Aging Salthouse, Schaie, Caspi

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Aging (Salthouse, Schaie, Caspi Roberts)
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Aging

• Reasons for interest
• Methods
• Intelligence
• IQ
• Memory
• Personality

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PersonalityLife Satisfaction
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Personality Traits (Costa McCrae) Pervasive
consistencies in thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors
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Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO
PI-R)Costa and McCraeNeuroticism
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
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Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO
PI-R)Costa and McCraeOpennessConscientiousness
Agreeableness Extraversion Neuroticism
Table 14-10
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NEO Facets

• NeuroticismAnxietyAngry HostilityDepressionSel
  f-ConsciousnessImpulsivenessVulnerability
• ExtraversionWarmthGregariousnessAssertivenessA
  ctivityExcitement-SeekingPositive Emotions

• OpennessFantasyAestheticsFeelingsActionsIdeas
  Values
• AgreeablenessTrust
  StraightforwardnessAltruism
  ComplianceModesty
  Tender-Mindedness
• ConscientiousnessCompetence
  
  OrderDutifulnessAchievement-StrivingSel
  f-Discipline Deliberation

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Examples of Items From the NEO Personality
InventoryDomain ItemsNeuroticism I often
feel tense and jittery. I often get angry at
the way people treat me. I rarely feel lonely
or blue. Its often hard for me to make up my
mind.Extraversion I really like most people I
meet. I shy away from crowds of people. I
have often been a leader of groups I have
belonged to. When I do things, I do them
vigorously.Openness I have a very active
imagination. I experience a wide range of
emotions or feelings. Im pretty set in my
ways. I often enjoy playing with theories or
abstract ideas.
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Examples of Items From the NEO Personality
InventoryDomain ItemsAgreeableness I
believe that most people are basically
well- intentioned. Sometimes I trick people
into doing what I want. I would rather
cooperate with others than compete with
them. Id rather not talk about myself and my
achievements.Conscientiousness I tend to be
somewhat fastidious or exacting. I try to
perform all the tasks assigned to me
conscientiously. I have trouble making
myself do what I should. I rarely make
hasty decisions.
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Research Issues

• Determinants
• Correlates
• Stability

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Individual Stability, Mean-Level StabilityAge
30 Age 70

• A 35
• B 40
• C 45
• D 50

• A 35
• B 40
• C 45
• D 50

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Individual Change, Mean-Level StabilityAge 30
Age 70

• A 35
• B 40
• C 45
• D 50

• A 45
• B 50
• C 35
• D 40

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Individual Relative Stability, Mean-Level
ChangeAge 30 Age 70

• A 35
• B 40
• C 45
• D 50

• A 40
• B 45
• C 50
• D 55

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McCrae et al. (1999)

• Five Countries Germany, Italy, Portugal,
  Croatia, South Korea
• Four age groups 18-21, 22-39, 30-49, 50
• Increases in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness
• Decreases in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and
  Openness

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Life Satisfaction
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Life Satisfaction Index (Neugarten)
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Life Satisfaction Indexagreedisagreenot
sure1. As I grow older, things seem better
than I thought they would be.  
2. I have gotten more of the breaks in life
than most of the people I know.
3. This is the dreariest time of my life.
4. I am just as happy as when I was younger. 5.
My life could be happier than it is now. 6.
These are the best years of my life.          7.
Most of the things I do are boring or monotonous.
     8. I expect some interesting and pleasant
things to happen to me in the future.         
  9. The things I do
are as interesting to me as they ever were.      

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10. I feel old and somewhat tired.11. As I look
back on my life, I am fairly well satisfied.12.
I would not change my past life even if I
could13. Compared to other people my age, I make
a good appearance.14. I have made plans for
things Ill be doing in a month or a year from
now.15. When I think back over my life, I didnt
get most of the important things I wanted.16.
Compared to other people, I get down in the dumps
too often.17. Ive got pretty much what Ive
expected out of life.18. In spite of what some
people say, the lot of the average man is getting
worse.
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Scales of Psychological Well Being (Ryff)
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Scales of Psychological Well Being
(Ryff)7-point scale from strongly disagree to
strongly agreeAutonomyMy decisions are not
usually influenced by what everyone else is
doing.I tend to worry about what other people
think of me.Being happy with myself is more
important to me than having others approve of
me.Environmental MasteryI often feel
overwhelmed by my responsibilities.I have been
able to create a lifestyle for myself that is
much to my liking.The demands of everyday life
often get me down.
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Personal GrowthI have the sense that I have
developed a lot as a person over time.There is
truth to the saying you cant teach an old dog
new tricks.I gave up trying to make big
improvements or changes in my life a long time
ago.Positive RelationsI enjoy positive and
mutual conversations with family members and
friends.Most people see me as loving and
affectionate.Maintaining close relationships has
been difficult and frustrating for me.Purpose
in LifeI enjoy making plans for the future and
working to make them a reality.My daily
activities often seem trivial and unimportant to
me.Some people wander through life but I am not
one of them.
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Self-AcceptanceI feel that many of the people I
know have gotten more out of life than I have.In
general, I feel confident and positive about
myself.The past had its ups and downs, but in
general I wouldnt want to change it.
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Research Issues

• Determinants
• Changes with Age

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Methodological Issues

• Measurementmost measures self-report
• Designmost studies cross-sectional
• Determinants/effectsmost studies correlational

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ExamWed., 12/10, 5th period
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Office HoursMon 6th 7th
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Exam

• 50 points
• 9 of 11 definitions2 points each
• 4 of 5 short answer8 points each
• Noncumulative