Age Identity

Question 1

What do sociologists observe about age

Answer 1

The only aspect of identity for which we will all experience changing effects

Question 2

What did Bradley (1996) identify

Answer 2

Five major generational stages of age identity in the UK

Question 3

Name the 5 Generational stages of age Bradley identified

Answer 3

Childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle age and old age

Question 4

What is evidence behind the 5 Generational stages of age

Answer 4

That in these five phases of life we experience varying statuses and these shape other peoples behaviour towards us.

Question 5

What do other sociologists consequently argue about the stages of life

Answer 5

That these major chronological stages of our lives are socially constructed

Question 6

What is childhood regarded as in the UK

Answer 6

As a special, innocent and vulnerable period in which the youngest members of society are generally cosseted and protected by their parents and the state.

Question 7

In other cultures how much childhood be viewed differently

Answer 7

It may not be seen as a period of innocence, for example in many societies children work long hours in dangerous occupations

Question 8

What does Postman (1982) argue

Answer 8

That the period of childhood in the UK has been considerably shortened in the 20th century because children are allegedly exposed to adult influences via television and digital media too soon. He suggests this may lead eventually to the disappearance of childhood all together.

Question 9

What is the adolescence stage

Answer 9

Is the period between puberty and the achievement of full adult status - the teenage years

Question 10

What is the adolescence (youth) stage

Answer 10

Is the period between puberty and the achievement of full adult status - the teenage years

Question 11

In many pre-industrial societies is youth recognised as a life stage

Answer 11

No

Question 12

In pre-industrial societies what would happen as the child hits puberty

Answer 12

They go through ceremonies or rituals known as rites of passage after which they take on adult responsibilities. For example, females are initiated in skills by older women to prepare them for marriage while boys are trained for adult roles as hunters.

Question 13

What does young adulthood refer to

Answer 13

The period between leaving the parental home and middle-age.

Question 14

What does young adulthood typically involve

Answer 14

Independence from parents and taking responsibility for the first time like paying their own rent.

Question 15

What does Bradley (1996) claim about the middle-age

Answer 15

The middle-aged have higher status than teenagers and the elderly because this age-group makes up the majority of those with wealth and power.

Question 16

What is the sole indication of the middle-age

Answer 16

That children have grown up and left home leaving more money available for leisure pursuits.

Question 17

What is the middle-age sometimes characterised by

Answer 17

The psychological doubts symbolised by the ‘mid-life crisis’

Question 18

What does Robert observe

Answer 18

That the UK culture admires youthful bodies and sees ageing bodies as representing ugliness

Question 19

What did Corner (1999) find

Answer 19

That elderly people subscribe to a negative self-identity. Many described themselves as a ‘burden’.

Question 20

What were the elderly in traditional societies seen as

Answer 20

Someone to have great respect for and have status by the young and their experience and wisdom are seen as important resources.

Question 21

What do Hockey and James (1993) argue

Answer 21

They link old age and childhood. They observe that they are socially constructed in similar wats. They argue that both children and the elderly are rarely treated as independent persons, and instead society subjects them to infantilisation (treated as if they are helpless)

Question 22

Give an example of Hockey and James research

Answer 22

Looking at the treatment of elderly in care homes found that they were deliberately kept in a state of dependancy.

Question 23

How can care homes for the elderly be described

Answer 23

As ‘total institutions’ which take away all aspects of an elderly persons identity by controlling all aspects of their lives, particularly their finances, daily routine and private practices.

Question 24

What did Hockey and James conclude this treatment of elderly people to lead to

Answer 24

It will lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy as previously independent minded individuals eventually succumb to the care homes definition of ideal inmate.

Question 25

Define self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 25

A process by which individuals are labelled in a manner predicting their future behaviour and because they come to see themselves as they have been labelled start to live up to the prediction

Question 26

What do postmodernists argue about age identities

Answer 26

That they are changing. For example, people are now living longer, meaning we should now differentiate between the ‘young old’ (ages 65-74) and the ‘middle old’ (ages 75-84) and the ‘old old’ (ages 85+)

Question 27

What do Featherstone and Hepworth argue

Answer 27

That the media images of ageing are changing and are less likely to be derogatory or condescending towards the elderly. This could suggest that age identity is increasingly fluid and less significant