Chapter 2 Flashcards
(34 cards)
What is age cohort?
a group of people born in the same period of time; for example, all the people born between 1950 and 1955 form an age cohort
Define age effects
on a person’s life are related to physical decline or change due to the aging process
Define age grades
a concept used in the age stratification theory to describe periods of life defined by society, such as childhood adolescence and young adulthood
Define age-status asynchronization
someone for whom major life events come early or late - a teenaged mother or a newlywed octogenarian - may feel out of sync with the age-status system
Define age stratification theory
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.”
define Cohort effects
are related to the time of the persons birth
Define conflict perspective
holds that society consists of conflicts between dominant and subordinate social groups
Define critical gerontology
theoretical approaches that look “within” theory and research to critically examine and question the underlying and ‘taken for granted” assumptions about aging.
what is cross-sectional research design?
studies people from many age groups at one point in time.
define the cumulative advantage and disadvantage theory
says that disadvantages earlier in life accumulate and are magnified over the life course
define evidence-based practice
promotes the use of research findings in the delivery of services to older people
define feminist approaches
view gender as defining characteristics in social interaction 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
define functionalist perspective
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 anew, stable state
What are interlocking systems of oppression?
macro level connections linking systems of oppression such as race, class, and gender
what is the interpretive perspective?
focuses almost exclusively on the micro 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.
define intimacy at a distance
the choice of many older people to live near, but not with, their children
define life course perspective
A functionalist approach that bridges the micro and macro levels of analysis by incorporating social interaction and social structure within its framework
define longitude research design
looks at a single group of people at two or more points in time
what are macro-level theories
“examine social structures or structural elements as they influence experiences and behaviors”
what are micro-level theories?
focus on individuals and their interactions; they are used to explain phenomena such as the relationship between adult children and their parents, changes in memory with age, and the effect of negative attitudes on older peoples self esteem
what is the moral economy theory?
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
Define narrative gerontology
seeks to understand the “inside” of aging by examining the narratives or life stories that people tell in order to organize and make sense of their lives, and their experiences of aging
what are non-normative events?
unexpected events such as illnesses, layoffs, and accidents
what are normative age graded events?
socially sanctioned events that occur most often at a certain age, like marriage or retirement
