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Abstract

In this exercise, students examine their perceptions of normative developmental patterns in a number of major life domains across the adult life span. During the exercise individuals (a) identify significant dimensions of adult development, (b) discuss at what age each life dimension reaches its peak and at what age each is at its worst, and (c) calculate the average quality of life during each decade of adulthood based on the perceived developmental trajectories for each dimension. The activity helps to debunk the myth that a single stage of life represents one's prime, cultivating instead the notion that individuals reach their prime in different life domains at different points in the life course. Students judged the exercise to be interesting and of value in helping to structure their perceptions of adult development.

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Developmental Differences in the Quality of Life: A Classroom Teaching Exercise

Abstract

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