GRT 2100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Continuity Equation
20 Aug 2016
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GRT 2100
October 3rd 2015
Themes and Issues in Adult Development and Aging — S. K. & S. B. Whitbourne
-biophysical perspective is a view of development as a complex interaction of biological,
psychosocial, and social processes
-biological processes include how the body’s functions and structures change throughout the
aging process
-the psychosocial process examines the thoughts, feelings and behaviours involved with
development
-the social process of aging reflects the environment or context
-identity is defined as a composite of how people view themselves
-four principles form the foundation of the field of adult development and aging: changes are
continuous overt the life span; only the survivors grow old; individuality matters; and “normal”
aging is different from disease
-changes that occur in later adulthood build on what has occurred during one’s past
-called a lifespan or the “continuity principle”
-although a person’s outward appearance will continue to change over the course of their
lifetime, they feel the same on the inside
-outward appearance plays a large role in the way people are perceived by others; many
people don’t notice their aging outward appearance until they look at a picture of
themselves
-people who live to be an old age have survived the many threats to life that can cause others
to fall by the wayside
-the fact that old people have managed to avoid death suggests they may have inherited
good genes, are emotionally health or have surrounded themselves by a positive
community/support system
-people become more skills with moderating their behaviour with age and are less likely to
engage in risks
-the concept that all old people become alike is a myth; diversity becomes an increasingly
prominent theme during the adult years
-inter-individual differences refers to the principle that people become more different from
each other with age
-intra-individual differences describes the differences within the individual
-functioning does not necessarily go downhill as people get older
-normal or primary aging refers to a set of changes built into the hard wiring of an organism
-this progress is more or less universal, intrinsic and progressive
-changes due to disease, referred to as impaired or secondary aging, are a function of an
abnormal set of changes afflicting a segment rather than the entirety of the older population
-optimal or successful aging refers to the way the aging process is slowed or altered
because the individual has engaged in preventative strategies to avoid negative changes
-the study of aging implies that age is the major variable of interest
-often the social meaning attached to a chronological age often outweighs any intrinsic
usefulness
-people of the same age can vary widely from one another whereas differently aged people
can get along well
-biological age is based on the quality of a individual’s bodily systems
-psychological age refers to the quality of an individual’s functioning on psychological
measures such as intelligence, memory and learning ability
-social age refers to the characterization of a person’s age based on occupying certain social
roles
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Document Summary
Themes and issues in adult development and aging s. k. & s. b. whitbourne. Biophysical perspective is a view of development as a complex interaction of biological, psychosocial, and social processes. Biological processes include how the body"s functions and structures change throughout the aging process. The psychosocial process examines the thoughts, feelings and behaviours involved with development. The social process of aging re ects the environment or context. Identity is de ned as a composite of how people view themselves. Four principles form the foundation of the eld of adult development and aging: changes are continuous overt the life span; only the survivors grow old; individuality matters; and normal aging is different from disease. Changes that occur in later adulthood build on what has occurred during one"s past. Called a lifespan or the continuity principle . Although a person"s outward appearance will continue to change over the course of their lifetime, they feel the same on the inside.
