Think about one of your grandparents, or someone you know of your grandparents’ generation. What roles does this person fulfill? When you are the same age, what roles do you expect to fulfill? How will your roles compare to the roles of someone currently that age?
Post an initial response of at least 250 words; respond to two students. Think about one of your grandparents, or someone you know of your grandparents’ generation. What roles does this person fulfill? When you are the same age, what roles do you expect to fulfill? How will your roles compare to the roles of someone currently that age?
Post an initial response of at least 250 words; respond to two students. Think about one of your grandparents, or someone you know of your grandparents’ generation. What roles does this person fulfill? When you are the same age, what roles do you expect to fulfill? How will your roles compare to the roles of someone currently that age?
Use a very Elderly Grandparent
Based on the following description of roles
How Relationships Change with Age
You have learned how Person-Environment Fit determines personal competence. This lesson examines the environmental piece of that equation—specifically, its human component. Gerontologists have studied how older individuals interact with the human environment, and have come up with a number of descriptions of what happens. Some of these are described below.
Role theory describes society’s expectations about how people should behave and what they should do. These expectations are based on a wide variety of factors, including age. A role is like a part a person plays, with a script that is written jointly by society and the person who takes on the roles (in some cases the two negotiate the details, in others behavioral rules are black and white, and anybody who breaks them is considered an “oddball”—or, perhaps even mentally ill or a criminal). The pressure put on people to conform to expectations is part of the process of socialization.
Some societies and cultures have more rigid roles than others. Roles may include those of male, female, student, parent, employee, businesswoman, husband, wife, son, patient, doctor, etc. Obviously, most of us hold a number of roles at any given time; some, we hold for a lifetime, some are brief, and others change over years. Many roles are associated with a certain age or stage of life, or “age-graded.” Age-grading is the expectation that people will adjust their behavior by modifying, adding or dropping roles to match what others believe they should do at a given age. For example, a 14-year-old girl is, in most Western cultures, considered to be too young to be a mother; in other cultures, however, motherhood may be within the age-normative expectation for that age group. In the classic picture of age-grading, roles are added gradually as we grow up, and increase in number throughout our middle-years. At some point, role loss may occur as children leave home, we retire from work, family members and friends die, and some hobbies and interests are abandoned. Theoretically, if society pushes an older person to drop unapproved roles, and no new roles are added, they can be left with only one role— “Old Person.”
There are several other theories about how and why people change their relationships with others as they age. The earliest (and most commonly applied) include Activity, Disengagement, and Continuity theories. Each of these is briefly described below. In addition to these three theories, a number of others have been proposed, and are described in your text. You will notice that some of these theories focus on individual behavior while others focus on social systems.
Activity theory sees age-related changes as leading us to adjust to the loss of old ties as we age. It says that normal adaptation includes finding new, and perhaps even a greater number, of interests to replace the dropped ones. New activities are chosen freely and can include volunteering, church involvement, and fun leisure pursuits like traveling or golf (perhaps even bungee jumping). This may explain why some retired people say that they are busier in retirement than they were while working. You will notice that activity theory emphasizes that the responsibility for staying active rests with the individual rather than resulting from of a push from society. Role theory, on the other hand, describes society as the party that calls the shots.
Like Role theory, Disengagement theory describes the loss of roles as a process that is enforced by society. As one after another role is lost, power is gradually transferred from older to younger individuals. Disengagement leads older adults to move gradually into passive roles with fewer and more superficial interactions with younger members of society. The positive consequences of disengagement, for both the individual and society as a whole, is that the elder gets to take it easy and prepare for death, and that valuable resources and responsibilities get passed on to the new generation. There is no research to support the idea of Disengagement as a normal stage of life. Unfortunately, some people still think that it is normal for older adults to retreat into their good memories of the past, and withdraw from the world. Disengagement, as a picture of “normal aging” should be actively rejected. In fact, an older person who looks and acts increasingly disengaged should be assumed to have a health problem that needs diagnosis and treatment.
Finally, Continuity theory was developed to reflect findings of the Kansas City Longitudinal Studies. This research revealed that people do not change dramatically with age (no surprise, as we found earlier that personality does not usually change dramatically either). But, critics of this theory note that it “overlooks the role of external social factors in modifying the aging process” (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, p. 289). While it is reasonable to assume that society changes its demands and expectations constantly, and that people must adapt to those changes, we have pretty good evidence that aging individuals seem to maintain their identities as they adapt. A comprehensive theory would have to look at both sides of the equation. Until we have a perfect theory that explains everything, the existing theories are very useful tools that stimulate us to observe more closely and ask important questions. How Relationships Change with Age
You have learned how Person-Environment Fit determines personal competence. This lesson examines the environmental piece of that equation—specifically, its human component. Gerontologists have studied how older individuals interact with the human environment, and have come up with a number of descriptions of what happens. Some of these are described below.
Role theory describes society’s expectations about how people should behave and what they should do. These expectations are based on a wide variety of factors, including age. A role is like a part a person plays, with a script that is written jointly by society and the person who takes on the roles (in some cases the two negotiate the details, in others behavioral rules are black and white, and anybody who breaks them is considered an “oddball”—or, perhaps even mentally ill or a criminal). The pressure put on people to conform to expectations is part of the process of socialization.
Some societies and cultures have more rigid roles than others. Roles may include those of male, female, student, parent, employee, businesswoman, husband, wife, son, patient, doctor, etc. Obviously, most of us hold a number of roles at any given time; some, we hold for a lifetime, some are brief, and others change over years. Many roles are associated with a certain age or stage of life, or “age-graded.” Age-grading is the expectation that people will adjust their behavior by modifying, adding or dropping roles to match what others believe they should do at a given age. For example, a 14-year-old girl is, in most Western cultures, considered to be too young to be a mother; in other cultures, however, motherhood may be within the age-normative expectation for that age group. In the classic picture of age-grading, roles are added gradually as we grow up, and increase in number throughout our middle-years. At some point, role loss may occur as children leave home, we retire from work, family members and friends die, and some hobbies and interests are abandoned. Theoretically, if society pushes an older person to drop unapproved roles, and no new roles are added, they can be left with only one role— “Old Person.”
There are several other theories about how and why people change their relationships with others as they age. The earliest (and most commonly applied) include Activity, Disengagement, and Continuity theories. Each of these is briefly described below. In addition to these three theories, a number of others have been proposed, and are described in your text. You will notice that some of these theories focus on individual behavior while others focus on social systems.
Activity theory sees age-related changes as leading us to adjust to the loss of old ties as we age. It says that normal adaptation includes finding new, and perhaps even a greater number, of interests to replace the dropped ones. New activities are chosen freely and can include volunteering, church involvement, and fun leisure pursuits like traveling or golf (perhaps even bungee jumping). This may explain why some retired people say that they are busier in retirement than they were while working. You will notice that activity theory emphasizes that the responsibility for staying active rests with the individual rather than resulting from of a push from society. Role theory, on the other hand, describes society as the party that calls the shots.
Like Role theory, Disengagement theory describes the loss of roles as a process that is enforced by society. As one after another role is lost, power is gradually transferred from older to younger individuals. Disengagement leads older adults to move gradually into passive roles with fewer and more superficial interactions with younger members of society. The positive consequences of disengagement, for both the individual and society as a whole, is that the elder gets to take it easy and prepare for death, and that valuable resources and responsibilities get passed on to the new generation. There is no research to support the idea of Disengagement as a normal stage of life. Unfortunately, some people still think that it is normal for older adults to retreat into their good memories of the past, and withdraw from the world. Disengagement, as a picture of “normal aging” should be actively rejected. In fact, an older person who looks and acts increasingly disengaged should be assumed to have a health problem that needs diagnosis and treatment.
Finally, Continuity theory was developed to reflect findings of the Kansas City Longitudinal Studies. This research revealed that people do not change dramatically with age (no surprise, as we found earlier that personality does not usually change dramatically either). But, critics of this theory note that it “overlooks the role of external social factors in modifying the aging process” (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, p. 289). While it is reasonable to assume that society changes its demands and expectations constantly, and that people must adapt to those changes, we have pretty good evidence that aging individuals seem to maintain their identities as they adapt. A comprehensive theory would have to look at both sides of the equation. Until we have a perfect theory that explains everything, the existing theories are very useful tools that stimulate us to observe more closely and ask important questions. How Relationships Change with Age
You have learned how Person-Environment Fit determines personal competence. This lesson examines the environmental piece of that equation—specifically, its human component. Gerontologists have studied how older individuals interact with the human environment, and have come up with a number of descriptions of what happens. Some of these are described below.
Role theory describes society’s expectations about how people should behave and what they should do. These expectations are based on a wide variety of factors, including age. A role is like a part a person plays, with a script that is written jointly by society and the person who takes on the roles (in some cases the two negotiate the details, in others behavioral rules are black and white, and anybody who breaks them is considered an “oddball”—or, perhaps even mentally ill or a criminal). The pressure put on people to conform to expectations is part of the process of socialization.
Some societies and cultures have more rigid roles than others. Roles may include those of male, female, student, parent, employee, businesswoman, husband, wife, son, patient, doctor, etc. Obviously, most of us hold a number of roles at any given time; some, we hold for a lifetime, some are brief, and others change over years. Many roles are associated with a certain age or stage of life, or “age-graded.” Age-grading is the expectation that people will adjust their behavior by modifying, adding or dropping roles to match what others believe they should do at a given age. For example, a 14-year-old girl is, in most Western cultures, considered to be too young to be a mother; in other cultures, however, motherhood may be within the age-normative expectation for that age group. In the classic picture of age-grading, roles are added gradually as we grow up, and increase in number throughout our middle-years. At some point, role loss may occur as children leave home, we retire from work, family members and friends die, and some hobbies and interests are abandoned. Theoretically, if society pushes an older person to drop unapproved roles, and no new roles are added, they can be left with only one role— “Old Person.”
There are several other theories about how and why people change their relationships with others as they age. The earliest (and most commonly applied) include Activity, Disengagement, and Continuity theories. Each of these is briefly described below. In addition to these three theories, a number of others have been proposed, and are described in your text. You will notice that some of these theories focus on individual behavior while others focus on social systems.
Activity theory sees age-related changes as leading us to adjust to the loss of old ties as we age. It says that normal adaptation includes finding new, and perhaps even a greater number, of interests to replace the dropped ones. New activities are chosen freely and can include volunteering, church involvement, and fun leisure pursuits like traveling or golf (perhaps even bungee jumping). This may explain why some retired people say that they are busier in retirement than they were while working. You will notice that activity theory emphasizes that the responsibility for staying active rests with the individual rather than resulting from of a push from society. Role theory, on the other hand, describes society as the party that calls the shots.
Like Role theory, Disengagement theory describes the loss of roles as a process that is enforced by society. As one after another role is lost, power is gradually transferred from older to younger individuals. Disengagement leads older adults to move gradually into passive roles with fewer and more superficial interactions with younger members of society. The positive consequences of disengagement, for both the individual and society as a whole, is that the elder gets to take it easy and prepare for death, and that valuable resources and responsibilities get passed on to the new generation. There is no research to support the idea of Disengagement as a normal stage of life. Unfortunately, some people still think that it is normal for older adults to retreat into their good memories of the past, and withdraw from the world. Disengagement, as a picture of “normal aging” should be actively rejected. In fact, an older person who looks and acts increasingly disengaged should be assumed to have a health problem that needs diagnosis and treatment.
Finally, Continuity theory was developed to reflect findings of the Kansas City Longitudinal Studies. This research revealed that people do not change dramatically with age (no surprise, as we found earlier that personality does not usually change dramatically either). But, critics of this theory note that it “overlooks the role of external social factors in modifying the aging process” (Hooyman & Kiyak, 2011, p. 289). While it is reasonable to assume that society changes its demands and expectations constantly, and that people must adapt to those changes, we have pretty good evidence that aging individuals seem to maintain their identities as they adapt. A comprehensive theory would have to look at both sides of the equation. Until we have a perfect theory that explains everything, the existing theories are very useful tools that stimulate us to observe more closely and ask important questions.
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