Course Description
Research in gerontology, with emphasis on learning, personality, attitudes, perception, ability, and adjustment in the aged.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Undergraduates are evaluated by multiple choice tests covering material from a textbook and lectures. Graduate students use the same text but are assigned additional readings; they are evaluated on their comments (written) on each of these readings plus three brief synthesis papers derived from literature that they identify through library research.
Athena Title
Psychology of Aging
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in GRNT 7800E
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students should have learned: 1. About aging research and practice, to obtain a general picture of the contributions of both academic and applied psychology to later life 2. How psychological research translates into practice 3. To evaluate academic research, looking at illustrations of clinical applications of research findings to determine how the abstract content of the psychology of aging can come alive in a concrete way 4. About procedures, biases, and limitations of major studies 5. To evaluate the accuracy of theories and the actual research evidence supporting those theories 6. To question and evaluate future theory, research, and practice in the psychology of aging 7. How abstract theoretical questions have immediate, pressing applications to daily life
Topical Outline
The following topics may be covered in a particular class. This list is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive but illustrates the range of topics that comprise the field of psychology and aging. 1. Introduction 2. Research Methods 3. Physiology 4. Sensation and Perception 5. Learning and Memory 6. Intelligence and Creativity 7. Personality 8. Interpersonal Relationships 9. Work and Retirement 10. Stress and Coping 11. Psychopathology
Syllabus