Basic Concepts 1
A Life Course Perspective on Aging
Age Identification
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A central concept in the meaning of age itself
 Refers to both how many years have passed since
we were born, and various social/psychological
areas of our lives
Age differentiation – certain roles and behaviors are
considered appropriate based on chronological age
Age grading – refers to the way people are assigned
different roles in society based on their age
Age stratification – theory that a person’s position in
the age structure affects behavior or attitudes
The Stages of Life
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Humans have always recognized a
progression through life, from young age to
old age.
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However, views of how humans age and the
meaning and expectations attached to certain
ages have changed over time and culture.
Greek/Roman, Middle Ages, Renaissance,
and the Industrial Age all had different views
of progression through the life course.
The Stages of Life (cont.)
Today, distinctions are made between
certain stages of life, based on chronological
age
 Because humans are living longer, many
people will spend at least 1/3 of adulthood in
retirement
 Distinctions are now made between:
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Young-Old – ages 65-74
 Old-Old – ages 75-84
 Oldest-Old – ages 85 and over
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The Life Course and Aging
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Aging is increasingly viewed from a “Life Course”
perspective
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The term “span of a lifetime” = total number of years
we live
The term “course of life” = the meaningful pattern seen
in the passing of time
Life Transitions
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Rites of passage – special events marking the
transition from one role to another
Many behavioral or psychological problems come
about because of the difficulties in preparing for life
transitions without help from society
Theories of Aging
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Modernization Theory – claims that the status of the
elderly declines as societies become more modern
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Old age was valued in agricultural society where the
elderly controlled the land
Disengagement Theory – looks at old age as a time
when both the older person and society engage in
mutual separation (e.g., retirement from work)
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One of the earliest attempts to explain old age in modern
society
Doesn’t always refer to the outward behavior of people –
can mean an inner attitude toward life
Theories of Aging (cont.)
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Activity Theory – argues that the more active people are,
the more likely they are to be satisfied with life
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Opposite view of Disengagement Theory
May be difficult for “old-old” people because of physical
changes with aging
Continuity Theory – claims that people who grow older
are inclined to maintain as much as they can of the same
habits, personality, and style of life they developed in
earlier years
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Similar to Activity Theory in believing that decreases in social
interaction are better explained by poor health or disability,
rather than some functional need of society to “disengage”
older people from their previous roles
Influences on the Life Course
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All theories have limits – none fully explains
the many ways individuals experience old age
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Many also reflect social values in uncritical ways
(e.g., setting up either activity or disengagement as
the ideal goal in old age)
Most pervasive view of adulthood assumes
continuous deterioration and decline
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Gives priority to biological factors and is the basis
for age-based prejudice called Ageism
Influences on the Life Course (cont.)
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Social class and life history affect one’s path
through the life course
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Also, other factors such as: earlier life events,
social/cultural historical events, unpredictable nonnormative life events, etc.
Social institutions and policies have structured the
life course in modern times, and define transitions
throughout life
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This may provide order and predictability
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Or it may foster dependency on the system
Learned helplessness – dependency and depression
reinforced by the external environment
Aging in the
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Century
Today, we no longer have a shared map for the
course of life
Time and the Life Course – there are many
expectations about how much time should be spent
in certain stages of life
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Ex., time spent devoted to education, childbearing, etc.
The Moral Economy of the Life Course –
embodies expectations of what is fair or right
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The old moral economy which distributed work and
leisure according to chronological age is losing its power
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But we have nothing to replace it yet
The Biology of Aging
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The new science of longevity – on a biological level,
aging results from changes in cells, tissues, etc.; so we
understand the process by comparing young cells to old
ones
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Cross-sectional methodology – looks at the physical function of
people at different chronological ages, but at a single point in time
(e.g., looking at a 1-, 10-, 20, and 30-year old on April 25th, 2009)
Biomarkers – biological indicators that can identify features of the
basic process of aging (ex., blood pressure, eyesight and hearing
abilities, etc.)
Reserve capacity – the body’s ability to recover from assaults
and withstand high demands during physical exertion
The Biology of Aging (cont.)
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For each species, there is a different:
Lifespan – how long a member of a species can
survive
and
 Life expectancy – the average number of years
an individual can be expected to live after birth
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Antagonistic pleiotropy – the idea of a trait
that is valuable in early life, but harmful in
later life (e.g., a harmful gene that doesn’t
appear until after the time of reproduction)
Mechanisms of Physical Aging
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Wear and Tear – The balance between the body’s
exposure to damage and it’s ability to repair itself shifts,
and it becomes harder for the body to heal itself
Free Radicals – contributes to physical aging; free
radicals (ionized oxygen molecules) are the waste
products that result from continuous cell metabolism
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If these proteins become inactive and are unable to carry out
their functions, they can become a destructive force
The Immune System – The immune system’s job is to
defend the body against invaders like viruses, bacteria,
and parasites; with normal aging, the body’s ability to
fight invaders declines
Aging and Psychological Functioning
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In a new movement called “successful aging,”
gerontologists seek to understand several
psychological factors affecting age, including:
Self-concept and social relationships
 Social roles
 Cognitive functioning (the most affected by aging)
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