| Course | PSYC 290N Lifespan Development |
|---|---|
| Week | 7 |
| Paper type | Adulthood and aging paper |
| Length | About 520 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | BSN general education |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PSYC 290N Week 7
Adulthood and Aging Paper on a 72-Year-Old Grandparent: The Band Defined by Retirement, Crystallized Knowledge Rising While Speed Falls, Ordinary Change Kept Apart From Disease and a Social Circle That Narrowed by Choice
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PSYC 290N: Lifespan Development
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Adulthood and Aging Paper on a 72-Year-Old Grandparent: The Band Defined by Retirement, Crystallized Knowledge Rising While Speed Falls, Ordinary Change Kept Apart From Disease and a Social Circle That Narrowed by Choice
The Band
Late adulthood, defined here by an event rather than a birthday: retirement. My grandparent, E., 72, retired from teaching high school chemistry six years ago. I interviewed E. on October 20.
What Rises While Something Falls
E. completes the newspaper crossword in ink, knows the answers to most history questions at family trivia nights and explains chemistry to my cousin better than the textbook. E. also says, "I'm slower at figuring out the new phone, and I can't keep five things in my head anymore." Research distinguishes crystallized intelligence, accumulated knowledge and vocabulary, which holds steady or rises into later adulthood, from fluid intelligence, the speed and flexibility of solving new problems, which declines with age (Horn & Cattell, 1967). E. shows both.
Ordinary Change, Not Pathology
Forgetting where the car keys are, needing more time to learn new technology and slower recall of names are typical with age. E. manages money, drives safely, cooks and remembers appointments. Nothing E. described suggests a disease process. If E. began getting lost on familiar routes or forgetting recent conversations entirely, that would be different and would warrant a medical visit.
Drawing this line matters for how the family responds. Treating ordinary slowing as illness can lead relatives to take over tasks E. still does well, which removes practice and independence for no reason.
Circles That Narrow by Choice
E. sees fewer people than ten years ago: the weekly bridge group, two close friends, family. E. said, "I don't have time for people who wear me out anymore." Socioemotional selectivity theory describes people narrowing their social circles across adulthood while emotional closeness with the people who remain increases (Carstensen, 1992). E.'s account fits: fewer partners, closer ties.
The Question at the End of a Band
What will E.'s next decade bring? Physical health and the loss of friends are the likeliest challenges. E. says the hardest thing so far was the death of a friend from the bridge group last year.
Loss of friends is the risk the theory's picture makes sharpest: a small circle of close ties is satisfying, but each loss removes a larger share of it. E.'s bridge group lost one member and recruited another, which E. described as "not the same, but fine."
Limits
One person's account, through one interview with a grandchild, is not a picture of aging generally, and E. may have described the good parts to me.
E. also had a long career in a thinking job, and crystallized knowledge may look especially strong in someone like that. A grandparent who left school early might show a different balance.
References
Carstensen, L. L. (1992). Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 7(3), 331-338. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.7.3.331
Horn, J. L., & Cattell, R. B. (1967). Age differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence. Acta Psychologica, 26, 107-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(67)90011-X
PSYC 290N Week 7 instructions, in plain terms
Interview one older adult, with their permission, and define the life stage by an event that matters to them, such as retirement. Describe what has stayed strong or grown and what has slowed, using a theory that separates the two. Distinguish ordinary age-related change from signs of disease, and say what would warrant a medical visit. Use a theory of social relationships in later life to explain any change in the person's social circle. Look ahead to the likeliest challenges, in the person's own words if possible. State the limits of one interview, including whether the person may have described only the good parts. Avoid language that treats aging as only loss.
How the PSYC 290N Week 7 example is put together
The band section defines late adulthood by E.'s retirement six years ago. The thinking section describes crossword puzzles in ink, trivia and explaining chemistry alongside slower learning of a new phone, citing Horn and Cattell (1967). The ordinary change section separates misplaced keys from getting lost on familiar routes and explains that treating ordinary slowing as illness can remove independence. The social section quotes E. on not having time for people who wear E. out, citing Carstensen (1992). The next decade section describes a friend's death and the bridge group's replacement. The limits section notes one interview and E.'s career. The interview date and E.'s permission are both recorded.
PSYC 290N Week 7 rubric: what full points look like
Instructors look for a balanced picture tied to theory. A paper that describes aging as decline, or that lists stereotypes, loses the most. Credit goes to a stage defined by an event, strengths and slowing separated with a theory, ordinary change distinguished from disease, social change explained by research and limits stated. Respectful language earns marks. Cite Horn and Cattell and Carstensen in APA. Health information must be accurate and should not diagnose. The older adult's own words should carry much of the evidence, and the paper should note when a claim rests only on those words. Explaining why the line between ordinary change and disease matters for the family's choices shows practical understanding.
Common PSYC 290N Week 7 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Papers most often slip by treating every change in an older adult as a sign of illness. Another frequent gap is ignoring abilities that grow with age, such as vocabulary and knowledge. Some papers describe a smaller social circle as loneliness without asking the person. Others forget that one interview with a relative may be one-sided. If your interviewee has a health condition, describe it only as they wish and keep the focus on development. A paper that ends with the person's own view of what lies ahead shows respect as well as understanding. Ask the person what has become easier with age, not only harder; the answer often surprises the interviewer.
Get a PSYC-290N Week 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Week 7 assignment with the years your section set for the band, and a custom PSYC-290N paper is written to them and returned inside 24-48h, the first one free. Adult bands are drawn differently by different texts, so the years you send are the years the example works inside and says so.
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PSYC 290N Week 7 questions, answered
My textbook gives different years for middle adulthood than my classroom did.
Take the classroom's years and note the difference in a line. The boundaries of adult bands are conventions rather than findings, and an author marking the disagreement looks like somebody who has read two sources. What cannot be defended is using one set of years for the body paragraph and a different set for the relationships paragraph.
Is an empty nest a relationships item or a thinking item?
Relationships, and it is more interesting than it looks. The same departure supports a generativity reading, a selection reading, and a reading about a role ending. Pick one, credit it, and name the alternative in a clause. A paper listing the event without choosing what it demonstrates has produced a biography rather than an analysis.
Can I write about my own parent or grandparent?
In many sections yes, with the same restraint the earlier weeks asked for. Use what you can state plainly, an age, a change in work, a house moved out of, and keep health details out unless the assignment asks for them. The analysis still rests on published work, with the relative showing what it looks like.
Where can I find a free PSYC 290N Week 7 sample paper?
This page holds the complete PSYC 290N Week 7 paper on a retired chemistry teacher at 72, with knowledge that holds and speed that slows.
Why did E.'s circle narrow in the PSYC 290N Week 7 sample?
By choice, as socioemotional selectivity theory describes; E. now spends time with a bridge group, two close friends and family, and says there is no time for people who wear E. out.