Ch. 1 Themes and Issues Flashcards
biopsychosocial perspective
a view of development as a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social processes
what do psychological processes include?
individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to growing older
gerontology
the scientific study of the aging process, an interdisciplinary field
biological
physical changes, genetics
psychological
cognition, personality, emotions
sociocultural
social context, history, culture
geriatrics
the medical specialty in aging
continuity principle
the changes that people experience in later adulthood build on the experiences they had in their earlier years
four principles of aging
- changes are continuous over the life span
- only the survivors grow old
- individuality matters
- normal aging is different from disease
survivor principle
the people who live to old age are the ones who managed to outlive the many threats that could have caused their deaths at earlier ages
individuality
asserts that as people age, they become more different from each other
- differences become magnified = issues
interindividual differences
differences between people; within the same domain of other people
intraindividual differences
the variations in performance within the same individual
- change is not always linear
mulitdirectionality
the variations in performance within the same individual.
primary aging
normal age-related changes, not related to lifestyle
ex. wrinkles
secondary aging
disease-related impairments
ex. skin cancer
tertiary aging
rapid decline shortly before death
optimal aging
changes that improve the individual’s function
ex. menopause, retirement
what does adult mean?
the chronological age associated with the expectations and privileges of a given society or culture
- pressures/expectations from society
emerging adulthood
the transition prior to assuming the full responsibilities associated with adulthood, normally the years 18 to 29
young-old
65-74
old-old
75-84
oldest-old
85+
centenarians
100
