This exercise helps familiarize you with each of the theories about aging with regard to real-life examples. Many theoretical perspectives have been put forth to try to explain what occurs from a socioemotional standpoint during late adulthood.

 Each one focuses on its own set of particular issues, offers its own behavioral profiles, and draws its own conclusions. As you consider each of these theories, keep in mind that theories are neither true nor false, but rather simply useful or not useful for understanding human behavior.

 From the textbook: Familiarize yourself with the tenets of each of the theoretical approaches to socioemotional development in late adulthood.

 Self-Study: Try to find examples of aspects of each (or contradictions to each) in your own experience with individuals in late adulthood. If your grandparents or great-aunts and -uncles are no longer living, or you don’t have contact with them, see if you can get your parents to share information about their lives, their outlook, and their social functioning and mental well-being.

Assignment:

With the information that you gather, write about the elements of each theory with regard to your own personal examples from what you’ve observed, experienced, and learned.

 No rubric this time. I’m looking for you to take the information you have learned from the text and from your own research and apply it to your experience with late adulthood. Be sure to use at least 2 theories and cite your information from the text and from research. You should not use “I feel, or I think”.

Answer these questions in your writing:

a) Which theory do you think does the best job of addressing socioemotional development in late adulthood?

b) Which one do you think is farthest off the mark—and why?

c) How have these theories influenced your perspective on this stage of life (both positively and negatively)?