Chapter 1
Themes and Issues in Adult Development and
Aging
As the opening chapter to the book, the material covered here provides the orientation to the course.
During the first lecture, it is particularly important to provide students with a sense of excitement about
the field. Reflect on your own enthusiasm for teaching this topic and, if appropriate, relate personal
experiences that have led you to want to become involved in adult development and aging. It would
also be useful to find out why students have chosen to taken the course, as it is quite likely that many of
them are there for personal reasons as well.
Lecture Guidelines
There is a logical break between the theoretical issues in the first part of the chapter and the
demographic material presented at the end. The lecture on demography can begin with a discussion of
current issues relevant to aging, such as the effect on the population of the "graying of America". A
discussion of the "Baby Boomers" would also be interesting, as many of the students have parents, or
possibly grandparents, in this generation. You can also encourage students to contrast their views about
Baby Boomers with “Millennials,” “Gen-X’ers,” and the like. Ask them if they believe that generational
labels are helpful in understanding the behavior of individuals.
Videos and Films
There are many potentially relevant materials to include in the lectures based on this chapter. Keep
your eyes open for news items that concern aging in the U.S., Canada, and the world relevant to the
economy, social trends, and population dynamics. Non-stereotypic older adults can also be shown to
counter negative representations that students may have such as older persons engaging in activities
that would not normally be associated with aging.
There are two excellent films by PBS: “The Way We Get By” (http://www.pbs.org/pov/waywegey/) and
Frontline “Living Old” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold/view/).
Because there are many statistics to summarize in the demography section, it is helpful to provide
anything that will put a human face to the numbers.
There is an excellent series available on YouTube divided into five parts, called “The World’s Oldest
People”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjd8_9dtLHo
Discussion questions
The biopsychosocial perspective
Why is the biopsychosocial perspective important?
How does the material in this course relate to other courses that you have taken which employ an
interdisciplinary perspective?
Four principles of adult development and aging
Do you feel that you are a different person than you were when you were younger?
IM-1 |1
, Do you know of individuals who illustrate the principle of individual differences in development?
What are the important intraindividual dimensions that psychologists should study?
What are the implications for the field when you consider that the only people we can study in old age
are those who survived?
How can you be a survivor?
Name some changes that you think are age-related and see if they are in fact age- or disease-related.
The meaning of age
How would you define a person as an "adult"? Do you feel that you qualify as an adult? What are
appropriate criteria to use for this distinction other than or in addition to age?
What are the pros and cons of using these age-based divisions?
How could the alternative indices of age be implemented in a practical sense so that they would replace
chronological age?
Can you come up with examples of influences on development that have affected you?
Key Social factors in adult development and aging
How are changing definitions of gender affecting the way you see yourself? How are these changing
definitions being played out in society?
Why is race a difficult concept to measure?
How has your social class affected your own life so far?
How do you think social class will affect your life in the future?
What sorts of influences do you think that social class has on people's lives and why is it important in
development?
How has your religion affected your own development?
Is religion different than spirituality? Which do you feel is more important for development in
adulthood?
The Baby Boomers grow up: Changes in the middle-aged and older
population in the United States and the world
What are some of the major implications of an aging population?
Will the aging Baby Boomers change the way that we think about aging, or have they done so already?
Who are famous aging Baby Boomers you can think of in the media who defy traditional stereotypes?
What are the implications of changes in the racial and ethnic distribution of the aging population?
How might the current generation of young adults (i.e. Millennials) differ from their parents and
grandparents?
Multiple Choice Questions
Age Feed
1. Fact vs. myth
Correct choice: C
Which species of animal does not get cancer, and is therefore being studied to understand genetic
causes of the disease?
A. whale
B. dolphin
C. shark
D. tuna
IM-1 |2
Themes and Issues in Adult Development and
Aging
As the opening chapter to the book, the material covered here provides the orientation to the course.
During the first lecture, it is particularly important to provide students with a sense of excitement about
the field. Reflect on your own enthusiasm for teaching this topic and, if appropriate, relate personal
experiences that have led you to want to become involved in adult development and aging. It would
also be useful to find out why students have chosen to taken the course, as it is quite likely that many of
them are there for personal reasons as well.
Lecture Guidelines
There is a logical break between the theoretical issues in the first part of the chapter and the
demographic material presented at the end. The lecture on demography can begin with a discussion of
current issues relevant to aging, such as the effect on the population of the "graying of America". A
discussion of the "Baby Boomers" would also be interesting, as many of the students have parents, or
possibly grandparents, in this generation. You can also encourage students to contrast their views about
Baby Boomers with “Millennials,” “Gen-X’ers,” and the like. Ask them if they believe that generational
labels are helpful in understanding the behavior of individuals.
Videos and Films
There are many potentially relevant materials to include in the lectures based on this chapter. Keep
your eyes open for news items that concern aging in the U.S., Canada, and the world relevant to the
economy, social trends, and population dynamics. Non-stereotypic older adults can also be shown to
counter negative representations that students may have such as older persons engaging in activities
that would not normally be associated with aging.
There are two excellent films by PBS: “The Way We Get By” (http://www.pbs.org/pov/waywegey/) and
Frontline “Living Old” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold/view/).
Because there are many statistics to summarize in the demography section, it is helpful to provide
anything that will put a human face to the numbers.
There is an excellent series available on YouTube divided into five parts, called “The World’s Oldest
People”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjd8_9dtLHo
Discussion questions
The biopsychosocial perspective
Why is the biopsychosocial perspective important?
How does the material in this course relate to other courses that you have taken which employ an
interdisciplinary perspective?
Four principles of adult development and aging
Do you feel that you are a different person than you were when you were younger?
IM-1 |1
, Do you know of individuals who illustrate the principle of individual differences in development?
What are the important intraindividual dimensions that psychologists should study?
What are the implications for the field when you consider that the only people we can study in old age
are those who survived?
How can you be a survivor?
Name some changes that you think are age-related and see if they are in fact age- or disease-related.
The meaning of age
How would you define a person as an "adult"? Do you feel that you qualify as an adult? What are
appropriate criteria to use for this distinction other than or in addition to age?
What are the pros and cons of using these age-based divisions?
How could the alternative indices of age be implemented in a practical sense so that they would replace
chronological age?
Can you come up with examples of influences on development that have affected you?
Key Social factors in adult development and aging
How are changing definitions of gender affecting the way you see yourself? How are these changing
definitions being played out in society?
Why is race a difficult concept to measure?
How has your social class affected your own life so far?
How do you think social class will affect your life in the future?
What sorts of influences do you think that social class has on people's lives and why is it important in
development?
How has your religion affected your own development?
Is religion different than spirituality? Which do you feel is more important for development in
adulthood?
The Baby Boomers grow up: Changes in the middle-aged and older
population in the United States and the world
What are some of the major implications of an aging population?
Will the aging Baby Boomers change the way that we think about aging, or have they done so already?
Who are famous aging Baby Boomers you can think of in the media who defy traditional stereotypes?
What are the implications of changes in the racial and ethnic distribution of the aging population?
How might the current generation of young adults (i.e. Millennials) differ from their parents and
grandparents?
Multiple Choice Questions
Age Feed
1. Fact vs. myth
Correct choice: C
Which species of animal does not get cancer, and is therefore being studied to understand genetic
causes of the disease?
A. whale
B. dolphin
C. shark
D. tuna
IM-1 |2
