Enjoy Old Age: A Program of Self-Management

by B.F. Skinner, M.E. Vaughan

An eminent psychologist and a gerontologist explain how to cope with the problems of aging and how to get the most out of one's later years

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help

157 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1983

About the author

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was a highly influential American psychologist, author, inventor, advocate for social reform and poet. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. He invented the operant conditioning chamber, innovated his own philosophy of science called Radical Behaviorism, and founded his own school of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior. His analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior, which has recently seen enormous increase in interest experimentally and in applied settings. He discovered and advanced the rate of response as a dependent variable in psychological research. He invented the cumulative recorder to measure rate of responding as part of his highly influential work on schedules of reinforcement. In a recent survey, Skinner was listed as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. He was a prolific author, publishing 21 books and 180 articles.

Reviews

[Josefina Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yaşlanmak konusunda ne kadar hassasız değil mi? Hemen akla en çok da kadınların hassas olduğu gelir amma aslında bu o kadar gerçek değil çünkü kadınlar bir çok zorluk karşısında doğal bir şekilde tavır alırlar ki bunu nasıl olduğunu daha sonraları yazacağım
Şimdi diyeceksiniz ki -eee! kitaptan ne zaman bahsedeceksin ! evet hemen amma kitaptan alıntılar ve yorumlar da olacak burada.

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[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume is one of the best self-help books I've read. Instead of being filled with cheer-up nostrums, it offers a pragmatic, face-reality view of old age, as a time of diminished capabilities that can be worked around. It is permeated with Skinner's behavioralism, though not labelled as such until an appendix that maps the text's plain-spoken simplicity to technical terms of behaviorism. Its central precept is both devoid of sentimentality yet oddly comforting, for it puts the power to mitigate old-age's drawbacks within the individual's power: "In all these examples [of coping with, defeating, or succumbing to, the drags and diminutions of old age], what people feel is the by-product of what they do and of the circumstances under which they do it. Instead of trying to feel differently by some act of will, you do better to change what is felt by changing the circumstances responsible for it."

[Callie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for EVERYONE. Speaking as someone in their mid-20’s I loved this book and I can see so much of it applying to my life as it is now. Everyone should read this

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me think about old age in a different light. Some of the ideas were nothing new but it did stop you to make you think a little deeper. I'm 60 so it applied. Even younger people will get something out of this book. The book has suggestions on how to not be a boring old person that are of great use. I think people don't realize how they can be perceived as being boring. I can see that I was guilty.

[Mark Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! Sort of an “occupational therapist's guide to old age," with hundreds of practical suggestions for those in their 70's or so and older. Also good for younger folks to prepare for the future.

[Karen Shilvock-Cinefro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting older has been given a negative view. This book tells of how old age can and should be a time of considerable joy and productivity. From the words of the famous psychologist B.F.Skinner, his viewpoints and pointers of becoming older are shared.

[Robert Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly and constructively written to (a) assist readers to appreciate the aging process, and (b) offer strategies for dealing positively with challenges and opportunities that come with aging.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting look at being "old" and making life easier as one ages.

[Svein-kåre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utrolig inspirerende, og oppmuntrende. Passer ikke bare til eldre, men til mennesker i alle aldre!