Perceived control is interrelated with aging-related outcomes across adulthood and old age. Relatively little is known, however, about resources as antecedents of longitudinal change in perceived control and the role of perceived control as a buffer against mortality risk when these resources are low. We examined functional limitations, depressive…

Provides a literature-based overview of continuing education for older adults. Addresses the context of older adult education, age and cohort differences in participation, scope of programming, implications of psychological theory and research, and recommendations for enhancing participation and learning. (SK)

Young (N=22) (age 17-21) and 22 old (age 60-74) men and women participated in an investigation designed to determine how differences in omission errors and performance in a serial learning task are accounted for by cautiousness. Cautiousness measures accounted for age differences in omission errors but not in performance. (Author)

Young (N=18) and older (N=18) adults participated in a vocabulary task involving varying degrees of risk with a payoff structure that varied either directly or inversely with risk. In contrast to prior research using constant payoff structures, results did not indicate that older adults are more cautious than young adults. (Author)

Younger (N=48) and older (N=48) males participated in a vocabulary task involving varying degrees of risk under neutral, supportive, and challenging instructions. Results indicated older adults were more cautious, selected tasks with higher probabilities of success, and were less likely to raise their level of aspiration following success. (Author)

After summarizing the findings of laboratory experimental geropsychological research pertinent to the instruction of older adults, this review focused on delineating the explicit implications of the research for adult education. Thirty-six implications were culled from the literature and categorized under 10 instructional variables. (Author/LAS)