, 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. There is
enough material in this chapter to cover two to three lectures. 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. Ask students to watch for news, advertisements, newspaper,
and magazine items that focus on older adults and associated issues related course material to discuss in class.
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. Check the
website for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), www.carp.com, for articles and profiles of older
adults, centenarians, life expectancy, and numerous age-related issues in Canada. Zoomer magazine, published in
conjunction with CARP, is an relevant source of Canadian perspectives on aging and ageism.
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 Canada, the U.S., 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/waywegetby/) 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?
IM-2 |1
,Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition
Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING
• Do you feel that you are a different person than you were when you were younger?
• 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.
• Ask students to complete one of the Canadian on-line life expectancy surveys e.g., “Will you live to be
100”? What factors are amenable to change/modifiable and which are not?
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 is your identity affected by your gender?
• Why is ethnicity an important factor in adult development and aging? Consider some of the implications
of Canada’s multicultural policy for its diverse population.
• How does Statistics Canada measure the multicultural background of the population? Consider some of
the difficulties with use of the grouping: Canadian-born, immigrant, visible minority, and Aboriginal
populations.
• 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?
• Why do you think religion has not been examined in previous research on adult development and aging?
THE BABY BOOMERS GROW UP: CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER POPULATION
IN CANADA AND THE WORLD
• What are the 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?
Test Bank
IM & TB -1 |2
, Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition
Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Research on adaptation to aging suggests that the most important factor determining your health, happiness,
and longevity may very well be your ______ age.
a) chronological
b) subjective
c) biological
d) sociological
Answer: b
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
2. The term __________ captures the concept that aging involves an interaction among processes such as physical
changes, cognition, and social context:
a) biopsychosocial
b) physiocultural
c) multidirectional
d) transformational
Answer: a
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
3. Of the following areas of aging, which would be considered a “biological” component of the biopsychosocial
model?
a) Changes in muscle mass.
b) Loss of a spouse.
c) Retirement from a job.
d) Gains in vocabulary skills.
Answer: a
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
4. Which of the following would be considered a “social” age-related factor in the biopsychosocial perspective?
a) Improving in wisdom.
b) Losing muscle strength.
c) Becoming a grandparent.
d) Increasing in conscientiousness.
Answer: c
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
IM & TB -1 |3
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. There is
enough material in this chapter to cover two to three lectures. 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. Ask students to watch for news, advertisements, newspaper,
and magazine items that focus on older adults and associated issues related course material to discuss in class.
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. Check the
website for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), www.carp.com, for articles and profiles of older
adults, centenarians, life expectancy, and numerous age-related issues in Canada. Zoomer magazine, published in
conjunction with CARP, is an relevant source of Canadian perspectives on aging and ageism.
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 Canada, the U.S., 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/waywegetby/) 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?
IM-2 |1
,Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition
Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING
• Do you feel that you are a different person than you were when you were younger?
• 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.
• Ask students to complete one of the Canadian on-line life expectancy surveys e.g., “Will you live to be
100”? What factors are amenable to change/modifiable and which are not?
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 is your identity affected by your gender?
• Why is ethnicity an important factor in adult development and aging? Consider some of the implications
of Canada’s multicultural policy for its diverse population.
• How does Statistics Canada measure the multicultural background of the population? Consider some of
the difficulties with use of the grouping: Canadian-born, immigrant, visible minority, and Aboriginal
populations.
• 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?
• Why do you think religion has not been examined in previous research on adult development and aging?
THE BABY BOOMERS GROW UP: CHANGES IN THE MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER POPULATION
IN CANADA AND THE WORLD
• What are the 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?
Test Bank
IM & TB -1 |2
, Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank for Adult Development and Aging: Biopsychosocial Perspectives, Second Canadian Edition
Whitbourne, Whitbourne, and Konnert
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Research on adaptation to aging suggests that the most important factor determining your health, happiness,
and longevity may very well be your ______ age.
a) chronological
b) subjective
c) biological
d) sociological
Answer: b
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
2. The term __________ captures the concept that aging involves an interaction among processes such as physical
changes, cognition, and social context:
a) biopsychosocial
b) physiocultural
c) multidirectional
d) transformational
Answer: a
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
3. Of the following areas of aging, which would be considered a “biological” component of the biopsychosocial
model?
a) Changes in muscle mass.
b) Loss of a spouse.
c) Retirement from a job.
d) Gains in vocabulary skills.
Answer: a
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
4. Which of the following would be considered a “social” age-related factor in the biopsychosocial perspective?
a) Improving in wisdom.
b) Losing muscle strength.
c) Becoming a grandparent.
d) Increasing in conscientiousness.
Answer: c
Section Reference: The Biopsychosocial Perspective
IM & TB -1 |3
