Theories of ageing in development | Summaries Developmental Psychology

THEORIES OF AGING

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

URVASHI ARORA

HPSY B

21BSHH0119

Erik Erikson, who was particularly interested in this period of life, concluded to the conclusion that

the primary psychosocial job of late adulthood (65 and beyond) is to retain ego integrity (hanging on

to one's feeling of wholeness) while avoiding despair (fearing there is too little time to begin a new

life course). Those who complete this final duty achieve wisdom, which involves embracing one's life

without big regrets and as well as the inevitability of death. However, even older adults who have

achieved a high level of integrity may experience feelings of hopelessness at this point as they reflect

on their past. Nobody gets through life without thinking if they could have taken a happier and more

productive path.

Ageing psychosocial theories are characterised as a focus on social and psychological components

that lead to successful ageing. While we all want to be old people who yell at young people, there

are other, more diverse ways to define and achieve successful ageing.

The following are the theories we would explore:

Theory of Activity

Theory of Continuity

Theory of Disengagement

Theory of Activity

The activity theory arises when individuals engage in a full day of activities and maintain a level of

productivity to order to age successfully. According to the activity theory, the more one does, the

better one will age. It also makes a certain amount of sense. People who stay active and engaged are

happier, healthier, and more aware of what is going on around them. The same is true for persons of

all ages.

The activity theory is frequently disregarded because it falls a little flat. It is not enough to simply be

busy, as the definition suggests. One can't expect to age properly if we wake up every day and do

the same thing, such as pedalling a stationary bike. Many programme designers for the elderly

adopted and used this approach, filling older people's schedules with busy labour and requiring

them to accomplish chores. A higher degree of activity is required, but it must be interesting and

gratifying rather than simply busy work. The idea also fails to take into account mid-life maintenance

or modifications made when entering retired or elder life.

Theory of Continuity

According to the continuity theory, people who age effectively maintain their habits, tastes,

lifestyles, and relationships into their forties and fifties. Again, this theory seems to make intuitive

sense. People who are happy, healthy, and just plain dandy in their forties should keep the practises

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THEORIES OF AGING

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

URVASHI ARORA

HPSY B

21BSHH

Erik Erikson, who was particularly interested in this period of life, concluded to the conclusion that the primary psychosocial job of late adulthood (65 and beyond) is to retain ego integrity (hanging on to one's feeling of wholeness) while avoiding despair (fearing there is too little time to begin a new life course). Those who complete this final duty achieve wisdom, which involves embracing one's life without big regrets and as well as the inevitability of death. However, even older adults who have achieved a high level of integrity may experience feelings of hopelessness at this point as they reflect on their past. Nobody gets through life without thinking if they could have taken a happier and more productive path. Ageing psychosocial theories are characterised as a focus on social and psychological components that lead to successful ageing. While we all want to be old people who yell at young people, there are other, more diverse ways to define and achieve successful ageing. The following are the theories we would explore:  Theory of Activity  Theory of Continuity  Theory of Disengagement Theory of Activity The activity theory arises when individuals engage in a full day of activities and maintain a level of productivity to order to age successfully. According to the activity theory, the more one does, the better one will age. It also makes a certain amount of sense. People who stay active and engaged are happier, healthier, and more aware of what is going on around them. The same is true for persons of all ages. The activity theory is frequently disregarded because it falls a little flat. It is not enough to simply be busy, as the definition suggests. One can't expect to age properly if we wake up every day and do the same thing, such as pedalling a stationary bike. Many programme designers for the elderly adopted and used this approach, filling older people's schedules with busy labour and requiring them to accomplish chores. A higher degree of activity is required, but it must be interesting and gratifying rather than simply busy work. The idea also fails to take into account mid-life maintenance or modifications made when entering retired or elder life. Theory of Continuity According to the continuity theory, people who age effectively maintain their habits, tastes, lifestyles, and relationships into their forties and fifties. Again, this theory seems to make intuitive sense. People who are happy, healthy, and just plain dandy in their forties should keep the practises

and ideas that got them there. Good things should be kept up because it's good. Analyze one's own life as an example of how the continuity theory might indicate successful ageing. Despite their outward differences, most people find middle and high school to be remarkably similar (different places, more people, different teachers, etc). However, if the majority of your cohort moved with them, their habits, interests, and relationships were likely to continue. It made the adjustment easier. Theory of Disengagement According to disengagement theory (Cummings and Henry, 1961), successful ageing entails accepting and embracing the process of disengagement from active living. This disengagement is viewed as helpful to society, normal, and ideally consensual on the part of the individual. Disengagement theory originated during a period when social scientists placed a high value on functionalism in their research. In a nutshell, functionalism is the belief that a given phenomenon is required for society to function. Cummings and Henry developed several postulates that form the foundation of their disengagement hypothesis. As they approach death, people lose social bonds with those around them, and their ability to interact with others deteriorates. When someone begins to disengage, they are liberated from the social standards that govern interaction. This loss of contact with norms feeds and expands the disengagement process. Because of their various societal roles, men and women experience disengagement in different ways. Men, according to Cummings and Henry, play a fundamentally instrumental function in America, whereas women play a socioemotional one. The ego changes during an individual's life. Ageing is an ego change that causes a reduction in knowledge and skill. Meanwhile, success in today's industrialised world necessitates a certain level of knowledge and expertise. Age-grading, or the retreat of older adults from formal responsibilities, requires that the young have adequate knowledge and skill to assume control and that the old retire before they lose their talents. Either the individual disengages, recognising that their knowledge and abilities are deteriorating, or the organisation chooses to make the individual disengage. When both the individual and society are ready for disengagement, total disengagement occurs. When neither party is prepared, the engagement continues. When a person is ready but society is not, there is a mismatch between the expectations of the individual and the members of the social system, but participation normally continues. When society is ready but the individual is not, the result is usually disengagement. Men's primary role is employment, whereas women's primary role is marriage and family. Individuals who relinquish their key duties lose social space, resulting in crises and demoralisation until they take on the various roles required by someone who is disengaged. Individuals become ready to detach when they realise how brief life is and how limited their own time is. Individuals lose ego energy as the number of years they have remaining in their lives shrinks. Because of the requirements of a wealthy society's vocational structure, the nuclear family, and the unequal death rate, every level of society allows individuals to disconnect. Fewer interactions and disengagement from core responsibilities result in changes in relationships in one's remaining roles. As a result, relationship incentives become more diverse, and people who were previously superior to the disengaged individual become equals. Although disengagement theory is culturally independent, the shape it takes is.

Theories of ageing in development, Summaries of Developmental Psychology

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Partial preview of the text

Download Theories of ageing in development and more Summaries Developmental Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

THEORIES OF AGING

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

URVASHI ARORA

HPSY B

21BSHH