2. Models of Development

Question 1

what our three main questions based on the biopsychosocial theory?

Answer 1

• biological - why do we age?
• psychological - how do we respond?
• sociocultural - what other factors are important to consider?

Question 2

what are the key assertions for the programmed aging theory? what is the evidence for this?

Answer 2

key assertions
- aging and death are encoded within our genes
- genetic timing mechanism triggers declines in physiological function

evidence:
- species specific life spans
- the estimate of longevity’s genetic influence increases for life spans that go beyond the age of 60 years
- something in our genes tells us when to decline
- cell senescence - the essentially irreversible arrest of cell proliferation (growth or division)

Question 3

what is the hayflick limit (replicative senescence)?

Answer 3

• fetal cells can only reproduce about 50 times, then enters cell senescence

Question 4

what is cell senescence and why is it beneficial? how does it effect normal aging?

Answer 4

• cells enter cell senescence after multiplying 50 times, make them unable to replicate again
• cell senescence can reduce the risk of uncontrolled cellular growth in cancer
• when cell becomes senescent, it changes and excretes proteins implicated in normal aging
  - thickens artery walls, changes the skin, creates arthritic joints

Question 5

how does cell senescence occur?

Answer 5

• cell senescence is a result of telomere shortening after repeated divisions over time
  
  • less of the telomere is copied each time the cell divides
• socioeconomic status and lifestyle are related to telomere length in women

Question 6

what is telomerase?

Answer 6

• enzyme that can lengthen telomeres, slowing or stopping the cellular aging process
• fetal cells, adult germ cells, and cancer cells

Question 7

what are FOXO genes?

Answer 7

• group of genes that influence crucial cellular processes regulating stress resistance, metabolism, the cell cycle, and the death of cells
  
  • associated with longevity, healthier skeletal muscle and the functioning of cells that maintain healthy functioning in the brain

Question 8

what are the key assertions for the metabolic theory? what is the evidence for this?

Answer 8

key assertions
- organisms have a finite amount of energy to expend in a lifetime
- organism’s metabolism is related to its longevity

evidence
- caloric restriction studies in non-humans and humans
- if we eat less, we survive longer because the body uses less energy breaking down food
- found in rats; lived 1.5x longer

Question 9

what are the key assertions of the identity process model?

Answer 9

• identity continues to change in adulthood in a dynamic manner
• identity (favourable view of self) → threshold experience (changes due to aging) → identity accommodation or identity balance or identity assimilation
• some threshold matter more than others depending on the person’s personality (multiple threshold model)
• identity balance leads to self efficacy

Question 10

what is the multiple threshold model?

Answer 10

• individuals realize that they are getting older through a stepwise process as aging‐related changes occur
• each age‐related change (such as wrinkling of the skin or increased reaction time) brings with it the potential for another threshold to be crossed

Question 11

what is identity assimilation and accommodation?

Answer 11

• identity assimilation - tendency to interpret new experiences in terms of existing identity
  
  • minimizes the impact of the age-related change on the individual’s sense of self, putting off any identity change
• identity accomodation - people make changes in their identities in response to experiences that challenge their current view of themselves
  
  • the individual either finds denial no longer possible (Path 1) or is able to gradually re‐establish a more stable sense of self (Path 2

Question 12

what are the key assertions of the selective optimization with compensation model?

Answer 12

• when we are young resources go to growth, but as we grow older resources go to maintaining what we have
• older people make conscious decisions regarding how to spend their time and effort
  
  • they must do this because of losses in physical and cognitive resources
• interacts with multiple threshold model
  
  • people make choices to optimize areas of functioning that are central to their identities

Question 13

what do selection, optimization, and compensation mean in terms of the selective optimization with compensation model?

Answer 13

• selection - **choosing goals to prioritize (elective vs loss based)
• optimization - **the allocation or refinement of resources as a means of achieving goals
• compensation - using compensatory processes (i.e., new or alternative means) to maintain a certain level of functioning

Question 14

what is ageism?

Answer 14

• a set of beliefs, attitudes, social institutions, and acts that denigrate individuals or groups based on their chronological age
• ageist beliefs are internalized and we grow into the outgroup
• any overgeneralizations about individuals based on characteristics that have a negative social meaning

Question 15

what are some possible explanations for ageism?

Answer 15

• terror management theory - people regard with panic and dread the thought that their lives will someday come to an end
  
  • younger people choose to distance themselves from older adults as a defence mechanisms to protect against the anxiety
• modernization hypothesis - older adults are seen negatively because they have lost their utility to society
  
  • increasing urbanization of western society is what causes older adults to be devalued

Question 16

what is the multiple jeopardy hypothesis? what are some related views/hypotheses

Answer 16

• older individuals who fit more than one discriminated-against category are affected by biases against each of these categorizations
• age-as-leveller view - as people become older, age overrides all other “isms”
• inoculation hypothesis - older minorities and women become immune to effects of ageism through years of exposure to discrimination and stereotyping

Question 17

what are our implicit attitudes regarding age?

Answer 17

• every age group sees children as the most positive
• as the age group increases, ratings of young adults are positive but steadily decline
• ratings of middle age adults are negative regardless of age of rater, but become more positive as the rater age increases
• ratings of old adults are negative regardless of age of rater

Question 18

what are the different sociocultural theories of aging?

Answer 18

First generation (older theories)
- disengagement theory
- activity theory

Second generation
- continuity theory
- life course perspective
- bronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective

Third generation - focus on social structures

Question 19

what are the key assertions for the disengagement theory?

Answer 19

• adjustment to old age is accomplished through voluntary withdrawal from social roles & activities
• mutual & beneficial withdrawal of individuals and society
  
  • beneficial for the person because they leave responsibilities
  • beneficial for society because the older person can be replaced with a younger person (minimal disruption when the person passes)
• disengagement is normative, universal, and inevitable

Question 20

what are the 6 main criticisms of disengagement theory?

Answer 20

1. disengagement is not necessarily voluntary, inevitable or universal
2. research focused on the individual, not on society
3. theory is difficult to disconfirm (unfalsifiable)
4. concept of disengagement is very broad
5. ignores thoughts and feelings of individual
6. justification for ageism

Question 21

what are the key assertions for activity theory?

Answer 21

• aging brings decreases in life satisfaction as roles diminish
• despite health declines in some, social and psychological needs still need to be met
• new roles, friends, activities lead to greater life satisfaction

Question 22

what are the primary findings for the study on activity theory?

Answer 22

• measured activity levels in 1990 and again in 1996
• found that later mortality is predicted by participation in church related activities and gardening
• greater overall activity level was related to greater happiness, better function, and reduced mortality
• social and productive activities were also positively related to happiness, better function, and lower mortality
• more solitary activities (handwork hobbies) were related only to higher levels of happiness

Question 23

what are some criticisms of activity theory?

Answer 23

1. roles/activities carry different meanings for individuals
2. assumes that psychological and social needs remain constant throughout adulthood
3. presumes that individuals have high degree of control over their social situation
4. how to conceptualize and measure “activity”?

Question 24

what are the key assertions for the continuity theory?

Answer 24

• as people normally age, they make adaptive choices to preserve and maintain internal and external ties to the past
• too little continuity = life is unpredicaable
• too much continuity = life becomes stagnant
• optimal = new experiences in a familiar environment
• suggests that whether disengagement or activity is beneficial to the older adult depends on the individual’s personality

Question 25

what are some criticisms of continuity theory?

Answer 25

• “normal” aging ignores impact of chronic illness
• theory ignores the impact of social structures on aging

Question 26

what are the key assertions of the life course perspective?

Answer 26

• norms, roles, and attitudes about age have an impact on the shape of each person’s life
• social clock - expectations for the ages at which a society associates with major life events
  
  • set the pace for how people think they should progress through their family and work timelines
• three measures of time are key
  
  1. life time (age)
  2. historical time
  3. social time - ordering of life events/social roles (normative timing)

Question 27

what are the four key principles of the life course perspective?

Answer 27

1. one’s life course is embedded and shaped by historical and geographical placement
2. the impact of a transition or event depends on when it occurs in a person’s life
3. linked lives - lives are lived interdependently
4. individuals control their life course within the constraints and opportunities provided by history and social circumstance

Question 28

what are the main ideas in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model?

Answer 28

• multiple levels of the environment affect the individual over time
• there are five levels that interact in their influence on the individual
  
  1. microsystem - setting in which people have daily interactions, direct impact on lives
  2. mesosystem - realm of the environment in which interactions take place among two or more microsystems
     
     • you may be having difficulties at home that you carry over into your relationships with co‐workers
  3. exosystem - environments that people don’t closely experience on a regular basis, but that impact them nevertheless
  4. macrosystem - larger social institutions
  5. chronosystem - changes that take place over time (historical changes)

Question 29

what are the nature and nurture views of adult aging?

Answer 29

• arnold gesell took the nature approach, believed changes were just due to maturation
• john watson took the nurture approach, said development was dependent on the environment that parents provided

Question 30

what is niche-picking?

Answer 30

• the proposal that genetic and environmental factors work together to influence the direction of a child’s life
  
  • children pick out their “niche” or area in which they develop their talents and abilities
  • both the traits that the person has, and the environment they are exposed to, determines what niche they choose

Question 31

what is the view of the organismic model?

Answer 31

• heredity drives the course of development throughout life
  
  • changes over time happen because we are programmed to exhibit behaviours at certain ages (like stages)

Question 32

what is the view of the mechanistic model?

Answer 32

• people’s behaviour changes gradually over time, shaped by the outside forces that cause them to adapt to their environments
  
  • scientists propose that growth happens by exposure to experiences (no stages)

Question 33

what is the view of the interactionist model?

Answer 33

• genetics and environment interact, but the individual also actively shapes their own development
  
  • similar to niche-picking becasue it says you can be shaped by, and shape your environments
  • biopsychosocial perspective falls within the interactionist model of development because it considers multiple influences on development

Question 34

what is plasticity and reciprocity in development?

Answer 34

• plasticity - course of development may be altered depending on the nature of the individual’s specific interactions in the environment
• type of interaction that are most likely to foster plasticity involve mental and physical exercise
• reciprocity - states that people both influence and are influenced by the events in their lives
• people are not passive recipients of environmental effects nor of their own heredity