Question 18 through 22.
M:Excuse me, Dr. Phillips.
W:Hello, Patrick. I got your message. You said something about a project you’re working on.
M:Yeah, that’s right. I’m uh … we’re, I mean, Student Activities is trying to find out what students think about the different events we sponsor. So I’m designing a study for them, and I was wondering if I could get your advice.
W:Sure. So, what can I do for you?
M:Well, like I said, we want to find out what students like and don’t like about our events—like the concerts we have, the masquerade ball, the spring picnic, and so on, I know there’s lots of ways we could get information like this information from students but I’m not sure which way is best. I’d like to get as much feedback as possible, from as many people as possible, but—like I said—I’m not sure about the best way to do it. Interviewing students might be a good way. but I think, uh, interviews would take a lot of time.
W:You’re right about that. Face-to-face interviews are very time–consuming. Two other methods you could use are the survey and the poll. A survey can be highly structured and doesn’t require a face-to-face situation, so that’s an advantage. You could do a survey in the form of a printed questionnaire, or you could also do it over the telephone. Telephone surveys take more time.
M:I sec what you mean. For our purpose, a printed survey might be best. But you also mentioned a poll. How’s that different from a survey?
W:A survey is usually fairly structured, while a poll is much simpler in design. A poll is simply a headcount. The respondents are presented with a limited number of options. Are you for or against a masquerade ball? Do you prefer events like A. B, or C?
M:I see. So a poll probably wouldn’t give us a lot to go on, but we could probably reach more people that way
W:That’s right. You know there’s an excellent book that explains the pluses and minuses of each of these methods. It’s called How to Measure Attitudes, and it’s in our library … and probably the bookstore as well because itis used in some of our graduate courses. It shows you how to word questions to get the information you want, and there are lots of good samples of surveys
M:I’d better write this down How to Measure Attitudes.
W:I’d lend you my copy, but one of my assistants is using it.
M:Oh. that’s all right I’m sure I can get a hold of it. If we do, uh, if we decide to go with a printed survey, could you, uh, would you be willing to look at my draft first?
W:Of course. You could just slip it into my mailbox, or stop by anytime during my office hours.
M:OK. That would be great. I’ll put the draft in your mailbox. Thanks. I really appreciate your time. Now I’d better get going and see if I can find that book.
W:OK, Patrick. Good luck.
Questions 23 through 28.
Listen to part of a lecture in a psychology class. The professor is talking about adulthood.
M: We all change over the course of our adulthood. Some changes we go through are biological and are a natural part of aging. Some are cultural experiences, such as the changes related to our family life. A lot of the changes in adulthood involve social relationships and responsibilities. And then, there are some changes that are more internal and personal. Question?
W: Yes. Um, is what you’re talking about—I mean these changes we experience—are they part of our biological clock?
M: I’m glad you brought up the biological clock. The term “biological clock” refers to the biological and chemical changes that occur with aging, as if a clock were ticking away in the background. Some changes in adults are biological. These changes are often easy to observe, like my hair aiming gray. Some biological changes aren’t directly visible, such as the … uh … the reduced efficiency of the neural connections in our brain. But some of the changes we go through have more to do with sociology than biology. There’s also a “social clock” that defines the sequence of normal life experiences, such as … uh … the timing of education, career, marriage, and so on. Virtually all societies are organized into age strata, periods in life with norms for that is, typical … uh … expectations, demands, social roles and responsibilities. People have different expectations of and different attitudes toward 20 year olds, 40 year olds, and 70 year olds. We generally expect a 20-year-old to act in a certain way, but we expect different behavior from someone who’s 40 or 70. Our attitudes towards each age group form what we consider to be the age norms for that group.
W: Excuse me, Dr. Butler. Wouldn’t these age norms be different in different cultures? I mean, in some cultures someone who’s 40 is considered old, but in other cultures 40 is still kind of young.
M: Various cultures might define “old” and “young” differently, but every culture has a set of attitudes— age norms—for old people and a different set of attitudes for young people. For example, an older adult might be seen as having more—or less—status than a young adult—no matter how the culture defines what age is “old.”
Early adulthood is the period from age 18 to 40.
Early adulthood is when more new social roles are acquired than at any other time of life. The first new role is often independent adulthood, as the young person leaves home. Another new role is worker, as the young adult begin a career. Young adults also acquire the role of spouse, as most first marriages occur during early adulthood. A major new role is that of parent. Over 80 percent of adults in North America will eventually become parents, normally in their twenties or thirties.
The second stage of adulthood, middle adulthood, is roughly from age 40 to 65. In middle adulthood, the same social roles are still present—spouse, parent, worker—but they become less demanding and less confining than they were during early adulthood. A few new roles are added, like grandparent, or maybe caregiver to our own aging parents. This is the “sandwich generation,” because people in middle adulthood are sandwiched between the needs of their children and the needs of their aging parents.
Late adulthood begins at age 65. Late adulthood is normally marked by a decline in the number of social roles. The role of worker is shed at retirement. The older adult is still a parent, but that role now has fewer duties. For many people, the role of spouse is given up to widowhood. Yes?
W: So far, you’ve been talking about people who have children. What about people who don’t have children?
M: Adults who don’t have children don’t experience the role changes that accompany a child’s development, yet their experiences do not otherwise differ in any substantial way. They follow the basic pattern of adulthood. By this I mean, they add new roles in early adulthood, change roles in middle adulthood, and shed roles in late adulthood.