PSYC 322: Gerontology and the Aging Process

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering demographic definitions, biological and cellular theories of aging, age stereotypes, ageism, and theoretical frameworks from PSYC 322.

Primary Aging

Normative, irreversible, intrinsic, progressive, and universal biological changes in bodily systems that happen naturally over time to all individuals (e.g., skin wrinkling).

Secondary Aging

Non-normative biological changes caused by disease, environmental factors, or lifestyle abnormalities; often preventable or reversible (e.g., developing skin cancer).

Tertiary Aging

Rapid and steep physical and cognitive decline across multiple bodily systems directly linked to mortality as an individual nears the end of life.

Terminal Drop

Sharp, rapid cognitive and functional decrements across multiple bodily systems occurring in the years immediately preceding death, driven by the death process rather than chronological age.

Young-Old, Old-Old, and Oldest-Old

Demographic subgroups of older adulthood defined as individuals aged $65$ to $74\text{ years}$ (Young-Old), $75$ to $84\text{ years}$ (Old-Old), and $85\text{ years}$ and older (Oldest-Old).

Centenarians and Supercentenarians

Subgroups of the oldest-old population comprising individuals aged $100$ to $109\text{ years}$ (Centenarians) and $110\text{ years}$ and older (Supercentenarians).

Mortality-Morbidity Paradox

The epidemiological phenomenon where females experience lower mortality rates (live longer) compared to males, but experience higher morbidity rates (live with more chronic illnesses and physical disabilities).

Feminization of Poverty

The structural trend where women are disproportionately affected by low income across the life course, frequently exacerbated in older adulthood due to wage inequities, career gaps, or caretaking roles.

Healthy Immigrant Effect

The observation that recent immigrants often arrive with better overall health profiles than native-born populations, which progressively declines over time as immigrants acculturate.

Multiple Jeopardy

The compounding negative impact of experiencing disadvantage or discrimination across multiple social identities simultaneously (e.g., being older, female, low socioeconomic status, and an ethnic minority).

Cumulative Disadvantage

The structural process through which early inequalities compound over the lifespan, leading to wider disparities in health, wealth, and well-being in older adulthood.

Sarcopenia

Age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, leading to a decline of roughly $1\%$ of muscle mass per year after age $45$.

Osteoporosis

A bone disease characterized by decreased bone mineral density and porous bone mass, which is not inevitable but affects approximately $50\%-57\%$ of older women following menopause.

Reaction Time (in Aging)

The interval between stimulus onset and the completion of a motor response, which significantly increases with age due to general slowing in central cognitive processing speed.

Gerotranscendence Theory

A theoretical perspective positing that aging naturally fosters a cognitive shift away from material and superficial concerns toward an inner, reflective, and spiritual orientation.

Disengagement Theory

A disproven historical theory asserting that older adults are happier when disengaging from society, contradicted by research showing that social engagement correlates with higher life satisfaction.

Hayflick Limit

The finite number of mitotic divisions a normal somatic cell can undergo before division arrests (e.g., human fetal lung cells divide $\sim 50$ times, whereas adult lung cells divide $\sim 20$ times).

Telomeres

Protective non-coding repetitive nucleotide sequences ($\text{TTAGGG}$, $\sim 1,500-2,000$ repeats) at chromosome ends that protect against degradation and fusion, shortening by $10-30$ uncopied nucleotides per division.

Cellular Senescence

A permanent state of cellular growth and division arrest triggered once telomeres shorten to a critical threshold length.

Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotypes (SASPs)

Senescent cells that secrete harmful inflammatory enzymes and molecules, damaging adjacent healthy tissues and promoting the proliferation of malignant (cancer) cells.

Free Radical Theory of Aging

The theory that biological aging results from cumulative macromolecular damage (proteins, lipids, and DNA) inflicted by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced as metabolic byproducts during mitochondrial ATP generation.

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

Unstable, highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (such as $O_2^-$ and $H_2O_2$) that seek molecular stability by binding to and oxidizing essential cellular components.

Telomerase Gene Transfer

A biological intervention involving the introduction of genes for the enzyme telomerase to synthesize and elongate telomeric repeats, preventing cellular senescence and SASP development.

Caloric Restriction

A dietary intervention reducing caloric intake by $20\%-40\%$ without malnutrition, shown in animal models to extend life span by $20\%-50\%$ by slowing metabolic rates and reducing ROS production.

APOE and FOXO3 Genes

Genes associated with human longevity; specifically, the $APOE\epsilon 2$ variant (chromosome $19$) and the $FOXO3$ variant (chromosome $6$) are significantly overrepresented in centenarians ($> 100\text{ years}$).

KIBRA, LPA, and SH2B3 Genes

Specific disease-linked genes: KIBRA (chromosome $5$) relates to memory impairment and Alzheimer's; LPA (chromosome $6$) relates to atherosclerosis and stroke; SH2B3 (chromosome $12$) relates to cancer, diabetes, and arthritis.

Age Stereotypes

Cognitive schemas or organized knowledge structures that reflect beliefs about the shared physical traits, personalities, behaviors, and social status of distinct age cohorts.

Multiple Stereotype Model (Hummert et al., 1994)

A qualitative model categorizing views of older adults into $7$ distinct subtypes: $4$ negative (Severely Impaired, Despondent, Shrew/Curmudgeon, Recluse) and $3$ positive (Golden Ager, Perfect Grandparent, John Wayne Conservative).

Stereotype Content Model (SCM)

A social psychological framework mapping groups on dimensions of Warmth and Competence; positions older adults as High Warmth and Low Competence, a combination that characteristically evokes pity.

Ageism

A concept coined by Robert Butler ($1969$) encompassing negative attitudes, discriminatory behaviors, and institutional practices directed toward older adults, rooted in personal dread of aging and death.

Elder Abuse

A single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, causing harm or distress to an older adult (including neglect, physical, financial, psychological, or sexual abuse).

BIAS Map (Shepherd & Brochu, 2020)

A framework showing that stereotyping older adults as Low Competence triggers passive harm (neglect), whereas reductions in perceived Warmth coupled with low status trigger active harm (abuse).

Stereotype Threat

The phenomenon wherein explicit activation of a negative ingroup stereotype induces performance anxiety that impairs cognitive or physical execution (e.g., memory recall), confirming the stereotype.

Self-Stereotyping

The unconscious, implicit process whereby members of a group internalize and assimilate societal stereotypes about their group into their self-concept and behaviors.

Stereotype Embodiment Theory (Levy, 2009)

A theory outlining how cultural age stereotypes are internalized across the lifespan from childhood, operate unconsciously, gain personal salience in old age, and impact health through psychological, behavioral, and physiological pathways.

Perceived Control (in Aging)

The belief that one has effective behavioral choices to achieve desirable outcomes, acting as a key psychological mediator connecting positive self-perceptions of aging to better functional health.

Will-to-Live

The perception that the benefits and value of one's life outweigh its perceived hardships, which partially mediates the relationship between positive self-perceptions of aging and increased survival ($7.5-7.6\text{ years}$).

Gerontological Imagination

Kenneth F. Ferraro's intellectual framework establishing seven core tenets to synthesize multidisciplinary insights into the biological, psychological, and social dynamics of human aging.

Age Effects, Cohort Effects, and Period Effects

Three distinct temporal influences: individual developmental aging processes (age effects), shared historical birth-year influences (cohort effects), and macro-historical events affecting all ages simultaneously (period effects).

"Beware of the Mean"

Ferraro's gerontological tenet warning that statistical averages (means) can mask reality because population variance and heterogeneity increase progressively as cohorts age.

Usual Aging vs. Successful Aging

Rowe and Kahn's distinction between typical non-pathological age-linked functional losses (usual aging) versus aging with high cognitive and physical function and the avoidance of disease/disability (successful aging).

Gerontology of Temporal Proximity

The conceptual limitation of attempting to explain late-life outcomes exclusively through proximate late-life factors while ignoring early-life adversities and life-course developmental transitions.

The Matthew Effect (in Aging)

The cumulative advantage dynamic within cohorts whereby early structural advantages compound over time to widen disparities in health and wealth in late life.

Pat Moore's Social Experiment

An empirical project illustrating societal ageism where an industrial designer disguised herself as an older woman across North America to uncover pervasive bias, mistreatment, and institutional neglect.