Abstract
This chapter describes Senior Odyssey, a program of activity engagement which offers opportunities for intellectual challenge in a social context. Core elements include ill-defined problem-solving, team-based collaboration, competition, and play. We provide the history of the Senior Odyssey, a description of program logistics, and an overview of outcomes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Chabris, C., & Simons, D. (2010). The invisible gorilla: And other ways our intuitions deceive us. New York: Crown.
Christensen, K., Doblhammer, G., Rau, R., & Vaupel, J. W. (2009). Ageing populations: The challenges ahead. The Lancet, 374, 1196–1208.
Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., & Lindenberger, U. (2008). Enrichment effects on adult cognitive development: Can the functional capacity of older adults be preserved and enhanced? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 1–65.
Hultsch, D. F., Hertzog, C., Small, B. J., & Dixon, R. A. (1999). Use it or lose it: Engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging? Psychology and Aging, 14, 245–263.
Kinsellla, K., & He, W. (2009). International Population Reports, P95/09-1, An Aging World: 2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Kramer, A. F., & Willis, S. L. (2002). Enhancing the cognitive vitality of older adults. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 173–177.
Langer, E. (1997). The power of mindful learning. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Li, S.-C. (2003). Biocultural orchestration of developmental plasticity across levels: The interplay of biology and culture in shaping the mind and behavior across the life span. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 171–194.
Parisi, J. M., Greene, J. C., Morrow, D. G., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. L. (2007). The Senior Odyssey: Participant experiences of a program of social and intellectual engagement. Activities, Adaptation, and Aging, 31, 31–49.
Parisi, J. M., Stine-Morrow, E. A. L., Noh, S. R., & Morrow, D. G. (2009). Predispositional engagement, activity engagement, and cognition among older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 16, 485–504.
Riley, M. W., & Riley, J. W., Jr. (1994). Age integration and the lives of older people. The Gerontologist, 34, 110–115.
Riley, M. W., & Riley, J. W., Jr. (2000). Age integration: Conceptual and historical background. The Gerontologist, 40, 266–270.
Schooler, C., & Mulatu, M. S. (2001). The reciprocal effects of leisure time activities and intellectual functioning in older people: A longitudinal analysis. Psychology and Aging, 16, 466–482.
Schooler, C., Mulatu, M. S., & Oates, G. (1999). The continuing effects of substantively complex work on the intellectual functioning of older workers. Psychology and Aging, 14, 483–506.
Schooler, C., Mulatu, M. S., & Oates, G. (2004). Occupational self-direction intellectual functioning, and self-directed orientation in older workers: Findings and implications for individuals and society. American Journal of Sociology, 110, 161–197.
Stine-Morrow, E. A. L., & Basak, C. (2011). Cognitive interventions. In K. W. Schaie & S. L. Willis (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (7th ed.). New York: Elsevier (in press).
Stine-Morrow, E. A. L., Parisi, J. M., Morrow, D. G., Greene, J. C., & Park, D. C. (2007). An engagement model of cognitive optimization through adulthood. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 62, 62–69.
Stine-Morrow, E. A. L., Parisi, J. M., Morrow, D. G., & Park, D. C. (2008). The effects of an engaged lifestyle on cognitive vitality: A field experiment. Psychology and Aging, 23, 778–786.
Verghese, J., Lipton, R. B., Katz, M. J., Hall, C. B., Derby, C. A., Kuslansky, G., et al. (2003). Leisure activities and risk of dementia in the elderly. New England Journal of Medicine, 348, 2508–2516.
Willis, S. L. (2001). Methodological issues in behavioral intervention research with the elderly. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (5th ed., pp. 78–108). N.Y.: Academic Press.
Willis, S. L., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Ball, K., Elias, J., Koepke, K. M., et al. (2006). Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA, 296, 2805–2814.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for support from the National Institute on Aging (Grants R03 AG024551 and R01 AG029475). We also wish to thank Joanne Rompel and Sammy Micklus for their support in helping us develop the Senior version of their Odyssey; Donna Whitehill, MT Campbell, Jennifer Kapolnek, and all of the Illinois Senior Odyssey coaches for keeping the program running so smoothly; and Donna Whitehill for thoughtful comments on an earlier version. For updates on published reports and photos of Senior Odyssey events, go to http://www.seniorodyssey.org.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stine-Morrow, E.A.L., Parisi, J.M. (2011). A Practical Guide to Senior Odyssey. In: Hartman-Stein, P., LaRue, A. (eds) Enhancing Cognitive Fitness in Adults. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0636-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0636-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0635-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0636-6
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)