Chapter 1 Flashcards
Biopsychosocial perspective
development as a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and social processes
Biological processes
changes in one’s bodily functions and structures as they age
Psychological processes
changes in one’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior as they age
Social processes
historical, cultural, and interpersonal changes as one ages
Gerontology
interdisciplinary, scientific study of the aging process
Identity
a composite of how people view themselves in the biopsychosocial domains of life
Four principles of the biopsychosocial approach
(1) Changes are continuous over the life span (2) Only the survivors grow old (3) Individuality matters (4) “Normal” aging is different from disease or getting sick
Continuity principle
changes experienced later in adulthood build upon changes experienced earlier in life, in a cumulative fashion
Survivor principle
people who live to old age are the ones who manage to outlive the threats (random or not) that could have caused their deaths at an earlier age
Individuality principle
people become even more different from one another as they age, changing at different rates to different degrees
2 types of differences among people
inter-individual differences and intra-individual differences
Inter-individual differences
differences between people
Intra-individual differences
differences in performance and multidirectionality of development within the same person
Primary or normal aging
normal changes over time that occur due to universal, intrinsic, and progressive alterations in the body’s systems
Secondary or impaired aging
abnormal changes over time leading to impairment in a portion of the older population due to disease, lifestyle and environmentally induced changes, rather than normal aging
Tertiary aging
experiencing a rapid loss of functioning across multiple areas toward the very end of life; when disease worsens already compromised areas of functioning
Optimal aging
age-related changes that improve the individual’s functioning, like preventative or compensatory measures taken
Age subgroups often used in gerontology
young-old (65-74), old-old (75-84), oldest-old (85 and older)
Centenarians
people over the age of 100
Functional age
classification system based on how people perform as an alternative to chronological age (biological, psychological, and social ages)
Biological age
age of an individual’s bodily systems: cardiovascular functioning, respiratory functioning, muscle and bone strength, and cellular aging
Psychological age
performance of an individual on measures of qualities like reaction time, memory, learning ability, and intelligence (all of which change with age)
Social age
calculated by evaluating here people are compared to the typical ages expected of them whey they occupy certain positions in life (family and work roles)
Personal aging
changes that occur within the individual and reflects the impact of time on the body’s structures and functions (primary, secondary, and tertiary)
Social aging
effects of a person’s exposure to a changing environment
3 basic categories of social influences
normative age-graded influences, normative history-graded influences, and non-normative influences
Normative age-graded influences
leads people to choose experiences that align with certain ages or points in a life span according to their culture and historical period
Age norm
society’s expectation for the behavior of people at certain ages
Normative history-graded influences
events that happen for everyone (regardless of age) , whether directly or indirectly, within a certain culture or geopolitical unit, including wars, economic trends, sociocultural changes in attitudes and values
Non-normative influences
random or unpredictable idiosyncratic events that occur throughout life
Gender or gender identity
the gender that a person feels internally along the gender spectrum
Sex
individual’s inherited predisposition to develop the physiological characteristics typically associated with maleness or femaleness
Immigrant population
persons who are or have ever been landed immigrants or permanent residents, or who are citizens by naturalization
Visible minority
persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in color
Socioeconomic status or social class
people’s position in the educational and occupational ranks of a society
Gini coefficient
an index of income inequality in a given economy
Religion
an individual’s identification with an organized belief system
Life expectancy
average number of years of life remaining to people born within a similar time period
Life span
maximum age for a given species
Health-adjusted life expectancy
number of years a person can expect to live in good health if current mortality and morbidity rates persist
Compression of morbidity
the illness burden to a society can be reduced if people become disabled closer to their time of death
