Deck 17: Old Age: Social, Emotional and Personality Development

Question 1

In attempting to investigate the theories of ageing, Carstensen (1992) found that in adulthood, members of the sample spent _____________ time with their best friends than they had as teens (with the person who had been their best friend at that time).

Answer 1

less

Question 2

Savage et al. (1977) defined the _______________ participants in their study as resourceful, self- sufficient, tough- minded elderly men and women. These participants stood out for their intelligent decision- making skills, their even tempers and their personal strength and courage.

A) perturbed
B) silent- majority
C) introverted
D) mature

Answer 2

mature

Question 3

According to proponents of ________________ , some elderly people may disengage from society and, once disengaged, they may well become selfish and mentally lazy. Neither of these changes is a requisite developmental task or a component of healthy ageing.

A) activity theory
B) disengagement theory
C) psychodynamic theory
D) Both A and B

Answer 3

activity theory

Question 4

Feather (1989) studied a sample of Adelaide men and women in their 50s and 60s who were victims of an economic recession. Rather than voluntarily disengaging from work, they were forced into premature retirement from their long- term careers by becoming unemployed. Which of the following social roles became more frequent for these individuals after they became unemployed?

A) Costly recreational pursuits (going to expensive restaurants, travelling overseas).
B) Work- related social roles (entertaining previous colleagues from work ; career- relevant study).
C) Recreational roles (going to the pub, cinema or live performances).
D) Passive activities (reading, watching TV, window shopping).

Question 5

_____________ theory postulates that different people use different strategies for confronting old age, just as there are individual differences in effective solutions to the developmental challenges arising earlier in life.

Question 6

Elderly people may need to use the time and energy gained by relinquishing social ties for the psychic contemplation suggested by ________________ , for resolving the integrity crisis postulated by ________________ or for carrying out the life review process described by ________________

Question 7

According to disengagement theory, which of the following is incorrect about old age?

A) Emotional ties with others are severed.
B) Depth of involvement and participation in the few remaining social roles is radically reduced.
C) New social connections are only made with other older individuals.
D) Career and social roles are eliminated from the repertoire.

Question 8

According to socioemotional selectivity, an older couple's style of marriage is likely to become ________________ emotionally intimate and ________________ satisfying as old age draws near.

A) less; more
B) decreasingly; intensely
C) more; intensely
D) less; less

Question 9

Cumming (1964) argued that the third postulate of disengagement theory is that the elderly personality changes to a more ________________ and dependent mode of relating as a result of the disengagement process. Interests in social activity diminish, possible topics of conversation are lost through disuse and, with little access to, or interest in, others, social interaction becomes even more limited and awkward.

Question 10

Disengagement theory postulates not only that disengagement occurs in old age but also that it is a _____________ _____________ .

Question 11

Carole and Charles Holahan (1987) conducted a longitudinal assessment of coping skills in 52 elderly Texans living in mixed- age communities. Those with ________________ coping skills had stronger feelings of personal control, less depression and more drive to tackle challenges than those whose personal resources for dealing with problems were rigid, immature or impaired.

Question 12

The findings of Takahashi et al. (1997) and Carstensen (1992) indicate that among the institutionalised elderly, _____________ were the most commonly cited intimates, not _____________.

Question 13

________________ theory holds that healthy old age consists of a deliberate divorcing of oneself from other people, from social roles and from the active concern with others and their lives that preoccupies much of mature adulthood.

Question 14

Langer and Rodin (1976) investigated the link between personal control and longevity. They found that the survival of the old people who were given responsibility for their pot plant was ________________ percent after 18 months, compared with 70 percent in the group whose arena of control had not been boosted.

A) 80
B) 75
C) 85
D) 70

Question 15

According to Takahashi et al. (1997), ________________ percent of institutionalised elderly Japanese men and women were what the investigators described as 'lone wolves' - people who had no close and mutually satisfying intimate relationships.

A) 33
B) 28
C) 23
D) 17

Question 16

The ________________ provides a huge potential for old people needing to overcome enforced isolation, arising from restricted mobility, living alone in a high- rise apartment or on a secluded farm, or after moving into a nursing home or other care facility away from home.

Question 17

________________ depicts continued socialising, role commitment and involvement with people as essential in order to age successfully.

Question 18

Palmore, Fillenbaum and George (1984) found that the best predictor of surviving to the age of 75 in good health and high spirits was:

A) initial level of happiness before retirement and role loss (measured at age 65).
B) initial level of physical health before retirement and role loss (measured at age 65).
C) role disengagement.
D) high social activity.

Question 19

According to the findings of Ryff (1989), what do people aged between 50 and 80 consider to be the best measure of being well adjusted in old age?

A) Accepting of change
B) Sense of humour
C) Tolerance
D) Being interested in others

Question 20

According to Withers (2009), approximately ________________ percent of people over the age of 65 had never used email or the internet.

A) 45
B) 35
C) 15
D) 25

Question 21

In practical research terms, it is difficult to separate involuntary disengagement from the deliberate shedding of social roles by an older person who wants and needs to disengage.

Question 22

Carstensen (1992) has argued that as older adults reduce their social involvement with casual friends and acquaintances, they become more selective in their decision to spend positive, quality time with family members.

Question 23

Jung (1969) argues that that old people need to cut their links with other people in order to gain sufficient time and energy for inner contemplation, and for putting their psychic affairs in order in readiness for death.

Question 24

According to the findings of Ryff (1989), one of the most important criteria for successful adjustment in old age is the acceptance of decline.

Question 25

Savage et al. (1977) defined the perturbed participants (about 10 percent) in their study as shrewd, analytic and deliberate in their actions. These participants tended to be rather intolerant of change and suspicious of outsiders, resenting any interference with their private lives.

Question 26

According to socioemotional selectivity theory, elderly adults are helped to achieve integrity by their successful experiences in resolving the earlier crises of personality development that punctuate the lifespan.

Question 27

Socioemotional selectivity involves, in part, an older person's social network changing systematically in old age as it becomes both narrower and deeper.

Question 28

When older peoples' choices are limited to the point where they feel they no longer have an impact on events, decisions or people that matter, they risk developing a problem known as _____________ .

Question 29

According to Westbrook and Legge (1990), tensions experienced by nursing staff were greater when caring for patients from non- English speaking backgrounds than for Anglo- Australian residents.

Question 30

According to ABS (2008e) data, a smaller proportion of elderly adults (45 percent) than younger adults (20 percent) live alone

Question 31

In Australia, 72 percent of individuals age 95 or older live in institutions.

Question 32

Ideologically, the disengagement theory of Cumming and Henry has been criticised for lending itself to segregatory, prejudicial and discriminatory treatment of the aged.

Question 33

Savage et al. (1977) found that elderly British men and women who lived in their own dwellings have a statistically significant change in range or intensity of role involvement during the period from age 70 to over 85 years of age.