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Class Log 2016

December 9th, 2016, 40th Class:

Review & final quiz

Test #3: Wednesday, December 14 10-12 a.m. in our classroom; covers ch.s 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and our classes since 2nd test

 M/Cshort answertotal
work, retirement, lesure61 
mental health61 
long-term care101 
death & dying101 
successful aging91 
general 2 
 82 pt.s28 pt.s110/100

One last chance to teach something: a recent publication by Wrosch, Rueggeberg, & Hoppmann (2013, Psychology and Aging) looked at the relationship between perceived social support, awareness of limited time remaining in life, life satisfaction with social support, and disengagement from unattainable goals in a sample of older adults over sixty years. Consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory, smaller social networks did not necessarily lead to decreased satisfaction. Being able to disengage from unattainable goals was protective for seniors who experienced fewer social support partners over time. Social support has been repeatedly demonstrated to be important for health and well-being accross the lifespon, but declining social networks do not automatically lead to compromised well-being. This research is also consistent with other work indicating the potential power of acceptance in human adjustment.

December 7th, 2016, 39th Class: 

December 5th, 2016, 38th Class: 

“that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” 

(Martha Washington)

Last assignment, due on Friday #17: Review the five things you wanted to learn by taking this course; how do you stand on these? Have you learned what you wanted to learn? What left for you to learn/figure out? Write me a paragraph and turn in on Friday. 5 pt.s

Kelly McGonigal (2011) The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why it Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It

December 2nd, 2016, 37th Class:

If you had only one hour to live, what would you do? Would you not arrange what is necessary outwardly, you affairs, your will, and so on? Would you not call your family and friends together and ask their forgiveness for the harm that you might have done to them, and forgive them for whatever harm they might have done to you? Would you not die completely tot he things of the mind, to desires and to the world? And if it can be done for an hour, then it can be done for the days and years that remain . . . Try it and you will find out.

J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life (1995, November 9)

November 30th, 2016, 36th class:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.[4]

Shelley’s Ozymandias

November 28th, 2016, 35th Class:

But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered Country, from whose bourn
No Traveller returns, Puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.

(Hamlet, act 1, scene 3)

assignment for Wednesday #16: Write your obituary. What would you like the short record of your life that is typically published in local newspapers (or online these days) have to say about you? It’s just a fantasy, but make it a serious fantasy: give yourself a good life, don’t worry about the inevitable setbacks and occasional tragedies that are usually a part of a human life, what memories of your passing would you like to leave for those still around after you? How would you hope to be remembered? Turn in on Wednesday; 5 points.

November 18th, 2016, 34th Class:

Have a good break, happy Thansgiving, safe travels; be cognizant of local ordances and find your way back here in ten days

Dr. H & Japher

November 16th, 2016, 33rd Class:

November 14th, 2016, 32nd Class:

November 11th, 2016, 31st Class: 

  • mental disorders in adults Mental Disorders: syndromes and disorders
  • nosology (naming) versus classification
  • Emil Kraepeliln and “descriptive diagnosis”
    • Emil Kraepelin was born in 1856 in Germany. He studied medicine and decided to pursue a career in psychiatry at a young age. After completing his medical training in Wurzbury, Germany, he took a position at the Munic Clinic. One of his most influential achievements was recognition of the connection between pathogenesis and the manifestation of psychiatric disorders. He came to believe, based on clinical observations, that specific combinations of symptoms could identify particular mental disorders.
  • General Paralysis, General Paresis, tertiary stage of syphilitic infection
  • Freud and psychoanalysis
  • the “neo-Kraepelin revolution”: DSM-III (III-R, IV, IV-TR, 5) and ICD
  • the limitations of descriptive diagnosis
    • Genotypes and phenotypes

November 9th, 30th Class:

if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

(Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil)

In class assignment: What was the most important thing you learned in our class today? [2 points]

November 7th, 2016, 29th Class:

  • mental disorders in adults
  • “medical student’s disease”: hearing about patterns of psychopathology causes us to notice that “I’m just like that, that must be what’s wrong with me [because, of course, there’s always something wrong with you].”
  • differences between “life” and “mental illness”
    • intensity, frequency, pervasiveness
    • impact (severity)
  • most of you don’t have mental disorders (most of the time)

November 4th, 2016, 28th Class:

Friday mental health minute: It’s good to have a plan (and it’s good not to take your plans too seriously, life has a way of derailing our plans). This statement can be made with respect to our life work, our leisure activities, and (especially) our retirement. I often jokingly say things like, “you need to have a plan when you retire; the ones who don’t, die”; but it’s not a good joke both because it’s not funny and because it’s often true. Life does not seem to be built (designed or evolved, however you like to think of such things) for stasis.

November 2nd, 2016, 27th Class: 

Assignment 15: Rank order the aspects of work on the handout (you can think about your written discussion if this helps). Questions for just yourself: What aspects of work are not on the list you rank ordered? How might your ranking change as you age and as your life situation changes? Turn in your rank ordered list today for 2 pt.s.

October 31st, 2016, 26th Class: 

You can find various figures about what percentage of our life is spent working. Obviously, many factors will move this up or down. Estimates suggest we will spend between a third and slightly over half our waking hours, during the years of work, at or doing work; and approximately 20% of our total waking life at work or doing work.

Assignment 14: Write a brief (one page) discussion about what you are looking for in your future career. If you know what type of work you want to do, why? If you have not decided firmly on an occupation, what seems important to you in the career path you eventually wind up following? Due Wednesday 11-2-16, 10 points [spelling, grammer, organization, neatness count] (By the way, being able to gave a thoughtful written or verbal answer to this question may serve you in the future: some version of this question is often used in both employment interviews and applications to professional training programs.)

turn in, if you haven’t already, your question for ch. 10: Work, Retirement, Leisure in today

Happy Halloween

October 26th, 2016, 25th Class: 

The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being. (ho de anexetastos bios ou biôtos anthrôpôi — δ νεξέταστος βίος ο βιωτς νθρώπ)

Socrates

Test #2: this Friday (10-28-16)

30 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each (8 ch. 6; 7 ch. 7; 8 ch. 8; 7 ch. 9); 5 short answer questions worth 8 points each (1 dealing with the topic of each of the four chapters, 1 general question)

October 24th, 2016, 24th Class: 

“domestic violence accounted for about a fifth of all violent victimization between 2003 and 2012”

(Rachel E. Morgan, Ph.D. & Jennifer L. Truman, Ph.D., Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 16, 2014)

Assignment #13 for Wednesday: The article by Dixit suggest the potential power of “first experiences”. The evidence presented is largely antidotal (observational date) but does seem compelling to a point–first experiences are often memorable for us. The direction of the effect, however, seems somewhat indeterminate: good first experiences can be swallowed up by subsequent failure and frustration, bad first experiences can lead to resolutions to work hard to overcome. Remember the account in the article of the two girls’ first lies: one lied often subsequently and the other totally abstained from lying subsequently. What could account for these differences in outcome, what potentially determines the direction of effect? For Wednesday bring in a brief (1 paragraph to 1 page) discussion of what factors you could hypothesize could influence how first experiences affect us. 5 pt.s

Test #2 is this Friday, 10-28-16

Beliefs About Marriage Quiz: range of “true” responses was 1 to 11 (out of 15). Dr. Benokraitis (1999) presents data that all these statements are false and represent “myths” about marriage in our society.

October 21st, 2016: no class, Dr. House ill

  • Quiz ch. 9 on Monday

October 19th, 2016, 23rd Class: 

word of the day: conflate (third-person singular simple present conflates, present participle conflating, simple past and past participle conflated)

  1. To fail to properly distinguish or keep separate; to treat as equivalent.
  2. To bring things together and fuse them into a single entity.
  3. To mix together different elements.

Assignment #12: Take the “Beliefs About Marriage” quiz; turn in for 2 points

October 17th, 2016, 22nd Class: 

“I did not have a relationship with that woman”

(Mr. Clinton, former president of the United States)

Draw a picture of your relationships, put yourself at the center; connect to your family of origin, and to your relatives (separate out groups if you can); connect yourself to your current friends, associates, intimate partners (separate out groups if you can–are your friends back home the same as your friends at school); connect yourself to casual associations (roommates, regular classmates); connect yourself to past or deceased individuals of importance in your life (deceased relatives or friends, former significant others, important past teachers/youth group leaders/neighbors). Note how quickly your figure becomes very complicated. What else would you need to include to see a full picture of your human relationships? (not for credit: don’t turn in)

Assignment #11 for Wednesday: What makes a good friend? What qualities are important to you in your friends? Make a list of (up to) the top ten characteristics you want to see in a friend. Now look at your list: What is the most important characteristic/feature to you? Give this most important aspect of your friends a “1.” The decide what is the next most important element of friendship “2” and so on.Questions for silent consideration: Have you changed in terms of what you look for in a friend? Have you changed in terms of what you expect to give/offer to others as their friend? Turn in your list and answers to these two questions on Wednesday for up to 5 points.

October 14, 2016, 21st Class: 

  • personality
  • traits — how would we best know? what is the most useful conceptualization?
    • Are trait variables descriptive or explanatory?
  • attachment — our history of powerful/intense/meaningful [emotional] relationships
    • How stable/autonomous are our internal working models (memories of relationships with primary figures in our early life)
  • coping — how do we deal with struggle/frustration/failure
    • How much can we develop our coping abilities (ego defenses and emotional regulation skills)?
  • goals –“lieben und arbeiten” [to love and to work] remark attributed to Freud by Erikson in response to a question about what is necessary for or a sign of mental health/maturity
    • What motivates our life (values, goals, and reinforcers)?
  • Friday moment: Two thought experiments regarding “self”

October 12th, 2016, 20th Class: 

  • personality
  • the story is told that Dr. Menninger, co-founder of the Menninger Clinic, was asked once, after public address, to explain the difference between “neurotic” and “psychotic.” He paused and answered: “a neurotic is someone who is worse off than you are, a psychotic is someone who is worse off than your brother-in-law.” One can only speculate about family relationships within the Menninger family.
  • Assignment 10: For Friday (10-14-16): turn in your response to the four questions for the TIPI (5 points)
  • quiz Friday on ch. 8

October 10th, 2016, 19th class: 

  • language, problem solving, intelligence conclude
  • 18 gold link problem
    • Oh, you don’t have to cut all the links: 20 (last one doesn’t need to be cut)
    • Oh, you don’t have to cut all the links: 7 (cutting link frees the link(s) on its sides)
    • Oh, you can make change: <7 (links & portions of links can move back and forth between you and tavern owner)
    • Oh, you can _____: ___ (position of cuts creates different opportunities: cutting 4th and 11th link)
  • personality
    • sage: “What is good?”
    • Conan the Barbarian: “To crush your enemies, to drive then before you, to hear the laminations of their women in your ears; that is good!”
    • sage: “That is good.”
  • What are your goals in life? What do you want?

October 7th, 2016, 18th Class: guest lecture, Dr. Bergner

October 5th, 2016, 17th Class: 

October 3rd, 2016, 16th Class: 

“Anyone can become angry–that is easy, but to become angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way–that is not easy.” 

(Aristole)
  • To facilitate bookkeeping: put Assignment #’s on papers your turn in; put chapter #’s on questions you turn in
  • Any back assignments from our first 6 weeks must be turned by Friday, this week, 10-7-16
  • Assignment 9: For Wednesday (10-5-16), bring your (machine printed) solution to this problem: “What is the fewest number of cuts that need to be made in a gold chain with 21 links to pay one link a day to the inn keeper?” Tell me both the number of cuts necessary and how your solution would work. It is an open chain, not a closed (not connected to itself in a circle) necklace or bracelet. There is nothing “tricky” about the chain; no “slip rings”; and you are interested in the number of rings being cut (or, preferably, not cut), not in the number of “slices it takes”–cutting three rings at one time still gives you three cut rings and counts as three cuts. There is a solution that allows you to pay one ring a day.

September 30th, 2016, 15th Class: 

“You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people’s eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you. It wasn’t that you couldn’t walk as far as you used to, it was that other people didn’t expect you to; and if they didn’t then it needed vain obstinancy to persist.”

Junian Barnes, Staring at the Sun
  • language, problem solving, intelligence
    • “A bat and ball cost $1.10
    • The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.
    • How much does the ball cost?” (Kahneman, 2011 , p. 44): intuition, System 1 and System 2, and everyday errors

Friday thought: “According to the American Psychological Association, the most effective stress-relief strategies are exercises or playing sports, praying or attending a religious service, reading, listening to music, spending time with friends or family, getting a massage, going outside for a walk, meditating or doing yoga, and spending time with a creative hobby. (The least effective strategies are gambling, shopping, smoking, drinking, eating, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and watching TV or movies for more than two hours.)” “The main difference between the strategies that work and the strategies that don’t? Rather than releasing dopamine and relying on the promise of reward, the real stress relievers boost mood-enhancing brain chemicals like serotonin and GABA, as well as the feel-good hormone oxytocin. They also shut down the brain’s stress response, reduce stress hormones in the body, and induce the healing relaxation response. Because they aren’t exciting like the dopamine releasers, we tend to underestimate how good they will make us feel.”

(McGonigal, 2012, pp. 137-138)

September 28th, 2016: 15th Class: 

“There are people who will say that this whole account is a lie, but a thing isn’t necessarily a lie even if it didn’t necessarily happen.” 

(John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday)

Next week: “higher” cognitive functions

The nine dot problem

For Wednesday (10-5-16), bring your (machine printed) solution to this problem: “What is the fewest number of cuts that need to be made in a gold chain with 21 links to pay one link a day to the inn keeper?” Tell me both the number of cuts necessary and how your solution would work. It is an open chain, not a closed (not connected to itself in a circle) necklace or bracelet. There is nothing “tricky” about the chain; no “slip rings”; and you are interested in the number of rings being cut (or, preferably, not cut), not in the number of “slices it takes”–cutting three rings at one time still gives you three cut rings and counts as three cuts. There is a solution that allows you to play one ring a day.

And, notice your thinking about this problem: do you arrive at your answer all at once or in steps. What insights or realizations do you encounter. The answer to this problem is on the internet, don’t Goggle it [you will lose the fun of discovery and lose the opportunity to see how your mind works; points do not depend on reaching the correct answer], try and solve the problem on your own over the next week [delay of gratification predicts all sorts of good things for you]. Don’t forget the “nine dot” problem.

September 26th, 2016: 14th Class: 

“There are few impulses as basic and inescapable as the one that urges you to turn around if someone tapes on your shoulder. You must discover if the person is an opportunity or a threat. When your phone rings, it is a proverbial tap on the shoulder. You want to find out who it is. You need to. Your bottom up survival system demands it.” 

(Richtel, 2014, p. 215).
  • magic, distraction, and the way we work
  • counting

September 23, 2016: 13th Class: Test # 1

September 21, 2016: 12th Class 

  • health
  • Robert Green, M.D. “Clinical Profiles in Alzheimer’s Disease: mild, moderate, and severe”
  • Test #1

September 19, 2016: 11th Class: 

  • health
  • mental status testing
  • Test #1 will be this Friday, Sept 23rd; covers ch’s 1-5 and the first five weeks of class

Sept 16, 2016: 10th Class:

Age is the greatest risk factor for most major chronic diseases in the industrialized world and to an increasing degree in the developing world. After adolescent development, functionality declines progressively with age, and mortality rates increase exponentially, doubling every 7 to 8 years after puberty.

(Rae et al, 2010)

Friday thought: Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Littlechap, the main character in “Stop the World, I want to get Off”, periodically cries out for the universe to pause so he can catch his breath; but most of us don’t seem to have that option. An alternative is to “ground yourself” for a minute or two: Take a deep breath, close you eyes; if it’s comfortable, put your hands under you arms–right hand between left arm and side, left hand between right arm and side; pay attention to your physical body: feel your feet on the floor, your legs, your body in the chair, notice your breath moving in and out, in and out; just focus on what your are feeling, right here, this present moment, for a few seconds. Then, take a breath, open your eyes, back to the world. Have a good weekend, Dr. H & Japher

Sept 14, 2016 10th Class: 

The fact is that nothing in gerontology even comes close to fulfilling the promise of dramatically extended lifespan, in spite of bold claims to the contrary that by now should sound familiar.

(Olshansky, cited in Moody & Sasser, 2015, p. 91)

September 12th, 2016, 9th Class: 

One has to decide whether one’s fears or one’s hopes are what should matter most. 

(Gawande, 2014, p. 232)

A task (for Wednesday): Assignment 8: reflect on the physical changes associated with aging you have read about or we have discussed: Which change do you find most disquieting, most unpleasant to consider? Why does this aspect of aging bother you? Is there anything you could begin doing now that would reduce/mitigate/delay this aging effect you find unpleasant to consider? Write up response to these three questions and turn in Wednesday (9-14-16) for 3 points.

[As with many of these activities–the benefit is more in the considering than the actual product you come up with. If you find this, or any other of our activities, disturbing or consider the information too personal–just choose some other aspect of aging and make up an answer for this. I would never know the difference, you would get your points, and your privacy would be safeguarded.]

Also, remember to turn in your three examples of research (observational, correlational, experimental) on Wednesday

September 9th, 2016, 8th Class: 

CITI training for participation in research under the purview of the Psychology Department’s IRB

Turn in today: Friday (9-9-16): Assignment 5: Consider your textbook’s discussion of Professor Schale’s Seattle Longitudinal Study, consider the class handout on on this work; think about these two questions: (1) “Can we draw causal conclusions about the effect of aging on intelligence?” (a “yes” or “no” will do); (2) “Why or why not?” (Explain you conclusion) Write up your answer and turn in Friday for up to 5 points.

Turn in Monday (9-12-16): Assignment 6: “Is ‘bad research’ unethical? Not dangerous research or harmful research, not research that doesn’t turn out the way expected or yields negative results; just poorly done research that doesn’t produce any valid or reliable results. Do you think it would be unethical to carry out poor research? Write you answer on a sheet of paper and turn in at end of class: “yes”/”no” and why: 2 points. (You don’t have to agree with the answer I discuss in class to get your 2 points, just put down what you think)

Assignment for Wednesday (9-14-16): Assignment 7: find three studies of adult life/development, one reflecting observation/description, one reflecting correlation/identifying relationships, one reflecting experimentation. Photocopy the abstract and reference (first page) of the three articles; label “observation”, “correlation”, “experiment”; staple together and put your name on: turn in 9-14-16. Value: 6 pt.s

Thought/suggestion for Friday: spend some time outside this weekend, preferably around things that are naturally green, brown, blue (grass, trees, bushes, grass, water). Is there someplace you could go where you would not see any immediate or prominent sign of human influence (trail, park, open field)? How does it affect you to spend time away from the activities of other people for a little while?

September 7th, 2016, 7th Class: 

“According to the Council for Disability Awareness one in four 20-year-olds will become disabled before they reach retirement age.”

(Olen & Pollack, 2016, p. 184)

“For the third year in a row, Illinois State has a record-breaking freshman class, and has seen growth in the number of transfer and graduate students. The University’s total enrollment has also topped 21,000 students. The fall 2016 freshman class has 3,638 students, a 1.5 percent growth (52 students) over fall 2015” (ISU website, 9-7-16)

Assignment for Friday (9-9-16), Assignment 5: Consider your textbook’s discussion of Professor Schale’s Seattle Longitudinal Study, consider the class handout on on this work; think about these two questions: (1) “Can we draw causal conclusions about the effect of aging on intelligence?” (a “yes” or “no” will do); (2) “Why or why not?” (Explain you conclusion) Write up your answer and turn in Friday for up to 5 points.

September 2nd, 2016–6th Class: 

“Generativity, then, is primarily the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation, although there are individuals who, through misfortune or because of special and genuine figts in other directions, do not apply this drive to their own offspring. And indeed, the concept of generativity is meant to include such more popular synonyms as productivity and creativity, which, however, cannot report it.”

(Erikson, 1950, p. 267)

“Although aware of the relativity of all the various styles which have given meaning to human striving, the possessor of integrity is ready to defend the dignity of his own life style against all physical and economic threats. For he knows that an individual lifeis the accidental coincidence of but one life cycle with but one segment of history; and that for him all human integrity stands or falls with the one style of integrity of which he partakes.”

(Erikson, 1950, p. 268)

Turn in your question for ch. 3 next Wednesday; have a nice Labor Day Holiday

Assignment for Wednesday (9-14-16) Assignment 5: find three studies of adult life/development, one reflecting observation/description, one reflecting correlation/identifying relationships, one reflecting experimentation. Photocopy the abstract and reference (first page) of the three articles; label “observation”, “correlation”, “experiment”; staple together and put your name on: turn in 9-14-16. Value: 6 pt.s

Friday’s thought:

“A typical human heart beats between sixty and a hundred times a minute. In the modern world, where we are the beneficiaries of advanced medicine and nutrition, humans live on average for about twice as long as West’s scaling laws would predict. Call it 3 billion heartbeats.
Three billion isn’t such a big number. What are you going to do with your heartbeats?”

(Carroll, 2016, p. 389)

“Three billion heartbeats. The clock is ticking.”

(Carroll, 2016, p. 433)

August 31st, 2016–5th Class: 

August 29th, 2016–4th Class: 

“There’s nothing so practical as a good theory”

Kurt Lewin (quoted in Marrow, 1969)
  • questions?
  • turn in question for ch. 2
  • assignment 4: choosing exemplars for Erikson’s stages

August 22, 2014–3rd Class: 

  • themes & issues
  • questions?
  • How do we know things?
    • authority
    • tradition
    • revelation
    • reasoning: Socrates (really Plato)
    • experience: Aristotle (Plato’s student)
    • scientific investigation
      • observation and experiment — empiricism
  • Friday’s quiz on ch. 1 is today; bring me your question from ch. 2 on Monday
  • Friday coping moment: “Just This Moment”

August 24, 2016–2nd Class: 

  • themes & issues
  • Questions?
  • results of Global Aging Quiz
  • class activity assignment 3: “Decades of Life”
    • Did this get easier or harder as your moved through the decades?
    • Did you think about exemplars
    • Are you descriptions positive or negative, did this change?
  • There will be a quiz on Friday over ch. 1
  • handout: Cohort events (Bjorklund, 2015)

August 22, 2016–1st Class: 

“90% of life is showing up”

(anonymous bumper sticker)
  • syllabus
  • assignment 1: Global Aging Quiz
  • assignment 2: For Wednesday (8-24-16) bring (i.e., do not e-mail, text, or smoke signal) to class a printed (by machine, I’m sure your handwritten printing is beautiful but it takes twice as long to read) list of 5 things you would like to learn in this class this semester.
  • adult development and aging — themes & issues
    • class activity — assignment 1: “Global Aging Quiz”
  • There will be a quiz on Friday over ch. 1; on Monday you will turn in your question for ch. 2
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