Psychology lifespan
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Emotional and Social Development
in
Late Adulthood
DISCUSSION
Who chooses how we age?
The Individual
Society
OVERVIEW
Theorists
Personality
Social Clock / Social World
Theories of Aging
Relationships
Retirement
Optimum Aging
Review Questions
THEORISTS
ERIKSON
LATE ADULTHOOD
Integrity=come to terms with life, feel choices contributed to meaningful life (honest and moral sense)
Despair=feelings of regret with little time to correct (bitter, defeated, hopeless)
| YEARS | EPIGENETIC CRISIS | IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS | PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERACTIONS | OUTCOMES |
| 65+ | Integrity versus Despair | Mankind | Face death / feel life has been worthwhile | (+) wisdom (-) despair, hopeless resentful |
PECK
1968, builds directly off Erikson
Ego Integrity: Going beyond our physical self, occupational self, and our identity
The Three Tasks to obtain ego integrity
Ego Differentiation- those who focused on the “self” in career: moving past that identity to focus on family, friends, and community
Body Transcendence – overcoming the physical self to emphasize cognitive, emotional and social powers
Ego Transcendence – as mortality solidifies the ability to make life secure, meaningful, and gratifying for the next generation (generative shift?)
LABOUVIE-VIEF
Emotional Expertise: As other areas decline, we compensate with emotional expertise/optimism.
“Mellowing with Age?”
Affect Optimization: The ability to maximize
positive emotion and dampen
negative emotions
PERSONALITY
Characteristics
Resilience
Accept the change
More flexible
Optimistic
Mellow
Spirituality: Life's meaning comes from art, nature, relationships
Religiosity: Beliefs, Rituals and Symbols as guides to life
SOCIAL CLOCK / SOCIAL WORLD
The way we age today / New “scripts”
THEORIES OF AGING
Disengagement Theory: Mutual withdraw between the individual and society.
Activity Theory: There are social barriers to engagement/ loss of certain roles (seek to maintain active social life)
Continuity Theory: We forfeit some level of physical activity in order to maintain our identity, roles and such that promote life satisfaction. Thus consistency across the lifespan
RELATIONSHIPS
Important Social Supports
Community
Where with whom do we live
City versus suburbs (post WWII)
Marriage
Widowhood
Never Married / Childless
Siblings
Friends – Very important! …many roles
Children
RETIREMENT
Adjustment
The “honeymoon phase”
OPTIMUM AGING
Gains are maximized and losses minimized
Physical --- EXERCISE
Social
Volunteer (services)
Leisure time
REVIEW QUESTIONS
According to Erikson, what is the epigenetic crisis for this age group?
Provide an example of the disengagement theory of aging.