Encouraging responsible aging through pedagogy: the future self exercise.

Introductory gerontology courses have the potential to enhance student appreciation of aging issues. The effectiveness of such courses for informing views about individual aging is little studied. This study, using a quasi-experimental design, examines the impact of participation in an introductory course in aging on 158 undergraduate students in a Midwestern state. The course used an instructional device, the Future Self Exercise, to help students acknowledge and plan for their own future aging. A pre- and postcomparison of student self-ratings and descriptions supports the efficacy of introductory courses using this instructional approach for educating student views about their own aging.