key themes in ageing research

Question 1

what is studying ageing called

Answer 1

gerontology

Question 2

what is ageing

Answer 2

a long life process

Question 3

what factors if ageing dependent on

Answer 3

biological: physiological, genetics
psychological: cognition, emotion, personality
social: culture, interpersonal relationships

Question 4

what is the nature nurture debate regarding ageing

Answer 4

Indiv environment interactions produce vast differences in the ageing process

Question 5

what is really influential in the ageing process

Answer 5

Indiv differecnes

Question 6

what are the principles of ageing

Answer 6

-continuity: early experiences influence later life, we use similar strategies

-survivor: self selection or longevity through healthy behaviour e.g right nutrition, exercise, optimism etc

-individuality: variation within (intra) or between (inter) age groups

-health vs pathology: normal/healthy and pathological ageing involves fundamentally diff processes

Question 7

what is primary ageing

Answer 7

-gradual and inevitable
-biological (genetic/ pre programmed)
-starts in early adulthood
-progressive deterioration in physical structure/function
-independent of disease/environment
-skin wrinkling, hair loss/greying, cardiovascular changes

Question 8

what is secondary ageing

Answer 8

-NOT inevitable
-environment/disease related
-habits/behaviours/life choices under our control
-alters life expectancy
-e.g
–skin/eye damage from sun
–hearing issues from very loud music
–cardiovascular disease from smoking
–obesity from poor diet
–reduced bone density/osteoporosis from lack of physical activity
–cog decline from alcohol/drug use
–dementia from neurodegenerative diseases

Question 9

social factors influencing ageing

Answer 9

-sex and gender: gender pay gap influences a women
-socioeconomic status: being able to afford gym membership, fruits and veg
-race/ethnicity: prejudice has repercussions
-relationships: family/friends etc influence ageing
-religion

Question 10

how might religion influence ageing

Answer 10

-those who are religious tend to have longevity
-is it the faith or belief system?
-is it the social interaction?
-is it the physical activity of getting up and going to church or walking there etc?

Question 11

what are the social models of development

Answer 11

ecological systems perspective (bronfenbrenner 1989)
ageism (montepare and zebrowitz 2002)
life course perspective (bengston and allen 1993)

Question 12

what is the ecological systems perspective

Answer 12

bronfenbrenner 1989
-spheres of influence (circular model)
-individual (inner circle)
-microsystem: family, peers, church, school etc
-mesosystem: interaction of microsystem influences
-exosystem: media, industry, social services, local politics
-macrosystem: cultural expectations filtered down through exosystem

Question 13

what is chronosystem

Answer 13

change in systems over time

Question 14

what is the ageism model

Answer 14

montepare and zebrowitz (2002)
-thought that value of indiv is defined by their age
-social perception of older adults e.g neg stereotypes
-may be ingrained in us from very early age

Question 15

what is the life course perspective model

Answer 15

bengston and allen 1993
-key milestones we should achieve and what ages we should have hit them e.g marriage by 27, links to idea of social clock which can be distressing to be off time

Question 16

psychological factors influencing ageing

Answer 16

-identity and self esteem (can we adopt internal LOC, active vs passive influences how we experience ageing)
-mental health
-cognition
–memory: decline but preservation for some
–attention: less efficient inhibitory mechanisms
–RT: slower, intra indiv variation = less consistent

Question 17

what are the 4 psychological models of ageing

Answer 17

-erikson’s psychological theory 1963
-piagets cog dev theory
-continuity theory
-disengagement theory

Question 18

eriksons psychological theory 1963

Answer 18

stages 6-8
-6: young adulthood crisis of intimacy vs isolation
-7:middle adulthood risk of not sharing wisdom and experience with younger indivs (choice not to have children), generativity vs stagnation
-8: later adulthood, integrity vs despair, accept past experiences and the end of life

Question 19

piagets cog dev theory

Answer 19

-reach formal operational stage in early adulthood
-cog change driven by experience of engaging with environment
-requires ability to reason to help us respond in the present

Question 20

continuity theory

Answer 20

atchley 1989
-indivs tackle new challenges with adaptive srategies based on past experiences

Question 21

disengagement theory

Answer 21

cumming and henry 1961
-turning inwards, distancing from society/old rules/ expectations
-often triggered by retirement

Question 22

what are the biological factors to ageing

Answer 22

-appearance: greying, wrinkles etc
-skeletal system: loss of bone material in vertebrae (bent posture)
-endocrine system: changes in body composition, slowed metabolism, sleep changes (kammel and gammack 2006 due to reduced melatonin)
-immune system: loss of efficiency of t and b cells
-CNS: greater white matter in brain, more connections not somas, axon terminals etc

Question 23

other biological changes including the senses

Answer 23

vision: lack of focus
balance: falls linked to poor depth perception
hearing: poor detection of high pitch sounds
smell and taste: receptors decrease tin adulthood
somatosensory: loss of discriminate touch

Question 24

what are the 2 types of biological models of ageing

Answer 24

programmed: ageing and death part of genetic code
random error: age reflects unplanned changes, wear and tear

Question 25

what are the programmed ageing theories

Answer 25

1. hayflick limit (hayflick 1977/87)
2. autoimmune theory (walford 1969)
3. genetically programmed senscence (buss 1999)
   -terminal drop (kleemeier 1962)

Question 26

what is the hayflick limit theory

Answer 26

hayflick 1977/1987, programmed
-ultimate limit on length of life but compensatory factors can alter timings of events
-longevity is genetic

Question 27

autoimmune theory

Answer 27

walford 1969, programmed
-immune system signals t and b cells to attack body producing physical attributes of ageing

Question 28

genetically programmed senescence

Answer 28

buss 1999, programmed
-loss of protective part of chromosome (telomere) over time
-leaves DNA vulnerable and reduces ability of cells to divide
-length of telomeres impacted by stress, smoking, BMI etc

Question 29

terminal drop theory

Answer 29

kleemeier 1962, programmed
-physical and cog functions only decline dramatically prior to death

Question 30

what are the random error theories

Answer 30

-cross linking (tice and setlow 1985)
-free radical theory (harman 1965)

Question 31

cross linking theory

Answer 31

tice and setlow 1985, random error
-ageing causes changes in cells that make up most of bodies connective tissue
-rigidity of collagen altered depending on vitamin and mineral intake

Question 32

free radical theory

Answer 32

harman 1965, random error
-ageing is product of cells binding with unstable oxygen molecules, compromising their normal function