BHS-420 -Topic 7: Short Answer Questions
Directions: Provide short answers of 100-150 words each for the following
questions/statements. Do not exceed 200 words for each your response. Use the textbook, and
any other scholarly resources to support your responses. Include at least two to three scholarly
resources beyond the textbook.
1. How do different cultures approach loss? Provide at least two different examples in
your response.
Anxious people often worry about death and what will happen after they do die. Death is
all the same, yet the perception of death is what is different within cultures. In India,
death is not perceived to be an ending and is foreseen as a beginning of a new life in
continuance of the ending life (Felman, 2021). They believe each individual dies and is
reborn with a new identity and can occur more than once. The Mexican culture will
mourn the death of people and celebrate the dead and their legacy with humor and joy
(Infante-Vargas, 2019). Often, death is not spoken around or discussed with children
and left for the hospital to deal with (Feldman, 2021). Therefore, even though death
happens to everyone, cultural diversities withhold diverse perceptions and beliefs, and
everyone does not handle it the same.
2. What is wisdom and how is it associated with late adulthood?
Wisdom is knowledge within an individual that is different from book knowledge. This is
knowledge from learned lessons through personal life experiences. For example, women
of theology live out their faith and then later share their experiences with others (Sajdak,
2023). Wisdom cannot be learned by reading a book, it is learned and shared by everyone
from their failures and successes throughout their lifespan. A dozen of women or men can
study the same religion or the same major in school, yet they gain knowledge that cannot
be taught but only learned through their own experiences which is meant to pass along by
sharing their wisdom in that area.
3. Describe selective optimization with compensation. Provide an example of how
late adulthood individuals apply selective optimization with compensation.
Selective optimization is where a person concentrates on their skills and knowledge to
make up for where they lack (Feldman, 2021). Individuals are guided to focus on areas
where they are excelling in rather than where they are declining. For example, if a single
father loses his vehicle after an accident, he can still get around through other
transportation options. If a man loses his leg from being in a previous war as a soldier, he
can get a prosthetic leg to help himself be able to walk again. In late adulthood, elders
may lose their hearing, or their eyesight may be failing which they then are able to get a
© 2022. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
Directions: Provide short answers of 100-150 words each for the following
questions/statements. Do not exceed 200 words for each your response. Use the textbook, and
any other scholarly resources to support your responses. Include at least two to three scholarly
resources beyond the textbook.
1. How do different cultures approach loss? Provide at least two different examples in
your response.
Anxious people often worry about death and what will happen after they do die. Death is
all the same, yet the perception of death is what is different within cultures. In India,
death is not perceived to be an ending and is foreseen as a beginning of a new life in
continuance of the ending life (Felman, 2021). They believe each individual dies and is
reborn with a new identity and can occur more than once. The Mexican culture will
mourn the death of people and celebrate the dead and their legacy with humor and joy
(Infante-Vargas, 2019). Often, death is not spoken around or discussed with children
and left for the hospital to deal with (Feldman, 2021). Therefore, even though death
happens to everyone, cultural diversities withhold diverse perceptions and beliefs, and
everyone does not handle it the same.
2. What is wisdom and how is it associated with late adulthood?
Wisdom is knowledge within an individual that is different from book knowledge. This is
knowledge from learned lessons through personal life experiences. For example, women
of theology live out their faith and then later share their experiences with others (Sajdak,
2023). Wisdom cannot be learned by reading a book, it is learned and shared by everyone
from their failures and successes throughout their lifespan. A dozen of women or men can
study the same religion or the same major in school, yet they gain knowledge that cannot
be taught but only learned through their own experiences which is meant to pass along by
sharing their wisdom in that area.
3. Describe selective optimization with compensation. Provide an example of how
late adulthood individuals apply selective optimization with compensation.
Selective optimization is where a person concentrates on their skills and knowledge to
make up for where they lack (Feldman, 2021). Individuals are guided to focus on areas
where they are excelling in rather than where they are declining. For example, if a single
father loses his vehicle after an accident, he can still get around through other
transportation options. If a man loses his leg from being in a previous war as a soldier, he
can get a prosthetic leg to help himself be able to walk again. In late adulthood, elders
may lose their hearing, or their eyesight may be failing which they then are able to get a
© 2022. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
