Human Development Case Study Exercise

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Case Study

Senior man swimming in a pool

Jason has been physically active all of his life. During his 30s he did running and bicycling. Jason also liked to swim, so when he was in his early 40s he participated in triathlon competitions. (In a triathlon, a participant must bike, swim and run.) He usually placed in his age group.

In his early 60s, Jason had problems with his knees, so he stopped running, but kept swimming and biking. He competed in shorter-distance bike races and joined a competitive swim club. At 78, he gave up biking due to his knees, but he kept swimming. He continued to compete and occasionally won in his age group.

Read the textbook’s section on Paul and Margaret Baltes’s theory of selective optimization with compensation. Also visit www.encyclopedia.com , Opens in new window (search for selective optimization with compensation and then read two articles from the list at the bottom of the Web page).

Essay Question