Gerontology Final
How does the media contribute to improving attitudes towards older people?
by presenting more varied images of older people
According to Lee (2002), _____% of graduate schools of social work offered courses on aging
26.3%
Demographers often divide the older population into ____ groups
3
The less developed nations make up _____ of the world's population
3/4
Research shows that a decline in vision begins about the age of ____ for most people
30
A study by the National Counsel on Aging (Cutler, 2002) found that ____ % of older people felt that dear of crime was a very serious problem for them
36%
____% of older people believed that their later years were the best years of their lives
45
A person loses some hearing each year after age
50
Gerontologists define the group aged _____ as the young-old
65 and over
Gerontologists most often use the proportion of people age _____ as a measure of population aging
65 and over
The terms old, elderly, and aged in this book refer to people aged ___ and over.
65.
Palmore (2001) reports that ____% of older people experienced more than one incident of ageism
77%
The fastest growing age group in the country is the group aged
85 and over
According to a study conducted by the Unilever Company (2010), ______% of women aged 51-64 believed that it is time for society to change its views about women and aging
91%
Sociologists describe prejudice as...
A negative attitude toward a group or class of people.
______ is a genetic process that switches off the cell's ability to divide, thus controlling cell growth and cell death
Apoptosis
In 2000, the majority of the world's older people lived in
Asia
Which of the following reasons for studying aging was not given in the text? A. To help understand social issues B. To learn to work in a field that serves older people C. To enable older people to reverse or avoid the effects of aging D. To help older friends and relations to deal with issues of later life
C. To enable older people to reverse or avoid the effects of aging.
______ today has the largest population of older people in the world.
China
Historians credit ______ with the first use of the term gerontology in 1905
Elie Metchnikoff
______ is the lead destination state for migrating reitrees
Florida
Gerontologists
Gender effect
___ is the systematic study of aging.
Gerontology.
According to the International Longevity Center (2006), ageism can result in
Ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are biased against people based on their age
The country with the highest percentage of its population aged 65 and over is
Japan
Stereotyping can...
Lead to prejudice, discrimination, and inappropriate treatment.
_______ studies the phenomenon -- sickness, retirement, health -- from the subject's point of view
Phenomenology
______ studies how individuals understand and give meaning to their lives
Qualitative methods
______ allow researchers to gather a great deal of information on a wide range of issues
Quantitative methods
______ want to understand the changes that take place in the individuals over time
Social gerontologists
Binstock (2005) called new ageism an example of
a compassionate stereotype
Stereotypes, whether negative or compassionate, results in
a decrease in public support for older people
Creating a positive attitude towards aging among health care professionals requires
a gerontology curriculum that emphasizes problems with the elderly
Geriatrics is defined as
a medical specialty that deals with older people
Ageism in our culture is
a negative attitude towards aging
What types of activities create stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against older people?
accepting television's portrayal of older people
Nosek and colleagues (2002) compared subjects'; attitudes towards various ideas, and found the strongest negative associations with
age
McCann and Ventrell-Monses (2010) say that 40 years after the ADEA's enactment, _______ continues to impede the achievement of equal treatment for the older people in the workplace
age discrimination
To have a more balanced view of later life, society needs to
allow for many ways to grow old
Some older people move to enjoy a new lifestyle at retirement. This type of move is called
amenity migration
Catherine Mayer (2009) coined the term ______ to describe the ageless self
amortality
In developing nations the combination of poor economics and increasing numbers of older people will result in
an increased burden on the young
Free radicals are molecules that have
an unpaired electron
Chemicals in the body called ______ bind and neutralize some free radicals
antioxidants
All of the body's systems decline with age, but each system declines
at a different rate
The interpretive perspective
can give a good understanding of how people interpret their social world
The Hayflick limit says that
cell division has a limit
Cumulative disadvantage theory is a type of
conflict theory
Older people tend to live in cities because of
cultural reasons and the desire to age in place
Which of the following is a major source of ageism? a) the media b) lack of knowledge c) educational institutions d) all of the above
d) all of the above
According to the free radical theory, free radicals can
damage tissues and cell proteins
Muscle and bones content _____ with age
decrease
New ageism refers to a(n)
desire to give more help to older people
Studies show that _____ can improve knowledge and attitude about aging
education
Society can reduce prejudice and ageism through
education and social action
Research studies on human subjects face ______ challenges
ethical
current research suggests that ____ can reduce osteoporosis in older women
exercise
The FAQ is designed to
explore people's knowledge about dying
Gerontologists work to replace myths and stereotypes of aging with
facts and knowledge
Advertisers who want to attract older consumers should
focus on personal development and deeper values
Austad (2009) defines biological aging as
gradual and progressive decay in physical function
According to the endocrine theory, the age-related decline in ______ may trigger health problems later in life
hormones
An increasing older population in developed countries, for example, will ________ government pension and health care costs in the future
increase
In the future, population aging will occur because of
increased longevity
The United Nations reports that the developed nations will experience _____ in their proportions of older people
increases
Barbara Barer, an anthropologist at the Univ. of California, reports that crimes against older people can lead to feelings of
inferiority and loss of self-esteem
The Internet offers a storehouse of information on aging, but proves no guide to the quality of information. Therefore, gerontologists must be
information literate
Biologists distinguish between two causes of aging: _______ aging due to normal physical functions, and ______ aging due to environment
intrinsic; extrinsic
According to sociologists, a theory
is a conceptual model of some aspect of life
According to Butler, one antidote to ageism is
knowledge
New ageism
leads to an increase in public support for older people
Age stratification theory views individual aging as a(n)
life-long process
The stereotype of the sophisticated, successful, beautiful senior
may lead to a new form of ageism: the ageless self
Studies by the National Council on Aging (2000) on the fear of crime among older people find that
more than one-third of older people felt that fear of crime is a serious problem for them
Palmore's research on the FAQ suggests that
most people know little about aging and have many misconceptions
The AARP (1999) conducted a study which showed that ____ had the highest rates of vulnerability to crime
older people with low incomes
Older women have a higher risk of bone fracture than older men because
osteoporosis due to menopause lowers bone density
One example of the conflict perspective is the
political economy theory
An increase in the median age of a society means that the
population has gotten older
Congress (McCann and Ventrell-Monses, 2010) enacted the ADEA to
promote the employment of older workers based on ability rather than age
Critical gerontologists often use _____ to conduct their research
qualitative methods
An end to ageism will
require that we develop a society that judges people by who they are and what they do rather than their age
Older people, in general feel ____ with their lives
satisfied
The normal functional decline that takes place in the human body over time is called
senescence
Changes in _____ and _____ have the greatest effect in a person's ability to function in later life
sight; hearing
Compared to men, women face a greater chance of being _____ in later life
single
According to Mead, symbolic interaction
studies how symbols shape social relations
Demographers use three measures to describe population. Which of the following is not a measure of population aging?
the educational level of population
According to the text, the study of aging has grown to include
the humanities
Demographers find that the migration patterns of society usually follow
the life course
The major source of ageism today is
the media
Both Palmore (1998) and the Univ. of Southern California (2004) show that
the most frequent misconceptions about aging come from negative views of old age
Researchers have suggested a number of ways to produce a more balanced view of aging. These include
thoughtful use of media, educational programs, and legislation
Which of the following is not a method that researchers use to gather data on gerontology?
uncontrolled studies in laboratories
The U.S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits
unfair business practices
Older people seem more susceptible to victimization by fraud because they
usually have some wealth and fewer social supports
Student in the health sciences may have a negative attitude towards aging because they
usually treat only ill or institutionalized older people
Gerontologists use a number of research designs to look at the APC problem. Which of the following is not used to examine this problem?
vertical studies
Research methods provide
ways to collect, analyze, and report information
The less developed nations have
young populations with a small proportion of older people