Midterm

Question 1

what is life span

Answer 1

it is the maximum mount of years you life

Question 2

what is life expectancy?

Answer 2

the general prediction of amount of time you are supposed to live

• 83 for women and 79 for men
• 102 for humans
• highest in BC and lowest in newfoundland

Question 3

what is the rule of 4ths?

Answer 3

the 1/4 decline of normal function

• disease
• disuse
• misuse
• physiological aging

Question 4

what is demography

Answer 4

studying the aging within certain population over place and time usually a census every 4-5 yrs

• decline mortality and fertility rates
• increase in immigration

Question 5

what is median age

Answer 5

chronological age at which the population divides into equal halves of younger and older people
-national median is 40
highest is 45 in japan
lowest is 15 in niger

Question 6

what is ageism

Answer 6

social operation of young ppl with negative info of older people

• -varies in cultures
• resides in fear and vulnerability toward aging

Question 7

revera age report

Answer 7

6/10 seniors aged 66 and older said they’ve been treated unfairly

Question 8

what is apocalyptic demography

Answer 8

notion that a demographic trend like population aging has a catastrophic consequence for society

• social problem
• homogenization of old ppl
• age blaming
• intergenerational injustice
• social policy

Question 9

activity theory

MICRO

Answer 9

to successfully age you need to be engaged

-meet social needs to be stable in life

Question 10

disengagement theories

LINKING

Answer 10

letting go of social roles and responsibilities

-prepare for inevitable death

Question 11

continuity theory

MICRO

Answer 11

choices made to preserve ties from the past

-lack of consideration for structural factors

Question 12

social exchange theory

MICRO

Answer 12

more resources=max rewards=more social role

-person to person interaction is max reward

Question 13

age stratification theory

LINKING

Answer 13

age cohorts over life course and stratification by age like baby boomers
-homogenious

Question 14

modernization theory

MACRO

Answer 14

the more modern society is getting the less status older people get

• impacts from urbanization
• less about individual more about status within society

Question 15

political economy theory

MACRO

Answer 15

treatment of older people can be understood in context of economy and shows inequality by age

Question 16

aging enterprise

Answer 16

relationship between social policy and conditions of elderly

Question 17

critical feminist theory

LINKING

Answer 17

gender is fundamental in organizing people in society

• gender is socially constructed
• -based on experiences of dominant group which is middle class white men

Question 18

feminization of poverty

Answer 18

women are prone to poverty later in life because of societal limitations impacting quality of life

Question 19

life course perspective (Dom theory in gerontology)

LINKING

Answer 19

lifetime -age
historical -era in which events occur
social - expectations of life events related to age

Question 20

goals of gerontology research

Answer 20

explore
describe
explain
-dynamic life course perspective and policy developments!

Question 21

positivist approach

Answer 21

transfer physical sciences to study human behavior

-objective observation

Question 22

interpretive approach

Answer 22

the world has many realities

objective reality cannot be known

Question 23

critical approach

Answer 23

unmask the oppression of vulnerable people
make change
encourage awareness

Question 24

life course fallacy

Answer 24

mistake of interpreting cross sectional age differences as if they referred to the process of aging

Question 25

age is a process and a structure:

Answer 25

similar aged= one strata

structural lag- policies change but systems slow to adapt

Question 26

age inclusivity

Answer 26

primary responsibility of governments in promoting providing and ensuring access to basic social services

Question 27

what is ethnogerontology

Answer 27

studies that influence race, culture on individual and population level

Question 28

race

Answer 28

physical characteristics that are socially constructed

Question 29

ethnicity

Answer 29

shared history of ones people

-within social hierarchy they’re perceived to have different statuses

Question 30

level theory

Answer 30

levels ethnic differences, aging as an enterprise is important

Question 31

buffer theory

Answer 31

ethnic identity actually protects people from roles as they age
acts as buffer!
-strong roots are seen as important for quality of life

Question 32

multiple jeopardy theory

Answer 32

aging makes things worse for an ethnic group ontop of minority factors

• gender
• race
• socio economic status

Question 33

global demography

Answer 33

explosion- growth of population
implosion- concentrated population
displosion - immigration
technoplosion -modernizing

Question 34

4 reasons aging will a NOT create economic crisis

Answer 34

1) decreased fertility
2) less kids and theyre healthy= higher adult productivity
3) increased longevity =long before retirement
4) tighter labour markets

Question 35

what is social gerontology

Answer 35

it studies social processes, practices and policies in relation to aging and to old people