Mobility and Opportunity Across the Lifespan

Observer > 2021 > November/December

342021Volume 34, Issue6November/December 2021

Mobility and Opportunity Across the Lifespan
Researchers explore the science of what changes, and what stays the same, as we age. Topics include the lifelong impact of childhood experiences, mitochondria's powerful role in healthy aging, and the need for a new "map of life" as life expectancies increase.

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The Observer is the online magazine of the Association for Psychological Science and covers matters affecting the research, academic, and applied disciplines of psychology. The magazine reports on issues of interest to psychologist scientists worldwide and disseminates information about the activities, policies, and scientific values of APS.

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Featured

Childhood Residue in the Aging Body

Science explores the formidable link between our earliest life experiences and our health in old age.
Mighty Mitochondria

The powerhouse of the cell could also hold the secrets to healthy aging.
A Lifetime of Learning

Age-related changes in healthy adults may reflect shifting priorities more than cognitive decline.
Gender, Dopamine, and a Closed Gas Station

A “safe” retirement investment put this cognitive psychologist’s lifetime of learning to the test.
In Their Own Words: Lives Lost in 2021

Excerpts from the research of a few of the remarkable psychological scientists we said goodbye to this year.
Psychological Science Needs the Entire Globe, Part 2

In doing the research necessary for generalizable psychological science, the field must confront the inconvenient realities of where the science must take place.
Up-and-Coming Voices: Aging and Lifespan Development

Previews of research by early-career psychological scientists on aging and lifespan development.

Up Front

Society Needs Science—and Science Needs Society

Scientists must strengthen our connections with the public to better ensure that accurate and modern insights into human behavior are used to inform decisions.
Much More Online

Featuring articles on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, microaggressions, and aging.
Charting a New Map of Life

A conversation between Jennifer L. Eberhardt and Laura L. Carstensen about lengthening life expectancies, recasting the built environment, and rethinking social norms.

Recent Research

Research Briefs

Aging Impairs Inhibitory Control Over Incidental Cues: A Construal-Level Perspective Liat Hadar, Yaacov Trope, and Boaz M. Ben-David Psychological Science Older adults’ purchasing decisions appear to be more influenced by peripheral product features than by central and goal-relevant features, this research indicates. Compared with older adults, younger adults were more willing to pay more for a product with superior central, desirable attributes (e.g., a coffee maker able to brew a variety of coffee types) than a product with superior peripheral, feasible attributes (e.g., a coffee maker that is easy to use and reliable). Younger adults were also more satisfied after completing a high-desirability/low-feasibility task than a low-desirability/high-feasibility task and after experiencing a goal-relevant product than a goal-irrelevant product.

Government Relations

Policy in Action: Navigating Behavioral and Well-Being Public Policy

Perspectives on Psychological Science paper charts course through ethics, politics of interventions.
Notes From a Fellow: Combining Policy Work and Teaching

Heather Kappes reflects on balancing projects and teaching.
Inside Grants: National Institutes of Health High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program

Clinical psychologist Jessica Schleider shares insights on her research grant and more.

APS Spotlight

New AMPPS Editor Commits to Greater Transdisciplinarity

APS Fellow Dave Sbarra takes over at the helm on January 1.
Cattell Fund Recipients Chase Big Breakthroughs

Kerry Jordan, Kimberly Noble, and Elizabeth Ann Simpson are the 2021–2022 awardees.
APS Teaching Fund Showcase: Microgrants for Online Learning

A look at three projects supporting student engagement.

Practice

Teaching: Shared Emotions / Positives of Psychological Disorders

Lesson plans about the emotions within and between us and the positives of autism, ASD, and other psychological disorders.
Communicating Psychological Science: Becoming a Science Celebrity

Scientists may be heard above the din of misinformation by going to where most people get their information—social media.
Assessing Ego-Centered Social Networks in formr: A Tutorial

formr allows researchers to create everything from simple surveys to longitudinal, experience-sampling studies.
Teaching: Falling for Scams / When Fiction Feels Real

Lesson plans on why we fall prey to scams and experience the placebo effect through films by David G. Myers, Cindi May, and Michael Scullin.

First Person

Careers Up Close: Yakeel Quiroz on Cross-Cultural Alzheimer’s Research

This professor of psychiatry and neurology leads a longitudinal biomarker study of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Student Notebook: Learning Through Exposure

Ellen Finch on what therapists in training can learn from exposure therapy during a pandemic.
Back Page: Staving Off Stereotype Threat

Keith Maddox aims to further understanding of how stereotypic knowledge impacts behavior.

More From This Issue

A Closer Look at NIH’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program

These NIH programs are designed to function like a “venture capital space” for transformative research.
The Brain’s ‘Prediction Machine’ Anticipates the Future When Listening to Music

New research explores the brain’s “prediction machine” capabilities by examining how we experience music.
The Future Is Bright: Vivid Imagination Is Linked to Mental Health

People who can imagine achieving their goals in greater detail are less likely to be or to become depressed.
The Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic May Motivate Outbreaks of Violent Protest and Antigovernment Sentiment

Civil unrest and political violence may be related to the psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Refugees Often Suffer Lasting Trauma. Meditation May Help.

Trauma-sensitive and socioculturally adapted group intervention can significantly reduce posttraumatic stress disorder.
Understanding ‘Scientific Consensus’ May Correct Misperceptions About GMOs, but Not Climate Change

Explaining the meaning of “scientific consensus” may be more effective at countering some types of misinformation than others.
Stressed Teens Benefit from Coping Online, but a Little Goes a Long Way

Cell phones and social media can help teens cope with stressful events.
Chronic Pain Treatment Should Include Psychological Interventions

The latest Psychological Science in the Public Interest examines psychological interventions for the treatment of chronic pain.

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