PSYC 381 (Psychology of Adult Development) is a three-credit, senior-level psychology course that provides comprehensive coverage of normal aging across the physical, cognitive, social, and psychological dimensions as well as the role of the environment and how it fits with the aging individual. The course concludes with a discussion of end-of-life issues and the important concept of successful aging. This course requires students to take a 200-level psychology course as its prerequisite and can be challenged for credit if students are interested.
Students should note that PSYC 381 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for PSYC 363.
Psychology of Adult Development is made up of seven units with a quiz for each unit weighing a total of thirty-five percent, a literature review paper that weighs thirty percent, and a final examination worth thirty-five percent. The seven units within this course cover several interesting concepts surrounding the topic of adult development such as social aging, cognitive aging, physical aging, mental health, environment, end-of-life, and successful aging.
This course is suited for students with career interests in nursing, medicine, and allied health fields, social work, and clinical psychology. PSYC 381 covers the normal aging process and of issues related to work and retirement make this course beneficial to students who plan careers in the public sector (business, service industries, retail). Students who plan careers in business and service industries will increasingly have contact with the older workers and consumers where knowledge about the aging process will be of direct relevance. This course can also be attractive to students who seek to enhance their understanding of their own and others’ development across the lifespan.
For students to receive credit for PSYC 381, they must complete the course quizzes, a research paper, and an examination. Students must achieve a composite course grade of at least a “D” or fifty percent and a grade of at least fifty percent on the final examination.
Jennifer Bouley is an AU Alumni from the Bachelor of Human Resources and Labour Relations program, and she is currently working on the University Certificate in Career Development from AU. She enrolled at AU in September of 2018 and hopes to be done in March of 2020. She states “I am currently working part-time for an education company. I live in Toronto but am originally from Nova Scotia. In my spare time, I like to work out, read, and spend time with friends and with my cat.”
If you would like to get to know Jennifer Bouley more in-depth, read my Minds We Meet article about her.
When asked to explain the course to students, she states “this course is about the aging brain. It covers everything from the neuroscience to the socializing of older adults. There are quizzes, a literature review, and a final examination.”
“There are seven quizzes with multiple-choice questions and two short answer questions,” she continues, “The quizzes are open book. There is also a literature review that is around fourteen pages long, were you choose a topic that is approved by the tutor and you write about it using scholarly resources. Finally, there is the exam. I have not written the exam yet, but I know it consists of multiple-choice and essay questions.”
Jennifer would recommend this course, stating “I would recommend this course if you are looking to work with older adults. This way you can understand their ways of thinking and how the adult brain develops. This is a difficult course, as there is a lot of memorizing, which I am experiencing right now preparing for the exam. Though, overall, the teaching is good, and the content teaches you a lot.”
As for tips and tricks, Jennifer explains that using flash cards was her main method of memorizing information. She would use them to go over the definitions and different concepts that were brought up throughout the course. She states “For PSYC 381, I recommend by starting to memorize the definitions from the information in the textbook from the very beginning of the course because it would make preparing for the exam a lot easier.”
As for communications with her tutor, she states “Communications with my tutor for this course has been excellent. They marked all my courses quizzes and everything on time.”
Whether PSYC 381 is a degree or program requirement of yours, or the topics discussed above are of interest to you, this course will have you learning interesting material surrounding the topic of adult development.
