The population of older adults is growing rapidly and there will be an increased need for psychological services for this population. Current estimates indicate a significant workforce gap such that all psychologists, regardless of specialty area, will likely be called upon to work with older adults. Education and experience in the care of older…

Students attending a lecture usually have a wide range of prior knowledge about the topic in question. Rather than seeing this as a problem, lecturers can take advantage of such differences. This article shows how students' misconceptions about old age were used to inform a lecture on the topic. Prior knowledge can thus be used to aid teaching and…

A National Institute on Aging-funded pilot project to study advice-giving by older adult mothers to their middle-aged daughters was undertaken in a medium-sized teaching-intensive university. The student body and community are highly diverse, and many undergraduates are first-generation college students. In this context, undergraduate psychology…

This booklet is intended to be a discussion document for teachers who are concerned with the specialized interests of the aging. The seven chapters are: (1) Aging: What's the Fuss All About?; (2) What Do the Young Know of Aging?; (3) Can Aging be Taught?; (4) Are the Schools Too Busy?; (5) Aging: What is There to Learn and Teach?; (6) What Has…

This study considered two types of age discrimination (youth and elder) and related scale scores for 108 psychology students and 81 nursing students. The current study found that although the nursing students had a significantly larger number of courses related to aging, both nursing and psychology students reported low levels of age…

A study of 139 textbooks written over the last 40 years. Recent texts are found to give more coverage to the psychology of later life, and many seek to present a positive image of aging and older adults. These treatments, however, often contain material that perpetuates stereotypes. (EVL)