Enhancing Student Interest in the Psychology of Aging: An Interview with Susan Krauss Whitbourne

Abstract

Karen L. Fingerman is an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Her research examines positive and negative emotions in lifelong relationships, including mother-daughter ties, grandparent-grandchild relationships, and friendships. She recently received the Springer Award for Early Career Achievement in Research on Adult Development and Aging from Division 20 of the American Psychological Association. She teaches courses in life span development, adult development, and social gerontology.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne is a professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Coordinator of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement in Commonwealth College; the faculty adviser to the Psi Chi Chapter; and Coordinator of the Honors Program in Psychology. She conducts research on identity in adulthood and old age and its relation to physical functioning. A former president of Division 20 of the American Psychological Association, she is currently serving as Division 20 Council Representative. She has written 10 books and nearly 100 articles and chapters on the topic of aging and adult development and is active in teaching introductory psychology as well as courses on aging.

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