Mrs. Tuttle was 97 years old and suffered from forgetfulness and mental confusion. She was probably experiencing

• A. encoding failure.
• B. depression.
• C. retrograde amnesia.
• D. senile dementia.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the symptoms described: Mrs. Tuttle is experiencing forgetfulness and mental confusion.
2. Consider the possible psychological conditions that could cause these symptoms in an elderly person.
3. Encoding failure typically refers to the inability to store new information, which might not fully explain the confusion.
4. Depression can cause cognitive issues, but it is more associated with mood changes and lack of interest.
5. Retrograde amnesia involves the loss of pre-existing memories, not necessarily confusion or forgetfulness of recent events.
6. Senile dementia, often associated with Alzheimer's disease, is characterized by memory loss, confusion, and cognitive decline, which aligns with Mrs. Tuttle's symptoms.