Deck 2: Theories and Methods

Question 1

Research methods provide

A) guides on how to publish scientific reports.
B) ways to collect, analyze, and report information.
C) results that cannot be verified.
D) a set of concepts organized in a meaningful way.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to sociologists, a theory

A) applies to individuals but not to whole societies.
B) applies to societies but not to individuals.
C) is a conceptual model of some aspect of life.
D) explains all social phenomena.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is not a method that researchers use to gather data on gerontology?

A) in-depth interviews
B) uncontrolled studies in laboratories
C) field research
D) survey questionnaires

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In the 17th century, researchers began to base their studies on scientific methodology because they were trained in

A) philosophy.
B) history.
C) natural science and medicine.
D) classics.

Question 5

By the 18th century, researchers began to see aging as

A) an account based on their own experiences, fears, and biases.
B) something other than a disease.
C) a disease.
D) a science that studied human facts and events.

Question 6

Historians credit ________ with the first use of the term gerontology in 1905.

A) Louis Pasteur
B) Quetelet
C) Plato
D) Elie Metchnikoff

Question 7

Senescence, written by G. Stanley Hall in 1922,

A) was one of the first scientific studies of aging in the U.S.
B) used survey data to understand attitudes toward death.
C) focused on the problems of old age.
D) all of the above

Question 8

Research on aging in the 1960s

A) moved beyond a study of problems to include studies of normal aging.
B) did not focus on the aspects of normal aging.
C) was not concerned with the problems of aging.
D) did not include studies of positive development in later life.

Question 9

The status of gerontology as a discipline depends on

A) the production of a distinguished body of knowledge.
B) a traditional view of aging.
C) a varied view of aging.
D) a distinct body of knowledge.

Question 10

The three areas that make up the core of aging studies are

A) biomedicine, sociological studies, and socioeconomic studies.
B) biomedicine, psychological studies, and socioenvironmental studies.
C) biomedicine, psychosocial studies, and socioeconomic-environmental studies.
D) biomedicine, socioeconomic studies, and psychological studies.

Question 11

Biomedicine studies refers to

A) the study of changes in the body that come with age.
B) prescribing medicine to older people.
C) studies of disease.
D) studies of longevity.

Question 12

Geriatrics is defined as

A) a medical specialty that deals with young people.
B) sociological specialty that deals with older people.
C) a medical specialty that deals with older people.
D) a psychological knowledge of aging.

Question 13

Psychosocial studies look at the changes that take place

A) inside the individual and between individuals and groups.
B) between individuals and economic institutions.
C) the changes that take place between individuals and their environments.
D) within the DNA of an aging person.

Question 14

Socioeconomic-environmental studies examine the effects of aging on

A) sociologists.
B) the body.
C) creativity.
D) social institutions.

Question 15

Social gerontology makes up a part of the total body of gerontological knowledge and

A) is not included in the total body of gerontological knowledge.
B) includes the psychosocial, the socioeconomic-environmental, and practice-related studies of aging.
C) views aging from the perspective of the economic system.

Question 16

Gerontologists create theories to

A) give themselves something to do.
B) dispute trends.
C) explain a set of facts.
D) provide definitive models about aging.

Question 17

What are the two levels of theories that scientists use?

A) micro-level theories and macro-level theories
B) exchange theories and subculture theory
C) modernization theory and interactionist theory
D) exchange theory and modernization theory

Question 18

Macro-level theories

A) focus on small-scale events.
B) describe people and their relationships.
C) encompasses studies of how individuals change as they age.
D) focus on large-scale events.

Question 19

Micro-level theories

A) look at social systems and whole societies.
B) focus on large-scale events.
C) focus on small-scale events.
D) encompass studies of how societies treat their older people.

Question 20

One example of a macro-level theory is

A) modernization theory.
B) exchange theory.
C) subculture theory.
D) interactionist theory.

Question 21

Which perspective is not included in micro- and macro-level theories?

A) the interpretive perspective
B) the functionalist perspective
C) the exchange perspective
D) the conflict perspective

Question 22

The interpretive perspective

A) most often focuses on the macro level of social life.
B) most often focuses on the micro level of social life.
C) sees the person as a passive member of society.
D) should not include an awareness of culture and history.

Question 23

According to Mead, symbolic interaction

A) is an example of a macro-level theory.
B) studies how symbols shape social relations.
C) doesn't focus on behavior.
D) assumes that people behave inconsistently over time.

Question 24

The interpretive perspective

A) includes the levels between the individual and the larger society.
B) looks at the impact of social policy on people.
C) discusses power and conflict between social groups.
D) can give a good understanding of how people interpret their social world.

Question 25

Gerontologists have used the interpretive perspective to study how people adapt to

A) social policies.
B) large social institutions.
C) changes in health.
D) bureaucracy.

Question 26

________ studies a phenomenon-sickness, retirement, health-from the subject's point of view.

A) The functionalist perspective
B) The age-stratification theory
C) Phenomenology
D) Conflict theory

Question 27

Critics of the interpretive perspective say that it

A) overlooks the links between the individual and larger social institutions.
B) does not discuss conflicts between individuals.
C) does not look at the impact of interaction on groups.
D) does not discuss power distribution between individuals.

Question 28

Functionalism

A) views society as a system composed of integral parts.
B) focuses on conflict.
C) can explain large-scale political change but not the way very small groups maintain their structure.
D) sees society as an organism that tries to stay in equilibrium.

Question 29

One example of the functionalist perspective is

A) age stratification theory.
B) dependency theory.
C) exchange theory.
D) subculture theory.

Question 30

Age stratification theory links

A) group behavior to social life.
B) individuals to social life.
C) individual aging to social institutions.
D) group behavior to social institutions.

Question 31

Age stratification theory does not discuss

A) aging.
B) societal aging.
C) individuals' perspectives.
D) cohort flow.

Question 32

Age stratification theory views individual aging as a(n)

A) lifelong process.
B) stable process.
C) solitary experience.
D) unchanging process.

Question 33

Societies have a set of age grades that stratifies its members. Age grades in the U.S. do not include

A) middle age.
B) childhood.
C) little adult.
D) adolescence.

Question 34

Each age cohort moves through life as if on a(n)

A) elevator.
B) escalator.
C) conveyor belt.
D) merry-go-round.

Question 35

Bengtson and colleagues (1997) say that age stratification theory provides new ways to explore differences related to time, period, and

A) income.
B) level of education.
C) gender.
D) cohort.

Question 36

The life course approach looks at

A) transitions.
B) transitions and trajectories.
C) trajectories.
D) tensions between groups in society.

Question 37

Conflict perspective

A) is used by gerontologists to look at how government policies influence old age.
B) grows out of the work of Max Weber.
C) looks at the tensions that exist between the individual and society.
D) examines the ways in which individuals shape the behavior of groups in society.

Question 38

One example of the conflict perspective is the

A) subculture theory.
B) political economy theory.
C) age stratification theory.
D) modernization theory.

Question 39

According to the political economy theory,

A) political relations between nations shape the social institutions inside a society.
B) basic equality exists between economically developed and less developed societies.
C) social and economic institutions in society affect an individual's aging.
D) less-developed nations exploit the developed nations.

Question 40

Cumulative disadvantage theory is a type of

A) conflict theory.
B) age stratification theory.
C) functionalist theory.
D) interpretive perspective.

Question 41

Cumulative disadvantage theory focuses on

A) the impact of the state and the economy on people.
B) the lifelong effects of inequality.
C) the changes that take place in an individual over time.
D) individual aging, societal aging, and conflict flow.

Question 42

Researchers criticize the conflict perspective because it

A) does not advance our understanding of aging.
B) underemphasizes the poverty and problems of older people.
C) pays too much attention to the responses older people make to societal pressures.
D) pays too little attention to the responses older people make to social pressure.

Question 43

________ offers one new theoretical framework for studying aging.

A) Conflict theory
B) Age stratification theory
C) Narrative gerontology
D) Functionalist perspective

Question 44

Researchers use ________ to explore issues such as retirement, long-term care, and community volunteerism.

A) political economy theory
B) cultural gerontology
C) narrative gerontology
D) moral economy theory

Question 45

Gerontologists use many different methods to study aging. Research methods

A) cannot vary from discipline to discipline.
B) are based on a philosophical paradigm.
C) include laboratory work, intelligence tests, studies, and surveys.
D) never produce reliable or valid results.

Question 46

________ want to understand the changes that take place in individuals over time.

A) Social gerontologists
B) Biologists
C) Critical gerontologists
D) Proponents of conflict theory

Question 47

Gerontologists place changes in older people into one of three categories. Which of the following is not a category of change?

A) age effect
B) cohort effect
C) gender effect
D) period effect

Question 48

Gerontologists use a number of research designs to look at the APC problem. Which of the following is not used to examine this problem?

A) cross-sectional studies
B) time-lag studies
C) longitudinal studies
D) vertical studies

Question 49

According to the text, paradigms are

A) frameworks used to organize our understanding of natural and social phenomenon.
B) specific ways of seeing the world.
C) ways of applying the methods of natural science to the study of aging.
D) models of scientific irrationality.

Question 50

Gerontology has a long history of using a natural science paradigm to conduct studies. This is known as

A) positivist gerontology.
B) critical gerontology.
C) literary interpretation.
D) participant observation.

Question 51

Critical gerontologists often use ________ to conduct their research.

A) quantitative methods
B) qualitative methods
C) the scientific method
D) statistical analysis

Question 52

How do the interests of critical gerontology and positivist gerontology differ?

A) Positivist gerontology studies produce studies that encourage communication, while critical gerontology studies encourage domination over aging.
B) Positivist gerontology wants prediction and control over aging, while critical gerontology aims to empower older people.
C) Positivist gerontology seeks to empower older people, while critical gerontology controls aging.
D) Positivist gerontology aims to enhance the freedom of older people, while critical gerontology aims to manage the older population.

Question 53

________ allow researchers to gather a great deal of information on a wide range of issues.

A) Qualitative methods
B) Age stratification theories
C) Quantitative methods
D) Critical gerontology perspectives

Question 54

________ examine how individuals understand and give meaning to their lives.

A) Quantitative methods
B) Longitudinal studies
C) Moral economy
D) Qualitative methods

Question 55

According to the text, the study of aging has grown to include

A) biomedicine.
B) the humanities.
C) social science.
D) sports medicine.

Question 56

The Internet offers a storehouse of information on aging, but provides no guide to the quality of the information. Therefore, a gerontologist must be

A) information literate.
B) biased.
C) a naive reader.
D) noncritical while evaluating data.

Question 57

Research studies on human subjects face ________ challenges.

A) financial
B) economic
C) ethical
D) scientific

Question 58

Why do health and social service professionals want to increase the role of evidence-based practices in the delivery of services to older people?

A) Projects based on evidence-based practices are easier to fund.
B) Evidence-based practices use research findings to provide better quality services.
C) Evidence from research is always true and accurate.
D) Evidence-based practices reduce the role of older people in making choices about their care.

Question 59

How will gerontological research change in the future?

A) Scientists will create new theories and methods for studying aging.
B) Researchers will try to develop more abstract theories of aging.
C) Qualitative methods will be eliminated as a method of gerontological research.
D) Gerontologists will apply only the methods of natural science to the study of aging.