Chapter 2 (midterm) Flashcards
Social gerontolgy
- sub field
- focuses on the social side of aging
3 areas of gerontology study
1) biomedicine
2) Physiological studies
3) Socioeconomic - environmental studies
Bengtson & Schaie ways theory is valuable
1) allows for the integration of new knowledge with old information
2) provides framework for the explanation of findings
3) predicts outcomes in future research
4) provides practical information for the development of social programs
Micro-level theories
focus on individuals and their actions. They are used to explain phenomena such as as the relationship between adult and children and their parents, change in memory with age, and the effect of negative attitudes on an older person’s self image.
Macro-level theories
explain phenomena such as the effect of industrialization on older peoples social status etc.
Critiques of Micro level theory
- focus too much on peoples action and interactions
Critiques of Macro level theory
- say that this approach tends to minimize people’s ability to act and overcome the limits of social structures
3 perspectives of macro and micro theories
1) Interpretive Perspectives
2) Functionalist Perspectives
3) Conflict Perspectives
Interpretive Perspective
- Focuses almost exclusively on the micro level
- looks at how people define situations
- how they create social order
- people have agency, people are diverse
Functionalist Perspective
- holds that social order is based on consensus, cooperation, and shared norms and values
- that all parts of society serve a role or function to keep society in a state of balance
positivistic world view
based on the belief that knowledge is built by studying observable facts and their relationship to one another
age stratification theory
focuses on the movement of age cohorts over the life course.
Age cohort
a group of people born in the same period of time
Age grades
- a concept used in age stratification theory
- to describe periods of life defined by society
life Course Perspective
- bridges the micro and macro levels
- begins with the idea that life unfolds from birth to death
- made up of 5 principles
- age stratification theory
5 principles of the life course theory
1) people develop and age at every stage of life
2) the historical conditions and peoples environment influence their experiences and opportunities in life
3) the impact of life transitions vary, depending on when they take place in a persons life
4) people live interdependently
5) individuals shape their lives through action and by making choices
When do MDD and anxiety typically first show
adolescence and or young adulthood
transitions
changes in social status or roles such as marriage, divorce or widowhood
trajectories
long term patterns of stability and change that often include many transitions
non normative events
unexpected events such as illnesses, lay offs, accidents, sudden changes in health and death of a child
normative history graded events
shape the lives of many age cohorts, such as the great depression
normative age graded events
socially sanctioned events that occur most often at a certain age like marriage, retirement
age status a-synchronization
someone for whom major life events come early or late
Conflict Perspective
holds that society consists of conflicts between dominant and subordinate social groups
