Theories of Aging

10 Key excerpts on "Theories of Aging"

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  The Social Context of Ageing

  A Textbook of Gerontology

  • Christina Victor(Author)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In the United Kingdom in particular this framework has had a profound influence upon the study of ageing and in generating knowledge about the social context of ageing. The emphasis upon the 'problems' of ageing means that our knowledge and understanding of other non-problematic dimensions of ageing remains sparse. This type of framework can also be seen in the priority areas identified for research by bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) who are concerned with the potential 'future burden' of health and illness among older people and advances a research agenda that is concerned with such matters. The ESRC Growing Older programme also demonstrated a concern with many of the perceived 'problematic' dimensions of growing older and has a heavily social policy focus. There remains little interest from funding bodies or research organisations in the 'everyday life' of older people nor in the study of problems identified by older people rather than policy makers (Gubrium and Holstein, 2000; Bytheway, 2003).

  Developing theory in social gerontology

  There are a number of different explicit theoretical frameworks concerned with the study of ageing. Psychological and physiological perspectives upon ageing focus upon the changes which happen to individuals. However, when focusing upon the social context within which ageing occurs, both for groups and individuals, then theories derived from sociological perspectives are most pertinent. As noted earlier, a concern with examining and understanding the social context of ageing involves studies which look at questions concerned with the adaptation of individuals (a microscale approach) and of questions posed at the macroscale (i.e. concerns with the impact of ageing upon social structures and vice versa). Social theories of ageing are characterised both by the level of explanation at which they operate and by the assumptions and ideologies that underpin them. Aroni and Minichiello (1992) developed a typology of theories including both the level of analysis (micro versus macro theories) and nature (interpretist contrasted with normative theories such as role theory). When evaluating the theories summarised below, and when encountering others not covered here, the student of gerontology needs to consider four basic questions: What is the level of explanation at which theory x

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  Understanding Aging and Diversity

  Theories and Concepts

  • Patricia Kolb(Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  2 Development of gerontology and sociological Theories of Aging      

  Key concepts

  1. Old age has been a topic of study and reflection for thousands of years, but changing social environments, individual and group experiences require continued exploration.

  2. Since 1960, research and education about social and behavioral aspects of aging have burgeoned in the new discipline of gerontology and in anthropology, economics, social history, sociology, cognitive and developmental psychologies, and social work.

  3. Social aging refers to the nature of the society in which aging occurs, the influence that society has on its aging individuals, and the impact aging individuals have on their society.

  4. Many social gerontological theories exist, but there are conflicts about the lack of a general theory that can become an organizing framework for understanding and explaining aging.

  5. Differences among and within social science fields contribute to controversies about approaches for developing gerontological knowledge, but concepts in diverse approaches are the building blocks of theory although objectives and methods are different.

  6. Interests of social gerontologists that are of particular interest to sociologists include, but are not limited to, the process of creation and change in social organizations as they respond to age-related experiences associated with birth, socialization, role transitions, retirement, and death.

  7.

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  Extraordinary Forms of Aging

  Life Narratives of Centenarians and Children with Progeria

  • Julia Velten(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • transcript Verlag

    (Publisher)

  Further, I do not name chronological age as one of my categories. Even though it ties into all of them in one way or another, I would like to make an argument for 1 Theories of Age(ing) 39 a discourse of age that is not centered around chronology. Lastly, I need to point out that I am not making a clear distinction between the way a person perceives themselves and is perceived by others through those categories. Rather, I argue that in all of the aspects both the inside and the outside work together in the sense that all the subgroups of age I mention have an aspect of both, the inner feeling and the public perception of age. In the following I will explain how I define the subcategories of age and outline how they affect the social, cultural, and biological construct of age. 1.3.1 Institutionalized Age As mentioned above, chronology is often regarded as the most prominent factor when it comes to define age(ing). The number of years a person has lived is then given meaning through social practices, cultural imaginaries, and biological pro- cesses. Consequently, chronological age is connected to certain assumptions about a person’s outward appearance, physical fitness, and behavior, cumulating in gen- eral assumptions about a person’s stage in life. Van Dyk, however, argues for the arbitrariness of this concept by asking “[w]hy is it, if we start out from retirement age as many do, that a 70-year-old marathon runner should have more in common with a 90-year-old demented person than with a 50-year-old manager?” (“The Ap- praisal” 99). Van Dyk here questions the general category of ‘old’ age as defined by chronology.

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  Issues in Aging

  • Mark Novak(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Social gerontology makes up a part of the total body of gerontological knowledge. It includes the psychosocial, socioeconomic-environmental, and practice-related studies of aging. Clark Tibbitts first introduced the idea of social gerontology in 1954. Social gerontology views aging from the perspective of the individual and the social system. When social gerontologists look at biomedical issues, they focus on the social effects of physical aging. For example, they ask how changes in a person’s ability to walk affect that person’s needs for social services. Or they ask how physical aging differs by race and ethnicity. Do older African Americans and whites have the same diseases at the same rates and from the same causes? Social gerontologists also look at changes throughout the life course. They study changes in family life, relationships, and activities. Social gerontology has grown in importance in the past 20 years.

  Key Terms

  social gerontology makes up a part of the total body of gerontological knowledge. It includes the psychosocial, socioeconomic-environmental, and practice-related studies of aging.

  theory is a “conceptual model of some aspect of life” (Online Dictionary, 2004).

  Theories of Aging

  My grandmother used to keep her eyeglasses pushed up onto her head. I remember one day watching her walk around the house with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Grandma,” I asked, “what are you looking for?” “My glasses. I can’t find them anywhere.” “They’re on your head,” I said with a laugh. “Oh,” she said, as she patted her head. “I must be getting old.”

  In that moment my grandmother expressed a theory of aging: when you get old, you forget things, such as where you put your eyeglasses. She didn’t think of this as a theory; she didn’t know anything about theories. But she had one. When she forgot where she put her glasses, it confirmed her belief that you forget things when you age.

  Many psychologists use this same theory in their research. They suspect that memory declines with age, and they have produced volumes of literature to test this theory. In this way researchers differ from my grandmother. They suspect that memory decreases with age, but they try to prove or disprove this idea.

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  The SAGE Handbook of Social Gerontology

  • Dale Dannefer, Chris Phillipson, Dale Dannefer, Chris Phillipson, Author(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • SAGE Publications Ltd

    (Publisher)

  Environmental Perspectives on Ageing H a n s -W e r n e r W a h l a n d F r a n k O s w a l d 8 INTRODUCTION According to Dannefer, context, broadly defined, 1 ‘refers to the totality of the diverse range of phenomena, events and forces that exist outside the developing individual’ (1992: 84). The assump-tion that ageing occurs in context has meanwhile become, implicitly or explicitly, a core feature of models of ageing in biology, as well as those in the social and behavioural sciences. How such context is defined more concretely and what kind of impact is attributed to context strongly depends on the meta-theoretical perspective on ageing behind each of these disciplinary approaches. First, in current biogerontological theories, ageing is primarily viewed as an internal process of decline related to the flow of chronological age, ending in the event of death (Cristofalo et al., 1999). Environmental conditions are, however, expected to shape the survival time of ageing organisms, because it is generally acknowledged in models of longevity that genetic factors explain less than 30 per cent of variability in survival time in humans and in many other species (Vaupel et al., 2003). The understanding of context in bio-logical models of ageing tends nevertheless to remain rather general, mostly referring to external physical properties such as temperature, kind and quantity of food, or environmental stress. Secondly, the social and behavioural sciences have put major emphasis on the operation of his-torical, cultural, and societal contexts, and how these shape ageing processes. As has been con-vincingly argued, historical events along with societal expectations and norms play a critical role in the sequencing of the life course 2 from its very beginning to its very end (Baars et al., 2006; Dannefer, 1992; Elder, 1974).

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  Handbook of the Psychology of Aging

  • K Warner Schaie, Sherry L. Willis(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  Handbook series. Six historically valid, recurring themes or lessons are identified, each of which provides points of contact across developmental processes, theoretical perspectives, and historical periods. Subsequently, I briefly adumbrate several other recent contributions to the literature on theories of psychological aging with attention to the six enduring themes previously identified. Third, these coordinated perspectives and enduring themes provide a foundation upon which to evaluate current theoretical efforts and evolve new and more adaptive ones. Fourth, compelling opportunities for new theoretical advances in psychological aging are provided by new developments in neighboring disciplines, a selection of which are noted in this section. The general goal of this chapter is not one of producing a global or unified theory of psychological aging. Instead, it aims to (a) explain why such a goal may not be among the principal standards or objectives for researchers in this field, and (b) support the contention that theoretical opportunities and advances based on a population of adapted themes and theories are nevertheless plentiful, functional, and promising.

  Characterizing the Theoretical Landscape in Psychological Aging

  Just as no history of a science is without the influence of the historian and his or her historiography, no review of scientific theory exists independently of the filtering lens through which the theorists read, interpret, and write (Hanson, 1958 ) or the historically evolving conceptual, social, professional, and scientific circumstances of the era (e.g., Kuhn, 1962 ; Pepper, 1970 ; Toulmin, 1972 ). In the past in life-span psychological research, such observations have often led to discussion of scientific paradigms, metatheories, and world views, as they applied to the study of individual development and aging (e.g., Baltes & Willis, 1977 ; Dixon & Lerner, 1999 ; Reese & Overton, 1970 ). This is not the present purpose for three related reasons. First, the general lesson has been learned in that it is probably apparent to most contemporary readers that theories and research methods are informed by underlying (and often untestable) assumptions, models, metaphors, and perspectives (Overton & Reese, 1973

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  Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing Policy, Volume II

  Putting Theory into Practice

  • Andrzej Klimczuk(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  In this view, ways of support for older adults included in ageing policies, for example, in the countries of the Global South, may be dysfunctional and generate more problems such as abandoned older adults without familial support. The second group of social gerontology theories is related to symbolic interactionism. The antithesis of previous models is presented by, among others, activity theory, continuity theory, and a subculture of ageing the- ory. Activity theory pioneered by scholars such as Robert J. Havighurst and George L. Maddox in contrast to disengagement theory assumes that people actively adapt to ageing and maintain norms and values through the life course. 13 The negative effects of the loss of some roles related to labor (and social interactions) can be replaced by performing new roles, developmental tasks as well as informal activities such as hobbies, arts, and creative involvement, which will lead to happiness and a high quality of life. However, critics highlighted that biological changes and social oppor- 40 A. KLIMCZUK tunities limit equal maintaining of activity by older adults. Policies that foster active and healthy ageing are clearly related to this model. The continuity theory by Robert C. Atchley is a modified version of activity theory, which takes into account the changes in social roles depending on the different stages of ageing. 14 Consistency is a goal of choices undertaken by older people that refers to internal structures (per- sonality, dispositions, and beliefs that may be seen as elements of human and cultural capital) and external structures (predictability of relationships or social capital). Maintaining equilibrium and stability should foster “suc- cessful ageing,” which is being free of disease. On the other hand, this the- ory is less useful in explaining activities related to “pathological ageing,” that is, when diseases bring a higher risk of decline in physical fitness and premature death.

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  Human Development in the Life Course

  Melodies of Living

  • Tania Zittoun, Jaan Valsiner, Dankert Vedeler, João Salgado, Miguel M. Gonçalves, Dieter Ferring(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  37 In this view, ageing is a result of the prior individual lifespan develop- ment – with respect to the available personal coping resources as well as with respect to perceived adjustment – and this can be best understood by taking a biographical view. Against the background of longitudinal studies on responses to stress, Thomae further emphasized the plasticity of the human person. Ageing is in such a view not a unidirectional process but it may lead to several possible outcomes depending on the subjective rep- resentation and associated ageing styles and/or ageing struggles. 38 Lifespan development and differential ageing are also part of the theoret- ical perspective added by Atchley, 39 who conceptualized ageing within the context of an individual’s lifelong development by accentuating continu- ity. He summarizes his approach as follows: continuity theory is a social psychological theory of continuous adult development . . . It uses feedback systems theory to create a view of adults as dynamic, self-aware entities who use patterns of thought created over their 35 Thomae (1970, p. 13). 36 Baltes (1987). 37 Thomae (1963, p. 366). 38 See Lehr and Thomae (1993). 39 Atchley (1972). 356 Beyond time and space: imagination lifetimes to describe, analyze, evaluate, decide, act, pursue goals, and interpret input and feedback. Although social processes such as socialization and social control have input to the person’s internal system, the conscious being who interprets the input also creates the resulting personal constructs, including per- sonal construction of the life course, life events, life stages, age norms, and age grading. 40 Within this approach to ageing, development across the lifespan is focused with respect to continuity. The fundamental proposition is immediately and intuitively evident: a person who has had an introverted youth will retain this behaviour and certainly not become an outgoing extrovert in old age.

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  Handbook of Aging and the Family

  Theory and Research

  • Rosemary Blieszner, Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford(Authors)
  • 1996(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  Behavioral continuity can be seen as at least partially a reflection of the continuity of the context of constructed reality. Restrictions upon the social roles entered by people and upon relations within these roles can operate throughout life. Those people who lead multidimensional lives as adults can be expected to con- tinue doing so as they age, while life space-restricted persons will remain so in old age. The Older Woman and Her Social World The next problem, in addition to the tendency to stereotype the elderly, lies in their methodological isolation. Human beings live in a social world, assisted by the symbolic construction of reality by all involved. This social world is organized in many ways, into social roles and systems of stratifi- cation. Within this social world, people age, changing roles and relations, modifying their stance and construction of reality. Some of our geronto- logical knowledge is based on the tendency, augmented by quantitative analysis, to pull the older person away from this world as if living in social isolation, within a personal bubble, unaffected by other people and what is happening in the society. We need to examine the social unit within which people interact, the ebb and flow of their relations over time. Aging, then, can be studied within a context. The greater the change in social roles or in the composition of the social circles of these roles, the more likely that new identities and behaviors emerge at each stage of the life course. Feminist Perspectives 121 AGING AND MAJOR AREAS OF LIFE The third influence of the two-sphere ideology upon social gerontology deserves a separate section. Several areas of social science research and theory concerning aging are imbued with gender-biased assumptions and language. I focus here on three such areas: caregiving, retirement, and wid- owhood (see also Szinovacz 6c Ekerdt on retirement, this volume; O'Bryant 6c Hansson on widowhood, this volume).

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  The Life Course

  A Sociological Introduction

  • Stephen J. Hunt(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS OF OLD AGE While not doubting the impact of environmental factors on the ageing pro-cess and the life-span, ageing has a further social element in that how it is formulated and culturally perceived remains in accordance with an infinite 254 THE LIFE COURSE number of features. This is particularly so in the context of the later stages of life. In the West, so Cowgill and Holmes ( 1972 ) opine, there have been several simultaneous processes operating since the middle of the nineteenth century when the development of modernity transformed the status of the elderly to one that was lowly: the rise of modern medicine contributed to increasing life expectancy; modern economic technology limited employ-ment opportunities among older workers; urbanisation attracted rural youth to the cities – breaking down the extended family; and mass education and literacy undermined the mystique associated with age. If ‘old age’ is designated as a clear ‘stage’ of the life course, it is one open to a degree of negotiation given the difficulty in fixing a precise time at which it commences. Nonetheless, negative connotations remain, including notions that later life is a period of loss and deterioration (Baltes et al. 1980 ); a time for settling unresolved issues and preparing for death (Erikson 1998 ); and at best, as a point in time for focusing on achievements in early life to com-pensate for failures and losses (Baltes and Baltes 1996 ). This tendency is at least partly due to a unique Western cultural directive which places a great deal of emphasis on the virtues of being young – shaping self-perceptions and experiences of old age: frustration, fear and self-doubt (Hamel 1990 ). It may well be that the contemporary Western cultural value placed on youthfulness and looking and behaving ‘young’ is increasingly amplified.

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