A Brief History of the Psychology of Aging

James E. Birren1

PART IP It [the Division] is indeed much concerned with old

age, but no less with the other adult years, since it
The Period of Expansion, 1946-1960 emphasizes that development and change go on

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throughout the adult period, which should be seen as
B EGINNING in 1946, a rapid series of develop-
ments occurred which merit 1946-1960 being a whole. Throughout the period there are problems—
vocational, familial, social, economic—towards a better
described as the period of expansion. Laboratories understanding of which we hope to contribute. The
devoted to the study of aging were started, research division believes that a true developmental psychology
societies were initiated, and many national and includes not simply the period of growth, but the
international conferences were held. A new kind entire sweep of the human life span. Ultimately, a
union with that other developmental group concerned
of scientist began to be seen, one whose major with the first two decades of life may therefore well be
career interest was that of studying developmental desirable. However, this division should continue until
processes and aging. Centers of research whose the major purposes have some assurances of accomplish-
students reflected certain main ideas or theoretical ment; until psychologists do think developmentally
positions came to be recognized. about the years after 20 as well as the years before, and
until problems of adult life which much need study
At the beginning and end of the period there from that point of view are so dealt with. It has
was difficulty in conceiving how the exchange of contributions to make, to psychology and to human
information, teaching, and organization of research welfare.
was to be effectively carried out. Aging was clearly The multidisciplinary contacts for psychologists
a problem touching many disciplines, yet many were provided through the meetings of the Geron-
investigators felt uncomfortable when talking a- tological Society, which was founded in 1945, and
cross disciplines rather than within a small homo- the Council and Corporation held its first meeting
geneous group. A happy solution evolved for in June of that year in New York (Adler, 1958).
psychology. In 1945, a group headed by Pressey The first issue of the Journal of Gerontology,
began to organize a Division on Maturity and Old sponsored by the Society, appeared in early 1946.
Age of the American Psychological Association. Psychological research began to expand in the
In 1946, its first officers were elected and Pressey encouraging atmosphere. Perhaps it advanced
was the first president at its first meeting in more rapidly than even some of its closely asso-
Detroit in September, 1947 (Pressey, 1948). Here ciated disciplines, because it had both an indepen-
was the group to which psychologists could dent organization as well as representation in a
address themselves as a somewhat homogeneous multidisciplinary society. Some emphasis of
division (now over 225 members). In his presi- course had already been placed on psychological
dential address, Pressey makes these points in problems and research on aging by the Public
describing the new division (Pressey, 1948, p. 109). Health Service's Conference on Mental Health in
Later Maturity, May, 1941 (U.S.A., 1942).
We in this division are concerned with a range of
years three times that of childhood and youth, during In 1946, two developments occurred which
which there are changes probably in total more com- significantly affected the course of events. Staffing
plex and more controllable, if means of control were was started of the Gerontological Unit of the
known. They are the important years of life. They
have been studied developmentally almost not at all. National Institute of Health and of the Nuffield
It seems not too much to hope that ours might be the Unit for Research into Problems of Ageing at
field of most fruitful and distinctive psychological the Laboratory of Psychology at the University of
work of the next two decades. Cambridge. The Unit on Gerontology had already
1
Chief, Section on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health. been officially established in the National Institute
Bethesda, Md.
2
Part I was published in vol. 1, no. 2, of The Gerontoh%ist. of Health, Baltimore, as part of the division of

127
128 B1RREN

physiology in July, 1940. However, because of the

war, the chief of the unit, Shock, had to delay
major staffing of the unit until 1946. Birren
joined this group in May of 1947 to initiate the
psychological research.
Bartlett, professor of psychology at the Univer-
sit of Cambridge, was encouraged to submit plans
for the development of a unit for research into the
psychological aspects of aging in his department.
He drafted suggestions for such a unit in the

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summer of 1945 in correspondence with Parkes of
the Medical Research Council.
The proposals of Bartlett were forwarded by
Parkes to the Nuffield Foundation, which approved
the proposals and gave an initial grant for capital
outlay and a recurrent grant for each of 3 suc-
cessive years, with the possibility of renewal for
a period not exceeding 3 years, making the grant
for a total of 6 years. The Unit was to involve
(quoted from Bartlett's personal records):
investigation by combined laboratory and field work,
of the psychological and physiological differences be-
tween different age-groups with special reference to Sidney L. Pressey
their industrial significance. For the investigations, two
teams, each of three persons [under Professor Bartlett] contained in the volume, Ageing and Human
are suggested:
Skill (Welford, 1958).
(a) to develop methods for the accurate measure-
ment of skills representative of a wide range of indus- There were several characteristics of this unit—
trial operations (if possible, selecting some such types its high productivity, its emphasis on detailed
of operation as will bring out age-group differences, if analysis of the components of skilled behavior and
any, in learning) with the emphasis upon the com- on information theory as a series of concepts,
bined effects of a number of simultaneously operating within which their results were discussed. It was
functions;
a natural consequence ot the limited-period grant,
(b) to determine what modifications of the above
methods will make them applicable to field (industrial)
that the Unit would exist for too short a period
conditions, and specifically to try to set up agreed to have a significant institutional effect. Its main
standards of proficiency in selected industrial tasks, and effect, aside from the published research results,
to use those standards to validate the basic experi- was in the training of researchers who have taken
mental measures. positions in various universities and can therefore
Because of the crowded conditions at the Uni- introduce the concepts and facts in their teaching
versity, there was difficulty in finding space for and thus ensure that a number of future research
the new Unit and it was necessary to have a small students will continue to be concerned with
temporary building erected to house the staff. research into problems of aging.
Thus the actual work of the unit did not get The Gerontology Unit of the National Institute
under way until late 1946, when Welford, who of Health had broad responsibilities. Psychology
was in the United States on a fellowship, returned was and is currently part of a wide basic biological
to take an active role in the research and become and medical research program. With the estab-
the director of the Unit. lishment of the National Heart Institute in 1948,
This Unit was one of the most productive ones the Gerontology Unit was transferred to it, and
to be established. It attracted a large number of for an interval the Unit was designated as the
alert research students, who by now have senior Unit on Cardiovascular Diseases and Gerontology.
positions throughout many universities and indus- In 1958, it was established as the Gerontology
tries of Great Britain. The first major account of Branch of the National Heart Institute. The
the work done at the Unit is contained in the Branch has an impressive productivity; and will
publication, Skill and Age, by Welford (1951). supply a publication list on request (see also,
A final summary of the research of this Unit is Shock, 1957).
 HISTORY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING 129
years later, Anderson also lent encouragement to
the evolution of a handbook on aging by pointing
to the desirable effects of the first Handbook of
Child Psychology. In 1956, an opportunity was
provided to develop the handbook through a
research subcommittee of the Gerontological
Society, under the Chairmanship of Kleemeier,
which took an interest in training. This interest
in training was partly a natural outgrowth of
current thinking in the Society and of ideas circu-

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lating at the National Institutes of Health and
through which a training program for researchers
in physiology had been instituted the previous
year. The committee's activities were suported by
a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Conference on the Pychological Aspects of Aging, Details of this background are given in the preface
Bethesda, April, 1955.
of the volume, Handbook of the Aging and the
Individual (Birren, 1959).
The International Association of Gerontology
has played an indirect role in encouraging training
by fostering personal contacts between active
workers in the field. While its first meeting, in
Liege, was limited to biological and medical
aspects of aging, its second meeting, in St. Louis in
1951, included a large number of research papers
in the area of psychology. It was perhaps the
next meeting of this Association, in London in
1954, which provided the first major opportunity
for psychologists to exchange information on a
truly international level. The proceedings of this
well-attended congress showed a great variety of
psychological research (Anon., 1955). Separate
Robert J. Havighurst, Harold E. Jones, John E. Anderson,
and James E. Birren. research committees of this Association began to
be active, and in 1957 and 1960, research seminars
In 1953, ths Section on Aging was formed in were organized by a committee in the psychologi-
the National Institute of Mental Health with cal and social sciences.
Birren as head. After a year it was transferred The Department of Psychology at the University
from the office of the Associate Director in Charge of Ohio, under Pressey, trained more Ph.D. can-
of Research to the newly formed Laboratory of didates in this subject than any other department
Psychology for administrative reasons. Members in the U.S.A. On closely related subjects were the
of this Section collaborated with the Research many students trained by the Committee on
Committee of the Division on Maturity and Old Human Development at the University of Chi-
Age in planning and carrying out the Conference cago under the leadership of Havighurst, Henry,
on the Psychological Aspects of Aging held in Hess, and Neugarten. In Great Britain, the largest
Bethesda in April, 1955. Anderson (1956), Com- and only training center was in the Nuffield Unit
mittee Chairman, edited the proceedings of this of the University of Cambridge's Psychological
conference, which had a significant effect by bring- Laboratory where Bartlett and Welford made
ing together diverse interests and points of view distinguished contributions.
about the psychology of aging. Train.'ng of students has to some extent been
In 1950., Welford and Birren met for the first facilitated in recent years by conference proceed-
time at the meeting of the American Psychological ings, handbooks (Birren, 1959; Tibbitts, 1960) and
Association. It was at this meeting that Birren annual reviews (e.g., Birren, 1960) and also by
advanced the idea of a handbook on aging which the appearance of new journals and textbooks.
would organize the scattered literature. A few Introductory textbooks are appearing which give
130 BIRREN
a rather comprehensive view of the psychology of which when added to the lag due to preparation
the lifespan. By the end of I960, psychologists time, publication, and abstracting often makes
were coming to agree that the psychology of aging the psychologist about 5 years late in his informa-
should be included in the teaching of a develop- tion. In commenting on the early research,
mental psychology sequence. Riegel (1958-1959) says, "The first empirical
While the period between 1946 and 1960 was studies on the psychology of aging were conducted
particularly distinguished by the establishment of about 1925 in Germany. Before that there were
special research units of aging, there was much large scale investigations of driving performance
individual research effort in the U.S.A. and abroad. of middle-aged people in the German Army during
Certain names recur in the literature: McFarland, World War I." He mentions in particular the early

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Lorge, Tuckman, Korchin, Braun, Kleemeier, reviews of the literature by von Bracken and Hof-
Lehman, and many others, as primarily represen- staetter. Riegel's own research began in 1956 on
tative of individual research effort, as does the cognitive, social, and personality variables in
name of Donahue in connection with the organi- aging; results are being prepared for publication.
zations of the University of Michigan Conferences Some of the most active contributors to social-
on Aging to discuss research. psychological research have been Havighurst and
The U.S.A. seems to have been the most active his colleagues of the Committee on Human De-
country in research, possibly because relative to velopment of the University of Chicago. He has
the size of its population there are more trained expressed his own interest in this field in the
psychologists. There are over 18,000 members of following quotation from a personal communica-
the American Psychological Association in addi- tion (1960):
tion to the larger number which function as My own interest in aging developed around 1943
psychologists without necessarily belonging to the when I became Chairman of the Committee on Social
Adjustment in Old Age, which was a subcommittee
Association or having <a post-graduate degree. In of the Committee on Social Adjustment of the Social
Great Britain, more psychologists than in the Science Research Council. Ernest Burgess was chairman
U.S.A. have done research on aging relative to of the general committee, and he interested me in this
the number of psychologists, as a direct result of general field of work. He and I and Ruth Cavan
the Cambridge Unit. There are now few Western collaborated in the studies which resulted in the book,
"Personal Adjustment in Old Age" [Cavan, Burgess,
countries which do not have at least one psycholo- Havighurst, & Goldhamer, 1949]. In 1948 I started
gist or related scientist concerned with aging: the study of older people in the midwestern community
Canada, Zubek; Denmark, Friis; Finland, Jala- of Prairie City which resulted in the book by Havig-
Bourliere; Germany, Riegel, Thomae; Italy, Cesa- hurst and Albrecht entitled, "Older People" [1953].
Bianchi; Netherlands, van Zonneveld; Norway, At about that time I was a member of the committee
which was responsible for the Community Project for
Beverfelt. the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Chicago. In 1950
One unit seemingly destined to make a signifi- Dr. Burgess and Dr. Ethel Shanas and I started a
cant contribution is the Centre de Gerontologie series of studies of retirement which involved a number
Claude Bernard at Paris. Its director, Bourliere, is of our graduate students and resulted in a number of
journal articles, as well as two books "Effective Use of
much interested in basic biological problems and Older Workers" by Elizabeth L. Breckenridge, and
is encouraging the development of psychological "The Meaning of Work and Retirement" by Friedmann
research in several areas: sleep, learning, and and Havighurst.
psychomotor skills. Another physiologist, Verzar, In 1951, we formed a faculty committee of the Com-
who heads the Institut fur Experimentelle Geron- mittee on Human Development and secured funds from
tologie, in Basle, has also encouraged psychological the Carnegie Corporation for the Kansas City Study of
Adult Life. This project has continued in one form or
research in a broad context of basic research on another throughout that period and we will be doing
aging. Such a facilitative and cooperative atmos- field work in Kansas City for at least another year.
phere cannot help but have desirable consequences There have been a number of publications from the
for research in the coming years. Kansas City Study of Adult Life. After 1955 we com-
menced a new phase of the project with support from
The German literature on the psychology of the National Institute of Mental Health and under the
aging has been reviewed by Riegel (1958-1959); immediate direction of William E. Henry.
his comprehensive bibliography of 465 items in- Probably the best examples of our work are the
cludes not only German references but those from publications from the Kansas City Study. They show
other countries as well. Such attention to cross- the range of our interests from the broad sociological
to the specific individual psychological. There is now
national publications helps to reduce the time in press the book by Elaine Cummings and William E.
lag in uptake of information from foreign sources, Henry entitled, "The Process of Growing Old," which
 HISTORY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING 131
presents the major results of the last four years of semble the seizure discharges found in epileptics. On
work. The earlier phase from 1951 to 1955 has been the basis of this interest, I received my first research
reported in a number of monographs and we are still grant concerned with aging in the central nervous
working on a book to bring the major findings together system in 1950.
in one place. Two papers published by Busse, Barnes, Silverman,
I think that my own approach to and interest in Thale, & Frost (1954, 1955) describe their in-
aging is best represented by the book, "Older People,"
by Havighurst and Albrecht [1953], and also more terests and the nature of their research.
recently by the paper (in press) on "The Definition Certain men like Terman had considerable
and Measurement of Successful Aging," which was effect, not so much through their own research on
given at the International Research Seminar in aging as in their encouragement of students in
Berkeley, California in August, 1960.

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developmental psychology. Terman's studies of
In October, 1955, the Medical Research Council gifted children did of course turn into studies of
initiated at the University of Liverpool their Unit adult development as the subjects were followed.
for Research on Occupational Aspects of Ageing. He belonged to, or perhaps more correctly started,
Despite this title, the work of the unit (under the California nucleus of interest in develop-
Heron) has been wide in scope. Apart from a 20- mental psychology, which has included Jones,
factory survey of aging effects among semi-skilled Miles, and Bayley, as well as others who were
workers, 2 studies of industrial process change, and more specifically interested in child development.
the launching of a scheme of retirement prepara- Shock was directly influenced in the direction of
tion for men aged 50 years, the unit has investi- developmental research during his 10 years on the
gated rigidity, effects of hearing loss, immediate faculty at the University of California, as was
memory, and confidence. A noteworthy feature of Kaplan, who edited the significant book, Mental
the unit's activities is the creation of a panel of Disorders of Later Life (1945). Birren was also
over 700 adult subjects, ranging in age from 20 to influenced by the California emphasis on develop-
75 years, from which samples can be drawn for ment through Seashore as the vector. A biography
both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. of Jones (1960) reports some of the details about
The Public Health Conference of 1941 (U.S.A., the University of California's developmental
1942) reinforced the fact that older people have a studies.
variety of mental problems which require research
(see also, Roth, 1959). Psychiatry of later life, Publication of Research
however, has been slow to develop, possibly be- More research seems to have been published in
cause there were too few trained men who could the decade of 1950-1959 than had been published
consider entering into the systematic investigation in the entire preceding 115 years the subject may
of a relatively unexplored and difficult field. be said to have existed (table 1). The table is an
Despite the difficulties of developing a compre- approximation, since there may be a bias against
hensive geriatric psychiatry, the names of certain a detailed search for and citation of the very
investigators are widely known for their contri- earliest articles and also difficulties in locating
butions. In Great Britain, there are Post at the articles may lead to an underestimate of the most
Maudsley Hospital and Roth at the University of recent publications. Location of articles published
Durham. In Italy, there is Cesa-Bianchi. In the in the most recent 2 or 3 years requires a direct
U.S.A., there are also several: Rothschild, Simon,
Weinberg, Goldfarb, and Busse. TABLE 1. PUBLICATION OP RESEARCH ON THE
Busse's interest in the psychiatric aspects of PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OP AGING.
aging have led to the establishment of a significant Number of Publications
research group. In the Department of Psychiatry Date A B

at the Duke University Medical Center, there has 1835 1 1

been established an active research group involving 1884 1 0
1889 1 0
both psychiatrists and psychologists. Since there 1900-09 1 0
have been so few units devoted to systematic 1910-19 3 3
research in this area, I asked Busse how he became 1920-29 24 28
1930-39 81 70
interested. His reply was: 1940-49 121 102
My interest in aging did not come from any 1950-59 340 259
particular person; rather, I was pushed into it because NOTE:—Based upon an analysis of psychological articles cited in col. A
of my interest in the functions of the temporal lobe in the Handbook of Aging and the Individual (Birren, 1959) and in col. B the
and the chance findings of EEG abnormalities which reviews by Riegel (1958-59). Each article was counted only once regardless
are not infrequent in elderly persons and which re- of- the number of times it was cited.
132 BIRREN
search of journals, which are not only often un- from investigators working in organized research
bound in librariees but are also not yet abstracted units.
and found in standard publication lists. If the psychologist is going to be inundated by
The actual tally of articles by year of publica- publications and forced into a narrower specializa-
tion as cited in Riegel's review (1958-1959) and in tion, a problem will face the investigator who
the Handbook. (Birren, 1959) showed a decline wants to consider psychological functioning in the
between 1956 and 1959, which probably reflects broad context of biological and social influences.
authors' inability or difficulty in locating the very It would seem that if this is a desirable position for
most current material. If one merely assumes a some to retain, they will have to be aided by
constant publication rate after 1956, then the electronic library methods which will file, sort,

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estimate for the decade 1950-1959 is about 88 and retrieve information. While much is gained
articles short. Furthermore if one allows a con- for the individual investigator by articles and
servative estimated increase during this period, a books which accidentally come into his hands, in
total of about 500 articles represents the volume a rapidly growing field it would seem that system-
of publication of psychological research on aging atic searches will have to be facilitated by
during the period 1950-1959. A comparison of the mechanical and electronic devices.
growth of psychological research with physiologi- Should the study of the psychology of aging
cal, biochemical, and other research could be made continue to grow at the rate shown by recent
by an analysis of Shock's (1951) classified bibli- publications it will likely become a more
ography, and his later supplement (1957). specialized topic, and research units will be or-
The Handbook (Birren, 1959) was of course ganized around selected aspects. How research
selective in citation of published works. Aside on perception and aging, for example, will differ
from technical limitations in published research from past research done on perception is not
there are many other reasons for not citing works, apparent. One feature would seem to naturally
e.g., articles verifying the same essential points. follow, that the student of perception per se, in
Experience in preparing the annual review for 1960 comparison with the student of aging, would be
(Birren, 1960) suggests that about half of the less interested in the interactions of perception
articles located by searching journals and abstracts with the rest of the organism. Perhaps this is
lists will currently be regarded as non-research merely saying that the developmental psychologist
in character, e.g., case histories, descriptions of characteristically takes a more integrative position
programs, or semi-technical reviews. Such locating in psychology and that this will continue to be
and sorting takes time, and it seems highly likely reflected in aging even as the subject becomes more
that if investigators and reviewers are going to compartmentalized. However, specialization may
master information in detail they will have to not only occur along scientific lines but also along
narrow their scope of reading about aging out of the lines defined by the problems of older persons,
self-defense. The men with the broadest grasp of and a strong applied psychology of aging may
a subject for practical reasons are favored to come develop with specialized activities in relation to
early in the history of a subject and the con- medicine, public health, industry, and education.
temporary researcher in the psychology of aging The psychology of aging is beginning to be
will probably increasingly limit the scope of his
recognized as a sub-specialty of psychology. In a
subject matter; they will have to limit their grasp
1960 specialties list of scientific and technical per-
if they are to maintain an effective grip.
sonnel of the National Science Foundation, de-
velopmental psychology was divided into 3 parts;
Some Conclusions nursery and pre-school, childhood and adolescence,
Aging is a subject which is difficult for an and maturity and old age. Although the psy-
isolated investigator to study on a short-term chology of aging is part of developmental psy-
basis; investigators need institutional support for chology, there is at present surprisingly little
a variety of things including the availability of commonality of method and problems between it
subjects. While the concept of the lone scientist and child development. This seems partly
solving all problems by himself is sometimes explained by the type of training the investigators
appealing, perhaps as a reaction to the bustle of have received, with students of aging in greater
professional and scientific life, one cannot help number being more physiologically inclined. It
but be impressed with increasing number of has been said that students of early development
contributions to the psychology of aging coming have been over-disposed toward an emphasis on
 HISTORY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF AGING 133
environmental causation, whereas students of late (clinical problems), and educational (adult edu-
life have been given to "over organicity." If this cation and training). These 3 areas of application
observation is valid, then one might expect some have formed a tripod of practical interest in re-
correction in the years to come with students of search and provided the research worker with an
child development coming to recognize more of audience eager for results. The noise level of
the biological influences on behavior and the stu- public interest in the psychology of aging has
dents of aging giving more attention to environ- risen in recent years, reflecting perhaps a change
mental influences. If this does evolve, then we will in society which has come to recognize that science
have a comprehensive lifespan developmental may not only offer descriptions of aging but also
psychology. ' i eventual clues about how individuals can live

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The psychology of aging has for the most part better, if not longer as well. Not only the scholar
borrowed methods, and if one regards method and scientist but society has changed from 1835,
above all else, there is perhaps no separate psy- when Quetelet first published, to 1961 when the
chology of aging. If content is also to be con- White House Conference on Aging was held.
sidered important, however, the psychology of This brief history of the psychology of aging was
aging is indeed by now a distinct entity. Advances not intended to be an exhaustive review, and in
in many fields of psychology are influencing the the process of writing many significant individuals
psychology of aging; however, there are, it seems, and developments have had to be omitted for
fewer strong "enthusiasms" in research on the brevity. It is to be hoped, however, that this
psychology of aging than were involved in the initial account will stimulate more detailed sub-
growth of many facets of psychology. Perhaps the sequent histories.
psychology of aging, now in its stage of rapid
growth, learned something from the enthusiastic References
expansion of child psychology about 20 years Adler, Marjorie. History of the Gerontological Society.
/. Gerontol, 1958, 13, 94-100.
earlier. Psychologists interested in aging seem less
driven than some to categorical explanations. Anderson, J. E. (Ed.) Psychological aspects of aging.
Washington, D. C : American Psychological Associa-
This may result from the fact that the student of tion, 1956.
aging is ccn:inually reminded that man's be-
havior is a result of combinations of biological Anon. Old age in the modern world; report of the
Third Congress of the International Association of
and social forces plus a collection of unique Gerontology, London, 1954. Edinburgh: E. & S.
circumstances, which either obscure the general or Livingstone, 1955.
enhance the subject matter, depending upon one's Birren, J. E. (Ed.) Handbook of aging and the indi-
views. vidual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press5 1959.
There are facts in the psychology of aging about Birren, J. E. Psychological aspects of aging. In Ann.
which most psychologists now agree, but perhaps Rev. Psychol. Stanford, Calif.: Annual Reviews, 1960.
more important than the facts we have gained is Busse, E. W., Barnes, R. H., Silverman, A. J., Thaler,
the increased refinement in the many important M. B., & Frost, L. L. Studies of processes of aging.
VI. Factors that influence the psyche of elderly
questions being asked. The most comprehensive persons. Amer. ]. Psychiat., 1954, 110, 897-903.
question facing the field is whether there is a
Busse, E. W., Barnes, R. H., Silverman, A. J., Thaler,
general species pattern of aging which is expressed M. B., & Frost, L. L. Studies of the processes of aging.
in behavioral characteristics as well as in longevity. X. The strengths and weaknesses of psychic function-
Only evidence from research will tell us if there is ing in the aged. Amer. ]. Psychiat., 1955, 111, 896-
a common thread running through phenomena 901.
associated with advancing age, a thread running Cavan, Ruth, Burgess, E. W., Havighurst, R. J., &
through a somewhat orderly series of events, like Goldhamer, H. Personal adjustment in old age.
Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1949.
beads on a string, with an end marker as well.
Alternatively, research may tell us that aging Havighurst, R. J., & Albrecht, Ruth. Older people.
New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1953.
results from consequences of events which accumu-
late like miscellaneous objects in a pile, toppling Jones, H. E. (Obituary) Child Develpm., I960, 3 1 ,
when it becomes over-balanced. 593-608.
Kaplan, O. J. (Ed.) Mental disorders in later life.
Implications of research on the psychology of Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1945.
aging are so extensive that encouragement of re-
Pressey, S. L. The new division on maturity and old
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134 BIRREN
Riegel, K. F. Ergebnisse und Probleme der psychologi- Tibbitts, C. (Ed.) Social gerontology. Chicago: Uni-
schen Alternsforschung. Vita Humana, 1958-1959, 1, versity of Chicago Press, 1960.
52-64, 111-127, 204-243; 2,213-237. U.S.A. Proceedings of the Conference on Mental
Roth, M. Mental health problems of ageing and the Health in Later Maturity, May 23-24, 1941. Wash-
aged. Bull. WHO, 1959, 2 1 , 527-561. ington, D.C.: Supplement 168 to U. S. Pub. Health
Shock, N. W. A classified bibliography of gerontology Rep., Government Printing Office, 1942.
and geriatrics. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Welford, A. T. Skill and age. London, Oxford Uni-
Press, 1951. Also Supplement One, 1957. versity Press, 1951.
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