Gerontology- Aging and the Life Course Chapter 1

A definition of age based on how people look and what they can do is called _____________________.

functional age

Identify the subcategories into which social gerontologists often divide older people when using chronological age as a marker of old age.

The young-old, the middle-old, and the oldest-old.

Time duration of the swing generation

1900-1927

Time duration of the silent generation

1928-1945

Time duration of the baby boomers

1946-1964

Time duration of Generation X

1965-1976

Time duration of echo boomers

1977-1994

Overseeing the operation, staffing, expenditures, and evaluations of agencies and organizations for the elderly.

Administration

Encouraging the government and private sector to be responsive to the needs of older people.

Advocacy

The tendency to patronize the elderly and be overly solicitous toward them is a form of discrimination known as ____________________.

Ageism

They are the largest cohort born in the 20th century.

Baby boomers

A person becomes old when he or she develops gray hair and wrinkles.

Based on appearance

A person becomes old when he or she can no longer perform the major roles of adulthood.

Based on function

A person becomes old when he or she experiences normal changes as stiffness of joints, diminished short-term memory, and reduced skin elasticity.

Based on physical changes

A ____________________ is the aggregate of individuals who experienced the same event within the same time interval.

Cohort

A __________________ refers to the distinctive experiences that members of a birth cohort share and that shapes them throughout their lives.

Cohort effect

Advising people on the importance of saving and investing to ensure adequate finances in retirement.

Financial planning

In gerontology, the __________________ show some mental or physical deterioration and depend on others for carrying out their daily activities.

Frail elderly

___________________ is the scientific study of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging.

Gerontology

Assessing the needs of older people and developing and marketing services and products to meet those needs.

Marketing and product development

They are the best educated and most diverse of any generation.

Millenials

They grew up during the Depression and experienced real deprivation.

Silent generation

Although the __________________ can participate in many aspects of life, they may need support in transportation, shopping, cleaning, or personal care.

Somewhat impaired elderly

____________________ are a composite of ideas and beliefs attributed to people as a group or social category.

Stereotypes

In gerontology, the term ______________ describes those elderly people who are involved in social and leisure activities and are often employed or busy with volunteer work. a. Well elderly b. Middle-old c. Frail elderly d. Oldest-old

a. Well elderly

An effect of family structure on cohorts is that if a decline in the intensity of kinship relations erodes the capacity of the family to care for older members, then _____________________. a. Demands on the government are likely to increase b. Occupational benefits are likely to be given only to people whose parents are dependent on them c. Pension plans are likely to be abolished by the government d. Social Security benefits are likely to decrease

a. Demands on the government are likely to increase

Identify the activities involved in ageism a. Discrimination b. Cohort aging c. Senescence d. Prejudice

a. Discrimination d. Prejudice

Identify the mistaken impressions that young people have about the health of the elderly. a. Majority of older people are in poor health b. Husbands always outlive their wives c. A large number of older people reside in nursing homes d. Elderly people rarely need help with their everyday activities.

a. Majority of older people are in poor health c. A large number of older people reside in nursing homes

As recognized by social gerontologists, identify the attributes of successful aging. a. Prevention of disease and disability b. Increased life expectancy c. Dependency on immediate family for health care d. Participation in productive activities e. Attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning

a. Prevention of disease and disability d. Participation in productive activities e. Attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning

An observable trend in the education of older people belonging to different generations is that by the time younger people reach retirement age, ______________. a. The education gap between the young and the old decreases. b. The education gap between the young and the old increases. c. The education gap between the young and the old remains the same. d. The education gap between the young and the old becomes a theoretical concept.

a. The education gap between the young and the old decreases.

A social scientist conducts a two-generation study on married couples with children in a particular city. In this scenario, unlike the term cohort, the term generation refers to _____________. a. kinship linkages b. all individuals in a population c. population ties d. people born in a specific time period

a. kinship linkages

In the context of print media, unlike children's books, _________________ present aging and the aged in realistic and often positive ways.

adult fiction books

A set of beliefs about the age is referred to as ___________.

ageism

When people act based on negative stereotypes, they are engaging in _______________________. a. Senescence redlining b. Age discrimination c. Subjective age identification d. Cohort aging

b. Age discrimination

A true statement about gender differences in marital status in old age is that ______________________. a. At all ages men marry women older than themselves, while women seldom marry older men. b. At all ages women marry men older than themselves, while men seldom marry older women. c. There is no double standard for an appropriate marriage partner. d. There is a shortage of older women as men live longer on average than women.

b. At all ages women marry men older than themselves, while men seldom marry older women.

Size is an especially distinctive characteristic of cohorts because a larger cohort ___________________. a. has a smaller impact on a country. b. has political clout. c. is not confronted with a competitive environment. d. is politically active only during its younger years.

b. has political clout.

An accurate statement about the TV programs in the 1970s is that _____________. a. greater number of prime-time shows were respectful toward the elderly b. the images of older people were unflattering c. the elderly were depicted in a positive light d. all prime-time shows had made a vow to never depict the elderly as despondent

b. the images of older people were unflattering

An accurate statement about the poverty rates among older people is that __________________ since 1965. a. they have increased significantly b. they have declined steadily c. they have fluctuated toward lower values d. they have shown no change

b. they have declined steadily

Why do social gerontologists use the social roles older people play to define them as old? a. Because chronological age takes their subjective age identities into account b. Because functional age never takes their subjective age identities into account c. Because chronological age could be an inappropriate indicator of old age d. Because their functional age cannot be defined based on how they look

c. Because chronological age could be an inappropriate indicator of old age

Which of the following is true of the activities performed by gerontological specialists? a. Gerontological specialists provide exciting career opportunities to the elderly b. Gerontological specialists create investment options for the elderly c. Gerontological specialists design, implement, and evaluate programs that meet the needs of older people d. Gerontological specialists provide care to the frail elderly

c. Gerontological specialists design, implement, and evaluate programs that meet the needs of older people d. Gerontological specialists provide care to the frail elderly

Which of the following areas provide potential career opportunities for gerontological specialists? a. Banking b. Corporate career counseling c. Health care d. Financial planning

c. Health care d. Financial planning

An accurate statement about the influence of social class on subjective age identity of the elderly is that people of lower socioeconomic class view ___________________. a. Successful aging is a myth. b. The onset of old age as occurring at a later age. c. The onset of old age as occurring at a younger age. d. Senescence as a theoretical concept.

c. The onset of old age as occurring at a younger age.

Which of the following is a true statement about chronological age? a. It enables differentiation of people belonging to a widely varying generation. b. It takes into account subjective age identities of older people. c. While it is useful in studying the elderly, it can also be an arbitrary marker. d. While it is the perfect indicator of old age, it is not used for studying the elderly.

c. While it is useful in studying the elderly, it can also be an arbitrary marker.

In some professions such as medicine, rehabilitation therapy, and nursing, a person becomes a gerontological specialist by first ___________ and then obtaining a specialty in aging. a. completing an accelerated degree program b. opting for a degree program that can be completed in 12 months c. completing a traditional degree program d. opting for a non-traditional PhD degree in gerontology

c. completing a traditional degree program

Identify a film in which the theme of aging is portrayed as a journey of self-revelation. a. 12 Years a Slave b. For One More Day c. Exit Ghost d. Driving Miss Daisy

d. Driving Miss Daisy

What can be said about the economic conditions of the elderly since 1965? a. The economic conditions have been declining significantly for wealthy older people. b. The economic conditions have been improving steadily for wealthy older people. c. The economic conditions have been declining steadily for all older people. d. The economic conditions have improved significantly for many older people.

d. The economic conditions have improved significantly for many older people.

In social gerontology, when is a cohort extinguished? a. When the last member of a birth cohort moves to the consequent age category b. When the first member of a birth cohort moves to the consequent age category c. When the first member of a birth cohort dies d. When the last member of a birth cohort dies

d. When the last member of a birth cohort dies

The subfield of gerontology that is concerned mainly with the social aspects of aging is called _____________________.

social gerontology

People who are successful in compensating for functional limitations due to their age are able to maintain a(n) __________________ of themselves as young. a. cohort aging effect b. progressive physiological personality c. subjective age identity d. adverse mortality opinion

subjective age identity

According to social gerontologists, ______________ can be achieved by setting goals and then working to achieve those goals and by participating in meaningful activities.

successful aging