Purpose

The purpose of this project (paper and presentation) is to allow you the opportunity 1) to apply your knowledge of the psychology of aging to one particular person, 2) to examine the efficacy of our current theories and research on aging in the four dimensions we’ve covered: the physical, the cognitive, the emotional, and the social, and 3) to describe to others your impressions of the person you interviewed and how well he/she is typified with our current knowledge of aging.

The Interview

This project consists of a case study interview with one individual age 60 or above. Your paper should be about 8-12 pages typed (double-spaced, spell-checked). Plan to spend about 1 -2 hours questioning your interviewee. It is a good idea to tape your interview so that you can capture everything. However, make certain that your interviewee feels comfortable being taped and gives permission to be taped. Begin by describing the purpose of your interview: "I want to find out what being a _____ year-old is like from your point of view. What are your concerns, how do you feel about life, what is special about being the age you are, etc."
 

Overall Observations: Make sure that you note the age, gender, and other identifying information (marital status, living situation, ethnicity, religious affiliation, etc.) for your interviewee. Describe the person’s appearance and manner. Is he/she well-groomed? Does he/she seem happy, apathetic, depressed? How does the person respond to your questions? How comfortable does he/she seem during the interview? Is he/she guarded, anxious, delighted to talk? Do some topics seem especially emotional for him/her? If you conduct your interview in the person’s home, note anything of interest. If you conducted the interview over the phone, via some other method, or over several smaller sessions, please indicate so.

General Topics and Possible Questions: Although your interview may be very specific (e.g., grandparenting, marriage) or general (covering the lifespan), it still should cover the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions of your interviewee’s experience. Here are several sample interview questions that might be used for a more general, lifespan interview.

Physical Dimension: Tell me about your physical functioning. What changes have you noticed with age (ask about sensory changes, motor slowness, functional abilities, changes in reserve capacity, external aging signs)? How do you feel about these changes? Do you worry a good deal about your health? What do you do to stay in shape? What are your specific health concerns? Do you worry about your health more today than in the past? Do you have certain illnesses or take certain medications? If so, can you describe them for me? Have these problems caused changes in your ability to handle daily life? How do you handle these changes? Do you have concrete plans for what to do if you become physically impaired? If so, describe. How do you feel about the quality of your health care? How are you paying for care? When you look to the future, how do you see yourself changing in this area of life? You should note if the person’s assessment of his/her capacities fits in with your observations of functional status.

Cognitive Dimension: Tell me about your intellectual abilities. What are the things you do well in or poorly in; what are your special talents or skills? Do you feel as if you are a bright person? Do you feel your "quickness of mind" has changed over the years? If so, how would you describe these changes? Are you concerned with declining memory? What specific changes have you noticed in this area of life? How do you cope with these changes? When you look to the future, how do you see yourself changing in this area of life? How would you define wisdom or intelligence? Would you say that you have increased in wisdom over the years? in intelligence? Why or why not? You should note if the person’s assessment of his/her capacities fits in with your observations.

Emotional Dimension: Describe your personality. Are you shy, outgoing, fun loving, anxious? What things do you like or dislike about your personality? Have you changed a good deal over the years? In what ways have you stayed the same? To what forces would you attribute any changes? How do you see yourself changing as a person in the future? What are your main interests at this time of life? How do you see these interests changing in the future? Do you think more about the past today than before? Have your values and priorities changed? Do you suffer from depression or anxiety or another emotional problem? If so, has that gotten worse or better over time? Have you gotten professional help? When you look to the future, how do you see yourself changing in this area of life?

Social Dimension: There are many roles that one has as an adult. What are some of your current roles and how important are they to you? [Are you single, married, divorced, widowed? In a long term relationship? Are you a parent? Are you grandparent or great grandparent? Are your own parents still living? Are you working or retired? Do you have hobbies? Do you volunteer?] How have these roles changed over the years and how have you changed within these roles? What changes would make in them right now or in the future? How do you see yourself and or these roles changing in the future?

How has your ethnicity/race/cultural background affected you and your attitudes towards getting older? How has your gender affected your life experiences? How has being alive in the 21st century affected your experience with aging? What resources would like to see made available to you or others in your age bracket or older that aren’t?

Look back over your life so far. What has been your favorite age? Describe the plusses and minuses of being at your present age/life stage. Is there anything else you’d like to mention about what it is like to be your age?

These questions should be used as guidelines. Although you are asked to cover each major psychological dimension (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social), in any case, DO NOT ASK ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ABOVE! You are more than welcome to make up your own questions and to explore other topics that might come up in the interview (e.g., death, remarriage, wisdom and creativity, etc.).

Your Write-up

Your paper should be structured in 4 parts as follows: 1. A brief introduction to your interviewee. 2. A summarization of the important points of the interview. You should do this as a narrative (connected prose) rather than by listing each question and then its response. 3. An analysis comparing and contrasting your interviewee’s aging experience with the information from text and lecture. Use specific examples from the interview to highlight specific points you would like to make. 4. A conclusion describing your impressions of the project.

Throughout Part 3 of your report which should be clearly organized in the four subsections (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social), it is essential to relate the material you present to what you have learned in this course. Use specific terms, facts, and concepts discussed in class and described in the book. I will be grading this project on how well you incorporate the course content with the information you learned from your interview.

I estimate that the write-up will be anywhere from 8-12 pages in length, typewritten and double-spaced. It is important that your paper is well-written, organized (subheadings would be helpful here) and free of major errors (syntax, spelling, etc.). First drafts, which should include all of parts 1 and 2 and at least one dimension/subsection from part 3, are due on Wednesday, February 20.

Grading

Grades for the project will be based on several holistic criteria. Chief among these are: clarity and conciseness, cohesiveness, level of thought, thoroughness, and synthesis with class material. In general, keep the following in mind: