12.2 Growing Old: Theories Of Aging Flashcards
Functionalism
Functionalist theories emphasized how individuals adjusted to changing social roles as they aged and how the roles older adults fulfilled were useful to society.
Talcott Parsons
One of the most influential functionalist theorists of the 1950s, argued that US society needs to fund roles for older persons that are compatible with their advanced age
Disengagement Theory
À functionalist theory of aging that holds that it is functional for society to remove people from their traditional roles when they become older adults, thereby freeing up those roles for others.
This is assumed to be functional for older adults, who can leave potentially taxing social roles and instead invest their energies in more private introspective activities
Socioemotional selectivity theory
The theory that adults maintain fewer relationships as they age, but that those relationships are of higher quality
Activity Theory
À functionalist theory of aging that holds that busy, engaged people are more likely to lead fulfilling and productive lives
Continuity Theory
The theory that older adults’ well-being is enhanced when their activities are consistent with their personality preferences, and activities earlier in life
Conflict Theories of Aging
Arguments that emphasize the ways in which the larger social structure helps to shape the opportunities available to older adults.
Unequal opportunities are seen as creating the potential for conflict
Poverty, poor health, or inadequate health care are problems with aging that are systematically produced by the routine operation of social institutions.
Life Course
The various transitions and stages people experience during their lives.
The aging process is shaped by historical time and place ( according to the life course perspective)
IMPORTANT : Aging is a lifelong process
