EDHD 400 Quiz 1 Study Guide This quiz consists of 75 multiple choice questions Review the study guide and the PP slides posted on ELMS especially those on vision and social theories of aging HISTORY OF GERONTOLOGY Alexander Leaf characteristics of long lived peoples A Harvard physician and pathologist visited many areas in which very long lived people are reputed to exist He collected empirical data on diet work patterns and health status The far better than typical health enjoyed by these long lived peoples was due to their quality of life Although the life is hard it is curiously without inner stress They integrated work and physical exercise with an adequate diet Benjamin Franklin studied methods of rejuvenation Franklin was a versatile thinker with serious interests in many fields including science and aging especially methods of rejuvenation Franklin explored the possibility that lightning might influence the resurrection of deceased animals and people He thought that since electricity had a stimulating effect it would have a direct influence on the life span Quetelet the first gerontologist He was a Belgian born in 1796 who received the first doctorate in science in mathematics from the University of Ghent in 1819 He became interested in probabilities He developed the concept of the average man around which extremes were distributed The discovery of the normal distribution usually is attributed to Gauss but Quetelet s work preceded Gauss In 1835 Quetelet published On the Nature of Man and the Development of his Faculties which provides descriptive data for many traits mortality data and age changes in artistic productivity The use of the normal distribution to describe human characteristics represented a conceptual revolution Previously Aristotelian philosophy stated that man was or was not Quetelet introduced the idea that traits varied in degrees and that these differences were measurable Sir Francis Galton made fundamental contributions to gerontology data collected for 17 variables at the International Health Exhibit in London in 1884 showed age differences in many human characteristics Galton was a cousin of Charles Darwin and a member of the upper class like Quetelet Galton was a well known statistician who developed the first index of correlation Galton s fundamental contribution to gerontology is the data for 17 variables that he collected at the International Health Exhibit in London in 1884 Data were collected for 9337 males and females aged 5 to 80 years for vital capacity visual accuracy reaction time etc 1 Galton showed that there were age differences in many human characteristics e g hearing for high tones and that most variables were correlated with chronological age Milestones Gerontological Society in America established in 1945 National Institute on Aging within NIH established 1974 1945 Gerontological Society in America founded 1946 University of Cambridge Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of Aging established 1974 creation of the National Institute of Aging within the National Institutes of Health ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING AND THE ELDERLY Consequences of negative views of aging Negative views of aging life in general and oneself may result in an older person s unwillingness or inability to seek needed services health care or other types of assistance Negative attitudes of old people may affect others in the social environment who in turn may feel free to respond negatively to the elderly or to ignore them completely Cross sectional studies definition Most studies of aging processes are cross sectional At the same time of measurement a cross sectional study examines or compares people of different chronological ages who were born at different times and attempts to estimate age maturational changes from age differences Confound in cross sectional studies age and cohort However in cross sectional studies age changes are confounded with birth cohort or generational differences Longitudinal studies definition In order to understand true age changes longitudinal research is necessary the repeated measurement of the same person over a specified period of time In a longitudinal study the same individual is studied to determine what changes or effects are experienced as an individual moves from young adulthood to middle age to old age and to advanced old age These within individual changes are the best estimates of age changes However the time and cost of such studies prevent most researchers from conducting longitudinal studies Moreover maturational age changes are confounded by time of measurement effects Longitudinal studies confound age changes and time of measurement effects Robert Butler ageism definition Ageism is s tereotyping and discriminating against individuals or groups because of their age Ageism or age discrimination is a set of beliefs attitudes norms and values used to justify age based prejudice discrimination and subordination 3 elements of ageism 2 Butler defined Ageism as a combination of three connected elements 1 The first element is prejudicial attitudes towards older people old age and the aging process 2 The second element is discriminatory practices against older people e g age restrictions for driving 3 The third element is institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people e g mandatory retirement Consequences of internalization of ageist views If an individual has internalized society s negative views of the aging process and the elderly his her belief ultimately may affect a person s self identity Particularly if an individual is observing typical age related changes in his her own behavior then an individual s self concept and self esteem may be diminished Elder abuse definition According to the National Center on Elder Abuse of the Administration on Aging elder abuse refers to intentional or negligent acts by a caregiver or trusted individual that causes or potentially causes harm to a vulnerable elder The most common categories of abuse include neglect physical abuse sexual abuse financial abuse and exploitation emotional or psychological abuse including verbal abuse and threats abandonment and self neglect Who is most at risk for elder abuse Elder abuse affects seniors across all socio economic groups cultures and races Based on available information women and the oldest old those 85 years are more likely to be victimized Mistreatment is most often perpetrated by the victim s own family