PSYC 235 Psychology of Adulthood

This course focuses on viewing adult development as an integrative, dynamic, and continuous process terminated only at death. Theory and research will be applied to retirement and early to late adulthood.

Based on personal experience with adults, most individuals have an idea about what happens in adulthood. Are these personal perceptions of adult development accurate? This course will seek to explain adult development and the process of aging so that students who interact with the adult population will have a solid theoretical and empirical foundation upon which to base their relationships and work.

Textbook readings and presentations

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Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Based on interviews with 2 family members, the student will construct 3 life-lines including family members and himself/herself. The student will compare/contrast the timing of important life events and social roles. After completing the interviews and life-lines, the student will write a brief 2-page summary. (CLO: A, B, D). 

Successful Aging Journal Entry Assignment

Successful aging is a multidimensional concept with the main focus being how to expand functional years in a later life span. The student will prepare a journal entry of at least 500 words for one day of the week that highlights behaviors and experiences that represent successful aging to the student. Four aspects of their health will be addressed: Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Spiritual. At the end of the journal entry, the student will include a verse or passage of scripture that reflects a positive aspect of aging and provides personal encouragement. A brief explanation of why it was chosen will also be included. The student must use and cite in current APA format information from the textbook. Scripture must also be cited in current APA format. An APA formatted title and reference page will also be included. (CLO: A, B, C, D). 

Critical Thinking Exercise Assignments (2)

The student will respond to statements related to a specific topic from the assigned reading. Each essay should include APA formatted citations from the textbook, Bible, and any other scholarly sources mentioned. An APA formatted title page and reference page are also required. Each assignment must be at least 500 words in length. (CLO: A, B, C)

Research Paper: Topic and Outline Development Assignment

Using a template provided, the student will show the progression of topic selection to purpose statement to basic outline. After completing this process, the student will use the information to create an APA formatted document with a title page, purpose statement, a reference list with at least 3 journal articles (that meet the specified criteria) and the Bible. The completed Topic and Outline Development template will be included after the student’s references as an Appendix. (CLO: A, B, C)

The student will create a PowerPoint presentation with at least 9 total slides (including APA formatted title and reference slides) to explain some of the characteristic cognitive changes that occur in the aging process, what is considered normal or abnormal, and concepts related to healthy habits that might impact outcomes. The presentation will also include two local resources that can help to provide support for those concepts. It will also include one of the most important things the student learned about cognitive changes and how it can be applied to their life. Finally, the presentation will provide a Bible verse or passage of scripture cited in current APA format that addresses cognitive development and an explanation of the significance. Information from the textbook should be used and cited in current APA format. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Research Paper: Final Paper Assignment

The student will complete a Research Paper in this course. This paper will provide a glimpse of the current state of knowledge in a specific subfield of adult development. Using the topic and approved articles from the Research Paper: Topic and Outline Development Assignment, the student will write a 4-page paper synthesizing the articles, summarizing the findings, and providing Biblical integration in current APA format. (CLO: A, B, C). 

Quizzes (8)

During this course, there will be 8 quizzes with 25 multiple-choice questions each, covering the textbook readings. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes and have a 1-hour-and-30-minute time limit. The student will have 2 attempts to complete each quiz and the highest score will be recorded. (CLO: A, B, C, D).