Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments xxi

1 Introduction to Aging and Older Adulthood 1

2 Theory and Method in Studying Aging and Older Adulthood 35

3 Biological Aging and Health 65

4 Sensation, Perception, and Attention 108

5 Memory 144

6 Intellectual Functioning 180

7 Cognition and Problem Solving in the Everyday World 217

8 Personality and Coping 257

9 Social Interaction and Social Ties 292

10 Employment, Retirement, and Living Arrangements 330

11 Mental Health, Psychopathology, and Therapy 368

12 Coping with Death, Dying, and Bereavement 405

13 Looking Ahead: Aging in the Future 429

Glossary 441

References 458

Index 498

About the Author

JOAN T. ERBER, PHD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Florida International University, where she was a recipient of a State University System Professorial Excellence Program award. Her research on aging and memory and how stereotypes influence our perceptions of older adults has been published in journals such as Psychology and Aging, Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, and Experimental Aging Research. In addition to Aging and Older Adulthood, she co-authored Great Myths of Aging (Wiley-Blackwell). Professor Erber is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the American Psychological Association (APA). She is past President of APA Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging).