Final Exam Flashcards
Stereotypes
special type of social knowledge structure or social belief. They represent socially shared beliefs about characteristics and behaviors of a particular social group.
Age-based double standard
when individual attributes an older person’s failure as more than a failure observed in a young adult.
Implicit stereotyping
strong stereotypes learned over time, automatic and unconscious.
Self-perception of aging
individual’s perceptions of their own age and aging.
Labeling theory
when we confront an age-related stereotype, older adults are more likely to integrate it into their self-perception.
Resilience theory
confronting a negative stereotype results in a rejection of that view in favor of a more positive self-perception.
Cohort differences
different generations socialize differently from each other.
Impression formation
the way we form and revise first impressions about others.
Social knowledge
when we are faced with new situations, we draw on our previous experiences stored in memory.
Personal control
the degree one believes one’s performance in a situation depends on something that one personally does.
Assimilative activities
activities that prevent or alleviate losses in domains that are personally relevant for self-esteem and identity.
Accommodations
people readjust their goals and aspirations as a way to lessen or neutralize the effects of negative self-evaluations in key domains.
Immunizing mechanism
alter the effects of self-discrepant evidence (alternative explanations or denial).
Stability and change in personality traits
trait theories state that traits are hereditary and will not change over time (stability). Personal concerns or contextual perspectives says that personality is shaped by personal choice and by context (change).
Dispositional traits
aspects of personality consistent across different contexts and can be compared. The level of personality that most people think of first.
Personal concerns
things important to people, their goals, and their major concerns in life. Usually described in motivational, developmental, or strategic terms.
Life narrative
aspects of personality pulling everything together, those integrative aspects that give a person an identity or sense of self.
The five-factor model of personality
five independent dimensions of personality: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Costa and McCrae findings on stability and further research
over a 12 year period, 10 personality traits measured by the GZTS (Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey) remained stable. Individuals change little in personality trait over long periods of time (30 years). Very old persons are more suspicious and sensitive.
Other studies find increasing evidence for personality changes.
Extraversion and openness decrease.
Agreeableness increase.
Conscientiousness peaks in middle age.
Neuroticism disappear or less apparent in later life.
Personality adjustment
developmental changes in terms of their adaptive value and functionality, such as functioning effectively within society, and how personality contributes to everyday life running smoothly (Ursula Staudinger)
Personality growth
ideal end states such as increased self-transcendence, wisdom, and integrity (Ursula Staudinger).
Jung’s theory of ego development
aspects of personality must be balance with each other. 2 dimensions:
Introversion-extraversion: young adults are more extraverted because of the need to find a mate. Older people’s feelings focus inward to explore about aging and mortality.
Masculinity-femininity: young aunt act in accordance with gender-role stereotypes appropriate to their culture. Older people let out the depressed parts of their personality.
Midlife crisis
middle-age adults experience a personal crisis that results in major changes in how they view themselves.
Midlife correction
Abigail Stewart, reevaluating one’s roles and dreams and making the necessary corrections.
Subjective well-being
evaluation of one’s life associated with positive feelings.
Friendships in older adults
provides a buffer against the losses of roles and status that accompany old age (retirement or death), can increase people’s happiness and self-esteem. Patterns of friendship in older adults mirror those in young adulthood. Women have more numerous and intimate friendships than men do.
Carstensen’s socialemotional selectivity theory
social contact is motivated by a variety of goals, including information seeking, self-concept, and emotional regulation.
Men’s and women’s friendships
beneficial especially for men, similar across ethnic groups, tend to be difficult to maintain.
Assortative mating
people find partners based on their similarity to each other.
Battered women syndrome
when a woman believes she cannot leave the abusive situation and may even go so far as to kill her abuser.
Elder abuse
physical, sexual, emotional or psychological, financial or material exploitation, abandonment, neglect, and self-neglect.
Marriage as a lifestyle option
being single, cohabitation, homosexuality.
Cohabitation
people in committed, intimate, sexual relationships but who are not married but live together. Provide a way to share daily life.
Marital success
any marital outcome (divorce rate)
Marital quality
subjective evaluation of the couple’s relationship on a number of different dimensions.
Marital adjustment
degree spouses accommodate each other a certain period of time.
Marital satisfaction
global assessment of one’s marriage
Factors influencing marital success
homogamy, exchange theory, financial security, age at time of marriage, pregnancy at time of marriage.
Homogamy
the similarity of values and interests a couple shares.
Exchange theory
marriage is based on each partner contributing something to the relationship the other would be hard-pressed to provide.
Kinkeeper
the person who gathers family members together for celebrations and keeps them in touch with each other.
Married singles
couples who may have outgrown apart but continue to live together.
Covenant marriage
makes divorce much harder to obtain
Filial obligation
most adult children feel a sense of responsibility to care for their parents if necessary.
Gender discrimination
denying a job to someone solely on the basis of whether the person is a man or a woman.
Glass ceiling
the level women may rise within an organization but beyond which they may not go.
Age discrimination
denying a job or promotion to someone solely on the basis of age.
Backup care
provides emergency care for dependent children or adults so the employee does not need to lose a day of work.
Family-friendly policy
the ability to leave work without penalty when caring for family members.
Leisure activities and well-being
Distract us from negative life events.
Generate optimism about the future because they are pleasant.
Connect us to our personal past by allowing us to participate in the same activities over much of our lives.
Can be used as vehicles for personal transformation.
Crisp retirement
stopping work entirely
Blurred retirement
repeatedly leaving and returning to work, with some periods of unemployment.
Death (legal definition)
clinical death is the lack of heartbeat and respiration.
Death (medical definition)
No spontaneous movement in response to any stimuli
No spontaneous respirations for at least one hour
Total lack of responsiveness to even the most painful stimuli
No eye movements, blinking, or pupil responses
No postural activity, swallowing, yawning, or vocalizing
No motor reflexes
A flat electroencephalogram (EEG) for at least 10 minutes
No change in any of these criteria when they are tested again 24 hours later.
Bioethics
the study of the interface between human values and technological advances in health and life sciences.
Euthanasia
the practice of ending life for reasons of mercy
End of life issues
management of the final phase of life, after death disposition of their body, memorial services, and distribution of assets.
The hospice option
an approach to assist dying people emphasizing pain management, a palliative care, and death with dignity.
Palliative care
focused on prodding relief from pain and other symptoms of disease at any point during the disease process.
Grief
sorrow, hurt, anger, guilt, confusion, and other feelings that arises after suffering a loss.
Mourning
the ways we express our grief, influenced by cultures.
Kübler-Ross’s stages
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Doesn’t have to be experienced in the same order, some people might not experience all the stages.