Recent Advances in Psychology and Aging - Advances in Cell Aging & Gerontology

Publisher Marketing: "Recent Events in the Psychology of Aging" documents the successful integration of aging into the mainstream of psychology. Leading psychologists present overviews of the key issues and research findings on mainstream topics. These include cognitive neuroscience, visual attention, learning, memory and cognition, as well as personality and happiness. The intersection of aging content with mainstream psychology is also prominent in the areas of emotions, personality, and social psychology as seen in the chapters on subjective well-being, emotional development, self-esteem and personality trajectories. The seven chapters of this book offer information on such topics as: the seven sins of memory, categorizing the common breakdowns of memory in everyday life and the special breakdown of sins that increase with aging; problems with attention and learning; and offers answers to questions such as do emotions get blunted with age; do older people focus more on positive feelings; and the age old question of whether older people are happier than younger people is given in the chapter on the evolving concept of subjective well-being and the multifaceted nature of happiness. Questions about what occurs to one's self-esteem and personality are also masterfully discussed and the answers may be surprising. The concluding seventh chapter provides a cultural lens on the biopsychosocial study of aging.

Contributor Bio:  Costa, Paul T, Jr. Robert R. McCrae, PhD, is Research Psychologist at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging. He received his doctorate in personality psychology from Boston University in 1976, and has since conducted research on personality structure, assessment, and development. His recent work has centered on cross-cultural studies of personality. He has authored or coauthored over 250 articles and chapters, and with Paul T. Costa, Jr., he is author of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Paul T. Costa, Jr., PhD, is Chief of the Laboratory of Personality and Cognition at the National Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program in Baltimore, Maryland. His enduring interests are in the structure and measurement of personality and in lifespan development, psychopathology, and neurobiological bases of personality. He has authored or coauthored over 300 papers and chapters and has served as President of APA Divisions 5 and 20, the Association for Research in Personality, and the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences. Note: This book was written by Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, Jr., in their private capacities. No official support or endorsement by the National Institute on Aging is intended or should be inferred.