One way to understand aging is to study someone’s life story. This will not tell you how people generally change over a lifetime, but it will give you ideas about the complexity of change and the highs and lows of a person’s life. It is also an opportunity to apply material about physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development in late adulthood.

1.You will interview someone OVER THE AGE OF 50! You get to choose who you want to interview.

2.Use Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development to help organize this project. Use specific examples of how Erikson’s stages apply to the individual’s life.

Use at least two of the stages to compare the individual’s life (life events) to Erikson’s stages. Be sure to give evidence of the stages identified.

3.While you study chapters 13 and 14, compare things you are studying with what you learn about your interviewee. If they talk about physical challenges of aging… what did you learn from your textbook and lesson outline on that? Be sure to tie your interview to what you are learning.

Also, be sure to ask about aging… how has it affected them? How do they view it?

Ask questions about:

Aging

Memory

• Retirement
• Relationships
• Careers
• Living arrangements
• Family
• Significant events
• Sample question:
• What stands out for you as you look back over your life?

When you were in your 20’s what did you expect from life? Did you life go as you expected and planed?

Do you think people experience a midlife crisis? If so, did you?

• Tell me about high points and low points in your life.
• What conflicts stand out for you?
• What did you learn form these conflicts?
• What has been the most rewarding for you in life?
• How has aging affected you?
• How you are at this point in your life, is it as expected? Different?
• Is there anything else you would like to add?
• Be more specific on certain topics-
• Retirement:
• Are you retired?

Do you plan to retire?

How many years did you work?

Was it satisfying?

• How did you plan for retirement?
• Would you like to work again? If no, why not?
• If yes, why? What type of work would you be interested in doing?
• What type of work limitations would you say you have now?
• Are there products for your safety and/or health that you need because of your age?
• Living Arrangement:
• Where do they currently live?
• Why? (Is it a deliberate choice?)
• Do they enjoy it or have any plans of change in the future?

Probe if necessary: 

Can you give an example of that?

• Explain what you mean by that.
• Tell me more about that point.
• That’s interesting. Can you be more detailed?