Intro to Sociology: Ch. 13- Aging and Elderly

Gender discrimination can even bring what?

Death

The Tiwi got rid of the old, decrepit remakes in their society by what?

“Covering them up” they dug a hole, put the old woman in the hole, and covered her with dirt all the way with only her head showing. Returning in a day or two, they found that she had died.

The Abkhazians pay high respect to their _____?

Elderly

Abkhazians’ may be the _____ _____ people in the world, with many claiming to live past 100.

Longest-living

What are the main factors Abkhazians’ outlive a lot of people

Account for their love lives are diet, lifelong physical activity and a highly developed sense of community

Which gender are discriminated throughout the world

Females

Like gender, aging is _____ constructed

Socially

When a country industrializes, its people live longer. What are some results of technology advancement?

Workplace is safer, food is better, living conditions are manageable, fresh/clearer water, and advance medicine

As the proportion of elderly increases, so does what?

The bill that younger citizens must pay to provide for their needs. This leads to a major social issue

What is the term “Graying of America”

The growing percentage of older people in the US

The elderly population is also not evenly distributed among who?

Race-ethnic groups

Who has the highest proportion of elderly?

White (24.2%)

Every society must deal with what type of people?

People growing old

This problem of how to address the needs of the elderly is very complex because what?

Age alone does not always qualify as the measurement of being old

A society’s definition and treatment of its elderly is ______ ______

Socially constructed

What is the term life expectancy?

The number of years people can expect to live, has increases greatly since 1900

The elderly population is not evenly distributed where?

Around the country

What is the term “Life Span”

Or maximum length of life possible, has not increased (current verified record: 122 years and 164 days)

What is the term “age cohorts”

People who were born at roughly the same time and pass through the life course together… (important in understanding employment trends)

How does society encourage the elderly to retire?

Pensions and this is called disengagement theory

What is the term “Disengagement Theory”

The view that society is stabilized by having the elderly retire (and disengage from) their positions of responsibility so the young generation can step into their shoes

Are retired people more satisfied with life than working adults?

They find different hobbies or volunteer their time to still feel useful in society

Activity theory

The view that satisfaction during old age is related to a person’s amount and quality of activity

Continuity theory

A theory focusing on people adjust to retirement by continuing aspects of their earlier lives (EX: that you have seen?)

Retirement does mean just doing what?

Nothing at all

What is the term “Creative aging”

A movement started in the 1970s in which elderly people started focus on learning new things (has since come to focus on mental, creative, and communication skills)

What does the term “Biology” mean

Physical changes

What does the term “Personal Biography”

events in someone’s life that take away their ability to perform tasks

What does the term “Gender Age” mean

The relative value that culture places on men’s ages is less than that of women’s ages

What does the term “Timetable” mean

When a particular society defines a person as “old,” the person is likely to feel “old.” These timetables are not fixed; groups sometimes adjust expectations about the onset of old age

Ageism

prejudice, discrimination, and hostility directed at people because of their age (Can be targeted towards any age, but most targeted at elderly people); employment, housing, healthcare, violence, stereotypes, etc

What influences society about the ideas and message about elderlies

The mass media (television, films, music, commercials, news,etc)