We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2017, taking place in Budapest, Hungary, from 29 of April to 1 of May, 2017. Modern psychology offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…

The possible selves construct is presented as a useful and largely untapped perspective on adult learning. Special attention is given to the role of educational helping relationships in fostering positive possible selves among adult learners.

Although it may be so subtle that it is not noticed or sudden and life altering, adult development occurs in a cycle of four inherent processes: transaction, transition, transformation, and transcendence. These processes exist in a cycle characterized by growth and development. The processes can be defined as follows: (1) transaction--personal,…

Self-concept is an important element in the growth and developmental process for individual human beings. Adult learners in institutional programs need assistance in probing their inner selves to be able to move ahead in their lives. David Kolb's work with the experiental learning model is especially appropriate in dealing with adult learners. In…

The new American College Testing (ACT) College Outcomes Survey was used with a national sample of 9,348 undergraduate students to evaluate the effects of college on the personal and social self-concept of students. About one-third of the sample were over age 26. Outcomes for adult learners were compared with those of younger students. An "index of…

Favors community college recognition of the diversity of potential college students. Argues for research into the major areas and stages of adult development through analysis of individual ego, moral, and intellectual differences in relation to individual orientations toward knowledge, educational practices, and programmatic alternatives. (CM)

A literature review examined the research concerning adult development and graduate education. An initial literature review indicated that little research had been done. Three critiques were developed concerning the literature in adult development: dispersion of adult research literature throughout various disciplines, concentratlon on adult…

A multifaceted approach to adult development was empirically tested with 449 adult students enrolled in a large metropolitan community college system in the midwest. This approach suggests that most adults assume multiple life roles (relationship with self, with work, with others, and with family). The Adult Life Roles Instrument was designed to…

A study of adult learners reveals four steps of transformative change in adult life: diffusion, dissonance, differentiation, and coherence. The educational implications of these steps are explored through case studies, and it is argued that these transformative changes affect not only the individual and the nature of adult education, but the…

An extension of Alan Tough's original research on adult learning activities, the study surveyed large populations in rural and urban Tennessee to analyze learning patterns of adults engaged in learning projects. Data were collected from random samples of 277 adults in Knoxville and 149 dwellings in Monroe County. Tough's interview technique, an…

Life cycle and stage theories are used to show how adult learners experience educational programs differently according to their individual developmental stages. It is argued that quality adult education can and should affect a person's perspective and create new life meanings. (JSR)

In seeking to explore theorists' claims that learning, education, and development in old age are linked, this qualitative study investigated how seeking a graduate or undergraduate degree functions in late-life development. Sixteen participants, ages 70 to 84, enrolled in higher education, were interviewed with a view to exploring their major…

A theory concerning low achievement of student that applies to adult education is developed, based on an interconnection between cognitive and affective domains. A holistic picture of what happens to students may be gained from Piaget's theory of intellectual development, Bloom's hierarchy of cognitive abilities, theories proposing that what…

The process of change experienced by adult women reentering higher education is analyzed within the framework of one theory of adult development, and teaching and learning environments that support women's developmental growth are described. Topics addressed include providing adult students with positive feedback, counseling, promoting awareness…