key themes in ageing research Flashcards
what is studying ageing called
gerontology
what is ageing
a long life process
what factors if ageing dependent on
biological: physiological, genetics
psychological: cognition, emotion, personality
social: culture, interpersonal relationships
what is the nature nurture debate regarding ageing
Indiv environment interactions produce vast differences in the ageing process
what is really influential in the ageing process
Indiv differecnes
what are the principles of ageing
-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
what is primary ageing
-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
what is secondary ageing
-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
social factors influencing ageing
-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
how might religion influence ageing
-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?
what are the social models of development
ecological systems perspective (bronfenbrenner 1989)
ageism (montepare and zebrowitz 2002)
life course perspective (bengston and allen 1993)
what is the ecological systems perspective
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
what is chronosystem
change in systems over time
what is the ageism model
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
what is the life course perspective model
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
psychological factors influencing ageing
-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
what are the 4 psychological models of ageing
-erikson’s psychological theory 1963
-piagets cog dev theory
-continuity theory
-disengagement theory
eriksons psychological theory 1963
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
piagets cog dev theory
-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
continuity theory
atchley 1989
-indivs tackle new challenges with adaptive srategies based on past experiences
disengagement theory
cumming and henry 1961
-turning inwards, distancing from society/old rules/ expectations
-often triggered by retirement
what are the biological factors to ageing
-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
other biological changes including the senses
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
what are the 2 types of biological models of ageing
programmed: ageing and death part of genetic code
random error: age reflects unplanned changes, wear and tear
what are the programmed ageing theories
- hayflick limit (hayflick 1977/87)
- autoimmune theory (walford 1969)
- genetically programmed senscence (buss 1999)
-terminal drop (kleemeier 1962)
what is the hayflick limit theory
hayflick 1977/1987, programmed
-ultimate limit on length of life but compensatory factors can alter timings of events
-longevity is genetic
autoimmune theory
walford 1969, programmed
-immune system signals t and b cells to attack body producing physical attributes of ageing
genetically programmed senescence
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
terminal drop theory
kleemeier 1962, programmed
-physical and cog functions only decline dramatically prior to death
what are the random error theories
-cross linking (tice and setlow 1985)
-free radical theory (harman 1965)
cross linking theory
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
free radical theory
harman 1965, random error
-ageing is product of cells binding with unstable oxygen molecules, compromising their normal function