Phoenix PSY 375 – Life Span Human Development
PSY 375 Life Span Human Development University of Phoenix MaterialInterview a Senior CitizenThis required Portfolio assignment will give you experience observing and interacting with peopleoutside of the classroom. It has been designed to provide you with the opportunity to developskills, synthesize knowledge, and integrate learning in a real world setting. This assignmentaccomplishes that goal by challenging you to: conduct a semi-structured interview with an elderly individual analyze his/her responses in a systematic manner integrate this real-world experience with your knowledge of the aging process based onevidence from journal articles and other scholarly sources. Read the following articles on the behavioral determinants of healthy aging. The full-text articlesare available in the Week Five Electronic Reserve Readings: Hartman-Stein, P. E., & Potkanowicz, E. S. (2003). Behavioral Determinants of Healthy Aging:Good News for the Baby Boomer Generation. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 8(2), 127146. Potkanowicz, E. S., Hartman-Stein, P., & Biermann, J. S. (2009). Behavioral Determinants ofHealth Aging Revisited: An Update on the Good News for the Baby Boomer Generation.Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 14(3), 11. Masotti, P. J., Fick, R., Johnson-Masotti, A., & MacLeod, S. (2006). Healthy naturallyoccurring retirement communities: A low-cost approach to facilitating healthy aging.American Journal of Public Health, 96 (7), 1164-1170. Identify a senior citizen (age 65 or older) and schedule an hour to talk with him/her face toface. Be sure to tell the person that you are completing the interview as part of a classassignment and that the content of the interview is completely confidential (no names will beused). Conduct an informal interview, focusing on the participantâs health and wellness.When interviewing the individual, ask questions that correspond to the following categories: Physical activity, past and present: Ask about exercise routines as well as ordinary activitiesthat involve physical exertion such as yard work, house cleaning, walking, and so on. Try todetermine whether or not the participant has maintained an active lifestyle over the years. Mentally stimulating activities, past and present: Ask the participant what he/she does to staysharp. This might include card games, crossword puzzles, reading, taking courses, and soon. Try to determine the extent to which the participant has challenged him/herself to engagein ongoing, active learning. Social support and social interactions: Ask the participant about his/her social contacts, pastand present. This could include his/her spouse or partner, friends, relatives, social clubs,social activities, etc. Try to determine whether the participant has a strong base of socialsupport. Meaningful activities: What gives life meaning? Ask the participant to recall his/her mostmeaningful activities and ask if he/she is still engaged in such activities. This will vary fromperson to person but could include helping others, teaching younger people, religious or PSY375r5 PSY 375 Life Span Human Development spiritual activities, giving back to his/her community, sharing talents or skills, creativeactivities, and so on. Your task is to determine if the participant is still actively engaged inactivities that matter to him/her. Recreational/leisure activities: What does the participant do for fun? Try to get a sense ofwhat he/she still enjoys and how frequently he/she participates in enjoyable activities. Living environment. What is the individualâs home environment like? Does he/she live in aretirement community? If so, what is it like? Does he/she still drive? If not, how does theindividual manage transportation challenges such as running routine errands, getting todoctorâs appointments and attending social events? What environmental challenges doeshe/she face? Try to keep the interview process light and fun. Focus on what the participant is doing well.Part I: Document the questions you asked and the participantâs responses. This is your interviewâtranscriptâ which will be turned in along with your reflective paper.Part II: Write a 1,000-word reflective paper based on the interview. In your paper, include adiscussion on the following points: Most notable aspects of the interview: What topics did your interviewee respond moststrongly to and why?Most surprising aspects of the interview: Did any of the intervieweeâs responses surpriseyou? Explain.A commentary about the participantâs overall functioning: Use the information from therequired readings to make a general assessment of the participantâs health and well-being.Would you use the term âhealthy agingâ to describe the participant? Why or why not? What ishe/she doing well? What areas could use improvement? What suggestions would you make,based on your knowledge of the determinants of healthy aging?A discussion of what you learned from this experience. Use the literature in gerontology, wisdom, and successful aging to supplement your paper andsupport your points. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines and be sure to cite yoursources in a reference section at the end of your paper. PSY375r5
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