Psychology of Aging

Sara J. Margolin, Ph.D. received her doctoral degree in Cognitive and Sensory Processes with a Certificate in Gerontology from the University of Florida in 2007. Since then, she has been a full-time faculty member in the Department of Psychology at SUNY Brockport teaching classes in cognitive processes, sensation and perception, research methods, and the psychology of aging. Her research area emphasizes cognition and aging, specifically how reading processes may change (or in some cases be preserved) with age and the inclusion of negated sentence structure and has been published in journals such as Educational Gerontology and Experimental Aging Research. In her spare time, she loves to read, cook, and spend time camping with her husband, two sons, and three very large dogs.

Unit 1. Myth: Older adults lose physical capabilities, become unable to see and hear, and become a burden on their family and friends.
Chapter 1. Physical Aging
Chapter 2. Sensation and Perception
Unit 2. Myth: Older adults lose their memory and intelligence, and they become unable to remember to do basic daily tasks.
Chapter 3. Attention and Mental Processing
Chapter 4. Memory
Chapter 5. Intelligence and Wisdom
Unit 3. Myth: Older adults are pushed out of social relationships and work, and ultimately become isolated from the world around them.
Chapter 6. Social Roles and Retirement
Chapter 7. Social Cognition
Unit 4. Myth: Mental illness and dementia run rampant in older populations, everyone will develop this in some way, and there is no recovering or treatment once this happens this late in life.
Chapter 8. Mental Health and Dementia
Chapter 9. Personality
Chapter 10. Stress
Unit 5. Myth: Older adults fear death and cannot cope with loss.
Chapter 11. Death and Dying
Glossary
Index