Summary: The Three Psychosocial Theories Of Aging

Labeling theory holds that individuals come to identify and act as per their labels. The major tenet of this theory is that the behavior and self-identity of individuals is affected by the way they are described by other people (Vold, Bernard, Snipes, & Gerould, 2016). According to this theory, the act of deviance is not implicit in a particular act, but is hedged on the inclination of the majority to ascribe labels to minorities in society who deviate from standard behavior. Labeling leads to dramatization of a particular act – which propagates the behavioral clash between the individual and the community. Through ascribing labels, the individuals acquire a negative self-image. The individuals accept themselves as labeled by the

During the aging process, the elderly may take different approaches to aging and may apply to different theories of aging such as the disengagement theory and the activity theory. All elderly individuals will deal with aging in different ways, they may wish to stay active or they may wish to disengage themselves due to depression or they may be unable to deal with the processes of becoming older. Both of these theories of aging have completely different thoughts and views of the aging process.

Labeling theory is closely related to social-construction and symbolic-interaction analysis. It means that deviance is not a natural tendency of an individual, but instead focuses on the tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from standard cultural norms. The theory is based off how people tend to own up to what society claims them to be. The theory came about during the 1960s and 1970s. A lot of the theory’s symptoms are still noticeable today.

The basis of Labeling Theory as a whole is practically exactly as it sounds, the labeling, or stigmatizing, of a person or group of people throughout their life. This labeling is the result of how that person, or group of people, identifies and behaves throughout their life. This idea of the Labeling Theory comes from Becker, who claims that individuals will conform with what is said and assumed about them. Becker’s theory states the idea that those who are labeled throughout life as deviant will become deviant and take on a known selfhood as deviant. This idea also claims that those labeled as deviant will act more deviant than if they had not been labeled this way. The Labeling Theory uses social characteristics such as class and race to

There are many theories of aging, but I am a believer in, not all theories apply to all individuals. Each person’s story is and will be different, however, some theories can represent individuals almost perfectly. I find it really hard to just choose one theory to describe my entire time at CMC, or to represent my last week there. If I had to pick one that I observed often, it would be disengagement theory. Disengament happens inevitably for older adults, because their close friends pass away, they retire from their jobs, and they generally have physical issues which causes them to step away from their hobbies.

The continuity theory has a correlation to Mrs. Hansen’s late adulthood and can be defined when “…aging adults strive to maintain a personal system…that promotes life satisfaction by ensuring consistency their past and anticipated future” (Berk 615). In order for me to come to the reflection that Mrs. Hansen portrays the continuity theory, I asked what her interests were and what she use to do at a younger age versus what she is involved in today. She shared with me that she used to be a part of a dance group in her late 20’s to mid-30’s and now that she has free time she says that she attends her young seven-year-old

There are many theories of aging; the purpose of my paper is to illustrate the application of theories of aging. I will discuss the psychosocial theory of aging. The psychosocial theory explains aging in terms of mental processes emotions, intelligence, memory, learning and personality (Dittrich, 2014). The theories discussed are disengagement theories and activity theory.

1. Tessie is a 78-year-old woman who was born in Greece and moved to Australia when she was 28 years old. Tessie lives at home alone and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Tessie’s grandchildren are her biggest passion and are what motivates her in life, as well as sponsoring a child overseas. Throughout the interview, she was cognitively able to attend and respond, concentrate and multitask while occasionally checking on her cooking and answering questions. Tessie displayed a positive outlook on life and discussed how she feels younger than her chronological age, which is aligned with the psych-social theory of ageing. Tessie continues to be very active on a daily basis, although she is experiencing some fatigue due to her busy lifestyle, minimal pain when she finally sits down at the end of the day and her legs hurting occasionally. Furthermore, she has low vision due to years of strain placed on her eyes while working as a machinist.

As the elder population ages and encounter difficulties in their lives, there are some variations on how they experience their social life. There are some older adults that may limit their social interactions with others, and there are some elders who find support in friends and other companions. However, as people age they tend to have social networks that are smaller than when they were younger (Pallock 2016,Aging Social Support and Media). Furthermore, as people get older they tend to rely more on their neighbors for companionship, and they participate more in their community affairs from volunteering and assisting to church. Research has found that having an interactive life with others can make elders be psychological and physiologically

In the new age, aging is an event that has confounded biologists for the past several decades. With new advances in medicine, people are living longer than ever before and as a result are experiencing a new phenomenon known as aging, where there is deterioration of physiological functions that are required for survival and fertility over time. Now that people can live past 50 years of age, they are likely to develop grey hair, muscle deterioration, memory loss and slowed sexual responsiveness. While most organisms go through the aging process, there is no single hypothesis that explains how or why aging and senescence, the physiological deterioration, happens. In most organisms, there is a trade-off between the energy allocated for early growth

Why do people age? Over the “ages” people have wondered how do we age? Do our genes determine our lifespan? Does damage to our DNA affect how long we live? There have been many theories answering that one question and few are right and some still have to be proven. People aging isn’t magical, aging is scientific. Chemistry is behind aging.

It is very important to have a positive social network that is also very supportive. Generally, the two main motives for social interaction are for information seeking and emotion regulation. Someone who does not hold all of his or her emotions in and can talk to someone is bound to be psychologically healthier than someone who does not have that opportunity. It is easy for older people to feel lonely when they are losing their friends, spouses, and family member to old age. Someone with more social interactions with others can also be physically healthier. Whether it is because they have someone there to help him or her complete tasks that they struggle to do or the fact that they can get out of the house and interact with others. The textbook states, “Decreases in negative affect and increases in positive affect and emotional control indicate that the emotional lives of older adults are more pleasant and manageable relative to their younger counterparts.”

Aging is a process that every living thing will be impacted by. Many people wish that they could delay or slow the process of aging. One theory that is interesting is the activity theory on aging. Eliopoulos (2014), describes the activity theory stating, “An older person should continue a middle-aged lifestyle, denying the existence of old age as long as possible” (p. 16-17). The text goes on to state, “Society should apply the same norms to old age as it does to middle age and not advocate diminishing activity, interest, and involvement as its members grow old” (Eliopoulos, 2014, p. 17). This theory can be applied by older people remaining active and engaged even when moves are made towards having more free time. This may be due to children being grown and independent or the person moving into retirement. By maintaining mental and physical strength the process of aging may be slower.

Labeling theory is concerned with the effects of labeling on individuals. Symbolic interactionists developed the theory and it focuses on how labels, which are of different forms, affect individual’s self-image as well as the society perceptions about an individual or a group of individuals (Eyetsemitan & Gire, 2003). The labels are often in form of names or reputation and enable the society to create deviants. According to the theory, labeling can alter the behaviors of individuals and make them start behaving according to societal perceptions (Kotter & Hess, 2012). Therefore, the theory focuses on establishing how labels mold the way people perceive themselves. In relation to media stereotyping and the old, stereotypes that perceive old age positively are likely to enhance positive image amongst the old while negative stereotypes may lead to self-denial amongst the old in the society (Eyetsemitan & Gire, 2003)

theories of why we age, the physical and mental changes we undergo as we age,