Key Terms
- allostatic load
- cumulative health toll of stressors, including the body’s biological response and secondary health impacts of stress-related changes to behaviors
- burnout
- state in which chronic stress has led to lack of energy and disillusionment
- climacteric
- decline in and eventual loss of the ability to reproduce
- erectile dysfunction
- persistent inability to achieve or maintain penile erection
- Flynn effect
- phenomenon that younger generations perform better on intelligence tests than previous generations
- gut-brain axis
- bidirectional connections between the nerves of the digestive system and the central nervous system
- menopause
- cessation of the menstrual cycle
- metabolism
- chemical process by which bodies convert food to energy
- osteoporosis
- age-related loss of bone mass
- postformal thought
- intuitive thinking that combines the logic of formal operations with relativism
- presbycusis
- age-related hearing loss
- presbyopia
- age-related loss of visual acuity
- primary aging
- aging that results from inevitable and genetically influenced biological changes
- proprioception
- body’s sense of location and movement in space
- relativism
- recognizing that some problems or dilemmas may have more than one viable solution, depending on a person’s perspective and priorities
- resilience
- person’s ability to successfully adapt to difficult life experiences by making mental, emotional, and behavioral adjustments to cope
- sarcopenia
- age-related loss of muscle mass
- secondary aging
- aging that results from behavioral or environmental factors
- wisdom
- expert knowledge concerning the fundamental pragmatics of life