Excerpt

To further advance understanding of how social and individual factors can improve the health and functioning of older adults, the Behavior and Social Research Program at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) requested a study by the National Research Council. The Committee on Aging Frontiers in Social Psychology, Personality, and Adult Developmental Psychology was formed and charged with exploring research opportunities in social, personality, and adult developmental psychology. More specifically, it was charged with identifying research opportunities that have the added benefit of drawing on recent developments in the psychological and social sciences, including behavioral, cognitive, and social neurosciences, that are related to experimental work in social psychology, personality, and adult developmental psychology, and that also cross multiple levels of analysis.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON AGING FRONTIERS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, PERSONALITY, AND ADULT DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
• BOARD ON BEHAVIORAL, COGNITIVE, AND SENSORY SCIENCES
• Preface
• Executive Summary
  • RESEARCH TOPICS
  • DEVELOPING A PSYCHOLOGY OF DIVERSITY
  • RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
• 1. Committee Report
  • 1. Overview
    • COMMITTEE CHARGE AND APPROACH
    • KEY QUESTIONS
    • RECOMMENDED RESEARCH TOPICS
    • DEVELOPING A PSYCHOLOGY OF DIVERSITY
    • SUPPORTING THE INFRASTRUCTURE
    • REPORT STRUCTURE
  • 2. The Social Side of Human Aging
    • THE LIFE-SPAN APPROACH
    • PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT
    • SOCIAL RELATIONS
    • EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
    • SOCIAL COGNITION
    • GENDER, RACE, AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
  • 3. Motivation and Behavioral Change
    • MOTIVATION AND SELF-REGULATION
    • PERSUASION AND ATTITUDE CHANGE
    • CONCLUSION
  • 4. Socioemotional Influences on Decision Making: The Challenge of Choice
    • CAPABILITIES FOR DECIDING
    • LONG-RANGE PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING
    • MULTIPARTY DECISION MAKING
    • END-OF-LIFE CARE
    • CONCLUSION
  • 5. Social Engagement and Cognition
    • AGING AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
    • EFFECTS OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
    • KEY QUESTIONS
    • CONCLUSION
  • 6. Opportunities Lost: The Impact of Stereotypes on Self and Others
    • EXPLICIT STEREOTYPES
    • IMPLICIT STEREOTYPE ACTIVATION
    • MULTIPLE CATEGORIES OF IDENTITY
    • AGE IDENTITY AND SELF-CONCEPT
    • EFFECTS OF INTERNALIZED STEREOTYPES
    • INTERVENTIONS TO CHANGE AGEIST ATTITUDES
    • CONCLUSION
  • References
• 2. Background Papers
  • Initiatives to Motivate Change: A Review of Theory and Practice and Their Implications for Older Adults
    Alexander J. Rothman.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • IS EVERYONE READY TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR?
    • REFERENCES
  • A Review of Decision-Making Processes: Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Aging
    Mara Mather.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • EMOTION AND OLDER ADULTS' DECISIONS
    • THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND OLDER ADULTS' DECISIONS
    • CONCLUSION
    • AUTHOR'S NOTE
    • REFERENCES
  • A Social Psychological Perspective on the Stigmatization of Older Adults
    Jennifer A. Richeson and J. Nicole Shelton.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • AGE STIGMA FROM THE PERCEIVER'S PERSPECTIVE
    • AGE STIGMA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OLDER ADULTS
    • GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
    • REFERENCES
  • Measuring Psychological Mechanisms
    Committee on Aging Frontiers in Social Psychology, Personality, and Adult Developmental Psychology.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • MEASURING IMPLICIT CONSTRUCTS
    • EXPERIENCE SAMPLING
    • SOCIAL NEUROSCIENCE
    • REFERENCES
  • Measurement: Aging and the Psychology of Self-Report
    Norbert Schwarz.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • ATTITUDE REPORTS
    • BEHAVIORAL FREQUENCY REPORTS
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • REFERENCES
  • Optimizing Brief Assessments in Research on the Psychology of Aging: A Pragmatic Approach to Self-Report Measurement
    Jon A. Krosnick, Allyson L. Holbrook, and Penny S. Visser.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • OPTIMIZING QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
  • Utility of Brain Imaging Methods in Research on Aging
    Christine R. Hartel and Randy L. Buckner.
    • INTRODUCTION
    • PSYCHOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF NEUROIMAGING
    • USES OF NEUROIMAGING IN RESEARCH ON AGING
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
  • Research Infrastructure
    Committee on Aging Frontiers in Social Psychology, Personality, and Adult Developmental Psychology.
• Appendix Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Contributors

This study was supported by Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health.

Suggested citation:

National Research Council. (2006). When I'm 64. Committee on Aging Frontiers in Social Psychology, Personality, and Adult Developmental Psychology. Laura L. Carstensen and Christine R. Hartel, Editors. Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.