Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, Eighth Edition, tackles the biological and environmental influences on behavior as well as the reciprocal interface between changes in the brain and behavior during the course of the adult life span.
The psychology of aging is important to many features of daily life, from workplace and the family, to public policy matters. It is complex, and new questions are continually raised about how behavior changes with age.
Providing perspectives on the behavioral science of aging for diverse disciplines, the handbook explains how the role of behavior is organized and how it changes over time. Along with parallel advances in research methodology, it explicates in great detail patterns and sub-patterns of behavior over the lifespan, and how they are affected by biological, health, and social interactions.
New topics to the eighth edition include preclinical neuropathology, audition and language comprehension in adult aging, cognitive interventions and neural processes, social interrelations, age differences in the connection of mood and cognition, cross-cultural issues, financial decision-making and capacity, technology, gaming, social networking, and more.
Key Features
- Tackles the biological and environmental influences on behavior as well as the reciprocal interface between changes in the brain and behavior during the course of the adult life span
- Covers the key areas in psychological gerontology research in one volume
- Explains how the role of behavior is organized and how it changes over time
- Completely revised from the previous edition
- New chapter on gender and aging process
- Foreword
- Preface
- About the Editors
- List of Contributors
- Part I: Concepts, Theory, Methods
- Chapter 1. Theoretical Perspectives for the Psychology of Aging in a Lifespan Context
- Introduction
- The Role of Pathology in Normal Aging
- Assumption of Universal Decline
- Successful, Normal and Pathological Aging
- Lifespan Theories of Psychological Aging
- Summary and Outlook
- References
- Chapter 2. Methodological Considerations for the Study of Adult Development and Aging
- Introduction
- Research Designs and Sampling Considerations for the Study of Adult Development and Aging
- Key Threats to the Validity of Longitudinal Designs
- Modeling Change in Studies of Aging
- Emerging Methodological Trends for the Study of Aging
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 3. Society and the Individual at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century
- Introduction
- A Comment on Lifespan Psychology
- Health and Health Care
- Education
- Work and Retirement
- Family Life
- Summary and Conclusions
- References
- Chapter 1. Theoretical Perspectives for the Psychology of Aging in a Lifespan Context
- Part II: Bio-psychosocial Factors in Aging
- Chapter 4. Sex Hormones and Cognitive Aging
- Introduction
- Effects of Estrogen and Testosterone in Young Adults
- Effects of Menopause and Hormone Levels on Cognition in Older Women
- Testosterone and Cognitive Aging in Men
- Conclusions and Areas for Future Research
- References
- Chapter 5. The Aging Mind in Transition: Amyloid Deposition and Progression toward Alzheimer’s Disease
- Introduction
- Amyloid Imaging
- Models of Cognitive Transitions
- What is the Relationship between Amyloid Deposition and Neurodegeneration?
- Does Amyloid Deposition Invariably Lead to Cognitive Decline?
- Modifiers of Transition to AD: Enrichment and Depletion Factors
- Acknowledgment
- References
- Chapter 6. Research on Human Plasticity in Adulthood: A Lifespan Agenda
- Plasticity and Stability in Lifespan Development
- The Supply–Demand Mismatch Model of Plasticity
- Proposition #1: Plasticity Decreases from Childhood to Old Age
- Proposition #2: Flexibility Increases from Childhood to Middle Adulthood, and Declines Thereafter
- Proposition #3: Relative to Childhood, Plasticity in Adulthood and Old Age is More Often Associated with Maintenance, and Less Often with Growth
- Plasticity and Flexibility in Relation to Gf–Gc Theory
- Open Questions and Future Research Directions
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 7. Cognitive and Physical Aging: Genetic Influences and Gene–Environment Interplay
- Introduction
- Cognitive Function
- Physical Function
- Cross-Domain Investigations
- Genetic Influences on Environmental Sensitivity
- Summary and Future Directions
- References
- Chapter 8. Memory: Behavior and Neural Basis
- What Is Memory, and What Is Aging?
- Brain Aging and Memory: A Complex and Dynamic Relationship
- Control and Association: Major Influences on Age Differences in Memory
- Modifying Factors: Qualitative and Quantitative Effects
- Interventions: Hope for Improvement?
- Summary and Conclusions
- References
- Chapter 9. Audition and Language Comprehension in Adult Aging: Stability in the Face of Change
- Introduction
- Age-Related Hearing Loss
- Compensation Through Linguistic Knowledge
- Downstream Effects of Perceptual Effort
- Broader Issues of Age-Related Hearing Loss
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 10. Exercise, Cognition, and Health
- Introduction
- Definitions
- Epidemiological Studies
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 4. Sex Hormones and Cognitive Aging
- Part III: Behavioral Processes
- Chapter 11. Personality and Health: Reviewing Recent Research and Setting a Directive for the Future
- Personality Traits: Definitions and Classifications
- Dispositions and Health: A Brief History of Models in the Field
- Personality Traits and Physiological Markers of Aging
- Personality and Health across Adulthood: Moderators, Moderated Mediators, and More
- Healthy Living as a Catalyst for Personality Development
- Current and Future Directions
- References
- Chapter 12. Cognitive Training in Later Adulthood
- Introduction
- Cognitive Training: Behavioral Interventions and Behavioral Outcomes
- Activity Engagement Interventions
- Cognitive Training: Neural Mechanisms and Outcomes
- References
- Chapter 13. Executive Functions and Neurocognitive Aging
- Overview
- Measuring EFs
- Executive Deficit Theories of Cognitive Aging
- Do EFs Show the Earliest and Disproportionate Decline?
- Do Brain Regions Linked to EF Show the Earliest and Disproportionate Decline?
- EFs and PFC Processes as Compensatory and Protective
- EFs, the Frontal Lobes, and Lifelong aging
- References
- Chapter 14. Social Interrelations in Aging: The Sample Case of Married Couples
- Introduction
- Overview of Existing Research and New Trends
- Towards Addressing Methodological Challenges
- Psychological Processes are Embedded in Macro-Level Contexts
- Future Directions and Challenges
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 15. Age Differences in the Connection of Mood and Cognition: Evidence from Studies of Mood Congruent Effects
- Introduction
- Definition and Theories of Mood-congruent Cognition
- Conceptual and Methodological Issues in the Study of Mood-congruent Cognition
- Effects of Personality Factors on Emotion and Cognition Interaction
- Mood-congruent Effects on Cognition: Adulthood
- Mood-congruent Effects on Cognition: Older Adult Populations
- Implications for Theory and Research on Age Differences in the Mood–Cognition Linkage
- Implications for Psychological Interventions with Older Adults
- References
- Chapter 16. Psychological Vitality in the Oldest Old
- Introduction
- Who are the Contemporary Oldest Old?
- Research Issues
- Domains of Psychological Vitality
- Conclusions
- References
- Chapter 11. Personality and Health: Reviewing Recent Research and Setting a Directive for the Future
- Part IV: Complex Processes
- Chapter 17. Cross-Cultural Psychology of Aging
- Cross-Cultural Psychology of Aging
- A Theory: Aging in Culture
- Other Approaches
- Summary, Caveats, and Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- References
- Chapter 18. Work, Retirement and Aging
- Aging in the Work Context
- The Transition from Work to Retirement: The Temporal Process and Outcomes
- Conclusions and Future Directions
- References
- Chapter 19. Financial Decision-Making and Capacity in Older Adults
- Introduction: What is Financial Capacity? Legal, Clinical and Ethical Perspectives
- The Financial Capacity Problem: Cognitive Aging and Disorders of Aging
- Clinical Warning Signs of Diminished Financial Capacity
- Challenges in Modeling Financial Capacity
- Clinical Model of Financial Capacity
- Approaches to Assessing Financial Capacity
- Empirical Studies of Financial Capacity
- Neuroimaging Studies of Financial Capacity
- Non-Cognitive Contributions to Financial Capacity in Aging
- Future Research Directions
- References
- Chapter 20. Technology, Gaming, and Social Networking
- Definition of Technology and ICT
- A Century of Development and Diffusion of Technology
- Technology Use and Age
- Theories and Models of Technology Adoption
- Older Adult Game Use and Game Preferences
- Social Networking as a Newly Emerging Communications Technology
- Barriers to Technology Adoption by Seniors
- Technology as a Factor for Successful Longevity
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgment
- References
- Chapter 21. Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies for Late-Life Mood and Anxiety Disorders
- Introduction
- Late-Life Depression
- Late-Life Anxiety Disorders
- Late-Life Co-Existing Mood and Anxiety Disorders
- Risk Factors for Late-Life Suicide and Suicidal Behavior
- Detection, Treatment, and Management
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 22. Late-Life Sleep and Sleep Disorders
- Late-Life Sleep and Sleep Disorders Normal Late-Life Sleep
- Epidemiology of Sleep Disorders in Late Life
- Assessment
- Sleep Disorders
- Expectancies Regarding Interventions and Outcomes in Older Adults
- Conclusions and Future Directions
- References
- Chapter 23. Psychosocial Interventions for Older Adults with Dementia and Their Caregivers
- Introduction
- Translation and Implementation of Psychosocial Approaches
- Discussion
- References
- Chapter 24. The Psychology of Death and Dying in Later Life
- Introduction
- Part 1: Secular, Technological Influences on Understanding and Experiencing Death and Dying in Later Life
- Part 2: Individual Expectations and Fears about Dying, Including Empirical, Data, Clinical Practices, and Proposed Policy Changes about a Good Death
- Part 3: Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning in Contemporary Society
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter 17. Cross-Cultural Psychology of Aging
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- George, Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Eighth Edition, 9780124172357, Nov 2015, $99.95
- Kaeberlein, Handbook of the Biology of Aging, Eighth Edition, 9780124115965, Nov 2015, $99.95
- O’Hara, Handbook of Mental Health and Aging, Third Edition, 9780128001363, NYP, $149.95
Clinicians, researchers, and students in psychology, gerontology, psychiatry, and other related health care professions tasked with caring for the aging population.