Science of Emotion and Aging

3 Units

In this course we will examine the multi-faceted nature of emotion with an emphasis on the development of emotion in adulthood. We will consider the history, theories, and most recent research and thinking in the science of emotion and aging. We will also be considering how we know what we know about emotions. So, one goal will be to increase our awareness of the assumptions underlying theorists, claims, researchers, findings, and our own belief structures. We will also work to strengthen our general thinking and communicative abilities as we study the psychology of emotion. Specifically, our goals will be to state theories and ideas clearly and concisely, to identify different parts of arguments and analyze the logic of these parts, to integrate the different aspects of emotion, and to generate new ideas based on the theories and research. My shorthand terms for these processes are: "summarizing", "analyzing", "integrating", and "generating".