This paper examines the relationship between wisdom and logic as found in adult reasoning. Material is from the current and growing literature in this area. The proposal that adult reasoning is dialectical and, therefore, beyond formal operations is scrutinized in light of popular definitions of wisdom, since wisdom is generally considered to be…

Agitation is a significant problem for nursing home residents, their families, and their caretakers. Agitation is defined as inappropriate verbal, vocal, or motor activity which is not explained by needs or confusion per se. It includes behaviors such as aimless wandering, pacing, cursing, screaming, biting, and fighting. The inappropriate nature…

An important issue with respect to intergenerational relationships between aging parents and their adult children is the influence of the father's retirement. Interview data were collected from 84 non-retired and 40 retired couples to determine whether retirement was related to the frequency and quality of intergenerational contacts. Couples were…

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act has been amended to outlaw mandatory retirement at any age. However, the act permits employers to impose a specific retirement age if there is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) which cannot be met by all or most individuals. Imposition of BFOQ mandatory retirement ages by employers has led to…

Researchers have found that the elderly are as capable of learning motor skills as younger persons but perform better under some conditions than others. For example, the elderly learn and perform motor skills more efficiently when there is additional time to respond to stimulus. Tasks which are self-regulated rather than directed by an external…

Any attempt to discuss psychotherapy with the elderly must be cognizant of the broad spectrum of personality style, life experience, and health status that exists among older adults. This diversity holds true in the specific realm of time perspective as well. Older clients may bring to psychotherapy an active engagement with the present, a…

Counseling psychology has neglected elderly adults. Developmental transitions from gainful employment to retirement or from active parenthood to former parenthood can be difficult. For older adults, religion can be a useful means for organizing the self-concept and developing a context of meaning for one's life in an effective way. Religion can…

Retrospective strategies measuring perceived life changes over time can further the advancement of life span developmental research. Researchers have neglected the individual's perception of his/her life changes over time. This study attempts to determine discriminators of change over time as operationalized by perceptions of change. Subjects…

Traditional stereotypes and attitudes about the elderly are of interest to both researchers and health care providers. Misconceptions about the elderly and the sources of these misconceptions were examined in undergraduates (N=150) and in elderly subjects (N=50). Subjects completed the Miller-Dodder revision of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz One…

Given the methodological problems with generating and using normative data with the elderly, the need for age-related norms on neuropsychological tests is clearly important. A study was conducted to examine a normal elderly group's performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) over time. Subjects were 57 elderly volunteers…

The increasing age of the American population and the current emphasis on cost containment in health care make the 1980s an ideal time for building bridges to span the health care needs of elderly persons in acute care and long-term care. While hospitals often discharge patients to nursing homes as an intermediate step between hospitalization and…

The generation three and generation one connection of individuals not related by blood or marriage is predicted to increase in incidence in the coming decades. This will occur regardless of public policy or the concerns of family members who yearn for connectedness within the institutional family. These non-family nexi have the potential to…

Focusing on the role of information in the planning and managing of intergenerational programs, this paper argues that two types of information--formal/objective and personal/subjective--must be addressed in relation to the problems of aging members of our society. These two types of information are characterized via illustrative stories: the…

This study examined the effects of attitudinal flexibility on changes in intellectual functioning in the elderly over a 7-year period through the use of linear structural equation modeling. Older adults (N=181) were surveyed about their health problems, leisure activities, social contacts and resources, stressful life occurrences, and current…

An organization of over 400 retired faculty members from a state university was concerned about the increasing frailty of some of its members and the difficulties some members were expecting in the near future in being able to remain in their present homes. It was suggested that the organization could start to function as a self-help or…