Page 305 - Introduction To Sociology

Chapter 13 | Aging and the Elderly 297
The three major sociological perspectives inform the theories of aging. Theories in the functionalist perspective focus on the role of elders in terms of the functioning of society as a whole. Theories in the conflict perspective concentrate on how elders, as a group, are at odds with other groups in society. And theories in the symbolic interactionist perspective focus on how elders’ identities are created through their interactions.
Section Quiz
13.1 Who Are the Elderly? Aging in Society
1. In most countries, elderly women ______ than elderly men.
a. are mistreated less
b. live a few years longer
c. suffer fewer health problems
d. deal with issues of aging better
2. America’s baby boomer generation has contributed to all of the following except:
a. Social Security’s vulnerability
b. improved medical technology
c. Medicaid being in danger of going bankrupt
d. rising Medicare budgets
3. The measure that compares the number of men to women in a population is ______.
a. cohort
b. sex ratio
c. baby boomer
d. disengagement
4. The “graying of the United States” refers to ________.
a. the increasing percentage of the population over sixty-five years old
b. faster aging due to stress
c. dissatisfaction with retirement plans
d. increased health problems such as Alzheimer’s
5. What is the approximate median age of the United States? a. eighty-five
b. sixty-five c. thirty-seven d. eighteen
13.2 The Process of Aging
6. Thanatology is the study of _____.
a. life expectancy
b. biological aging
c. death and dying
d. adulthood
7. In Erik Erikson’s developmental stages of life, with which challenge must older people struggle?
a. Overcoming despair to achieve integrity
b. Overcoming role confusion to achieve identity
c. Overcoming isolation to achieve intimacy
d. Overcoming shame to achieve autonomy
8. Who wrote the book On Death and Dying, outlining the five stages of grief?
a. Ignatz Nascher
b. Erik Erikson
c. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
d. Carol Gilligan
9. For individual people of a certain culture, the life course is ________.
a. the average age they will die
b. the lessons they must learn
c. the length of a typical bereavement period