageing, with foundational numerical abilities found to be preserved in healthy ageing. Preservation of such abilities in healthy ageing poses implications for pathological ageing, in that declined foundational numerical skills may serve to indicate pathological processes.
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Goldstone, Aimée. "Functional connectivity of the ageing brain." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7651/.
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This thesis investigated the impact of advancing age on modifying the functional connectivity (FC) of both typical cortical resting-state networks and subcortical structures in the human brain. Furthermore, it explored how any differences in FC may be associated with changes in sleep quality, also thought to be affected by age, and how such interactions may contribute to typical cognitive disruption associated with older age. The results suggest that older age is associated with the heterogeneous, spatially specific re-organisation of resting-state networks (RSNs), as well as indicating gender-specific spatial re-organisation. Investigation of thalamic FC revealed that older adults exhibited greater thalamo-sensory and thalamo-hippocampal FC, which was related to cognitive performance on RT and memory tasks, respectively. Investigation into participant’s sleep patterns provided evidence that sleep quality was more variable amongst the older participants. Furthermore, older adults that slept the longest each night were found to exhibit patterns of thalamic FC which were associated with better cognitive performance, than seen in older shorter sleepers. These results provide preliminary evidence that sleep may be associated with more ‘preferable’ patterns of FC in older adults which may be beneficial for cognitive function.
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Tsivilis, Dimitris. "Associative memory in amnesia and normal ageing." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.367235.
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Bozzelli, Elizabeth Katherine. "Subjective Definitions of Substance Abuse Problems: Does Age Matter?" Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1220005252.
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Johnson, Shane Douglas. "Memory monitoring abilities, prefrontal cortex functioning and ageing." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.368628.
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McParland, Patricia. "Dementia : what comes to mind? : an exploration into how the general public understands and responds to dementia." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/20411.
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This thesis explores how the general public understands and responds to dementia. In the context of this study the word ‘understanding' is used to convey the complex co-construction of knowledge and establishing of beliefs that constitutes public understandings of dementia. The study also examines the responses of members of the public to dementia, in the context of their understanding. Data were collected over a 12 month period and included a module in the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, five focus groups and nine interviews with participants from the focus groups. The survey module included thirty measures examining levels of knowledge and attitudes towards dementia. 1200 participants were targeted and the survey was administered by the Northern Ireland Research & Statistics Agency with a response rate of 58%. The focus groups and interviews provided the mechanism to gather a more nuanced picture, exploring the beliefs behind the attitudes and the self-reported responses of participants to people with dementia. Findings indicate that the general public has a reasonable knowledge of the symptoms and pathway of dementia in line with a bio medical model. However the findings also indicate that the general public holds a mix of theoretical and empirical knowledge and that this is often contradictory. A complex mix of scientific or medical information, experience, anecdote and assumptions contribute to the discourse. This information is stored and conveyed in the form of stories and a consequence of this interplay is that individual experiences told in the form of stories are generalised to become building blocks in the construction of what the general public understands dementia to be. The current construction of dementia among the general public is found to be both nihilistic and ageist with clear evidence that dementia is stigmatised. I will argue that that the relationship between dementia and ageing in the minds of the general public is a symbiotic one. Dementia has become a cultural metaphor for unsuccessful ageing marking entry to the fourth age. The stigmatising response of the general public is the result of a complex interplay of multiple factors. I have expanded on previous ideas of multiple jeopardy and intersectionality, suggesting that the stigma associated with dementia is unique and driven as much by emotional responses as by the social location of the person with dementia. I have borrowed Brooker’s (2003) term “Dementia-ism’ to describe this stigma. This thesis argues for a more complex and sophisticated approach to changing public attitudes and reducing stigma. Dementia-ism must be addressed with the same strength of purpose currently applied to sexism, racism and ageism.
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Price, Jessica Mary. "The use of focus cues in healthy ageing." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2008. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/500/.
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It is known that general processing resources decline with age (Craik, 1983), yet language comprehension typically remains well preserved in normal aging (Wingfield & Grossman, 2006). It is well known that placing a concept within the scope of focus either with syntactic devices or prosody increases the salience of the text information (e.g., Birch & Rayner, 1997; Cutler & Fodor, 1979; Baker & Wagner, 1987; Cooreman & Sanford, 1996; Sturt, Sanford, Stewart & Dawydiak, 2004). Since information structuring cues are used over a lifetime, it is possible that it is preserved as a cue in older adults and that it may be used to offset other processing difficulties. However, focus may be considered a linguistic equivalent of devices for manipulating selective attention, and there is evidence that older people have difficulties with some selective attention tasks, and have difficulties with the inhibition of irrelevant stimuli. It is thus difficult to predict how older people might respond to focus cues during language processing. There is no evidence regarding this question, and the present thesis contains work aimed at an answer. This thesis presents a series of studies, including sentence continuation studies, self-paced reading studies, delayed probe recognition and eye-tracking studies, and one change detection study investigating the effect of focus and related cues on an older age group. The main findings are older adults showed in some cases larger effects of focus and subordination, in terms of reading times, change detection and probe recognition rates, than did their younger counterparts. However, older and younger participants have different processing patterns based on the proper name/role description contrast, unlike the findings from the information structuring cues. These findings are discussed in relation to existing research on how healthy adult ageing modulates language processing.
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Williams, Scott Matthew. "Henry of Ghent on the Trinity : metaphysics and philosophical psychology." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669961.
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Molnar, Tamas. "Improved usability of electronic government services for the ageing population." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/16928.
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Die Fragestellung dieser Arbeit ist ob derzeit angebotene e-Government Systeme von älteren Nutzern angenommen werden und wie solche aufgebaut werden müssen, damit diese Nutzergruppe solche Systeme als eine nützliche Alternative zu Behördengängen annimmt. In unserer Forschung haben wir erforscht wie solche Anwendungen, welche von der Verwaltung für die gesamte Bevölkerung angeboten werden, aufgebaut werden sollten, damit diese von der gesamten Bevölkerung erfolgreich genutzt werde können. Zur Beantwortung dieser Fragestellung wurde eine dreistufige Forschung durchgeführt, welche an das ISO 9241-210 Entwicklungsmodell angelehnt ist. Die Forschung wurde parallel in Deutschland und Ungarn in Kooperation mit dem Fraunhofer FOKUS, dem Bundesministerium des Innern, der Bundesdruckerei und der Corvinus Universität Budapest durchgeführt. In der ersten Phase wurden die Erwartungen und Vorkenntnisse der Zielgruppe erforscht um die Eckpunkte und Prämissen festlegen zu können. Diese Erkenntnisse ermöglichten in der zweiten Phase die fundierte Auswahl einer Anwendung, welche als Basis für Nutzertests genutzt werden konnte. Die Testanwendung war das AusweisApp des elektronischen Personalausweises. Bei diesen Tests wurden die Nutzerfehler erfasst und die Akzeptanz durch die ASQ Methode gemessen. Anhand der gewonnen Erkenntnisse konnte die Guideline IGUAN entwickelt werden, welche eine standardisierte Herangehensweise zur Akzeptanzsteigerung darstellt. Dieses Konzept beinhaltet neben den speziellen, an ältere Nutzer angepassten Anforderungen, einem Kriterienkatalog, sowie die Abbildung der Prozesse wodurch eine Erhöhung der Akzeptanz für Ältere ermöglicht wird. In der dritten Phase der Forschung konnte die Guideline durch eine iterative Prototypentwicklung evaluiert und geprüft werden. Wir konnten beweisen, dass Verbesserungen beim Interface e-Government Anwendungen an die alternde Gesellschaft näher bringen, die Motivation erhöhen und das Nutzerempfinden nachhaltig verbessern.Our research focuses on the question of acceptance of current e-government systems by elderly users. It describes how such systems should be designed and offered for this user group in order to provide an acceptable alternative to offline processes. In order to answer our research question, the research was structured into three phases along the development model of the ISO 9241-210. This enabled to identify not only the main factors of acceptance, but also the expectations of elderly users. Our research was conducted in parallel in Germany and Hungary in cooperation with the Fraunhofer FOKUS, the Federal Ministry of Interior, the Bundesdruckerei and the Corvinus University Budapest. The first phase of our research provided results about the expectations and previous experience of the users with e-government systems. This set the premises for the next phases of our research and provided us with information about the theoretical acceptance of systems by the age group. The results made it possible to select an application in the second phase, which was used as a model in the remaining phases. The selected application was the AusweisApp of the electronic ID card. The test measured the encountered errors and the acceptance of the system with the ASQ method. The obtain results allowed us to develop a generalised solution, the IGUAN guideline. This guideline makes a standardised approach to the usability improvement process possible. It contains the special requirements of elderly users, and a catalogue of criteria, which helps to develop an application in line with the set requirements. The third phase of our research was used a proof of concept for the IGUAN. The guideline was evaluated and tested with an iterative prototyping. We could therefore demonstrate that improvements in the interface make e-government application possible which are perceived useful and easy to use by elderly users. These improvements will measurably increase the user motivation and experience.
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O'Brien, Alexis. "Psychological aspects of ageing in people with intellectual disabilities." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.269877.
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Maaskant, Marianne Adriana. "Mental handicap and ageing." Dwingeloo : Maastricht : KAVANAH ; University Library, Maastricht University [Host], 1993. http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=6582.
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Biundo, Roberta. "Lexical-semantic parameters as robust endophenotypes of abnormal cognitive decline in ageing." Thesis, University of Hull, 2010. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:5713.
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The objective of this dissertation was to characterise the relative contribution of genetic influences to individual differences in cross sectional performance and decline of semantic-lexical abilities and to investigate whether these linguistic effects indicating semantic degradation are sensitive indicators of medial temporal atrophy in early Alzheimer's disease and in patients with mild cognitive impairment of amnestic type (aMCI). The effect of ApoE status in the genetic profile of these groups on deterioration of semantic abilities was studied to verify whether there was any relationship between variation in lexical factors and genetic variability. Oral generation of words belonging to two categories (animal and fruits) during a fluency tasks was required. In AD patients there was an effect of genotype but, although strong, this was diluted by the advanced cognitive deterioration and could only be seen as a tendency to be stronger in ε4 carriers. The words produced by the aMCI carriers were significantly earlier acquired than those of non-carriers and controls. These behavioural findings confirmed evidence from other recent studies and showed that a significant proportion of phenotype variability in performance on fluency tasks was influenced by genetic factors. Impairments in semantic tasks in the ε4 allele carrier population might indicate either that individuals who will develop AD never fully develop semantic skills, or that the neuroanatomical substrate of semantic abilities is selective sensitive to the earliest effects of the AD neuropathology. On the basis of this result it seemed reasonable to hypothesise that the presence of the “semantic endophenotype” in people carriyng the ApoE vulnerability mutation might be associated with atrophy in areas early affected by neuropathology due to AD and involved in semantic memory retrieval. Using lexical semantic competency in aMCI carriers as an endophenotype, grey matter volume loss in aMCI ε4 carriers/non-carriers and in controls was compared and the residual volume correlated with allele burden and with age of acquisition values for words produced in a category fluency task. Direct group comparisons showed that carriers had grey matter volume loss which was generally confined to limbic regions and medial temporal structures, and non-carriers had greater atrophy in temporal and parieto-occipital neocortex. aMCI subjects had significantly impoverished lexical semantic output compared to controls, more marked in aMCI carriers. A voxel based correlation analysis showed that greater volume loss in parahippocampal gyrus and thalamus was associated with a tendency to retrieve earlier acquired words in the category fluency task. The results suggest a relatively specific impact of ApoE 4 burden and underline the value of linguistic assessment in preclinical diagnosis. The detrimental role of this mutation found in aMCI individuals was also assessed at the larger stage in the disease process by direct comparisons in minimal to mild AD ε4 carriers/non-carrier patients. VBM comparison analysis confirmed the observation done in the genetically determined aMCI subgroups. AD ε4- carriers showed greater atrophy in mediotemporal structures compared to non-carriers whose grey matter volume loss was more widespread in more neocortical areas. Finally, an age, gender and education based norms for AoA, Typicality and Familiarity was built up in order to create a valid psychometric instrument able to detect and monitor subtle semantic deficits in ApoE ε4 carriers over time.
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Crisi, Giovanna M. "Autoimmunity and effect of ageing." [Maastricht : Maastricht : Universiteit Maastricht] ; University Library, Maastricht University [Host], 1999. http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=8571.
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Mok, Robert. "Working memory in healthy ageing." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:36594546-962e-4f81-ad91-589dcd96f029.
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This thesis is concerned with the age-related changes in working memory (WM), and the inter-individual differences in cognitive and neural mechanisms that correspond to healthy versus poor ageing of WM function. The first half of this thesis focusses on the age-related decline in WM and whether preserved top-down attentional control could mitigate such deficits. In Chapter 2, I present a functional MRI study showing that older adults reliably recruit brain networks that subserve cognitive control, which work in concert with the task relevant sensory areas during effective selective WM. In Chapter 3, I show that older adults retain flexible control over WM representations, and this ability corresponded to the reliable recruitment of neural signals of orienting attention qualitatively similar to those observed in younger adults. Magnetoencephalographic recordings showed that the neural dynamics during orienting attention within WM was predictive of good performance, demonstrating that the more efficient the process of orienting within WM to select the target item, the better the memory representation can be preserved for upcoming behaviour. In the second half of this thesis, I explored whether WM for affective content has a special status in healthy ageing. In Chapter 4, I developed an emotional WM precision task to measure WM abilities for emotional content appropriate for elderly adults. In Chapter 5, I tested a group of young and older adults on WM and perceptual-matching abilities for emotional faces. The results suggest that older adults show a general impairment in task performance, but possibly with some preservation in the ability to maintain emotional content in WM. There were marked differences in how the emotional information was processed between age groups, in which older adults have a tendency to represent negative stimuli as less negative than younger adults in perception and WM, and tended to show a positive interpretation of the valence of more ambiguous emotional stimuli. In Chapter 6, I summarise the findings presented in this thesis, discuss the implications of the key findings, and consider some suggestions for future studies that aim to elucidate the mechanisms of WM in healthy ageing.
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Tsvetanov, Kamen A. "Combining behaviour, fMRI and MR spectroscopy to study selective attention in ageing." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2013. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/4191/.
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Advancing age is associated with marked atrophy in prefrontal brain structures coupled with behavioural differences across multiple cognitive domains, and yet evidence from functional neuroimaging frequently indicates overactivation for older relative to young adults. This rather paradoxical result, arising from the unimodal application of different techniques, has led to multiple theories of cognitive ageing, where each of the theories provides a unique interpretation of its technique-related findings. To overcome this we need to develop multimodal approaches where the relations between brain function and behaviour can be mapped at molecular, functional and behavioural levels. In particular, investigating the links between neuronal activity, the neurochemical environment and the effects of ageing on behaviour are essential to progress in understanding age-related deficits in cognition. Localizing neural activity with functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) provides good spatial resolution and is useful to the application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), where a priori knowledge of the brain function is needed to investigate the concentration levels of neurotransmitters. One of the neurotransmitters measured by MRS is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-Aminobyturic Acid (GABA), which has been suggested to play an important role in the modulation of cognition, neuronal activity and ageing. Therefore, one of the main aims of the thesis is to correlate GABA levels to neural activity and cognitive performance by combining GABA-edited MRS and BOLD fMRI correlates in response to a specific cognitive task in young and older adults. Furthermore, existing cognitive theories in ageing were extended with predictions about the multimodal data acquired in the thesis.
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Morgan, Brett Bethany Rowan. "The negotiation of midlife : exploring the subjective experience of ageing." Thesis, University of Essex, 2010. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/2394/.
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This thesis explores the subjective experience of ageing with a particular focus on midlife. I argue that midlife signifies an important phase of transition in the life course which is often characterised by essential changes in personal circumstances. Although many of these changes are anticipated their impact can still come as a surprise, reawakening old psychological threats and anxieties as well as creating new ones. The death of parents, children leaving home, changes at work and an awareness of an ageing body: these changes are usually anticipated at a practical level but can create a sense of emotional instability and insecurity. The three central themes of this thesis include the way the ageing process is experienced physically and how this in turn, effects the individual psychologically, the way personal and family relationships change during this period and the impact this has and finally how people evaluate their lives and compare this evaluation to their imagined sense of what they thought their lives would be like. I highlight how the social experiences and cultural expectations which influence attitudes and pragmatic reactions to ageing are necessarily intertwined with unconscious psychic processes, conflicts and ambivalence. My method involves interviewing twenty-two men and women aged between thirty-nine and fifty-eight years old using a psycho-social approach. This method focuses on how individuals emotionally and psychically deal with age-related changes. I conclude that midlife is a time of complex emotional and psychical conflict which is triggered and challenged through a culmination of natural and anticipated losses. In order for people to negotiate midlife and move forward in a positive and productive way they must first acknowledge and then accept the natural losses and disappointments that life inevitably brings.
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Ryan, Melissa-Sue, and n/a. "Ageing and emotion : categorisation, recognition, and social understanding." University of Otago. Department of Psychology, 2009. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20090309.150008.
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The present thesis investigated age differences in emotion recognition skills of 146 older adults (age range 60-92 years) and 146 young adults (age range 18-25 years) in four experiments. Experiment 1 assessed participants� ability to categorise facial expressions of sadness, fear, happiness, and surprise. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants were asked to identify six emotions (happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust) from still and dynamic faces, alone and in combination with vocal expressions. Finally, Experiment 4 compared performance on these standard emotion recognition paradigms to that of more ecologically-valid measures; the Faux Pas and Verbosity and Social Cues Tasks.
Across the four studies, there was evidence of an age-related decline in emotion recognition skills. Older adults were overall less sensitive to perceptual differences between faces in Experiment 1 and showed a loss of categorical perception effect for fearful faces. Older adults were less accurate than young adults at recognising expressions of sadness, anger, and fear, across types of expression (voices and faces). There were some differences across modalities, with older adults showing difficulties with fear recognition for faces, but not voices, and difficulty in matching happy voices to happy faces but not for happy voices and faces presented in isolation. Experiment 2 also showed that the majority of older adult participants had some decline in emotion recognition skills.
Age differences in performance were also apparent on the more ecologically-valid measures. Older adults were more likely than young adults to rate the protagonist as behaving inappropriately in the Faux Pas Task, even with the control videos, suggesting difficulty in discriminating faux pas. Older adults were also judged to be more verbose and to offer more off-topic information during the Verbosity Task than young adults and were less likely to recognise expressions of boredom in the Social Cues Task.
These findings are discussed in terms of three theoretical accounts. A positivity bias (indicating increased recognition and experience of positive emotions and reduction for negative emotions) was not consistent with the older adults� difficulties with matching happy faces to voices and relatively preserved performance with disgusted expressions. Age-related decline in cognitive processes did not account for the specific pattern of age differences observed. The most plausible explanation for the age differences in the present thesis is that age-related neurological changes in the brain areas that process emotions, specifically the temporal and frontal areas, are likely to contribute to the older adults� declines in performance on emotion categorisation, emotion recognition, and social cognition tasks. The implications for everyday social interactions for older adults are also discussed.
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Rainey, Norma Ann. "Successful ageing : the role of friendship in the psychological well-being of elderly people." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.239230.
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McGeown, William Jonathan. "Revealing the differences between normal and pathological ageing using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)." Thesis, University of Hull, 2005. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:13144.
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The aim of the present study was to use fMRI to examine the brain activation patterns found in normal and pathological ageing on specific cognitive tasks. The cognitive paradigms that were chosen, consisted of an n-back working memory task and a semantic memory and processing task. Manipulation of the n-back task enabled vigilance and working memory load to be investigated. Patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) were compared to normal elderly and young controls. The experiments showed that the patterns of brain activation found in normal and pathological ageing do not appear to fall along the same continuum. When comparing the elderly group to the young group, areas of under-activation could be seen, in addition to other regions of activation which were thought to be due to compensation. The comparison of the normal to the pathological groups revealed distinct differences in the levels and locations of the significant activations. On the vigilance and working memory tasks, the behavioural scores and reaction times of the pathological groups were not significantly different from the normal elderly, yet substantial differences could be identified in the brain activation patterns. The semantic memory task, contrary to expectation, revealed a significant difference in behavioural performance between the young group and the elderly group. Both the reaction times and the performance scores of the AD group were significantly different compared to the elderly, however. Significant differences also occurred in the brain activation patterns of both pathological groups (AD and MCI) compared to the elderly. The differences that were present between the normal and pathological groups on each of the tasks, suggest that sensitive cognitive fMRI paradigms might be very useful in resolving diagnostic ambiguity in people at increased risk of developing AD.
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Kliegl, Reinhold. "Plasticite et stimulation de l'intelligence et de la memoire chez les personnes agees." Universität Potsdam, 1988. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2010/1995/.
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Baker, Stephanie. "Setting the stage for ageing : life-course influences on neural health and implications for prevention science." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2018. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/114831/.
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This two-part thesis aimed to bring together health psychology and the emerging field of health neuroscience, building a greater understanding of cognitive health across a life-course and with a focus towards research that has public impact. The thesis is structured in two parts. Part 1 focused on health neuroscience, investigating two key factors that could impact MTL structure and memory processes within a multi-factor model (STAC-R). Chapter 2 looked at a potential genetic modifier of life-course cognition, BDNF. Results suggested differences in parahippocampal structure, and hippocampal-amygdala structural covariance dependent on the presence of a Met allele. Chapter 3 examined the relationship between physical activity, the above regions, and everyday memory function in healthy young adults. Results found no physical activity link with hippocampal or amygdala volume, or parahippocampal thickness. However, vigorous physical activity in study 2 was correlated with semantic memory and is discussed in the context of a multi-factor model of cognitive health. Part 2 focused on health psychology, aiming to identify factors that influence attitudes towards risk and safety in sports, with a view to ultimately guiding policy and interventions that could optimise cognitive development and minimise decline in laterlife. Chapter 4 acts as an introduction to literature on attitudes in sports related concussion, discussing theoretical models, and their role in three key areas; prevention, management, and symptomology. Chapter 5 utilised an online survey and a mixed-method approach to look at parental concussion attitudes and knowledge. Predictive factors are described in relation to parental knowledge and whether they would allow their children to engage in contact sports such as rugby and football. Further thematic analysis highlighted misperceptions of risk, genetic fatalism, and the importance of control. Sources of information and poor service awareness are discussed. The included work supports a multi-factor model of cognitive health over the lifecourse and suggests methods for effective knowledge transfer or intervention initiatives.
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Cooper, Nicholas M. D. "Are interpretations of syntactic ambiguities under working memory load "good-enough"? : evidence from eye movements." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dafa8073-b208-4453-b25d-967ae5b1a461.
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Syntactically ambiguous sentences offer an insight into how sentences generally are processed, by examining how readers recognise and reanalyse the ambiguity. However, it is only more recently that the comprehension product of syntactic analysis has been adequately tested, demonstrating that ambiguities are not always fully processed. This work has led to the good-enough approach to language processing and comprehension (e.g., Ferreira & Patson, 2007), which argues that sentence processing is merely good enough for the current task, and that our comprehension may not exactly match the content of what has been read. The work presented in this thesis set out to examine what it means for syntactic ambiguity processing to be good enough, by monitoring patterns of eye movements as people read sentences containing a temporary syntactic ambiguity. Comprehension questions probed the extent to which the syntactic ambiguity had been resolved. Across six experiments, it was demonstrated that both online sentence processing and comprehension are influenced by the presence of an extrinsic memory load, the presence or absence of comprehension questions, the length of texts being read, and the age of participants. Eye movement patterns were more superficial if the task permitted it; similarly, syntactic ambiguities were misinterpreted more commonly as the task demands increased. The results support a good-enough, adaptive sentence processing system, where initial misinterpretations can linger in the product of syntactic analysis, and which is affected by task demands and individual differences.
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Dijkstra, Jeanette Bernadette. "An operation under general anaesthesia and cognitive ageing." Maastricht : Maastricht : Neuropsych Publishers ; University Library, Maastricht University [Host], 1997. http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=5798.
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Draper, Claire Elaine. "The effect of ageing on the morphology and physiology of the lacrimal gland." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 1999. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19937/.
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Tears are formed by a group of glands and ocular epithelia collectively named the lacnmal gland system. The lacrimal glands are paired orbital structures which in the rat consist of an intraorbital and exorbital component. The exorbital gland is responsible for secreting the aqueous components of the tear film, consisting of water, electrolytes and proteins which are responsible for keeping the cornea buffered, lubricated, nourished and protected. Ageing has been associated with lacrimal gland dysfunction, resulting in reduced aqueous tear production, which is associated with dry eye conditions. However, very little is known about ageing effects on the lacrimal gland and in particular the lacrimal gland acinar cells. This study employed light and electron microscopy, immunohistochemical, radiobiological and physiological techniques to investigate ageing changes in the morphology and function of the lacrimal gland and acinar cells. In all experiments animals of 3-5 months were considered normal, control. The light microscopical studies revealed that with ageing to 28 months the gland underwent progressive morphological changes, including; thickening and deposition of the interlobular connective tissue, inflammatory cell infiltration, inflammation, necrosis, enlargement of ducts, patchy destruction of acinar, vascular and ductal tissues and luminal swelling of the acini. These changes were most apparent at 20, 24 and 28 months, only changes to the interlobular connective tissue was observed at 12 months and very little was observed at 9 months. However, in all age groups there was a change in the type and distribution of the acinar cell. Three distinct types of acinar cells were observed in the lacrimal glands; serous, seromucous and mucous (Draper et aL, 1998; 1999).
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Bouati, Noureddine. "Chronopsychologie et personnes agees aspects psychometriques et perspectives m etapsychologiques a travers une etude comparative de 60 sujets ages avec ou sans pathologie dementielle de type alzheimer." Grenoble 2, 1997. http://www.theses.fr/1997GRE29048.
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Les performances cognitives des sujets ages sans pathologie dementielle ne sont pas stables dans la journee, car elles presentent une certaine fluctuation circadienne avec une grande performance qui s'observe tres tot le matin. Parallement, nous pouvons considerer la fin de la matinee comme un moment de moindre efficacite qui coincide avec ce que nous avons designe par "l'effet preprandial". Cette fluctuation circadienne est bien caracteristique de ce groupe de sujets car le profil des performances enregistrees ne correspond nullement a celui rencontre chez les enfants ou chez les adultes ; decalages de phases et oppositions de phases en sont la difference majeure. Parmi les explications hypothetiques relatives a ces particularites, nous avons mis l'accent sur l'evolution de la temperature centrale avec une periode et une acrophase qui ne correspondrait pas au modele classique de kleitman (1939). Nous avons retenu aussi l'hypothese de la predominance du synchroniseur "rythmicite des quatre repas" qui serait plus fort que l'alternance veille-sommeil ou lumiere-obscurite. Enfin, nous avons degage l'idee d'une eventuelle interference entre plusieurs processus cognitifs quand ils sont concomitamment mis en jeu. En ce qui concerne les sujets ages avec une pathologie dementielle, la performance des processus cognitifs ne subit aucune influence des horaires et garde une grande stabilite au cours de la journee. Ces personnes agees qui conservent pourtant une rythmicite biologique, semblent alors s'inscrire dans l'a-temporalite quand il s'agit de processus cognitifs. Nous avons tente d'expliquer ce phenomene par la notion de chronose qui serait un systeme de defense de ces personnes agees contre la demence, la dementalisation et toutes les angoisses sous-jacentes dont la plus importante, a notre sens, est l'angoisse de mortThe cognitive performances of elderly subjects without a pathology of dementia are not stable throughout the day, since they present a certain circadian fluctuation : a high level of performance can be noted very early in the morning, while the end of the morning can be regarded as a period of reduced efficiency which coincides with what we have called the "preprandial effect". This circadian fluctuation is most characteristic of this group of subjects, since the profile of the performances recorded is nothing like the profile observed in children or adults, the major difference being phase shifts and phase oppositions. Of the possible explanations for these characteristics, we have emphasised the evolution of the central temperature with a period and an acrophase which do not appear to correspond to the classic kleitman model (1939). We have also adopted the hypothesis that the predominance of the "four meal rhythmicity" synchroniser is stronger than the sleep-waking or light-dark alternation. Finally, we have put forward the idea of a possible interference between several cognitive processes when they are brought into play concomitantly. Where the elderly subjects with a pathology of dementia are concerned, the performance of cognitive processes is not at all influenced by the time of day and is extremely stable throughout the day. Although these elderly people maintain a biological rhythmicity, they appear to belong to the world of atemporality as far as cognitive processes are concerned. We have attempted to explain this phenomenon by the notion of chronosis, which would appear to be a defence system that these elderly people have against dementia, the onset of dementia and all underlying anxieties, the most important of which in our opinion is the fear of death
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Cornell, Lisa Wenig. "Differences in Playfulness of Girls, Ages 36 to 60 Months, Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)." Thesis, Capella University, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10982229.
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This study examined the differences in playfulness between girls and boys, ages 36 – 60 months, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and their neurotypical peers. Previous literature had noted differences in playfulness between children with ASD and neurotypical children, but none differentiated the playfulness between girls and boys with ASD or did not include girls with ASD in the study. Caregivers completed an online version of the Children’s Playfulness scale. Data for 50 girls diagnosed with ASD, 45 neurotypical girls, 56 boys with ASD, and 49 neurotypical boys were analyzed using a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA. Post hoc testing was done for differences for specific questions. The study revealed that significant differences exist between the playfulness of girls and boys with ASD, similar to the gender differences that exist between neurotypical children. Significant differences were noted in the areas of physical spontaneity, social spontaneity, cognitive spontaneity, and manifest of joy. These findings suggest that much of what is known about the play behaviors of children with ASD may not be reflective of girls with ASD. The play behaviors of children are used to help identify some of the criteria for determining the presence of ASD in children. If the play behaviors in girls differ from that of boys, girls with ASD may be misdiagnosed, diagnosed later, or not be diagnosed at all. As a result, they may not receive intervention or support that could be beneficial for optimal development. Further research is needed in this area to accurately identify and quantify the play behaviors of girls with ASD. This will enable researchers to develop a diagnostic measure for girls so that the possibility that they are misdiagnosed, diagnosed later, or not be diagnosed is minimized.
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Stumpers, Sasha A. "An exploration of the experience and social construction of ageing: Perspectives from older adults in a healthy ageing program and those from Western Australian and Welsh communities." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2012. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2014.
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In recent years, a strong focus has emerged towards developing and implementing guidelines, policies, governmental strategies and research agendas that best support a growing ageing population (United Nations, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2012; United Nations Programme on Ageing/International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2007; United Nations/Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2008; World Health Organization, 2002, 2004a). Locally in Western Australia (WA), nationally and internationally, this attention has culminated in a focus on promoting the notion of “healthy ageing” (Commonwealth of Australia, 1999; Commonwealth States and Territories, 2000; Office for Seniors Interests and Volunteering, 2006; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000; Welsh Assembly Government, 2005) based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing; not solely the absence of disease” (World Health Organization, 1946, p. 2). However, policies and theoretical understandings based on healthy ageing narratives have been questioned in regard to their underlying assumptions continuing to medicalise, problematise and objectify the ageing experience (Biggs, 2001; Cardona, 2008; Estes, 1993; Estes, Biggs, & Phillipson, 2009; Holstein & Minkler, 2003, 2007; Powell & Biggs, 2000; Sabelli, Patel, Konecki, & Nagib, 2003). This propensity to precondition a highly intra-personal, variable, and socially located experience (Estes, 1993; Estes et al., 2009; Featherstone & Wernick, 1995) prompted the need for further examination of current conceptualisations of the ageing experience as it is lived and experienced by older adults themselves. Moreover, a dearth of understanding remains about how older adults socially construct and attach meaning to their ageing experience. For these reasons, the purpose of this research was to explore how older adults socially construct meaning around their lived experiences of ageing whilst drawing attention to dominant rhetoric about healthy ageing in wider society.
To explore the different ways in which older adults make meaning of their experiences of ageing, a qualitative methodology, guided by the theoretical underpinnings of phenomenology and social constructionism was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 59 older adults (23 males and 36 females aged between 50 and 89 years) in order to collate a diverse, but in-depth and rich sample of descriptions of the lived experience of ageing. Participants were recruited according to four purposive sample groups. Consequently, this research project presents insight into the lived experience of ageing from across four distinct contexts, three of which were located in WA including 17 participants from a healthy ageing program; 12 participants who have withdrawn from a healthy ageing program; and 15 participants from a community sample. The fourth sample comprised of 15 participants from a community sample in Wales, United Kingdom (UK). A thematic analysis approach was utilised to analyse the data exploring participants’ experiences of ageing and investigating how participants constructed meaning in ageing across each of the four contexts.
The data revealed that whilst participants described feeling that the dominant discourse in wider society caused them to anticipate ageing as a stage in life centred on experiencing decline and loss (e.g., a decline in mental functioning, or a loss of mobility), it was also evident that psychological, social and political aspects were of equal, or greater significance to the meaningful understandings they constructed about their personal ageing experience. Five major themes with related sub-themes emerged that were germane to this finding. Major themes included: primed thought (consisting of sub-themes the “lucky” view, comparisons with others, healthy ageing, and decline and loss); connectedness (consisting of sub-themes the value of groups, supportive relationships, and religion and spirituality); social values (consisting of sub-themes generational interactions, ageism, and resource allocation); negotiating transitions in ageing (consisting of sub-themes life-stages and events, the dependence-independence continuum, the ageing body, and attitude and acceptance); and agency and influence (consisting of sub-themes meaningful roles, and personal control and worth). Cumulatively, these findings suggested that although research has often reported ageing in terms of aspects associated with declines and loss, to only attend to these areas would be to overlook significant psychological and social constituents of the ageing experience.
The findings of this research uniquely contribute to current understandings about ageing. Foremost, the findings support a more holistic understanding of ageing based on lived experiences and provide evidence that ageing is a socially constructed, and therefore modifiable experience. Specifically, the findings contribute to understandings about the systemic influences on constructed meaning in ageing, particularly the disjunction between policy constructions and lived experiences. Furthermore, with comparable findings occurring across the four distinct contexts of this research, especially between the local context in WA and the international context in Wales, highlights the significance and widespread relevance of the issues raised pertaining to participants’ experiences of ageing. Consequently, findings may be used to inform existing and future policy decision-making and models of best practice towards promoting healthy ageing. Moreover, the findings contend that a need exists to evaluate the way in which ageing policy is effectively translated into practice, that is, in a way that closely aligns with the lived experiences of ageing as had by individuals. In practical terms, the findings suggest it would be highly beneficial to ensure that healthy ageing initiatives implemented in the wider community embrace awareness, and put into practice actions that account for all factors contributing to a healthy ageing experience - especially psychological and social aspects as emphasised by participants. Despite the robustness of these findings, further research is needed and encouraged to maintain the development, growth, and momentum of such understandings about the ageing experience and this is particularly encouraged with populations from different socio-cultural contexts and settings, as well as a gendered perspective of the lived experience of ageing.
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FitzGerald, John P. "Heterochrony of ageing of adult cerebral hemispheres and relationships with emotion function, mood and social engagement /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2006. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20071002.101145.
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Chauvin, Joshua. "Temporal expectations in healthy ageing & neurological disorders." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:79292953-64db-4b67-bc40-f7172b1994a2.
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Previous research has shown that orienting attention in time can help to improve behavioural outcomes. However, the extent to which temporal orienting can be preserved in ageing and in the context of neurological disorders remains unresolved. This thesis therefore explores temporal expectations in the healthy ageing and diseased brain by taking a neuropsychological approach. To begin, I provide an overview of the literature in Chapter 1 most relevant for the following investigation. Four chapters of experiments then follow. To examine the effects of ageing on temporal expectation, the performance of healthy young adults and healthy older adults is presented and the results are discussed in Chapter 2 and 3. Though it had been previously shown that older adults seem to experience an expectation deficit on temporal expectation tasks, these chapters demonstrate the preservation of temporal expectation in ageing. On their own, these findings represent an important and novel contribution to the literature; however, this research is incapable of establishing the causal mechanisms involved in temporal expectation. To explore the causal role of relevant brain regions in temporal expectation, Chapter 4 and 5 investigate the effects of temporal orienting in participants with damage to the basal ganglia - a brain region strongly implicated in temporal processing. In Chapter 4, the role of the basal ganglia in temporal expectations is examined using data collected from participants with Parkinson's disease and contrasts their performance with age-matched healthy controls. To complement this investigation, and to provide converging evidence for the basal ganglia's role in temporal expectations, Chapter 5 investigates the behavioural performance of individuals with focal lesions to the basal ganglia. The findings in this thesis are discussed in their wider context in Chapter 6, and directions for future research are proposed.
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Paque, Louise. "A portfolio of academic, clinical and research work : including successful ageing; a comparison of psychiatric service users and non-users." Thesis, University of Surrey, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.264255.
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Shpizner, Cara A. "Theory of Mind and Moral Theme Comprehension in Preschool Children Ages 3-4." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/393.
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Research suggests that there is a relationship between theory of mind and moral development in young children. However, the nature of this relationship is still unclear, specifically in regards to the relationship between theory of mind and moral theme comprehension, which has yet to be studied. The current study attempted to begin to fill this gap in the research by examining the relationship between 8 preschool children’s false belief understanding, as determined by the Sally-Anne task, and moral theme comprehension. Results were not significant, but suggest a trend that children who pass the false belief task may be more able to understand the moral themes of stories. A larger sample size and further research on this topic is necessary.
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Martinez, Molly S. "Correlates of Suicide-Related Behaviors among Children Ages Six to Twelve." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1384218004.
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Penke, Lars. "Neuroscientific approaches to general intelligence and cognitive ageing." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät II, 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/13979.
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Nach einem ausführlichem Überblick über den Kenntnisstand der Genetik und Neurowissenschaft von allgemeiner Intelligenz und einer methodischen Anmerkung zur Notwendigkeit der Berücksichtigung latenter Variablen in den kognitiven Neurowissenschaften am Beispiel einer Reanalyse publizierter Ergebnisse wir das am besten etablierte Gehirnkorrelat der Intelligenz, die Gehirngröße, aus evolutionsgenetischer Perspektive neu betrachtet. Schätzungen des Koeffizienten additiv-genetischer deuten an, dass es keine rezente direktionale Selektion auf Gehirngröße gegeben hat, was ihre Validität als Proxy für Intelligenz in evolutionären Studien in Frage stellt. Stattdessen deuten Korrelationen der Gesichtssymmetrie älterer Männer mit Intelligenz und Informationsverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit an, dass organismusweite Entwicklungsstabilität eine wichtige Grundlage von unterschieden in kognitiven Fähigkeiten sein könnte. Im zweiten Teil dieser Arbeit geht es vornehmlich um die Alterung kognitiver Fähigkeiten, beginnend mit einem allgemeinen Überblick. Daten einer Stichprobe von über 130 Individuen zeigen dann, dass die Integrität verschiedener Nervenbahnen im Gehirn hoch korreliert, was die Extraktion eines Generalfaktors der Traktintegrität erlaubt, der mit Informationsverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit korreliert. Der einzige Trakt mit schwacher Ladung auf diesem Generalfaktor ist das Splenium des Corpus Callosum, welches mit Veränderungen der Intelligenz über 6 Jahrzehnte korreliert und den Effekt des Bet2 adrenergischem Rezeptorgens (ADRB2) auf diese Veränderung mediiert, möglicherweise durch Effekte auf neuronale Komopensationsprozesse. Schließlich wird auf Basis neuer Analyseverfahren für Magnetresonanzdaten gezeigt, dass vermehrte Eiseneinlagerungen im Gehirn, vermutlich Marker für zerebrale Mikroblutungen, sowohl mit lebenslang stabilen Intelligenzunterschieden als auch mit der altersbedingten Veränderung kognitiver Fähigkeiten assoziiert sind.After an extensive review of what is known about the genetics and neuroscience of general intelligence and a methodological note emphasising the necessity to consider latent variables in cognitive neuroscience studies, exemplified by a re-analysis of published results, the most well-established brain correlate of intelligence, brain size, is revisited from an evolutionary genetic perspective. Estimates of the coefficient of additive genetic variation in brain size suggest that there was no recent directional selection on brain size, questioning its validity as a proxy for intelligence in evolutionary analyses. Instead, correlations of facial fluctuating asymmetry with intelligence and information processing speed in old men suggest that organism-wide developmental stability might be an important cause of individual differences in cognitive ability. The second half of the thesis focuses on cognitive ageing, beginning with a general review. In a sample of over 130 subjects it has then been found that the integrity of different white matter tracts in the brain is highly correlated, allowing for the extraction of a general factor of white matter tract integrity, which is correlated with information processing speed. The only tract not loading highly on this general factor is the splenium of the corpus callosum, which is correlated with changes in intelligence over 6 decades and mediates the effect of the beta2 adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB2) on cognitive ageing, possibly due to its involvement in neuronal compensation processes. Finally, using a novel analytic method for magnetic resonance data, it is shown that more iron depositions in the brain, presumably markers of a history of cerebral microbleeds, are associated with both lifelong-stable intelligence differences and age-related decline in cognitive functioning.
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Nilsson, Margareta. "Understanding the meaning of past, present and future in advanced age : very old person's experiences of ageing /." Stockholm, 2000. http://diss.kib.ki.se/2000/91-628-4448-2/.
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