Aging and the Elderly

Question 1

Activity Theory:

Answer 1

A theory which suggests that for individuals to enjoy old age and feel satisfied, they must maintain activities and find a replacement for the statuses and associated roles they have left behind as they aged.

Question 2

Age Stratification Theory:

Answer 2

A theory which states that members of society are stratified by age, just as they are stratified by race, class, and gender.

Question 3

Ageism:

Answer 3

Discrimination based on age.

Question 4

Baby Boomers:

Answer 4

People in the United States born between 1946 and 1964.

Question 5

Centenarians:

Answer 5

People 100 years old or older.

Question 6

Cohort:

Answer 6

A group of people who share a statistical or demographic trait.

Question 7

Continuity Theory:

Answer 7

A theory which states that the elderly make specific choices to maintain consistency in internal and external structures, remaining active and involved throughout their elder years.

Question 8

Dependency Ratio:

Answer 8

The number of nonproductive citizens to productive working citizens.

Question 9

Disengagement Theory:

Answer 9

A theory which suggests that withdrawing from society and social relationships is a natural part of growing old.

Question 10

Elder Abuse:

Answer 10

The act of a caretaker intentionally depriving an older person of care or harming the person in their charge.

Question 11

Exchange Theory:

Answer 11

A theory which suggests that we experience an increased dependence as we age and must increasingly submit to the will of others, because we have fewer ways of compelling others to submit to us.

Question 12

Filial Piety:

Answer 12

Deference and respect to one’s parents and ancestors in all things.

Question 13

Geriatrics:

Answer 13

A medical specialty focusing on the elderly.

Question 14

Gerontocracy:

Answer 14

A type of social structure wherein the power is held by a society’s oldest members.

Question 15

Gerontology:

Answer 15

A field of science that seeks to understand the process of aging and the challenges encountered as seniors grow older.

Question 16

Gerotranscendence:

Answer 16

The idea that as people age, they transcend limited views of life they held in earlier times.

Question 17

Grief:

Answer 17

A psychological, emotional, and social response to the feelings of loss that accompany death or similar events.

Question 18

Hospice:

Answer 18

Healthcare that treats terminally ill people by providing comfort during the dying process.

Question 19

Life Course:

Answer 19

The period from birth to death, including a sequence of predictable life events.

Question 20

Life Expectancy:

Answer 20

The number of years a newborn is expected to live.

Question 21

Modernization Theory:

Answer 21

A theory which suggests that the primary cause of the elderly losing power and influence in society are the parallel forces of industrialization and modernization.

Question 22

Physician-Assisted Suicide:

Answer 22

The voluntary use of lethal medication provided by a medical doctor to end one’s life.

Question 23

Primary Aging:

Answer 23

Biological factors such as molecular and cellular changes.

Question 24

Secondary Aging:

Answer 24

Aging that occurs due to controllable factors like diet and exercise.

Question 25

Selective Optimization With Compensation Theory:

Answer 25

A theory based on the idea that successful personal development throughout the life course and subsequent mastery of the challenges associated with everyday life are based on the components of selection, optimization, and compensation.

Question 26

Senescence:

Answer 26

The aging process, including biological, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual changes.

Question 27

Social Gerontology:

Answer 27

A specialized field of gerontology that examines the social and sociological aspects of aging.

Question 28

Subculture Of Aging Theory:

Answer 28

A theory that focuses on the shared community created by the elderly when they are excluded due to age, voluntarily or involuntarily, from participating in other groups.

Question 29

Supercentenarians:

Answer 29

People 110 years old or older.

Question 30

Thanatology:

Answer 30

The systematic study of death and dying.