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Area of Adult Development and Aging

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Choose an aspect of adult human development and aging. As a researcher, identify gaps in knowledge and provide possibilities for research.

Construct two research questions that you think would address gaps in knowledge for this topic.

Identify several resources that would appropriately address new approaches to studying this particular topic.

Explain how those resources will address the research questions you have constructed.

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Solution Summary

This solution discusses the developmental stage of Middle Adulthood, and the need to close the gap in the literature regarding this area of adult development.

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(1) Choose an aspect of adult human development and aging. As a researcher is identify gaps in knowledge and provide possibilities for research.

The traditional approach to life span development emphasizes change from birth to adolescents, with little or no change in adulthood; and a decrease in physical and cognitive ability as an individual grows older. Middle adulthood (or middle age) is an area of human development that has not received adequate attention in the research literature. However, based on age-related research, it is accepted by the scientific community that aging leads to a decline in physical, emotional and cognitive functioning beginning at middle age (Herndon, 2010). Thus, according to Herndon, while age-related cognitive decline is common and inevitable, the need exists to achieve better understanding as to when these changes occur for purposes of: (a) studying brain substrates, (b) understanding the sources of individual; and recognizing the variability in aging trajectories, and developing interventions designed for specific profiles of decline.

One of the primary reasons that there is a knowledge gap in research on the middle-aged is because of the lack of consensus among researchers as to what constitutes the middle age. For example, Helson, Soto, & Cate (2006) present research that shows the ambiguity associated with the age range of the middle aged individual. Some researchers consider middle age as beginning from 35 years of age and lasting to 60 or 65 years of age—a span of 20 0r 30 years. However, others propose a period for middle age within the range of 50 to 60 years. Further, according to Helson et al., For example, as Helson et al point out, age is conceptualized differently in some societies; and in others the period of middle age is not even recognized.
Moreover, according to Helson et al (2006), in western societies the belief is held that the first half of adulthood is a period of growth and expansion as individuals find and maximize their status. However, in other cultures, no such status is even sought. In ...

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