Thus far, we have explored the meaning of aging and changes that take place physically and
cognitively. I would like you to do some research and find an example of an older person who has
busted the myths of old age. For example:

You may find examples profiled on Youtube, Ted Talks, or legitimate news sources.
What does your example say about his/her aging experience? Do you detect an over-riding
philosophy that guides his/her life? Relate the story to one or more of the aging theories we have
discussed.
Follow the writing guidelines outlined in the course syllabus. This writing should be a min of 750
words. Be sure to connect the story with topics and controversies covered in the course.
I suggest an outline that is similar to this:
1. Introduce your subject (age, career, where he/she lives, family, etc.)
2. Discuss examples given about successes and accomplishments in their older age
3. Discuss personal philosphies
4. Relate the story to concepts/controversies discussed thus far in Sasser and Moody
5. Conclusion
Controversy 1
Does Old Age Have Meaning?
The Meaning of Age
• Humans live in a world full of symbolism and
shared meaning
• “Meaning” is so powerful, it can even be a
matter of life or death
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
2
The Meaning of Age (cont.)
• Two questions examined in the book:
1. Does old age have a meaning for
society?
2. How do individuals actually experience
their lives as meaningful in the last stage
of life?
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
3
The Meaning of Age (cont.)
• Social gerontology seeks to answer these
questions by studying two areas of life that
provide contrasting views of activity and
disengagement: Leisure and religious
participation
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
4
Leisure Activities in Later Life
• Leisure: defined as an activity engaged in for its
own sake; an end in itself
• In later life, leisure often begins to take the place
of work, both in terms of having more free time
and as a way of finding meaning in life
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
5
Leisure Activities in Later Life
(cont.)
• Stereotypes of “old people’s activities” (e.g.,
shuffleboard, bingo, etc.) are mistaken
• Age alone doesn’t predict what people do with their
leisure time in later life
• Old people are not all alike
• Individual differences, gender, and SES all play a big
part
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
6
Changing Leisure Participation
Patterns
• People over age 65 continue to engage in
the same activities with the same people as
they did in middle age
• Patterns of late-life leisure have important
implications for the economy in an aging
society
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
7
Changing Leisure Participation
Patterns (cont.)
• Education and income are the biggest
factors in how older people spend their free
time
• Retired people who have more money have
more choices, and are more likely to change
their patterns of activity more often
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
8
Religion and Spirituality
• A majority of older Americans say that religion is
“very important” in their lives
• Religious involvement in old age tends to follow a
pattern of multidimensional disengagement:
• As people grow older, they may withdraw from
some activities (such as attending church), but
show an increase in personal religious practice
(such as Bible study or listening to religious TV
and radio)
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
9
Religious Involvement
• Older Americans continue to display patterns
of religious identification similar to those
among younger age groups:
• Older women have higher levels of religious
participation and belief than older men
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
10
Religious Involvement (cont.)
• Churches and religious organizations play
many roles in the lives of older people:
• Formal religious programs
• Pastoral care programs
• Sponsors or providers of social services
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
11
Religious Participation and Well-Being
• Studies have shown a positive correlation between
well-being and religious beliefs among older
individuals
• But it’s difficult to define and measure what
“religiousness” actually means in people’s lives
• Also unclear whether or not religious involvement
actually promotes physical health
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
12
Religious Participation and Well-Being
(cont.)
• Yet, social scientists theorize that religion helps
older adults cope in many ways:
• Reducing the impact of stress in late-life illness
• Providing a sense of order and meaning in life
• Offering social networks tied to religious
groups
• Strengthening inner psychological resources,
such as self-esteem and resilience
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
13
Spirituality and the Search for Meaning
• While habits of religiosity tend to remain stable in
later life, a recent study found that 40% of people
who experienced a distinct change in faith did so
after age 50
• “Faith stages”—James Fowler’s (1981) theory
that people move from simpler, more literalist idea
of religion to levels where they see themselves in
more universal terms
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Spirituality and the Search for Meaning
(cont.)
• Six dimensions of “spiritual well-being”:
1) Self-determined wisdom
2) acceptance of the totality of life
3)Self-transcendence
4) revival of spirituality
5) discovery of meaning in aging
6) preparation for death
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
15
Social Gerontology and the Meaning of
Aging in the 21st Century
• The majority of older adults surveyed described
their lives as meaningful
• Older people might still be encouraged to maintain
social connections, but this engagement should be
based on a strategy for individual development—not
conformity to social norms or activities
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
16
The Meaning of Aging in the 21st
Century
• The life course perspective views “stages of
life” as social constructions that reflect
broader structural conditions of life
• Thus, as conditions change, so will the
view of how people find meaning at
different ages
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Meaning of Aging in the 21st
Century (cont.)
• It’s not clear how the meaning of old age
will change in contemporary, postindustrial
society
• We must distinguish between a meaning
that society ascribes to old age,
compared to what individuals find
meaningful in their own lives
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Reading 1: The Coming of Age
• Simone de Beauvoir, describing the life
course journey of becoming an older person,
asks, “Can I have become a different being
while I still remain myself?”
• Discuss the tension identified in this quote
between staying the same and changing as
we grow older.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Reading 2: Vital Involvement in Old
Age
• Erikson, Erikson, and Kivnick state:
– “Our society confronts the challenge of
drawing a large population of healthy elders
into the social order in a way that
productively uses their capacities. Our task
will be to envision what influences such a
large contingent of elders will have on our
society as healthy old people seek and
demand more vital involvement.”
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Reading 2: Vital Involvement in Old
Age (cont.)
• What assumptions do the authors seem
to be making about current and future
older adults? What might be some of
the characteristics of “vital
involvement”?
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Reading 4: The Measure of My Days
• Florida Scott-Maxwell writes about old
age as both “a time of heroic
helplessness” and “a place of fierce
energy.”
– What do you think she’s trying to express
about aging and being an old person? Can
you think of any examples that illustrate this
seeming contradiction?
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Basic Concepts 1
A Life Course Perspective on
Aging
Concepts for Thinking About the
Meaning of Age
• Age identification: refers to both how many
years have passed since we were born as
well as an individual’s experiences of the
aging process
• Age differentiation: certain roles and
behaviors are considered appropriate based
on chronological age
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
2
Concepts for Thinking About the
Meaning of Age (cont.)
• Age grading: refers to the way people are
assigned different roles in society based on
their age
• Age stratification: theory that a person’s
position in the age structure affects behavior
or attitudes
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
3
The Stages of Life
• Humans have always seemed to recognize a
progression through the life course, no matter
how long it is, from young age to old age.
• However, views of how humans age and the
meaning and expectations attached to
certain ages have changed over time and
vary by culture.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
4
The Stages of Life (cont.)
• Example: In the Western world, during
different historical eras there were
different views of the human progression
through the life course.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
5
The Stages of Life (cont.)
• Since the middle of the 20th century, because
of increases in longevity, distinctions are made
between certain stages of life, based on
chronological age groups and the assumption
that members of the group have things in
common:
• “Young-Old”: ages 65–74
• “Old-Old”: ages 75–84
• “Oldest-Old”: ages 85 and over
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
6
Traditional Theories of Aging
• Modernization Theory: claims that the
status of older adults declines as societies
become more modern
• Old age was valued in agricultural
society where the elders controlled the
land
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Traditional Theories of Aging (cont.)
• Disengagement Theory: considers old age
to be a time when both the older person and
society engage in mutual separation (e.g.,
retirement from work)
• One of the earliest attempts to explain old
age in modern society
• Doesn’t always refer to the outward
behavior of people—can mean an inner
attitude toward life
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
8
Traditional Theories of Aging (cont.)
• Activity Theory: argues that the more active
people are, the more likely they are to be satisfied
with life
• Opposite view of Disengagement Theory
• May be difficult for “old-old” people because of
physical changes with aging
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
9
Traditional Theories of Aging (cont.)
• Continuity Theory: claims that people
who grow older are inclined to maintain as
much as they can of the same habits,
personality, and style of life they developed
in earlier years
• Similar to Activity Theory in asserting that
decreases in social interaction are better
explained by poor health or disability, rather
than some functional need of society to
“disengage” older people from their previous
roles
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
10
The Life Course and Aging
• Aging is increasingly viewed from a “Life
Course” perspective
• Span of a lifetime = total number of years
we live
• Course of life = the meaningful pattern
seen in the passing of time
• Earlier experiences are thought to
influence how aging and later life are
experienced
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Life Course and Aging (cont.)
•
•
An individual’s characteristics—class,
race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity,
etc.—are seen as important as well
Longitudinal design is the research
methodology used to follow how
development unfolds in individuals over
time and is the primary approach used to
study the life course.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Influences on the Life Course
• All theories have limits: none fully explains
the many ways individuals experience old
age
• Many also reflect social values in uncritical ways
(e.g., setting up either activity or disengagement
as the ideal goal in old age)
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
13
Influences on the Life Course
(cont.)
• Most pervasive view of adulthood
assumes continuous deterioration and
decline
• Gives priority to biological factors and is the
basis for age-based prejudice called Ageism
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
14
Influences on the Life Course
(cont.)
• Social class and life history affect one’s
path through the life course
• Also, other factors such as earlier life events,
social/cultural historical events,
unpredictable non-normative life events,
etc. have an influence
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
15
Influences on the Life Course
(cont.)
• Social institutions and policies have structured the
life course in modern times, and define transitions
throughout life
• This may provide order and predictability, or it
may foster dependency on the system
• Examples: “learned helplessness” and “excess
disability”
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
16
Aging in the 21st Century
• Today, we no longer have a shared map for the
course of life
• Time and the Life Course—there are many
expectations about how much time should be
spent in certain stages of life
• e.g., time spent devoted to education,
childbearing, etc.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
17
Aging in the 21st Century (cont.)
• The Moral Economy of the Life Course—
embodies expectations of what is fair or right
• The old moral economy that distributed work
and leisure according to chronological age is
losing its power
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Biology of Aging
• The new science of longevity—on a biological
level, aging results from changes in cells, tissues,
etc.; so we understand the process by comparing
young cells to old ones
• Cross-sectional methodology—looks at the
physical function of people at different
chronological ages, but at a single point in time
(e.g., looking at a 1-, 10-, 20-, and 30-year-old
on April 25, 2016)
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Biology of Aging (cont.)
• Biomarkers—biological indicators that can
identify features of the basic process of aging
(ex., blood pressure, eyesight and hearing
abilities, etc.)
• Reserve capacity—the body’s ability to
recover from assaults and withstand high
demands during physical exertion
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Biology of Aging (cont.)
• For each species, there is a different:
• Lifespan: the maximum number of years a
member of a species can survive
And
• Life expectancy: the average number of years
an individual can be expected to live after birth
taking into account environmental factors
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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The Biology of Aging (cont.)
• Lifespan and Life expectancy are related but not
the same thing. A newer concept is “health span”:
the number of years of health and well-being a
person experiences.
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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Mechanisms of Physical Aging
• Wear and Tear: the balance between the body’s
exposure to damage and its ability to repair itself
shifts, and it becomes harder for the body to heal
itself
• Free Radicals: ionized oxygen molecules are the
waste products that result from continuous cell
metabolism and may contribute to physical aging
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
23
Mechanisms of Physical Aging
(cont.)
• The Immune System: the immune
system’s job is to defend the body against
invaders such as viruses, bacteria, and
parasites; with normal aging, the body’s
ability to fight invaders declines
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
24
Aging and Psychological
Functioning
• A long-term research project spearheaded
by Rowe and Kahn introduced the concept
“successful aging” and explored the
important connections among the following:
•
•
•
•
Self-concept and social relationships
Social roles
Cognitive functioning
Physical health
Moody, Aging 9e. SAGE
Publishing, 2018.
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