1. Select a middle-adulthood or late-adulthood family member or friend (someone who is living
or has passed) to write about how current social, political, economic, or cultural forces
positively or negatively has or had influenced their development and longevity.
2. Read the Ch 15 section on "Longevity, Biological Aging and Physical Development"
(particularly the information on "Differences in Life Expectancy"), pages 399-401. Another
source of information is found on the CDC-FastStats-Life Expectancy. These two
sources of information help explain some of the forces that your family member or friend has
or had experienced.
3. Write a 2-5 pages double-spaced paper that explains how two of the forces (social, political,
economic, or cultural forces) with examples of his or her experiences influenced your family
member or a friend's development. Explain how these two forces might impact his or her
longevity.
• Describe your middle or late adulthood family member or friend. State their gender, age,
ethnicity, and any other individual information that provides an understanding of who
he or she is or was. Describe his or her health, biological and cognitive, and
socioemotional well-being.
• Apply two forces, either social, political, economic, or cultural, that you think might have
influenced their development and longevity. Explain why you think each force
influenced the person's health and life. Cite information from the text or another source
to support your ideas.
