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The Aging Body: Physiological Changes and Psychological Consequences PDF

304 Pages·1985·7.183 MB·English
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The Aging Body Susan Krauss Whitbourne The Aging Body Physiological Changes and Psychological Consequences Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg Tokyo Susan Krauss Whitboume Department of Psychology University of Massachusetts at Amherst Amherst, MA 01003, U.S.A With 16 Figures Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Whitboume, Susan Krauss. The aging body. Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Aging-Physiological Aspects. 2. Aging Psychological Aspects. 3. Adaptation (Physiology) 4. Adjustment (Psychology) 1. Title. [DNLM: I. Adaptation, Physiological. 2. Adaptation, Psychological. 3. Aged-psychology. 4. Aged. WT 104 W579al QP86.W47 1985 612'.67 85-12545 ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-9575-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-5126-2 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-5126-2 © 1985 by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1985 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form with out written permission from Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010, U.S.A. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Typeset by Publishers Service, Bozeman, Montana. 987 654 321 To my father, Theodore C Krauss, M.D., whose work in geriatrics was an inspiration to many Preface The objective of this book is to provide information that will be useful to people in a variety of disciplines who wish to learn more about normal aging processes in the human body. Although gerontologists in the biological sciences are making great strides in research on human aging and documenting this work in mono graphs, texts, and review chapters, this information is generally not easily acces sible nor is it comprehensible to nonprofessionals in these fields. This book is intended to provide a summary of this work, along with its implications for psy chological functioning of the aging individual. The majority of the book is devoted to describing the results of research on the physiological changes in the human body with aging and to seeking explana tions for these age effects. This description has been approached in such a way as to make it readable for the nonspecialist, but also to focus on research issues that will be useful reading for those who are currently working in these parti cular areas. In addition, throughout the book, I have tried to develop some themes regarding physiological and psychological adaptation during adulthood. In each chapter I have included a section on the "psychological consequences" of the aging of a particular system being reviewed. These sections should provide impetus for research on specific ways in which physical and psychological pro cesses are related in adulthood. It is my hope that, from the integrative approach I have tried to follow, psychologists and other social scientists will gain an appreciation of the importance of knowing about physical functioning and the aging process and, in addition, those in the fields of medicine and physiology will gain an appreciation of areas outside their own specialty and how they relate to each other. I would like to thank my colleagues-Stephen Buell, Andy Coyne, Paul Coleman, Frank Katch, Mark Ordy, and my brother, Ronald Krauss-who have provided me with valuable references, access to their own labs, and critiques of particular chapters. I would also like to thank the graduate students at the University of Rochester who shared with me their reactions to the manuscript and provided valuable assistance, in particular, Lisa Elliot. The editorial and production staff at Springer-Verlag have my gratitude for their encouragement and help. My children, Stacey Whitbourne and Jennifer O'Brien, deserve recog- Vlll Preface nition for their admirable patience and understanding oftheir mother's obsession with the word processor. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support and advice of my husband, Richard D. O'Brien, whose talents as a scientist and author are incorporated throughout this book. Susan Krauss Whitbourne Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction.................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 Appearance and Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 CHAPTER 3 Cardiovascular System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 35 CHAPTER 4 Respiratory System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51 CHAPTER 5 Digestive and Excretory Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65 CHAPTER 6 Control Mechanisms: Endocrine System and Autonomic Nervous System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87 CHAPTER 7 Reproductive System ........................... 107 CHAPTER 8 Central Nervous System ........................ 125 CHAPTER 9 Visual System ................................. 151 CHAPTER 10 Auditory System .............................. 175 CHAPTER 11 Somesthetic and Vestibular Systems .............. 191 CHAPTER 12 Gustatory and Olfactory Systems ................. 209 CHAPTER 13 Epilogue ..................................... 223 References .............................................. 237 Author Index ............................................ 281 Subject Index ............................................ 299 CHAPTER 1 Introduction This book is intended to provide an overview of the aging of the human body in adulthood, from postadolescence through old age, integrated with an exploration of the possible consequences of these changes for the individual's psychological adaptation and sense of well-being. It is the central thesis of this book that changes in the body's functioning with age have the potential to influence the adult's adaptation to the physical and social environment, which in turn can affect the adult's sense of competence and self-esteem. The material addressed in this chapter forms the basis for development of this central thesis throughout the book in sections concerning "psychological consequences" of the various phys iological changes described in each of the subsequent chapters. In addition, this chapter will include a discussion of research issues in the physiology of human aging. These are issues to which the reader needs to be sensitized before approaching the individual chapters covering specific physiological systems. Adaptation The main focus of this book is on adaptation, both physiological and psycho logical. Physiological adaptation involves the maintenance of an internal envi ronment in which the body's systems can carry out their activities without threat of destruction of any or all of the organism's cellular elements. The body's organ systems are oriented toward maintaining life at all costs. If stress is placed upon the body, from a disease entity or from severe environmental conditions, the body's systems engage in counterregulatory tactics to preserve the integrity ofthe organism's life. In addition to maximizing the ability of the organism to exercise its physiological functions, physiological adapatation involves achieving the body's maximum of sensory acuity, strength, energy, coordination, dexterity, recuperative power, and immunity (Foote & Cottrell, 1955). The relationship of aging to physiological adaptation would appear to be an inverse one. Aging, by definition, involves the movement of the organism toward death over the course of time. It is not known why the body ages or what causes the body to age, except that all living systems must die (which is not a very satisfactory answer). The empirical study of the physiology of aging is largely oriented toward answering these very basic questions, but within the context of 2 1. Introduction specific organ systems. In the course of this research, what has emerged is a pic ture of the human body as making numerous physiological adaptations to the changes in its integrity over time. Rather than simply accelerating downward year by year until the end of life is reached, the body is actively integrating the deleterious changes in its cells into new levels of organization in an attempt to preserve life for as long as possible. While much of the physiology of aging invar iably involves description of deleterious changes, there is also an accumulation of literature on compensation within and across bodily systems. Psychological adaptation is a concept not unlike physiological adaptation, in that both processes are oriented toward maintaining the well-being of the indi vidual. Both processes are also ones of which the individual in whom the adapta tion is taking place can be aware, particularly when one of them fails to operate effectively. However, they differ in that the substrate for psychological adapta tion is not limited to the outcome of the activities of the body's life-support systems. Instead, psychological adaptation is the outcome of the activities of the individual within the individual's environment. The specific outcomes concern whether or not the individual is able to operate effectively as an agent in that envi ronment and achieve desired objectives of mastering the challenges that the indi vidual perceives within that environment. This definition of psychological adap tation is based on the concept of competence, defined by White (1959, p. 297) as the "organism's capacity to interact effectively with its environment." The position will be developed in this book that physiological adaptation pro vides an important set of inputs to psychological adaptation, since the body's ability to adapt to the stresses and changes associated with the aging process directly affect the individual's ability to master the environment. Moreover, it is assumed throughout this discussion that the product of the psychological adapta tion process feeds directly into the individual's self-concept. This feeding in of information about the self occurs in the form of descriptive statements ("I am this type of person," "I have handled this situation in this manner") and evaluative statements ("I am an effective person", "I am an incompetent person"). It is the latter, evaluative, statements that are assumed to have the strongest impact on feelings of well-being, since they are what contribute to psychological adaptation. This position regarding the contribution of feelings of competence to psychologi cal adaptation is basic to the literature on self-esteem (e.g., Franks & Marolla, 1976; Smith, 1974). Its applicability is particularly useful to the aging process, because it can be assumed that much of the relevance to psychological adaptation of the aging process is its effect on feelings of competence, a position that will be elaborated on throughout this book. The Bodily Self-Concept The particular way in which psychological adaptation affects self-esteem is thought to occur through the mechanism of the body image, or bodily self concept. This component of the self-concept is one that has been addressed by many theorists who write about the self, but its exact nature is still very elusive, Adaptation 3 and even more so when considered in the context of how it is affected by the physiological changes associated with aging. Nevertheless, the definitions of body image, or bodily self-concept, together provide a sense of what is meant with respect to psychological adaptation and feelings of bodily competence. Cooley (1902), who is best known for inventing the term "looking-glass self" seems to have literally meant bodily self, although this is not the usual interpreta tion of the term. According to Cooley (1902, p. 184), the looking-glass self may be regarded as being composed of the person's views of how others regard his or her physical appearance: one's "face, figure, and dress." Thus, how we think we look, and how we think others judge our appearance, are two of the components of the self-image as it is reflected off others, according to Cooley. Theorists on the self-concept since the time of Cooley have iterated this theme that the "me" that is reflected from our own and others' views of our physical attributes forms an important part of our overall self-esteem (Wylie, 1974). Bodily identity also includes the sense that will be developed most explicitly in this book, the self-evaluation of the effectiveness with which one's body is func tioning (Back & Gergen, 1968; Epstein, 1973; L'Ecuyer, 1981). Systematic treatment of bodily identity is found in theories and research deal ing specifically with the body image, a tradition of empirical investigation that dates back to Schilder's (1935/1950) work. The individual's image of his or her body is considered to be a reflection of self-concept and personality and also to be influenced by social factors, according to Schilder (1935/1950): A body is always the expression of an ego and of a personality, and is in a world. Even a preliminary answer to the problem of the body cannot be given unless we attempt a preliminary answer about personality and world. (p. 304) Conversely, Secord and Jourard (1953) regarded the individual's attitudes toward the body to have influence over personality, and to be "integrally related to self concept although identifiable as a separate aspect thereof" (p. 343). Following this line of reasoning are Fisher and Cleveland (1958): If by the term self-concept one means the whole range of complicated attitudes and fan tasies an individual has about his identity, his life role, and his appearance, then, the two constructs undoubtedly overlap considerably .... We definitely consider the body image to be a condensed formulation or summary in body terms of a great many experiences the individual has had in the course of defining his identity in the world ... the body image is a sensitive indicator which registers many of the individual's basic social relationships, especially those early involved in his development of a sense of identity. (p. 111) The bidirectional role of the body image as intervening between the environ ment and the self-concept, alluded to by Schilder (1935/1950) and also by Fisher and Cleveland (1958), was stressed by Werner (1965): "One may see in it [the body schema] a device which ... mediates between the concrete tangible body and the abstract self-concept; between the visual tangible environment and the abstractly elusive self" (p. 6). The position put forth in the volume on body perception edited by Wapner and Werner (1965) was expressed most clearly by

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