Essentials of Life Span Development 4th Edition Santrock Solutions Manual Download

Chapter 13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Essentials of Life Span Development 4th Edition

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Santrock’s Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e

Instructor’s Manual
Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle

Adulthood
Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: Explain how midlife is changing, and define middle adulthood.
A. Describe how psychology’s view of midlife is changing.

B. Define middle adulthood.
Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical changes in middle adulthood.
A. Describe and discuss the physical changes in middle adulthood.

B. Discuss the relationship between stress and disease in middle adulthood.
C. Summarize mortality rates in middle adulthood.
D. Describe and discuss sexuality in middle adulthood.
Learning Objective 3: Identify cognitive changes in middle adulthood.
A. Discuss changes and continuity in intelligence.

B. Describe the information processing changes that occur during middle adulthood.
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Learning Objective 4: Discuss trends in work, retirement, and education in middle

adulthood.
A. Describe and discuss work patterns in midlife.

B. Discuss career challenges and changes.
C. Define and describe leisure time.
Learning Objective 5: Explain the roles of religion, spirituality, and meaning in life during
middle adulthood.
A. Discuss religion and the role it plays in adult lives.

B. Describe and discuss the impact of religion on health.
C. Summarize the importance of meaning in life.
Overview of Resources
Chapter Outline Resources You Can Use
The Nature of Middle Adulthood Learning Objective 1: Explain how midlife is
changing, and define middle adulthood.
Changing Midlife  Personal Application 1: Young
Whippersnappers
Defining Middle Adulthood
Physical Development Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical changes

in middle adulthood.
Physical Changes Lecture Suggestion 1: Gender Differences in
Health and the Effect of SES
Health and Disease Classroom Activity 1: Type A Behavior Pattern
Classroom Activity 2: Menopause
Mortality Rates
Sexuality
Cognitive Development Learning Objective 3: Identify cognitive

changes in middle adulthood.
Intelligence Lecture Suggestion 2: The Concept of Stress
 Classroom Activity 3: Adult Problem Solving
Information Processing
Careers, Work, and Leisure Learning Objective 4: Discuss trends in work,

retirement, and education in middle adulthood.
Work in Midlife Lecture Suggestion 3: Work, Leisure, and
Intellectual Growth
Career Challenges and Changes Lecture Suggestion 4: Social Structures
Regarding Work, Leisure, and Education in
Leisure Adulthood
Religion and Meaning in Life Learning Objective 5: Explain the roles of

religion, spirituality, and meaning in life during
middle adulthood.
Religion and Adult Lives Lecture Suggestion 5: How Superman Found
Meaning in Being a Quadriplegic
Religion and Health Classroom Activity 4: Prayer and Stress
Personal Application 2: Friends in High Places
Meaning in Life
Review Lecture Suggestion 6: Guest Lecture Idea

Classroom Activity 5: The Song of
Developmental Psychology
 Classroom Activity 6: Wise Consumers of
Information
Classroom Activity 7: Critical-Thinking
Multiple-Choice Questions and Suggested Answers
Classroom Activity 8: Critical-Thinking Essay
Questions and Suggestions for Helping Students

Answer the Essays
Research Project 1: Song Lyric Values
Research Project 2: Archival Research
Resources
Lecture Suggestions
Lecture Suggestion 1: Gender Differences in Health and the Effect of SES
The purpose of this lecture is to examine research on gender differences in health and the effect of
socioeconomic status (SES), particularly education levels.
Gender Differences
According to the Men’s Health website (http://www.menshealth.org/code/facts.html):

• Men have higher death rates for all 15 leading causes of death and die six years younger than
women.
• Men represent 50% of the work force, yet account for 94% of all on-the-job fatalities.
• Men know less about health and take less responsibility for it.
• Men are less likely to see themselves as ill or susceptible to disease or injury when, in fact, they are
more susceptible.
Whether healthy or ill, women engage in far more health-promoting behaviors than men and have much
healthier lifestyles. Compared with men, women:
• have healthier diets.
• have lower blood pressure and do more to control it.
• sleep more.
• have larger social networks and more intimate and active social relationships.
According to the Society for Women’s Health Research (http://www.womenshealthresearch.org):

• Women who smoke are more likely to have a heart attack and develop cancer than men who smoke.
Smoking puts a woman at higher risk than a man for diabetes, high cholesterol, and a stroke. Women
also have a harder time quitting smoking than men.
• It is more common for women to be obese than men. Changes in hormones may play a role in excess
weight gain for women.
• Women and men seem to experience pain in different ways. Women seem to report pain more often
and have more persistent and severe pain than men do. Some studies have shown that women handle
pain better than men do and are able to use more coping strategies.
• Women are more likely to develop an autoimmune disease than men. This is because women have
enhanced immune systems compared to men which increases women’s resistance to many types of
infection, but also makes them more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.
Effect of SES
Adler et al. (1994) reported that SES is one of the strongest predictors of health and illness, and therefore
it is essential to examine its influence. Individuals with higher SES tend to have better health. Rates of
illness and mortality for almost all diseases and conditions follow this trend. Poverty often results in poor
nutrition, substandard housing, inadequate prenatal care, and limited health care (Otten & others, 1990).
The Centre for the Advancement for Health (http://www.healthfinder.gov/orgs/hr2729.htm) reports that
more specific than SES is the effect of lower educational levels on health.
• Mortality rates overall and for specific diseases (including heart disease and cancer) are higher in the
United States for individuals with lower educational or income status. Exceptions to this include
death rates for breast cancer and external causes in women.
• The number of people who smoked cigarettes, the leading cause of preventable disease and death in
the United States, declined substantially between 1974 and 1995, but the rates of decline differed
significantly for people with different levels of education. By 1995, people who had not completed
high school were more than twice as likely to smoke as those with a college degree.
• Diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are more common in individuals with lower levels of
education. The prevalence of these diseases also varies by income, race, and gender.
• The rates at which excess body weight and obesity have increased differ by level of educational
attainment and gender. In general, however, individuals with lower levels of education are more
likely to be overweight or obese than more-educated individuals.
• Data from 2001 indicate that among adults ages 25–44 with less than a high school education, the
death rate (per 100,000 people) from motor vehicle crashes was 27.3; for high school graduates, the
rate was 20.7; and for those with at least some college, the rate was 8.7.
• Mothers with fewer than 12 years of education are less likely to have received care in the first
trimester of pregnancy than mothers with 16 or more years of education. Also, women with less than
a high school diploma are almost 10 times more likely to smoke during pregnancy.
• In other countries around the world—both developed and developing—a strong positive relationship
exists between education and health; better health is associated with higher levels of education,
regardless of whether health is measured using morbidity and mortality rates or self-reports of health
status.
Individuals lose height in middle age, and many gain weight (Onwudiwe & others, 2011). On average,
from 30 to 50 years of age, men lose about one inch in height, then may lose another inch from 50 to 70
years of age (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). The height loss for women can be as much as 2 inches from 25 to
75 years of age.
Obesity increases from early to middle adulthood. In a national survey, 38 percent of U.S. adults 40 to 59
years of age were classified as obese (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011).
A recent study also found that middle-aged adults who sleep less than six hours a night on average had an
increased risk of developing stroke symptoms (Ruiter & others, 2012). And a recent study found that
change in sleep duration across five years in middle age was linked to cognitive functioning (Ferrie &
others, 2011). In this study, a decrease from 6, 7, or 8 hours of sleep and an increase from 7 or 8 hours
were related to lower scores on most assessments of cognitive functioning.
Sources:
Adler, N. E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M. A., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R. L., & Syme, S. L. (1994).
Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist, 49, 15–24.
Otten, M. W., Teutsch, S. M., Williamson, D. F., & Marks, J. S. (1990). The effect of known risk factors on the
excess mortality of black adults in the United States. JAMA, 263, 845–850.
Lecture Suggestion 2: The Concept of Stress

Learning Objective 2: Describe physical changes in middle adulthood.
This lecture can be used to examine the effects of stress on health. Knowing how the body responds to
stress may help students see the connection between tension and disease. According to Hans Selye
(1976), the physiological response to stress follows a predictable course as it goes through a series of
stages.
In the first stage, the alarm stage, the autonomic nervous system is activated, adrenaline begins to flow,
cardiac output increases, blood pressure rises, the respiratory rate increases, and the pupils dilate. This
stage may last for just a few minutes or may go on for 24 hours or more.
In the next stage, the resistance stage, the body adapts to the stressor. Hormones are released to help cope
with the physiological changes that are occurring, and efforts are made to limit the stress response as
much as possible. The resistance stage may last for a brief time or for years depending on the nature of
the stressor. A near car accident produces a residual response for about 20 minutes. A terminal illness
may put the body in a resistance mode until death.
In the third stage of the stress response, the adaptation qualities of the body are depleted. The stage is
called exhaustion, and it is characterized by the development of a severe illness. The body can no longer
fight off the stressor. The immune system is weakened. If the stress is not relieved, the body will
eventually die. If the stressor is removed, the exhaustion stage serves as the beginning stage on the road to
recovery. Repeated exposures to stressors that cause the exhaustion stage diminish the body’s reserves
and eventually lead to death.
Though almost everybody responds to stress in the same way, not everybody perceives the same activities
or events to be stressful. One woman may experience severe stress at the loss of her husband in an
automobile accident. Another woman may actually recover more quickly from stress due to the loss of her
husband after a long illness. Thus, it is the perception of the event, not the event itself, which leads to the
physiological response to stress.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) argued that one’s cognitive interpretation of the situation determines
whether a situation will produce stress for an individual. The person first engages in primary appraisal,
which is the assessment of an event, to determine whether its implications are positive, negative, or
neutral. Then, the individual engages in secondary appraisal, which is the assessment of whether one’s
coping abilities and resources are adequate to overcome the harm, threat, or challenge posed by the
potential stressor.
Though individuals will appraise situations differently, research has found some factors that increase the
likelihood that a situation will be perceived as stressful.
• Situations that produce negative emotions are more likely to produce stress.
• Situations that are uncontrollable or unpredictable are more likely to produce stress.
• Ambiguous situations are more likely to produce stress.
• When an individual is required to accomplish simultaneous tasks, stress is more likely to occur.
For many years heart disease was the leading cause of death in middle adulthood, followed by cancer;
however, since 2005 more individuals 45 to 64 years of age in the United States died of cancer, followed
by cardiovascular disease (Kochanek & others, 2011). The gap between cancer and the second leading
cause of death widens as individuals age from 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 years of age (National Center for
Health Statistics, 2008).
Sources:
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Selye, H. (1976). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lecture Suggestion 3: Work, Leisure, and Intellectual Growth

Learning Objective 4: Characterize career development, work, and leisure in middle adulthood.
The purpose of this lecture is to expand on Santrock’s discussion of work and leisure. Kohn (1980) found
that there is a reciprocal relationship between the degree of thought and independent judgment that work
requires (substantive complexity), and a person’s flexibility in coping with intellectual demands. People
with more complex work requirements tend to be more cognitively flexible and more likely to continue to
engage in complex work. There are several reasons work complexity is tied to cognitive functioning.
Mastery of and success in complex work may increase individuals’ confidence and cognitive abilities.
Complex work may also broaden individuals’ horizons, opening them up to new experiences and
encouraging them to be more self-directed. Individuals who engage in complex work also are more likely
to pursue intellectually demanding leisure activities. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain
the choice of work and leisure activities (Papalia & others, 1996).
Spillover hypothesis: Learning is carried over from work to leisure, because personality factors influence
the selection of leisure activities and work.
Compensation hypothesis: Individuals pursue leisure activities to make up for what is missing at work.
Resource provision–depletion hypothesis: “Work promotes or constrains certain kinds of leisure activities
by providing or depleting resources of time, energy, and money” (Papalia et al., 1996, p. 304).
Segmentation hypothesis: Work choices and leisure activities are independent.
In the United States, approximately 80 percent of individuals 40 to 59 years of age are employed. In the
51-to-59 age group, slightly less than 25 percent do not work. More than half of this age group says that a
health condition or impairment limits the type of paid work that they do (Sterns & Huyck, 2001).
In one study, 12,338 men 35 to 57 years of age were assessed each year for five years regarding whether
or not they took vacations (Gump & Matthews, 2000). Then the researchers examined the medical and
death records over nine years for men who lived for at least a year after the last vacation survey.
Compared with those who never took vacations, men who went on annual vacations were 21 percent less
likely to die over the nine years and 32 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease.
Sources:
Kohn, M. L. (1980). Job complexity and adult personality. In N. J. Smelser & E. H. Erikson (Eds.), Themes of work
and love in adulthood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Papalia, D. E., Camp, C. J., & Feldman, R. D. (1996). Adult development and aging. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lecture Suggestion 4: Social Structures Regarding Work, Leisure, and Education in Adulthood
This lecture summarizes Papalia and her colleagues’ interpretation of Riley’s (1994) work on social
structures in adulthood. Riley proposed that there are two contrasting social structures regarding work,
leisure, and education. Traditionally, age has determined one’s role in industrialized societies. Traditional
age-differentiated structures exemplify this emphasis. The primary role for young people is that of student
with a focus on education. The primary role for young and middle-aged adults is that of worker. Then in
late adulthood, adults focus on retirement and leisure activities.
Riley stressed that this structure is outdated. Society has changed and life expectancy has increased. It
does not make sense to her that many adults will work like crazy in middle age and then spend one-third
of their adult lifetime in retirement. This results in a structural lag, as many older adults can continue to
contribute to society, yet opportunities are limited. The singular emphasis on education, work, or leisure
at each of these life stages is not advantageous. People are not able to enjoy each period of life as much as
they might if they were more diversified. In addition, they may be ill-prepared for the next phase if they
focus only on one role at a time.
Riley proposed an age-integrated society in which all roles (work, education, and leisure) are open to
individuals of all ages. According to Riley, people should be able to enjoy periods of education, work,
and leisure throughout their adulthood. Striving for lifelong learning is exciting. People may experience
less stress in their work lives if they take time for leisure activities throughout their life span.
Sources:
Papalia, D. E., Camp, C. J., & Feldman, R. D. (1996). Adult development and aging. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Riley, M. W. (1994). Aging and society: Past, present, and future. The Gerontologist, 34, 436–444.
Lecture Suggestion 5: How Superman Found Meaning in Being a Quadriplegic

Learning Objective 5: Explain the roles of religion and meaning in life during middle adulthood.
Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl desperately searched for meaning in his life when he
found himself in a Nazi concentration camp. He decided that finding meaning in the experience itself was
the reason for him to go on living. His thoughts on how to answer the question—why am I here?—are
found in the book written during his years in the camp, Man’s Search for Meaning.
Christopher Reeve, the handsome, athletic, daredevil of an actor who starred in Superman movies, found
himself searching for meaning in 1995 when, at the age of 34, he became a quadriplegic as the result of a
fall from a horse at a Virginia equestrian event. In his first book after his injury, Still Me, Reeve describes
how he overcame the fear of living as a quadriplegic by deciding that though he was physically paralyzed,
he was not paralyzed in any other way.
In a commencement address given at Williams College in 1995, Reeve advised graduates how to find
meaning in their lives. “Find what you love and do it—that’s meaning for you personally. But find what
you can do for others, and that’s meaning for the whole planet.”
Reeve had found what he wanted to do for himself; by the age of 15 he knew he wanted to be an actor,
and he achieved that goal and became wealthy and famous. But when he became a quadriplegic, he
searched for a meaning for his life that transcended his own personal desires.
Though very spiritual, Reeve rejected organized religion as a source of meaning for his life after dabbling
in several different faiths. He decided that his life as a quadriplegic would have the most value if he
overcame his fear of paralysis and his fear of living as a quadriplegic by working to raise awareness of
and money for spinal cord injury research. He achieved that goal, raising tens of millions of dollars and
crusading for research causes. In so doing, he was an inspiration not just to the millions of disable people
in the world, but to all of us.
Sources:
Christopher Reeve’s Address to the Williams College Class of 1999 retrieved July 12, 2006 from
http://www.chrisreevehomepage.com/sp-wc1999.html
Reeve, C. (1998). Still Me. New York: Random House.
Lecture Suggestion 6: Guest Lecture Idea

Have two middle-aged men and two middle-aged women come to class to talk about their experiences
during this time of life. To highlight the diversity of experiences during middle age, you may want to
invite one single man, one married man, one woman who stays home during the day, and one woman in
the workforce. Be sure to ask them to talk about both the pros and cons of this stage of life. They can talk
about physical and cognitive changes they are currently experiencing. Before the day of the guest lecture,
have students review Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and prepare questions about
generativity.
Classroom Activities
Classroom Activity 1: Type a Behavior Pattern
Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical development in middle adulthood.
This activity is a good way to highlight the theme of continuity versus discontinuity by addressing the
roots of the Type A behavior pattern. Type A behaviors consist of time urgency, impatience, competitive
achievement-striving, and aggressiveness–hostility. Although usually discussed as an adult health concern
because pessimistic Type A persons have higher coronary heart disease risks, researchers now know that
many children exhibit Type A behaviors and usually carry these behaviors into adulthood (Matthews,
1982). For example, some 3 year-olds seem to display Type A behaviors. They act aggressively, show
signs of impatience and restlessness, set high standards for themselves, and are extremely competitive.
Discuss what factors lead to Type A behaviors in children. At this time, little is known about the role of
genetic factors or temperament on Type A levels, but some research suggests that parent–child
interactions influence the amount of Type A behavior in children. In one study, Type A boys received
fewer positive evaluations of their performances from their mothers than did other boys. Therefore, Type
A boys had to work harder, more competitively, and more anxiously to receive their mothers’ approval
(Matthews, 1977). Divide students into groups, and have them discuss the questions below:
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of Type A behavior in children?
• How do you think Type A behavior develops in young children?
• How could adults intervene with Type A children to minimize the negative consequences of this
behavior?
• What similarities and differences would you expect in the expression of Type A behavior patterns
across the life span?
Logistics:
• Group size: Small group.
• Approximate time: Small group (20 minutes).
Sources:
Matthews, K. A. (1977). Caregiver-child interactions and the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. Child
Development, 48, 1752–1756.
Matthews, K. A. (1982). Psychological perspectives on the Type A behavior pattern. Psychological Bulletin, 91,
293–323.
Classroom Activity 2: Menopause

Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical development in middle adulthood.
The purpose of this exercise is to highlight individual variability regarding menopause. Encourage your
students to interview middle-age women about their experiences and attitudes about menopause.
Encourage them to ask women who have not yet experienced menopause about their expectations and
attitudes. Are they excited about it? Will they be relieved when it is over? If the women are
postmenopausal, have your students ask about whether the women’s expectations were realized by the
actual process of menopause. Did they experience any physical or psychological symptoms? Have your
students get into small groups to discuss the results of their interviews.
Logistics:

Source:
Matthews, K. A. (1992). Myths and realities of the menopause. Psychosomatic Medicine, 54, 1–9.
Classroom Activity 3: Adult Problem-Solving

From Jarvis and Creasey, “Activities for Lifespan Developmental Psychology Courses ”
Instead of expounding on how thinking becomes weaker during adulthood, we prefer to take the position
that adults simply think differently with maturation and experience. It is very difficult for traditional
college students to think about such changes, simply because they are just beginning the journey of
adulthood. We have constructed the following activity to illustrate age-related changes in thinking.
Demonstration:
Students will be exposed to a battery of vignettes depicting the thinking of young, middle-aged, and older
adults and asked to evaluate which vignette is indicative of young, middle-aged, or older adult thinking.
The vignettes were not contrived arbitrarily; they accurately reflect contemporary research findings
regarding adult cognition.
Time:
Approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
Materials:
Instructors will need to craft overheads, handouts, or PowerPoint slides that depict the following
vignettes:
1. Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Processing
Adult A is making a cake that will ultimately turn out almost perfect. He does not refer consistently to the
instructions, and tends to “eyeball” measures. For example, instead of measuring out a cup or a
tablespoon, he simply pours in the amount that he thinks is correct (his calculations are very accurate).
Adult B is making a cake that will ultimately turn out almost perfect. He is very careful to read every
instruction of the recipe, and performs every step in the exact order. He is careful to measure out each
item using measuring spoons and cups.
Adult C is making a cake that will ultimately turn out almost perfect. He follows the instructions pretty
consistently; however, he adjusts the oven temperature slightly to allow for a moister cake. In terms of
liquid measures, he uses cups to make sure everything is accurate; however, anything requiring a
teaspoon amount he simply “eyeballs.”
Answer: “A” is an older adult; “C” is a middle-aged adult; “B” is a young adult. Older adults, due to
expertise, usually use “top-down” processing. Younger adults generally need things spelled out almost
exactly (bottom-up). Middle-aged adults use both strategies.
2. Everyday Problem-Solving
Adult A, who is married to adult B, wants to remodel the basement. Adult B disagrees, and states that the
remodeling project will be too expensive and time-consuming. Adult A is faced with several options:
a. Accept the situation and let it go.

b. Try to understand B’s perspective and decide whether it really is worth all of the time and effort.
Attempt to consider B’s perspective from several angles (expenses, less time for marriage and
children, etc.).
c. Try to convince B to change his/her mind.
d. Bring in a third party to arbitrate the dispute.
Answer: Based on everyday problem-solving research, middle-aged and older adults are more likely to
choose “b” (which multiple raters tend to view as the best solution). Younger adults are more likely to
select the other responses, which lack problem-solving steps, advanced perspective taking, and the use of
multiple sources of information to guide subsequent behavior.
3. Postformal and Dialectical Thinking
Three students, ages 18, 35, and 50, are taking a multiple-choice exam. When interviewed at a later date,
the instructor receives the following student assessments:
a. “I thought the exam was fair and straightforward. I chose the answers that seemed to be the most
correct; that’s what multiple-choice exams are all about.”
b. “I thought the exam was unfair. If you really dissected all of the responses to the questions, you
could generate arguments for multiple responses. I really confused myself, because I generated
arguments and counterarguments for just about every response to every question.”
c. “Somewhat tough exam; I noticed that there were a number of places where you could generate
arguments for more than one response. However, I know there is a time and place for such thinking,
and a multiple-choice exam does not represent such a context. You really have to just go with what
seems most logical and practical in situations that require more simple, straightforward thinking.”
Answer: The answers reflect gradations in adult thinking. The reasoning of A represents a very logical 18-
year-old, who may very well be capable of formal operational thinking. A 35-year-old, who is entering
the postformal period would more likely see shades of gray in everything, want to debate issues from
every angle, and yet not make adjustments for the task at hand (response “b”). Older, more developed,
postformal thinkers are capable of thinking like 35-year-olds, yet they adjust their thinking for the task at
hand (i.e., there is no reason to “over think” the contents of a multiple-choice exam).
Procedures:
1. This activity works better after discussing new research trends in adult cognition. The impression
that should be created is that thinking during middle and later adulthood need not diminish; in fact, it
may flourish during everyday problem-solving tasks.
2. Students should be asked to evaluate which vignette is indicative of young, middle-aged, or older
adult thinking. Students may complete the vignette materials individually or in groups.
3. After completion of the activity, many of the students will indicate that the task was difficult. It is
very hard for students to understand advances in adult cognition before they have achieved these
milestones themselves.
4. Students should be informed that the new research regarding adult cognition looks very different
from the laboratory-driven studies of decades past. The older research repeatedly pointed to
deficiencies in cognition during later life.
Classroom Activity 4: Prayer and Stress

Most psychology classes avoid the topics of religion and spirituality, but students generally like to discuss
them. We recommend you use passages from popular writers such as M. Scott Peck (1978) or Harold
Kushner (1989) as a starting point for class discussion about religion and spirituality in terms of how they
relate to the experience of stress and stress management.
Research on the use of transcendental meditation indicated that meditation with a mantra induces a
relaxation response (i.e., lower metabolic rate, slower heart rate, lower blood pressure, slower breathing).
The researchers looked at the effects of short prayers from the Christian and Jewish traditions as well
(e.g., “Hail Mary, full of grace,” “Shalom,” and “The Lord is my Shepherd”). These phrases also brought
about the relaxation responses. When using longer prayers, the researchers found subjects reporting a
“praying high.” People high in spirituality (i.e., the feeling that there is a higher being) score higher on
psychological health and have fewer stress-related symptoms.
Divide students into groups and have them discuss religion’s effect on their own experience of stress. Do
they agree with the researchers? If they believe meditation reduces stress, they should discuss why this
might be so. What other techniques do they find helpful in relieving stress?
Logistics:
Sources:
Kiesling, S., & Harris, T. G. (1989, October). The prayer war. Psychology Today, 65–66.
Kushner, H. (1989). Who needs God. New York: Summit Books.
Peck, M. S. (1978). The road less traveled: A new psychology of love, traditional values and spiritual growth. New
York: Touchstone / Simon & Schuster.
Classroom Activity 5: The Song of Developmental Psychology

Pick a currently popular song that addresses a theme relevant for people in midlife, and analyze it in a
fashion similar to the Stories of Life-Span Development section that introduces chapter 13. Use the
analysis suggested for Research Project 1 as a model. (This would be good preliminary instruction for that
project.)
Logistics:
• Group size: Full class.
• Approximate time: Full class (25 minutes).
Classroom Activity 6: Wise Consumers of Information
Learning Objective 4: Discuss trends in work, retirement, and education in middle adulthood.
Learning Objective 5: Explain the roles of religion, spirituality, and meaning in life during middle
adulthood.
Find an article about middle age in the lifestyles section of your local newspaper or in a similar section of
a national magazine such as Time or Newsweek. Have your class read the article, then, in a subsequent
class, take them through a review of the section on being a wise consumer of information about life-span
development in chapter 1, and of the following guidelines (Santrock, 1997). This could be a good way to
prepare students for the second critical-thinking multiple-choice question.
Guidelines for Being a Wise Consumer of Information:

• Not all information about life-span development in the media comes from professionals with
excellent credentials.
• Journalists are not trained as scientists; therefore, the material they are reporting on may be difficult
for them to interpret correctly.
• The media often wants to present sensationalized versions of the truth to boost ratings. For example,
they may read a research article about theories for successful aging and then present a news report
titled “How to Live to be 130.”
• It may be difficult to accurately summarize a complicated research report in the brief amount of time
or space that news stories get, so important information may be left out.
• Know how to distinguish between nomothetic research and ideographic needs.
• Recognize how easy it is to overgeneralize from a small or clinical sample.
• Be aware that a single study is usually not the definitive word about any aspect of development.
• Remember that causal conclusions cannot be made from correlational studies.
• Always consider the source of the information and evaluate its credibility.
Logistics:
• Group size: Full class.
• Approximate time: Full class (25 minutes).
Source:
Santrock, J. (1997). Life-span development (6th ed.). Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
Classroom Activity 7: Critical-Thinking Multiple-Choice Questions and Suggested Answers

adulthood.
Discuss the critical-thinking multiple-choice questions presented in Handout 1. The answers to these
questions are presented in Handout 2.
You may find it necessary to review the material from chapter 1 on developmental issues to help students
orient themselves to the first question. Unless you have made a point of keeping them aware of these
issues, their ability to recognize them will be rusty.
Question 2 is something completely new among the critical-thinking multiple-choice questions we have
written for previous chapters. Again, unless you have been systematically reminding your students about
the guidelines for being a consumer of information about life-span development, you will find them at
somewhat of a loss when confronted with this assignment. You may want to precede it with the classroom
activity suggested above (Classroom Activity 6, “Wise Consumers of Information”), which involves
analyzing a newspaper or magazine article. Another option is simply to lecture on the guidelines for being
a wise consumer of information.
For question 3, prepare students to determine how Santrock is using statements in his presentation so that
they can differentiate among observations, inferences, and assumptions.
Logistics:
• Materials: Handout 1 (Critical-Thinking Multiple-Choice Questions) and Handout 2 (Answers).
• Group size: Small groups to discuss the questions, then a full-class discussion.
• Approximate time: Small groups (15 minutes), full-class discussion of any questions (15 minutes).
Classroom Activity 8: Critical-Thinking Essay Questions and Suggestions for Helping Students
Answer the Essays
adulthood.
Discuss the critical-thinking essay questions presented in Handout 3. The purpose of this exercise is
threefold. First, answering the essay questions further facilitates students’ understanding of concepts in
chapter 13. Second, this type of essay question affords the students an opportunity to apply the concepts
to their own lives which will facilitate their retention of the material. Third, the essay format also gives
students practice expressing themselves in written form. Ideas to help students answer the critical-
thinking essay questions are provided in Handout 4.
Logistics:
• Materials: Handout 3 (Essay Questions) and Handout 4 (Ideas to Help Answer).
• Group size: Individual, then full class.
• Approximate time: Individual (60 minutes), full-class discussion of any questions (30 minutes).
Personal Applications
Personal Application 1: Young Whippersnappers
The purpose of this exercise is to get students to think about middle age. The perception of “middle age”
has changed dramatically over the years as the average life span has increased. Older adults are remaining
healthy and ambitious to an age long after they were just a generation or two ago.
Instructions for Students: Before you read this chapter, write about your perceptions of middle age. Do
not try to anticipate what information is presented in the textbook; simply discuss how you view the time
of life commonly referred to as middle age. When does it begin? How long does it last? What do you
yourself expect to be doing at that age? What do you expect you will have accomplished by that time?
What do you hope to accomplish by that time? What do you hope to accomplish during that time? What
do you expect your psychological mindset about life will be? Are you looking forward to middle age or
dreading it? Why?
Use in the Classroom: Prior to beginning this chapter, create a chart on the board for all the relevant
issues regarding middle age. Ask students their opinions, thoughts, and feelings about each factor. Map
out their perceptions of middle age, and see how they vary. When do they think middle age is? How long
does it last? What should people be able to do physically and cognitively at this time of life? What are
their limitations due to being “middle aged”? What do they think people in this stage of life experience
emotionally, socially, and sexually? What are their biggest concerns about reaching this stage of life?
What do they most look forward to about reaching this stage? Discuss the reasoning behind their views.
Personal Application 2: Friends in High Places

adulthood.
This exercise affords students an opportunity to think about individuals in the stage of life known as
middle age. There are many new positive conceptions about individuals at this stage of life, yet many
aspects of life begin to change and even decline.
Instructions to Students: Think about the people you know who are in middle adulthood. This may be
your parents, your friends’ parents, aunts and uncles, instructors, and co-workers. What do you know of
their lives? How do they exhibit the characteristics discussed in your textbook related to middle age? Is
there consistency among these people, or do they represent a wide range of individual differences? If you
observe differences among them, what do you think accounts for the differences? Be sure to consider both
current and past influences on behavior and mental functioning. Has thinking about these individuals in
terms of the information in the text changed your perceptions of middle adulthood? Why or why not, and
in what ways?
Use in the Classroom: Have your students share their thoughts. You may even have a student or two
currently experiencing this stage of life, or you yourself may be in middle adulthood. Share your stories,
mapping reality onto the information discussed in the text. What about this stage of life surprises your
students the most?
Research Project Ideas

Research Project 1: Song Lyric Values
adulthood.
Students should work on this project in pairs. Instruct them to locate the lyrics of five currently popular
songs and five songs that were popular at least 10 years ago (they should stick to one type of music, e.g.,
rock, country, or folk, for both time periods). Have them evaluate each set of lyrics for sexism, ageism,
attitudes toward love, work, and life, and, general values (see Handout 5).
Students should rate each song as very positive (5), positive (4), neutral (3), negative (2), very negative
(1), or absent (0) in each of the areas listed on the data sheet (see Handout 6). Then for each group (songs
popular now versus songs popular 10 years ago), add the five ratings together (0–25 total). Instruct
students to keep brief notes about specific lyrics for discussion purposes. Have students write a brief
report of their findings.
Use in the Classroom: Students should provide many examples of song lyrics when discussing this
project. Discuss related topics such as censorship of song lyrics for suggestiveness or obscene language as
well. Ask the students for examples of their all-time favorite lyrics and their reasons for these preferences.
Research Project 2: Archival Research

adulthood.
Throughout the text, there are several references to the importance of understanding cohort effects on the
results of research studies. To learn about the power of the socioeconomic, religious, and political climate
on attitudes, have students go to the library to do some archival research (see Handout 7).
First, they should find out which popular magazines (e.g., Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day, etc.) have been
around since at least 1955 or even earlier if possible. Next, they should choose five of these magazines
and count the number of articles about sex that appeared in each magazine during the years 1955, 1965,
1975, 1985, 1995, and today. Students should also keep a list of the titles of the articles they find.
Handout 8 can be used to record the relevant information and to assist the students with their analyses.
Instruct the students to compute averages for the rows and columns of numbers and enter these at the far
right side of their table and at the bottom of their table. Next, they should use the number of articles for
each magazine in each year to come to a conclusion about how attitudes toward sex and dissemination of
information about sex have changed over the years. They will want to create a graph using the data they
collected. They should summarize their results in a brief paper.
Use in the Classroom: Have students report their findings.
Feature Films
In this section of the Instructor’s Manual, we suggest films that are widely available on sites like
amazon.com, documentary wire, Hulu, netflix.com, PBS video, etc.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)

Starring Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft
Directed by Melvin Frank
This dark Neil Simon comedy focuses on what Simon does so well: depictions of living in New York and
its consequences. A middle-aged man is pushed to his limit when he loses his job, is robbed, and endures
what he thinks are a series of embarrassments and taunts from his fellow New Yorkers. His wife is
pushed out into the workforce and takes on all responsibilities as her husband sinks further and further
into depression. It is quintessential Simon and New York in all its grainy seventies glory.
Fatal Attraction (1987)

Starring Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer
Directed by Adrian Lyne
A man with a seemingly happy home life, lovely wife, and adorable daughter, pursues and becomes
embroiled in a wild weekend affair. The woman refuses to acknowledge that the “one-night stand” is over
and throws his life, and his family’s, into sheer chaos and terror.
Website Suggestions
At the time of publication, all sites were current and active; however, please be advised that you may
occasionally encounter a dead link.
Damaged Genes in Aging Human Brains Provide Clues to Cognitive Decline

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-06/chb-dgi060204.php
Life in Middle Age

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/lifeinmiddleage.shtml
Middle Adulthood
http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/middle-adulthood-development.html
North American Menopause Society

http://www.menopause.org/
Personality Type A/B Test

http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/TypeAB.html
The Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society

http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/topics/middle-adulthood-development.html
Salthouse’s Mental Aging Lab

http://www.mentalaging.com/
Stress and Health Psychology

http://www.abacon.com/lefton/stress.html
Handout 1 (CA 7)
Critical-Thinking Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Chapter 13 includes a discussion of how lifestyle, health, and personality relate to each other. Which
developmental issue (see chapter 1) seems to be emphasized the most in this discussion? Circle the
letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why the other answers are not as
good.
a. continuity versus discontinuity

b. early versus later experience
c. stability versus change
d. the influence of biological, social, and cognitive processes
e. nature versus nurture
2. An important topic in chapter 13 is menopause. Apply Santrock’s guidelines for being a wise
consumer of information about life-span development that were explained in class. People generally
have many misconceptions about this life transition in middle adulthood based on flaws in their
sources of information. For this question, indicate whether and how Santrock applies each of the
guidelines listed below in his discussion of menopause.
a. Know how to distinguish between nomothetic research and idiographic needs.

b. Recognize how easy it is to overgeneralize from a small or clinical sample.
c. Be aware that a single study is usually not the definitive word about any aspect of life-span
development.
d. Remember that causal conclusions cannot be made from correlational studies.
e. Always consider the source of the information, and evaluate its credibility.
3. Santrock discusses the importance of leisure activities in middle adulthood. Which of the following
statements best represents an inference rather than an assumption or an observation? Circle the letter
of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why the other answers are not as good.
a. There is no one ideal leisure activity for all individuals in middle adulthood.
b. Leisure can be an especially important aspect of middle adulthood.
c. US adults report that not engaging in more leisure pursuits is one of their top six regrets.
d. Not engaging in leisure activities causes Alzheimer’s disease.
e. Leisure activities can ease the transition into retirement.
Handout 2 (CA 7)
Answers to Critical-Thinking Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Chapter 13 includes a discussion of how stress, health, and disease are related to each other. Which
developmental issue (see chapter 1) seems to be emphasized the most in this discussion? Circle the
letter of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why the other answers are not as
good.
a. Continuity versus discontinuity is not the best answer. This issue involves determining the extent
to which development proceeds in stages, or, more directly, the extent to which it is true that there
are qualitatively distinct periods of development in the life span. Stages do not figure in the
discussion of stress, health, and disease.
b. Early versus later experience is not the best answer. Although there is a discussion of stress as
posing a cumulative risk over time, there is no evidence that, say, stress experienced early in
middle adulthood poses differential risk to stress experienced later in that period.
c. Stability versus change is the best answer. The clue is that the greatest part of the discussion
centers on the fact that individuals who experience chronic, cumulative stress are most prone to
health risks. If these stressors are stable, so is the risk; if these change, the risk changes.
d. The influence of biological, social, and cognitive processes is not the best answer. Although there
is discussion of the biological processes related to stress and of social factors (family or marital
problems), there is no discussion of cognitive processes as factors in the relationship between
stress, health, and disease.
e. Nature versus nurture is not the best answer. Again, nature–nurture issues are discussed with
respect to some of the topics, but not as pervasively as the issues of stability or chronicity of
stress.
2. An important topic in chapter 13 is menopause. Apply Santrock’s guidelines for being a wise
consumer of information about life-span development that were explained in class. People generally
have many misconceptions about this life transition in middle adulthood based on flaws in their
sources of information. For this question, indicate whether and how Santrock applies each of the
guidelines listed below in his discussion of menopause.
a. Santrock does not seem to apply the know how to distinguish between nomothetic research and
idiographic needs guideline explicitly, but it seems to be applied implicitly when he begins his
discussion of menopause with comments and illustrative cases about the diversity of menopause’s
effects. The reader is given permission, so to speak, to realize that generalizations from research
may not apply to herself.
b. Santrock applies the recognize how easy it is to overgeneralize from a small or clinical sample
guideline in his discussion of hormone replacement therapy research but makes no mention of
sample size for that research.
c. Santrock is silent on the be aware that a single study is usually not the definitive word about any
aspect of life-span development guideline. He relies on one large-scale study; thus, he indirectly
addresses “b” to make generalizations about menopause’s effects and mentions that a few studies
provide the basis of concern about estrogen replacement therapy. However, he does not fully and
directly address the issue of need for multiple studies on menopause’s effects.
d. Santrock does not address the issue of remember that causal conclusions cannot be made from
correlational studies directly, even though it appears that most of the data forming the background
for this section are correlational. This is an important issue when discussing the questions of
whether biological changes produce psychological changes, especially when something like
menopause has such pervasive social meaning (which itself could cause the psychological and
behavioral changes associated with menopause).

e. Santrock comes close on the always consider the source of the information and evaluate its
credibility guideline, but little is said about the credibility of his sources in the HRT studies.
3. Santrock discusses the importance of leisure activities in middle adulthood. Which of the following
statements best represents an inference rather than an assumption or an observation? Circle the letter
of the best answer, and explain why it is the best answer and why the other answers are not as good.
a. The statement there is no one ideal leisure activity for all individuals in middle adulthood is an
assumption to which Santrock alludes. Santrock indicates that individuals choose different leisure
activities. The assumption that there is one ideal activity has not been tested. Given the individual
variability in middle adulthood, one would assume that there would not be one activity that would
suffice for all midlife adults (or individuals at any age).
b. The statement that leisure can be especially important in middle adulthood is an assumption.
Santrock points out that leisure time is more attainable due to increased financial resources and
time available.
C. The statement that US adults regret not engaging in more leisure pursuits is an observation.
The statement that not engaging in enough leisure activity causes Alzheimer’s disease is the best
answer, as it is an inference. Tolppanen and colleagues did not state that not engaging in leisure
activity causes people to develop Alzheimer’s disease; however, they did find a longitudinal
association between leisure time and later Alzheimer’s disease.
c. E. The statement that leisure activities can ease the transition into retirement is an assumption.
While this idea sounds good, it has not been tested empirically; thus, it is an assumption.
Handout 3 (CA 8)
Critical-Thinking Essay Questions
Your answers to these kinds of questions demonstrate an ability to comprehend and apply ideas discussed
in this chapter.
1. Define middle age, and explain its changing nature.
2. Compare the physical changes that occur in middle adulthood to the physical changes that occur in
early adulthood.
3. Describe the biological changes in sexuality that occur during middle age, and evaluate stereotypes
about midlife sexuality based on this information.
4. Characterize the nature and extent of heterosexual activity during middle age.
5. Compare and contrast the research findings of Horn’s and Schaie’s studies on cognitive changes in
adulthood relative to the research designs used to collect the data. Describe how the research designs
influenced the findings.
6. Describe your own personal work pathway to date, and then project it into the future. Incorporate a
discussion of your projected (or past) job satisfaction and midlife career change into your answer.
7. Discuss your present leisure interests. Indicate and explain which of these interests you expect will
change and which you expect to remain stable as you age.
8. Describe middle-aged adults’ involvement in religion, and discuss the benefits they receive from this
involvement.
Handout 4 (CA 8)
Ideas to Help You Answer Critical-Thinking Essay Questions
1. Imagine you are a motivational speaker who talks to adults on the verge of midlife. Your goal is to
inform them about the new developmental journey they are about to embark on, and explain, fully
and honestly, its changing nature.
2. Begin by identifying the areas/aspects of the body that change during each of these stages.
Acknowledge whether they are exactly the same, or if one stage has more areas affected by physical
change.
3. Approach this assignment by addressing the changes characteristic of men and women. What areas
overlap? Which gender has more stereotypes related to them and why?
4. Do this assignment by describing what a middle-aged couple might do on a date. Consider both a
married and unmarried couple and compare.
5. Begin by delineating the aspects of cognitive change, then present each research design used to
explore them. Conclude your discussion by addressing the possible confounds inherent in each
design.
6. Make sure you include your college “career” as part of your work pathway. Present courses you have
taken and plan to take, as well as your major and any internships or co-ops you have participated in
or plan to pursue.
7. As you discuss your leisure interests, talk about when they began and what inspired your interest in
them. Also, talk about the changes that have already taken place in your various interests over your
lifetime. What caused the changes? Do you think these same factors will influence changes in the
future, or will new influences be present to alter your leisure interests?
8. After you have addressed this issue, consider the opposite scenario. What might the impact/effects be
on the issues accompanying middle age for those who do not embrace and practice religion?
Handout 5 (RP 1)
Song Lyric Values
Work on this project with one of your classmates. Locate the lyrics of five currently popular songs and
five songs that were popular at least 10 years ago (stick to one type of music—rock, country, or folk—for
both time periods). Evaluate each set of lyrics for sexism, ageism, attitudes toward love, work, and life,
and general values.
Rate each song as very positive (5), positive (4), neutral (3), negative (2), very negative (1), or absent (0)
in each of the areas listed on the data sheet (Handout 6). Then for each group (songs popular now versus
songs popular 10 years ago), add the five ratings together (0–25 total). Keep brief notes about specific
lyrics for discussion purposes. Write a brief report of your findings. Be sure to answer the following
questions in your report, using the information you gathered to support your answers.
Questions:
• What attitudes/values have remained consistently positive/negative over the years? Which have
changed considerably?
• What external events occurred during each time period that might have influenced popular song
lyrics?
• What values seem to appeal to today’s middle-aged people? Why?
• How do you think song lyrics will change in the next 10 years? Why?
Handout 6 (RP 1)
Data Sheet for the Song Lyric Values Project
Observational area: Current songs Older songs (year)

Attitudes toward females:
Attitudes toward males:
Attitudes toward children:
Attitudes toward teenagers:
Attitudes toward adults:
Attitudes toward older adults:
Attitudes toward love:
Attitudes toward family:
Attitudes toward work:
Attitudes toward country:
Values:
Wealth:
Achievement:
Education:
Government:
Serving others:
Change:
Drugs:
Sex:
Conflict:
Beauty:
Happiness:
Self-sacrifice:
Marriage:
Comments:
Handout 7 (RP 2)
Archival Research
Throughout the text, there are several references to the importance of understanding cohort effects on the
results of research studies. To learn about the power of the socioeconomic, religious, and political climate
on attitudes, go to the library and do some archival research.
First, find out which popular magazines (e.g., Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day, etc.) have been around
since at least 1955, even earlier if possible. Choose five of these magazines and count the number of
articles about sex that appeared in each in 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and today. Also, keep a list of
the titles of the articles you find. Use the table presented as Handout 8 to record the information. Enter
the number of articles you found for each magazine for each year. Compute averages for the rows and
columns of numbers, and enter these at the far right side of your table and at the bottom of your table.
Use the number of articles for each magazine in each year to come to a conclusion about how attitudes
toward sex and dissemination of information about sex have changed over the years. You should first
generalize about these using the data for all magazines (column averages). Then, compare averages for
each magazine (row averages). Finally, plot the individual article counts for each magazine over the years
on a graph (use years as the horizontal or x-axis). Summarize your results in a brief paper in which you
answer at least the following questions.
Questions:
• How did the number of articles change over the years?
• How did the number of articles vary from one magazine to the next?
• Were the changes over the years the same or different for each magazine?
• What did you learn from the titles of the articles?
• Interpret your findings in terms of what you have learned in your text about changing attitudes
toward sex and sexuality, and in terms of what you know about the intended audience of each
magazine.
• What is your evaluation of this method of finding out about attitudes toward sex and dissemination
of information about sex?
Handout 8 (RP 2)
Data Table for the Archival Research Project
List the names of the magazines in the far left column. Then enter the number of articles you found about
sex for each magazine for each year.
1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 Today

_____
Magazine
title #1
_____
Magazine
title #2
_____
Magazine
title #3
_____
Magazine
title #4
_____
Magazine
title #5
_____
Magazine
title #6
Average:
A Selection of Assets Available in Connect

Santrock’s Essentials of Lifespan Development
Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Title Activity Type Page # Learning Objective

in Text
Middle Adulthood Milestones: 338 13.2: Discuss physical changes in middle
Perspectives on Body Image Transitions adulthood.
Middle Adulthood Milestones: 338 13.2: Discuss physical changes in middle
Perspectives on Sexuality Transitions adulthood.
Middle Adulthood Milestones: 343 13.3: Identify cognitive changes in
Perspectives on Thinking and Transitions middle adulthood.
Memory
Working Memory Interactive 343 13.3: Identify cognitive changes in
Activity middle adulthood.

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Chapter 13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood

Essentials of Life Span Development 4th Edition

Full download at link:

Test Bank: https://testbankpack.com/p/test-bank-for-essentials-of-life-

Solution Manual: https://testbankpack.com/p/solution-manual-for-

Santrock’s Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e

Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle

A. Describe how psychology’s view of midlife is changing.

Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical changes in middle adulthood.

A. Describe and discuss the physical changes in middle adulthood.

Learning Objective 3: Identify cognitive changes in middle adulthood.

A. Discuss changes and continuity in intelligence.

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 1

Learning Objective 4: Discuss trends in work, retirement, and education in middle

A. Describe and discuss work patterns in midlife.

A. Discuss religion and the role it plays in adult lives.

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 2

Physical Development Learning Objective 2: Discuss physical changes

Cognitive Development Learning Objective 3: Identify cognitive

Careers, Work, and Leisure Learning Objective 4: Discuss trends in work,

Religion and Meaning in Life Learning Objective 5: Explain the roles of

Review Lecture Suggestion 6: Guest Lecture Idea

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 3

Questions and Suggestions for Helping Students

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 4

According to the Men’s Health website (http://www.menshealth.org/code/facts.html):

According to the Society for Women’s Health Research (http://www.womenshealthresearch.org):

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 5

Lecture Suggestion 2: The Concept of Stress

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 6

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 7

Lecture Suggestion 3: Work, Leisure, and Intellectual Growth

Segmentation hypothesis: Work choices and leisure activities are independent.

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 8

Lecture Suggestion 5: How Superman Found Meaning in Being a Quadriplegic

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 9

Lecture Suggestion 6: Guest Lecture Idea

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 10

Classroom Activity 2: Menopause

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 11

• Group size: Small group.

Classroom Activity 3: Adult Problem-Solving

1. Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Processing

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 12

a. Accept the situation and let it go.

3. Postformal and Dialectical Thinking

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 13

Classroom Activity 4: Prayer and Stress

Classroom Activity 5: The Song of Developmental Psychology

Classroom Activity 6: Wise Consumers of Information

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 14

Guidelines for Being a Wise Consumer of Information:

Classroom Activity 7: Critical-Thinking Multiple-Choice Questions and Suggested Answers

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 15

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 16

Personal Application 2: Friends in High Places

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 17

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 18

Research Project Ideas

Research Project 2: Archival Research

Use in the Classroom: Have students report their findings.

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 19

Santrock: Essentials of Life-Span Development, 4e IM-13 | 20

The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)