Midterm Flashcards
what is life span
it is the maximum mount of years you life
what is life expectancy?
the general prediction of amount of time you are supposed to live
- 83 for women and 79 for men
- 102 for humans
- highest in BC and lowest in newfoundland
what is the rule of 4ths?
the 1/4 decline of normal function
- disease
- disuse
- misuse
- physiological aging
what is demography
studying the aging within certain population over place and time usually a census every 4-5 yrs
- decline mortality and fertility rates
- increase in immigration
what is median age
chronological age at which the population divides into equal halves of younger and older people
-national median is 40
highest is 45 in japan
lowest is 15 in niger
what is ageism
social operation of young ppl with negative info of older people
- -varies in cultures
- resides in fear and vulnerability toward aging
revera age report
6/10 seniors aged 66 and older said they’ve been treated unfairly
what is apocalyptic demography
notion that a demographic trend like population aging has a catastrophic consequence for society
- social problem
- homogenization of old ppl
- age blaming
- intergenerational injustice
- social policy
activity theory
MICRO
to successfully age you need to be engaged
-meet social needs to be stable in life
disengagement theories
LINKING
letting go of social roles and responsibilities
-prepare for inevitable death
continuity theory
MICRO
choices made to preserve ties from the past
-lack of consideration for structural factors
social exchange theory
MICRO
more resources=max rewards=more social role
-person to person interaction is max reward
age stratification theory
LINKING
age cohorts over life course and stratification by age like baby boomers
-homogenious
modernization theory
MACRO
the more modern society is getting the less status older people get
- impacts from urbanization
- less about individual more about status within society
political economy theory
MACRO
treatment of older people can be understood in context of economy and shows inequality by age
aging enterprise
relationship between social policy and conditions of elderly
critical feminist theory
LINKING
gender is fundamental in organizing people in society
- gender is socially constructed
- -based on experiences of dominant group which is middle class white men
feminization of poverty
women are prone to poverty later in life because of societal limitations impacting quality of life
life course perspective (Dom theory in gerontology)
LINKING
lifetime -age
historical -era in which events occur
social - expectations of life events related to age
goals of gerontology research
explore
describe
explain
-dynamic life course perspective and policy developments!
positivist approach
transfer physical sciences to study human behavior
-objective observation
interpretive approach
the world has many realities
objective reality cannot be known
critical approach
unmask the oppression of vulnerable people
make change
encourage awareness
life course fallacy
mistake of interpreting cross sectional age differences as if they referred to the process of aging
