Chapter 2 Vocabulary Flashcards
accentuation
Occurs when an event, transition or new circumstance strengthens an existing personal attribute or behavior pattern
age effect
When behaviors, human experiences, or social changes are shaped by the age of people involved – that is, by the length of time since their birth
agency
The capacity to act
birth cohort
A group of people born in a particular year or period of years
cohort effect
Occurs when membership in a particular cohort – that is, a group of people with synchronous shared experience – shapes a behavior, experience, or social condition
critical periods
Used to describe a special class of sensitive stage during which the effects of exposure to certain conditions are particularly strong, but would otherwise be negligent at other periods
cumulative continuity
A process by which the consequences of a person’s circumstances and/or actions accumulate over time
early programming
Implies that experiences of early life – even in utero and infancy – may permanently “program” a person’s ensuing health and social development
generation
A relationship between two specific people or groups, one of whom gave birth to (that is, generated) the other
interactional continuity
Sometimes called reciprocal continuity, occurs when social interactions fortify a person’s behaviors or behavioral styles
life course
How events, transitions, and trajectories of a person’s life unfold with particular sequences and dynamics across their stages of life
life course epidemiology
The study of long-term effects on later health or disease risk
life course perspective
An approach to understanding individual lives and age cohorts
life-span psychology
Tends to understand biographies from a human developmental perspective that emphasizes biophysiological conditions more so than socio-historical forces
life stage
Phases of age-related statuses and roles
period effect
Occurs when historical conditions uniformly shape behaviors, experiences, or social change across all observed age groups and cohorts
sensitive stages
Times when humans more easily acquire cognitive skills, coping strategies, social competencies, attitudes, habits, and values than at other ages or life stages
situational imperatives
Demands created by a certain circumstance
social pathway
A common, established route or sequence of steps on the way to acquiring a particular status or role
social roles
The societal expectations that accompany each of our statuses
social statuses
The position one holds in society
social timing
The incidence, duration, and sequence of roles, especially as related to societal expectations and beliefs about age and life stage
Sociological imagination
A habit of mind that understands connections between individual experiences and their sociocultural environments
theory of cohort replacement
(Abramson and Inglehart) Suggests that social change occurs as birth cohorts enter, progress, and then “exit” society, taking with them the values, beliefs, and behaviors that had at one time been influential, and leaving the values, beliefs, and behaviors of younger cohorts to dominate.
