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YorkU Centre for Aging Research & Education (YU-CARE)
Home » Research » The Psychology of Aging

The Psychology of Aging

The research produced by YU-CARE members and associates along the theme of the psychology of aging is impactful at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. Research spans from topics including:

  • The role of drama in aging;
  • Perception and stereotyping of aging;
  • The human being and the experience of aging; and
  • Mental illness, illness, and the aging experience.

Please click the hyperlink (content italicized and underlined in red) at each citation to find each article or abstract.

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Citations of Articles

  1. Polly Ford-Jones and Tamara Daly, (SUBMITTED August 2022) “Paramedicine, mental health calls, and the social determinants of health: A qualitative study" to Health and Social Care in the Community.
  2. Chaudhary M, Adams MS, Mukhopadhyay S, Litoiu M, Sergio LE (2021) Sabotage detection using Deep Learning models on EEG data from cognitive-motor integration task. Front. Hum. Neurosci.: 558; https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.662875
  3. Polly Ford-Jones and Tamara Daly (2020) Filling the gap: Mental health and psychosocial paramedicine programming in Ontario, Canada, Health and Social Care in the Community, DOI:10.1111/hsc.13189 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hsc.13189
  4. Polly Ford-Jones and Tamara Daly, (2020) Paramedicine and Mental Health: A Qualitative Analysis of Limitations to Education and Practice in Ontario", Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-05-2020-0031
  5. Gray, J., Dupuis, S.L., Kontos, P., Jonas- Simpson, C., Mitchell, G., Gray, J. (2020). Knowledge as embodied, imaginative and foolish enactment: Exploring dementia experiences through theatre. Forum, Qualitative Social Research, 21(3), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.3.3444
  6. Kontos, P., Miller, K.-L., Mitchell, G. J., & Stirling-Twist, J. (2017). Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia. Dementia, 16(1), 46–66. 
  7. Dupuis, S.L., Mitchell, G.J., Jonas-Simpson, C.M., Whyte, C.P., Gillies, J.L., Carson, J.D. (2015). Igniting transformative change in dementia care through research-based drama. The Gerontologist, 56:6, 1042-1052.
  8. Malone, M. R., & Meisner, B. A. (2015). Nebraska: Oscar® winning representations of aging and older adults. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 10(1), 1-5. [PDF]
  9. Dupuis, S. L., Gillies, J., Mitchell, G. J., Jonas-Simpson, C., Whyte, C., & Carson, J. (2011). Catapulting shifts in images, understandings, and actions for family members through research-based drama. Family Relations, 60(1), 104-120.
  10. Mitchell, G. J., Dupuis, S., & Jonas-Simpson, C. (2011). Countering stigma with understanding: The role of theatre in social change and transformation. Canadian Theatre Review, 146.
  11. Mitchell, G. J., Dupuis, S., Jonas-Simpson, C., Whyte, C., Carson, J., & Gillis, J. (2011). The experience of engaging with research-based drama: Evaluation and explication of synergy and transformation. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(4), 379–392.
  12. Kontos, P. C., Mitchell, G. J., Mistry, B., & Ballon, B. (2010). Using drama to improve person-centred dementia care. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 5, 159-168.
  13. Jonas-Simpson, C. M. (2003). The Experience of Being Listened to: A Human Becoming Study with Music. Nursing Science Quarterly, 16(3), 232–238.
  14. Jonas-Simpson, C. M. (2001). Feeling Understood: A Melody of Human Becoming. Nursing Science Quarterly, 14(3), 222–230.
  1. Setton, Mwilambwe-Tshilobo, L., Girn, M., Lockrow, A. W., Baracchini, G., Hughes, C., Lowe, A. J., Cassidy, B. N., Li, J., Luh, W.-M., Bzdok, D., Leahy, R. M., Ge, T., Margulies, D. S., Misic, B., Bernhardt, B. C., Stevens, W. D., De Brigard, F., Kundu, P., … Spreng, R. N. (2022). Age differences in the functional architecture of the human brain. Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991). https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac056
  2. usupov, Vandermorris, S., Plunkett, C., Astell, A., Rich, J. B., & Troyer, A. K. (2022). An Agile Development Cycle of an Online Memory Program for Healthy Older Adults. Canadian Journal on Aging, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980821000763
  3. Kontos, P., Grigorovich, A., Dupuis, S., Jonas- Simpson, C., Mitchell, G., & Gray, J. (2020). Raising the curtain on stigma associated with dementia: fostering a new cultural imaginary for a more inclusive society. Critical Public Health, 30(1), 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2018.1508822
  4. Mok, J.N., Kwan, D., Green, L., Myerson, J., Craver, C.F., & Rosenbaum, R.S. (2020). Is it time? Episodic imagining and the discounting of delayed and probabilistic rewards in young and older adults. Cognition, 199, 104222- 104222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104222
  5. Selarka, D., Rosenbaum, R.S., Lapp, L., & Levine, B. (2019). Association between self-reported and performance-based navigational ability using internet-based remote spatial memory assessment. Memory (Hove), 27(5), 723-728. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1554082
  6. Carson, N., Rosenbaum, R.S., Moscovitch, M., & Murphy, K.J., (2019). Self-referential processing improves memory for narrative information in helathy aging and amnestic Mild Cognitive impairment. Neuropsychologia, 134, 107179- 107179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107179
  7. Massie, A. S.,* & Meisner, B. A. (2019). Perceptions of aging and experiences of ageism as constraining factors of moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activity in later life. Society & Leisure, 42(1), 24-42. doi: 10.1080/07053436.2019.1582903 [Note: Special Issue on Social Participation, Leisure, and Active Aging]
  8. Dogra, S., Al-Sahab, B., Manson, J., & Tamim, H. (2015). Aging expectations are associated with physical activity and health among older adults of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 23(2), 180-186.
  9. Harris, L. R., Carenvale, M. J., D'Amour, S., Fraser, L. E., Harrar, V., Hoover, A. E., ... Mander, C. (2015). How our body influences our perception of the world. Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
  10. Malone, M. R., & Meisner, B. A. (2015). Nebraska: Oscar® winning representations of aging and older adults. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 10(1), 1-5. [PDF]
  11. Meisner, B., Weir, P., & Baker, J. (2013). The relationship between aging expectations and various modes of physical activity among aging adults. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 569-576.
  12. Meisner, B. A., & Baker, J. (2013). An exploratory analysis of aging expectations and health care behavior among aging adults. Psychology & Aging, 28(1), 99-104.
  13. Mitchell, G. J., Dupuis, S. L., & Kontos, P. C. (2013). Dementia discourse: From imposed suffering to knowing other-wise. Journal of Applied Hermeneutics.
  14. Sparks, C. R., Meisner, B. A., & Young, B. W. (2013). Investigating general and self-expectations regarding aging in a physical activity context. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 44(1), 17-36. [PDF]
  15. Meisner, B. A. (2012). A meta-analysis of positive and negative age stereotype priming effects on behavior among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67(1), 13-17.
  16. Leung, K. K., Finlay, J., Silvius, J. L., Koehn, S., McCleary, L., Cohen, C. A., ... Persaud, M. (2011). Pathways to diagnosis: exploring the experiences of problem recognition and obtaining a dementia diagnosis among Anglo-Canadians. Health and Social Care in the Community, 19(4), 372-381.
  17. Horton, S., Baker J., Pearce, W., & Deakin, J.M. (2010). Immunity to popular stereotypes of aging? Seniors and stereotype threat. Educational Gerontology, 36, 353-371.
  18. Dogra, S., Meisner, B., & Baker, J. (2008). Psychosocial predictors of physical activity in older aged asthmatics. Age and Ageing, 37, 449-454.
  19. Horton, S., Baker, J., & Côté, J., & Deakin, J.M. (2008) Understanding seniors’ perceptions and stereotypes of aging. Educational Gerontology, 34, 997-1017.
  20. Horton, S., Baker, J., Pearce, G.W., & Deakin, J.M. (2008). On the malleability of performance: Implications for seniors. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 27, 446-465.
  1. Shaikh, k.T., Tatham, E.L., Vandermorris, S., Paterson, T., Stokes, K., Freedman, M., Levine, B., Risch, J.B., & Troyer, A.K. (2021). The Impact of Memory Change on Everyday Life among Older Adults: Association with Cognition and Self- Reported Memory. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 27(9), 896- 904. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617720001344
  2. Tatham, E.L., Shaikh, K.T., Vandermorris, S., Troyer, A.K., & Rich, J.B. (2021). Assessing one's sense of normalcy: psychometric properties of the subjective normalcy inventory. Aging & Mental Health, 25(3), 567-574. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2019.1699018
  3.  Shaikh, K. T.., Tatham, E.L., Parikh, P.K., McCreath, G.A., Rich, J.B., & Troyer, A.K. (2019). Development and Psychometric Validation of a Questionnaire Assessing the Impact of Memory Changes in Older Adults. The Gerontologist, 59(4), e248-e257. https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/59/4/e248/4924331
  4. Troyer, A. K., Leach, L., Vandermorris, S., & Rich, J. B. (2019). The measurement of participant reported memory across diverse populations and settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire. Memory (Hove), 27(7), 931- 942. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658211.2019.1608255
  5. Verschoor CP, Tamim H. (2018). Frailty is inversely related to age at menopause and elevated in women who have had a hysterectomy: an analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med ScI. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gly092. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed [citation] PMID: 29688443
  6. Hutchinson, S. L., Lauckner, H., Meisner, B. A., Gallant, K. A., & Silversides, C. (2017). Fostering self-determination and sense of belonging through leisure education: Reflections on the Steps to Connect program. Society & Leisure, 40(3), 360-376.
  7. Meisner, B.A., Dogra, S., Logan, A.J., Baker, J., & Weir, P.L. (2010). Do or decline: Comparing the effects of physical inactivity on biopsychosocial components of successful aging. Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 688-696.
  8. Brandt, J., Campodonico, J. R., Rich, J. B., Baker, L., Steele, C., Ruff, T., ... Lyketsos, C. (1998). Adjustment to residential placement in Alzheimer disease patients: Does premorbid personality matter? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 509-515.
  9. Daly, J., Mitchell, G. J., & Jonas-Simpson, C. M. (1996). Quality of Life and the Human Becoming Theory: Exploring Discipline-Specific Contributions. Nursing Science Quarterly, 9(4), 170–174.
  1. Klicnik, Putman, A., Doiron, D., Barakat, C., Ardern, C. I., Rudoler, D., & Dogra, S. (2022). Neighborhood greenness, but not walkability, is associated with self-rated measures of health in older adults: An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Preventive Medicine Reports, 30, 102018–102018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.102018
  2. Adil, Kuk, J. L., & Ardern, C. I. (2022). Associations between weight discrimination and metabolic health: A cross sectional analysis of middle aged adults. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 16(2), 151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2022.02.006
  3. Zaidi, K.B., Rich, J.B., Sunderland, K.M., Binns, M.A., Truong, L., McLaughlin, P.M., Pugh, B., Kwan, D., Beaton, D., Levine, B., Sahlas, D.J., Dowlatshahi, D., Hassan, A., Mandzia, J., Troyer, A.K., & Swartz, R.H. (2020). Methods for improving screening for vascular cognitive impairment using the Montreal cognitive assessment. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, 47(6), 756-763. https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2020.121
  4. Fiocco, A. J., & Meisner, B. A. (2020). Mindful aging: The association between trait mindfulness and expectations regarding aging among middle aged and older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 24(4), 591-595. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1544216
  5. Tatham, E. L., Shaikh, K. T., Vandermorris, S., Troyer, A. K., & Rich, J. B. (in press). Assessing one’s sense of normalcy: Psychometric properties of the Subjective Normalcy Inventory. Aging and Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2019.1699018
  6. Gauthier, L.R., Dworkin, R.H., Warr, D., Pillai Riddell, R., Macpherson, A., Rodin, G., Zimmermann, C., Librach, S.L., Moore, M., Shepherd, F.A., & Gagliese, L. (April, 2018). Age-related patterns in cancer pain and its psychosocial impact: investigating the role of variability in physical and mental health quality of life. Pain Medicine, 19(4):658-676. (6 citations)
  7. Marcia Rioux and Tamara Daly (2019) “Constructing Disability and Illness” in Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care. Edition III Eds. Dennis Raphael, Toba Bryant and Marcia Rioux, Canadian Scholars Press, 305 – 324 -- Forthcoming December 2019.
  8. Fox, M.T., Al-Haj, M., & Ko, C. (2012). Why do Complex Continuing Care residents confine themselves to bed?” Perspectives, Journal of the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association, 35(3), 16-17.  
  9. Stone, R.C., Meisner, B.A. & Baker, J. (2012). Mood disorders among older adults participating in individual and group active environments: ‘Me’ versus ‘us’, or both? Journal of Aging Research.
  10. Lo, C., Lin, J., Gagliese, L., Zimmerman, C., Mikulincer, M., & Rodin, G. (2010). Age and depression in patients with metastatic cancer: the protective effects of attachment security and spiritual wellbeing. Ageing and Society, 30(2), 326-336.
  11. Rapp, M. S., Flint, A. J., Herrmann, N., & Proulx, G.-B. (1992). Behavioural disturbances in the demented elderly: Phenomenology, pharmacotherapy and behavioural management*. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 37(9), 651–657.
  12. Proulx GB. (1989) Management of Disruptive Behaviours in the Cognitively Impaired Elderly: Integrating Neuropsychological and Behavioural Approaches. In: Conn D.K., Grek A., Sadavoy J. (eds) Psychiatric Consequences of Brain Disease in the Elderly: A Focus on Management. Springer, Boston, MA
  13. Proulx, G.B. & Campbell, K.B. (1987). The management of apparent “paranoid” behavior in a patient with multi-infarct dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 6:2, 119-128.