For undergraduate courses in Adulthood and Aging, Gerontology, and Adult Development. This text provides an engaging perspective on the issues, challenges, and joys of adult development and aging. It provides a balanced and integrated treatment of young, middle, and later adulthood, concluding with a discussion of life satisfaction and quality of life issues. More than ever there is a need to inform those who will be therapists, health care professionals, social workers, and all others who plan to work with adults in some capacity of the challenges and opportunities that often come our way in adulthood. In addition, this text covers areas which are often neglected, such as self development and individual differences, life-long learning, community and political life, and values and moral development. The addition of these and other topics, along with a positive-growth focused perspective sets this book apart from other textbooks in this area that have grown out of gerontology backgrounds with a focus on physical decline and illness. The pedagogical features of the book direct students to key information, and the special features engage the reader in current ethical dilemmas and life-planning issues.

This new and exciting reader includes over 26 articles that have been carefully selected for the undergraduate audience, and taken from the very accessible Current Directions in Psychological Science journal. These timely, cutting-edge articles allow instructors to bring their students real-world perspective--from a reliable source--about today's most current and pressing issues in adulthood and aging.

Reflects the most important theoretical foundations and research directions concerning aging and older adulthood This authoritative volume provides the latest insights into, and theoretical interpretation of, our understanding of the human aging process. Newly updated and revised, this edition of the well-established student textbook offers relatable scenarios that touch upon real-world issues faced by older adults and their families. The book explains how research studies attempt to answer questions of both theoretical and practical importance as they relate to aging and older adulthood, and it explains the hypotheses and findings of the studies in a manner that is comprehensible to readers of all levels of research experience. Aging and Older Adulthood begins by describing the demographic characteristics of the older population, and follows with a chapter on theoretical models that apply to the study of adult development and aging, as well as approaches commonly taken to conduct research and ethical concerns involved in the study of this group. It then offers a series of chapters exploring biological aging, sensation perception and attention, memory, intellectual functioning, cognition and real-world problem-solving, personality and coping, social interaction and social ties, lifestyles and retirement, mental health and psychotherapy, and death and bereavement. The final chapter looks at aging in the future. Each chapter includes fully updated research findings, as well as new and expanded coverage of concepts and ideas in areas such as neuroscience, and diabetes. New edition of a highly respected text exploring our contemporary understanding of a broad range of topics related to older adulthood and the psychology of aging Offers thematic treatment of core issues including health, sensory perception, memory, intellect, social interactions, employment and retirement, and mental health Uses a dual lens of two models – the selective optimization with compensation model and the ecological model – to provide cohesiveness to the presentation of both theoretical and applied material Introduces each chapter with a relevant real-world scenario and refers back to it throughout the chapter Includes pedagogical feature boxes that reflect current understanding of contemporary issues in the field as well as key points and issues for further discussion Aging and Older Adulthood, 4th Edition is an excellent text for upper division undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on the older adulthood and aging, the psychology of aging, gerontological studies, and lifespan development.

This authoritative reference work contains more than 300 entries covering all aspects of the multi-disciplinary field of adult development and aging Brings together concise, accurate summaries of classic topics as well as the most recent thinking and research in new areas Covers a broad range of issues, from biological and physiological changes in the body to changes in cognition, personality, and social roles to applied areas such as psychotherapy, long-term care, and end-of-life issues Includes contributions from major researchers in the academic and clinical realms 3 Volumes www.encyclopediaadulthoodandaging.com

This book highlights international efforts to better understand the role of individual differences in healthy aging by exploring new directions, methods, and questions within the field. The book considers how to measure personality and personality change during adulthood, the associations between personality and healthy aging outcomes over time, and the role of personality in building interventions to promote healthy aging. The first section considers the value of personality constructs for healthy aging outcomes beyond the broad Big Five personality dimensions. It discusses the role of attachment, purpose, and affect, and also touches on the issue of psychopathology. The second section presents innovative assessment methods, research designs beyond classical longitudinal approaches, as well as sophisticated and integrative techniques for analyzing personality change processes. The third section raises new important questions, such as how interventionists from non-personality domains can incorporate personality processes in their intervention programs. It also discusses how different domains of individual functioning may interact in concert to predict healthy aging outcomes, as well as how more integrative lifespan models of healthy aging may advance research on personality and healthy aging. Overall, this book will spark interest and chart new directions for researchers, practitioners and interventionists in healthy aging, gerontology and applied fields.

In this volume distinguished scholars explore and apply the theoretical models of continuity and discontinuity to their research in adult development. The chapters address the different ways in which continuity is affected by change over the life course, as well as how individuals negotiate and maintain crucial continuities by adaptive change. Topics include adult life crises, illness, sibling relationships, and gender identity. Each chapter is followed by an insightful commentary. This book is a tribute to Bernice L. Neugarten for her contributions to the field of adult development, which includes the concept of continuities. Contributors include W. Andrew Achenbaum, Robert H. Binstock, James Birren, Bertram J. Cohler, Margaret Hellie Huyck, Boaz Kahana, Eva Kahana, Sheldon S. Tobin, Lillian E. Troll, Steven H. Zarit, and others.