Study Guide Exam 1 1 Be able to define chronological age functional age and subjective age identity Chronological Age May differ from one nation or group to another Functional Age Based on how people look and their ability to conduct themselves in a certain manner or accomplish certain activities Subjective Age Identity The age that you feel you are Influenced by class and gender 2 What is a cohort Cohort the aggregate of individuals who experience the same event within the same time interval Ex College freshmen in the Class of 2012 3 Define the term ageism Ageism a set of beliefs about and attitudes toward the aged Discrimination denying people opportunities because of their age Prejudice holding negative stereotypes about older people 4 What are transitions Transitions to the role changes individuals make as they leave school take a job get married have children or retire Countertransitions transitions produced by others role changes 5 Be able to distinguish between an age effect a cohort effect and a period effect Age Effect a change that occurs as a result of advancing age Ex Declining health Cohort Effect the social change that occurs as one cohort replaces another Period Effect the impact of a historical event on the entire society Ex The Great Depression 6 What is the difference between longitudinal research and cross sectional research Longitudinal Research follow the same group of people over time Distinguishes age effects from cohort effects Costly Make it possible to make inferences about age change within each cohort and the effect of living through a period across cohorts Drop out bias Cross sectional research the same information is collected on people in several age groups Less Costly Draw conclusions about cohort effect Cannot decipher between age effect and cohort effect 7 What are the major life course transitions that most people experience Major Life Course Transitions marriage having children retiring 8 What is a social clock Social Clock Orders major life events based on age norms 9 Know the difference between disengagement theory activity theory and continuity theory Disengagement Theory Cumming and Henry 1961 Universal and inevitable process in which the elderly dissociate themselves from society as they age in order to not disrupt the social system in case of death Activity Theory Havighurst Those who aged optimally could reduce the risk of shrinking their social world Successful aging was active aging Continuity Theory Atchley personality plays a major role in adjustment to aging and that adult development is a continuous process 10 What is a subculture Subculture developed when people share similar interests concerns or when people have long standing friendships or when groups of people are excluded from full participation in the wider society 11 Know the basic premises of exchange theory and the concept of deferred exchange strategies Exchange Theory social interaction between individuals is based on rational calculations Ex Interaction between the old and the young decreases because older people have fewer resources to bring to the exchange Deferred exchange strategies recognizes the importance of strong ties built up over time Long term close relationships with family and friends represent a lifetime of credit that is stored up against the more burdensome needs that accompany old age 12 What is the main thesis of modernization theory in regard to the aged Modernization Theory responsible for the decline in status of the aged Before modernization the elderly were fewer in number age was seen as a As self employment declined the aged lost economic independence and were sign of status and authority forced into retirement 13 What is the difference between age segregation and age integration Age Segregation Institutions which age acts as a barrier to entrance exit or participation Age Integration Institutions which are characterized by an absence of age related criteria 14 Be able to define fertility mortality and migration Which field studies these processes Fertility the incidence of births or the inflow of new lives into a population Mortality the incidence of death in a population Migration the movement of people across borders Demography studies these processes 15 Know the difference between life expectancy and life span Life expectancy the average number of years people in a given population can expect to live the mean age at death Life Span longest number of years any member of a species has been known to survive 16 What is the sex ratio Sex Ratio number of males for every 100 females 17 Know what a population pyramid is and how population pyramids change in the course of the demographic transition 1st Stage of Demographic Transition Pyramid forms a triangle birth rates and death rates are both high few people reach adulthood and even fewer survive to old age 2nd Stage of Demographic Transition As more children reach into adulthood the age structure grows younger and the bottom of the age pyramid expands 3rd Stage of Demographic Transition Populations that have entered this stage become more rectangular in shape When birth and death rates are both low the demographic transition is complete 18 Know basic trends in fertility and mortality in the United States as well as the causes of these trends Fertility in the US Increasing in 1946 peaking in 1958 at average of 3 17 children per woman Between 1971 and 1980 dropped dramatically reaching an all time low of 1 7 children per women Birth control pill Increase in educational opportunities for women Female labor force participation expanded rapidly in the 1960 s Mortality in the US In the 1940s medical advances led to major gains against infant and child mortality and maternal mortality Then beginning in the late 1960s the death rate from heart disease began to fall largely because of better prevention and treatment 19 What have been the trends in life expectancy in the United States Between 1900 and 1996 overall life expectancy at birth increased nearly 30 years from 47 3 to 76 1 20 What is structural lag Structural Lag When outdated social structures prevent people of certain ages from participating fully in society 21 Know the difference between the social construction theory of aging and the political economy perspective in aging Social Construction Theory Views human beings as active creators of their own social reality Political economy perspective Political and economic forces distribute