Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Ch1
Briefly list and describe three major categories of explanations of development in adulthood.
Describe at least two categories of shared, age-graded experiences that can shape adult development.
Describe the difference between shared & non-shared events.
Briefly explain why differences in the average level of education between older and younger adults might affect our interpretation of age differences in such variables as intellectual performance or work satisfaction.
How can we tell the difference between a cohort effect and a genuine developmental pattern? What kind of evidence do we need to make the distinction?
A researcher reports that adults in their 40s have fewer close friends than are adults in their 20s. List briefly at least two broad types of explanations for this finding.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs.
Describe two different types of sequential research designs and give an example of each--either an example of an actual study, or one you make up.
What are the advantages of a time-lag design compared to a cross-sectional design?
Briefly describe two of the significant problems with longitudinal design.
List & briefly describe the 4 most common methods of data collection. Include the pros and con's of each.
Ch2
Define role strain and role conflict.
Describe two similarities, and two differences between Loevinger's and Vaillant's theories of adult development.
List several strengths and several weaknesses, of stage theories of adulthood.
How are stage theories different from theories suggesting sequences?
List and briefly describe the 4 stress moderators that Pearlin argues determine the path a person follows.
List the appropriate stage with which each of the following strengths are associated in Erikson's theory: Fidelity, Wisdom, Love, Care.
Briefly describe the two primary elements that Levinson thinks play a critical role in an adult's life.
List and briefly describe the three sources of distress according to Pearlin.
Ch3
List two changes that occur in the cardiovascular system with age, and two changes that occur in the nervous system with age.
There is an old adage to the effect that if a married couple put a bean in a jar for each time they have intercourse during the first year of marriage, and take out a bean for every time they have intercourse in each year after the first, the jar will never become empty. given the evidence on sexual activity in adulthood presented in the book, do you think this is true, or not. Give specific support for your position.
Define the following terms: climacteric, menopause osteoporosis, life expectancy, presbycusis.
Briefly list and describe the 4 distinct factors that Judith Levy says affect the probability of sexual relations in older people.
Define primary and secondary aging and give several examples of each.
List and describe the 5 primary theories explaining for primary aging.
Explain why it is so difficult for researchers to distinguish clearly between primary and secondary aging processes.
Describe natural selection.
We observe a loss of muscle tissue, with accompanying loss of strength over the years of adulthood. What explanations of this phenomenon have been offered? What kind of evidence exists for and against each explanation?
List and describe several factors that appear to contribute to the wide individual variations in rate of physical aging in middle and late adulthood.
List the factors that appear to contribute to the reduction in sexual activity we observe with age.
Lips has argued that there are several reasons women live longer than men. List and describe these reasons.
Discuss the reasons hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is considered controversial, listing the benefits and concerns of HRT.
Compare and contrast the climacteric for men and women.
Chapter 4
Describe and compare the pattern of morbidity for younger and older adults.
Describe the impact of chronic diseases on disability.
Define and describe ADLs and IADLs.
Elaborate on the finding that more than 2/3 of adults over 65 describe their health as good, very good, or excellent.
Under what conditions is institutionalization of an elderly person likely to occur?
What is the primary ethnic group difference in who receives nursing home care and what explanations are provided for that difference.
What is the overall pattern of disability in older adults.
Describe the findings of Koenig and Blazer (1992) in describing the rates of depression in the elderly.
What is the pattern of depression when comparing adults of differing ages.
Describe and explain suicide rates across different age groups in the United States.
Describe the rates of subclinical depression across age groups.
Describe gender differences in rates of disability and chronic disease, and mental disturbances and explain the impact of these differences on longevity.
List at least 5 explanations for social class differences in health and disability over adulthood.
Describe patterns of morbidity and life expectancy for Native Americans.
Briefly list the major sex/gender differences in physical and mental health among adults of various ages? What are some possible explanations of these differences.
What explanations can you offer for the higher rate of suicide among older white men in the U.S.?
Which 5 of the 7 good health habits in the Alameda study was found to be associated with longer life? What are some of the reasons that adults do not follow such health practices?
List the 5 risk factors for developing cancer according to the Framingham researchers.
List the 7 risk factors for developing heart disease according to the Framingham researchers.
Briefly describe why you think there are such marked differences between socio-economic classes in the aging process.
Chapter 5
List at least 4 dimensions of cognitive ability affected by the aging process.
“If you don't use it, you lose it...” Briefly describe evidence for or against such a statement when it comes to cognitive abilities.
List/briefly describe the 5 cognitive skills constituting wisdom as an expert knowledge system according to Baltes et al.
If you were going to give advice to a friend about what life style or habits to follow in order to maximize the likelihood of maintaining intellectual skill well into old age, what specific items would you list?
What explanation(s) can you offer for the differences in the findings from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of IQ change over adulthood?
Briefly summarize what we know about the relationship (if any) between exercise (mental and physical) and maintenance of mental skill in old age.
Briefly summarize the findings on the link between physical health and maintenance or decline of mental abilities over the adult years.
List and define the 4 steps of problem solving described in your text.
Many studies show that better educated adults retain their intellectual skills better and later into old age than is true for less educated adults. What explanations can you provide for these findings?
Define the following terms relating to the study of memory: retrieval, sensory memory, short-term memory, recall, recognition.
Chapter 6
Researchers have consistently found that married adults are happier and less likely to show emotional disturbance than are unmarried adults. Briefly describe two possible explanations for this pattern.
List at least 7 characteristics that are part of the common cross-cultural male gender-role stereotype and 7 that are part of the female stereotype. What might be some of the consequences of these role stereotypes for adult development.
Briefly describe what happens to gender roles in couples after the birth of a child. What is David Gutmann's explanation of this phenomenon?
Folklore has it that women are likely to experience serious upheaval and difficulty following the departure of their last child from home. what evidence is there for, or against, this expectation?
What do we know about the adult lives of never married adults?
List and describe the 3 theories describing the sources of gender stereotyping.
Chap 7
Explain why most research on the effects of cohabitation before marriage suggests that cohabitors are LESS satisfied with their later marriages.
Briefly describe the findings on the patterns of influence attempts between parents and adult children.
List at least 3 ways in which happily married couples differ from unhappily married couples in their interactions with one another.
Diagram and describe Antonucci's convoy model of relationships in adulthood.
What do theorists mean by an internal working model of attachment?
Define generational stake.
Define marital homogamy.
Define devitalized marriage.
Describe the nature of the relationship between siblings across life-span.
Chap 8
Briefly describe three factors that influence a young person's choice of a career or job.
Super argues for 4 career stages for men, similar to Levinson's stages. List and describe these 4 stages.
For women who do not work continuously, 2 strategies seem to be associated with higher earnings. Describe these 2 strategies and discuss why they would make a difference.
Why would work satisfaction rise with age?
Levinson found that career women fall into the same stages as men, however, the content of these stages is different. Briefly discuss the 2 stages of women's work lives and how it differs from men's.
Your father is nearing retirement and seems to be dreading it. His coworkers have told him that he will hate being retired. What can you tell him to reassure him, based on the evidence given in this chapter?
Current research suggests that in two-job families women continue to be responsible for, and perform most of, housework and child care jobs. Why do you think that is the case?
In general, having an employed wife has no effect on a man's marital satisfaction. Describe the exceptions (subgroups) in which this generalization does not hold.
Chap 9
Name and briefly describe Costa and McCrae's Big 5 Personality Factors.
Name and describe two ways the environment affects personality
Describe three changes in personality from early to middle adulthood as described in class.
Describe three changes in personality from middle to late adulthood as described in class.
Neugarten suggests the term “interiority” to describe the change in personality from midlife to old age. What evidence is there to support, or disprove , her hypothesis.
Briefly describe Dan McAdams' explanation of how personality can be both stable AND changing.
Briefly describe how role changes help to explain personality changes as we age.
Chap 10
Briefly describe the difference between Stage 5 and Stage 6 in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning.
Briefly describe the basic polarity Kegan proposes, and discuss how that concept may be useful as a synthesizing concept in tying together theories of both personality development and the growth of meaning.
List at least 5 different life experiences that might trigger a transition from one stage of moral or faith development to another.
What is it about attending college that seems to be influential in triggering a shift to an individualistic mode of reasoning or meaning?
Briefly describe Carol Gilligan's central argument against Kohlberg's model of moral development.
List and describe the 3 levels of Kohlberg's stages of moral development.
Briefly describe the effects of religiosity on life expectancy.
Chap 11
Briefly describe and contrast response-oriented theories and stimulus oriented theories of stress.
Men typically show more severe physical reactions to widowhood (illness and death) than do women. How can you account for this?
Give two different explanations for the higher risk of emotional disturbance, or physical illness, among the divorced than among the married.
You are about to be divorced and have just read this chapter. Based on your reading, what plans or arrangements might you make to mitigate the negative effects of the divorce process?
Describe what we mean by the buffering effect of social support and give several examples.
Give at least two arguments against the strategy of measuring a person's stress by compiling a list of their recent life changes.
Current evidence provides very strong support for the theory that stress leads to increased illness. but there are still some weaknesses or holes in the data. Describe those weaknesses and holes. What do we still need to know.
Chap 12
Describe the period of young adulthood, from age 18 to 25. What are the key features of this period?
Describe the period in adulthood from age 25 to 40. What are the key features of this period?
Describe the period of adulthood from age 40 to 65. What are the key features of this period?
Describe the period of adulthood from age 65 to 75. What are the key features of this period?
Describe the period of adulthood from age 75 onward. What are the key features of this period?
Describe the 3 elements of Balte's selective optimization with compensation.
Butler (1963) argued that in old age we all go through a “life review”. Define what he meant by this term and discuss whether it is true or not.
Define and discuss the terms tribalization and detribalization .
Chap 13
Discuss the stages of dying as proposed by Kubler-Ross. what is the current status of this theory?
Using information from lecture and your book, evaluate the following assertion: “Adults who have achieved a great del of worldly success are likely to be more afraid of death than are those who have been less successful, since they are more afraid of losing what they have achieved.”
What explanations have been given of the oft-observed phenomenon that adults are more afraid of death at middle-age than at any other period in adulthood?
Among middle-aged adults, which ones are likely to show the MOST fear of death?
What conclusions do you think are reasonable ones to draw from research on the link between survival rates and personality or response to the disease?
Briefly describe the major features of hospice care.
Describe the major functions of funerals and other rituals surrounding death.
Compare and contrast the stages of dying proposed by Kubler-Ross and the stages of grieving proposed by Bowlby.
Wortman and Silver have criticized the research and theory on grieving. What are their major points?
Wortman and Silver (1990) concluded that there are 4 distinctive patterns of grieving. Briefly list and describe these patterns.
Greer et al. (1991) found 5 psychological responses to diagnoses of cancer. List and briefly describe these response groups.
Chap 14
List and describe briefly the 5 different potential sources of disequilibrium, as outlined in the final chapter of Bee's text (see p. 412).
Describe Bradburn's (1969) concept of affect balance. What effect does affect balance have on life satisfaction?
Describe Waddington's (1957) concept of “epigenetic landscape”. Make sure you describe not only the theory behind this concept, but also how it relates to development.
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