Chapter #1: Studying Adulthood Development & Aging Flashcards
Gerentology
the scientific study of aging from maturity through old age
Perspectives of Study
What is the Lifespan Perspective?
divides human development into two phases:
* Early Phase = childhood & adolescence
* Late Phase = young adulthood, middle & old age
Perspectives of Study
What are Paul Balte’s 4 Key features of the Lifespan Perspective?
- Multidirectionality
- Plasticity
- Historical Context
- Multicausation
Multdirectionality
developement involves both growth and declines
Plasticity
one’s capacity is not concrete and can change
Historical Context
we develop with a certain set of circumanstances by historical time and culture
Multiple Causation
development is affected by a variety of causes
Perspectives of Study
What is the The Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) Model?
The model that states the lifespan development consists of interactions between growth, maintenance, and loss of regulation
Perspectives of Study
What are the three parts of the SOC model?
Selective in Goals
Optimize functioning
Compensate for declines and losses
Perspectives in Study
Mechanistic Perspective
- “Machine”
- Involves passive/active interactions
- influenced by the environment
Examples:
* Operant Conditioning
* Classical Conditioning
Perspectives of Study
Organic Perspective
- “Maturation”; as we mature we become the best version of ourselves
- Active interactions
- Discontinous stages
Example:
* Freud
* Erikson
Perspectives of Study
Contextual Perspective
- An individual produces their own development with environmental interactions
- Context: SES, race, gender, religion
Examples:
* “Goodness of Fit”
* Niche Picking
Perspectives of Study
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System
- Chronosystem = Over various time frames
- Macrosystem = cultural/societal interactions
- Mesosystem = interconnections between systems
- Microsystem = closest environment to the indiivdual
- Exosystem = influences that are no immediately present but affect an individual
Persepctives of Study
What are the 4 Core Issues in Development?
- Natuer vs. Nurture
- Stability vs. Change
- Continuity vs. Discontinuity
- Universal vs. Context Specific
Population Pyramid
graphic technique for illustrating population trends
Issues in Studying Adult & Aging
What are the 4 Forces of Development?
- Biological Forces
- Psychological Forces
- Socio-Cultural Forces
- Life-Cycle Forces
Issues in Studying Adult & Aging
What are Biological Forces?
All genetic and health-related factors that affect development
Examples:
* menopause
* facial wrinkling
* organ systems
Issues in Studying Adult & Aging
What are Psychological Forces?
all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors that affect development
Issues in Studying Adult & Aging
What are Socio-Cultural Forces?
interpersonal, societal, cultural, and ethnic factors that affect development
Issues in Studying Adult & Aging
What are Life-Cycle Forces?
reflects differences in how the same event or combination of all 3 forces affects people at different points in their lives
Biopsychosocial Framework
ways of organizing the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces on human development
Cohort
a group of people born at the same point in time or within a specific time span
Interrelations Among the Forces
Normative-Age Graded Influnces
Exeperiences caused by forces of development that occur based on age/time
* Indicates a major change
* Examples: puberty, menopause, 21st birthday
Interrelations Among the Forces
Normative History-graded Influences
events that most people in specific culture experience at the same time
* Examples: epidemics, stereotypes, changing attitudes towards sexuality
Interrelations Among Forces
Nonnormative Influences
random or rare events that are not experienced by everyone, usually unique to individual
* Examples: Winning the lottery, car accident
The Meaning of Age
Primary Aging
normal, disease free development during childhood; an inevitable part of the process
The Meaning of Age
Secondary Aging
developmental changes that are related to disease, lifestyle, and other environmentally induced changes; not inevitable
The Meaning of Age
Tertiary Age
the rapid losses that occur shortly before death
The Meaning of Age
Emerging Adulthood
a period in which individuals are not adolescents but are not yet fully adults
Research Methods
Reliability
a measure that determines whether it yields consistent value
Research Methods
Validity
a measure that determines whether it is measuring what it is said to
Research Methods
Systematic Observations
Watching people and carefully recording what they say or do
Research Methods
What are the pros and cons of Systematic Observation?
+ creates a setting where participants are more likely to respond
- difficult to generalize from stages to real world
Research Methods
Self-Reports
sampling people’s answers to questions about the topic of interest
Research Methods
Pros and Cons of Self Reports
+ gathers lots of information
- not always accurate
General Designs for Research
Experimental Design
manipulating a key factor that the researcher believes is responsible for a particular behavior and randomly assigning participants and groups
* Shows cause and effect
General Designs for Research
Correlational Design
examining relations between variables as they exist naturally in the world
* Shows strength of relationship
General Research Designs
Correlation Coefficient
measured as r; represents the direction of the relationship between two variables
* measured on a scale of +1.0 to -1.0
General Research Designs
What are the 3 strengths of relationships for Correlation Coefficients?
r = 0; no relationship
r > 0; positively related
r < 0; negatively related
General Research Designs
Case Studies
studying one person in great detail
General Research Designs
Pros and Cons of Case Studies
+ good for investigating rare phenomena
- cannot always be generalized to general population sample
Designs for Studying Development
What 3 concepts are developmental designs based on?
- Age Effects
- Cohort Effects
- Time of Measurement Effects
Designs for Studying Development
Age Effects
differences in development caused by underlying processes
Designs for Studying Development
Cohort Effects
differences in development caused by experiences unique to generation
Designs for Studying Development
Time of Measurement Effect
differences in development caused by the time in which data was obtained
Designs for Studying Development
Confounding
Any situation in which one cannot determine which of two or more effects is responsible for the behavior being observed
Designs for Studying Development
Cross-Sectional Design
testing different age cohorts at the same time
Designs for Studying Development
Pros and Cons of Cross-Sectional Designs
+ can be conducted quickly
+ not expensive
- does not provide data about continuity of development
- assumes that when older participants were younger, they were similar to younger cohort
Designs for Studying Development
Longtiduinal Design
the same cohort is observed over different points in their life
Designs for Studying Development
Pros and Cons of Longitduinal Design
- Participant drop out or death
- Risk of discovering developmental process that is unique to cohort
- Practice Effects
Designs for Studying Development
Microgenetic Design
- type of longitdunal design
- participants are tested over the span of days or weeks, (planned around a specific developmenta/life-cycle event)
Designs for Studying Development
Pros and Cons of Microgenetic Design
+ tracking change as a result of intervention
Time Lag Studies
studying the same age groups but at different times
* ex: divorce in 1960s vs 1990s
* good measure of historical differences
Designs for Studying Development
Sequential Design
combintations of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
* Cross Sectional: 2 or more cross sectional studies at 2 or more times of measurement
* Longitudinal: 2 or more longitudinal studies that represent 2+ cohorts
Studying Ethically
What are the Ethics Guidelines?
- minimize risk to participants
- describe the research to potential participants, so that they can determine wish to participate
- avoid deception; tell truth immediately
- results should be anonyous and confidential
Ageism
form of discrimination against older adults based on their age
Average Life Expectancy
half the people born in a specific year have died
Dependecy Ratio Burden
the burden of the older population needing to be cared for by the youth
