Chapter 2

Question 1

Social gerontology

Answer 1

A subfield within the field of gerontology; it focuses on the social side of aging, while other subfields study the physiology and biological aspects of aging

Question 2

Mirco-level theories

Answer 2

Focus on the individuals and their interactions; they are used to explain phenomena such as the relationships between adult children and their parents, changes in memory with age, and the effect of negative attitudes on older people’s self-esteem

Question 3

Macro-level theories

Answer 3

Examines social structures or structrual elements as they influence experiences and behaviours

Question 4

Interpretive perspectives

Answer 4

Focuses almost exclusively on the mirco level of social life; It looks at how people define situations, how they create social order, and how they relate to one another in daily life.

Question 5

Functionalist perspective

Answer 5

Holds that social order is based on consensus, cooperation, and shared norms and values, and that all parts of society serve a role or function to keep society in a state of balance or equilibrium; structural functionalism predicts that when there is social change, society will attempt to create an orderly transition to a new, stable state

Question 6

Positivist worldview

Answer 6

Based on the belief that knowledge is built by studying observable facts and their relationships to one another

Question 7

Age stratification theory

Answer 7

Focuses on the movement of age cohorts over the life course and on “the role of social structures in the process of individual aging and the stratification by age in the society”

Question 8

Age cohort

Answer 8

A group of people born in the same period of time; for example, all of the people born between 1950-1955 form an age cohort

Question 9

Age grades

Answer 9

A concept used in age stratification theory to describe periods of life defined by society, such as childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood

Question 10

Life course perspective

Answer 10

A functionalist approach that bridges the mirco and macro levels of analysis by incorporating social interaction and social structure within its framework; begins with the idea that life unfolds from birth to death in a social, cultural, and historical context; looks at the impact of social institutions, historical periods and events, personal biography, life cycle stage, life events, and resources on the older person

Question 11

Transitions

Answer 11

Changes in social status or social roles such as marriage, parenthood, divorce, remarriage and widowhood

Question 12

Trajectories

Answer 12

Long term patterns of stability and change that often include many transitions

Question 13

Non-normative events

Answer 13

Unexpected events such as illnesses, lay-offs, and accidents

Question 14

Normative history-graded events

Answer 14

Shape the lives of many age cohorts, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s or World War II

Question 15

Normative age-graded events

Answer 15

Socially sanctioned events that occur most often at a certain age, like marriage or retirement

Question 16

Age-status asynchronization

Answer 16

Someone for whom major life events come early or late - a teen mom - may feel out of sync with the age-status system in Canada

Question 17

Conflict perspective

Answer 17

Holds that society consists of conflicts between dominant and subordinate social groups

Question 18

Political economy theory

Answer 18

Focuses on conflict and change in social life; it traces this conflict to the struggle between social classes and to the resulting dominance of some groups in society and the subordination of others

Question 19

Interlocking systems of oppression

Answer 19

“Macro level connections linking systems of oppression such as race, class, and gender

Question 20

Cumulative advantage and disadvantage theory

Answer 20

Says that advantages and disadvantages earlier in life accumulate and are magnified over the life course

Question 21

Feminist approaches

Answer 21

View gender as a defining characteristic in social interactions and life experiences, as well as in the process and experience of aging; gender is seen as socially constructed, with men being more advantaged than women in society

Question 22

Narrative gerontology

Answer 22

Seeks to understand the “inside” of aging by examining the narratives of life stories that people tell in order to organize and make sense of their lives, and their experiences

Question 23

Moral economy theory

Answer 23

Focuses on shared values and social norms that shape popular beliefs in the legitimacy of certain practices and policies; this theory complements political economy theory

Question 24

Critical gerontology

Answer 24

Theoretical approaches that look “within” theory and research to critically examine and question the underlying and “taken-for-granted” assumptions of aging

Question 25

Post-modern theory

Answer 25

Contrasts contemporary society with society in the recent past; for example, older people today can take on many roles in retirement, whereas in the pastm they had limited options after they retired

Question 26

Age effects

Answer 26

On a person’s life are related to physical decline or change due to the aging process

Question 27

Period of environmental effect

Answer 27

On a person’s life are due to the time of measurement; this would include historical, social, environmental effects, such as an ongoing war, changes in health habits, or changes in healthcare policies that have different influences on different age cohorts

Question 28

Cohort effects

Answer 28

Are related to hte time of the person’s birth

Question 29

Cross-sectional research design

Answer 29

Studies people from many age groups at one point

Question 30

Longitudinal research design

Answer 30

Looks at a single group of people at two or more points in time

Question 31

Time-lag comparison design

Answer 31

Examines different groups of people of the same age at different points in time

Question 32

Sequential design

Answer 32

Researchers look at a series of cross-sectional studies during a longitudinal study

Question 33

Evidence-based practice

Answer 33

Promotes the use of research findings in the delivery of services to older people