Saint Mary’s University

3700, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya

Assignment #1
Define the following:

 Aging
- The age-related decline of the physiological processes required for reproduction and
survival. All members of a species are impacted by the traits of aging, as opposed to
aging-related disorders (such cancer and heart disease).
 Chronological Age
- It is the length of time from birth to a specific date and is the best way of defining
age. As a person gradually accumulates damage to numerous cells, biological aging
takes place.
 Psychological Age
- Psychological age is a personal estimate of one's own age. In other words, age is
how a person acts, feels, and behaves. The chronological age, or age since birth,
does not have to match the psychological age.
 Social Age
- It reflects a person's position within the society to which they belong at a given
moment. This age, along with the rights and obligations that come with it, is a relative
measurement that depends on how each person perceives the progression or
discontinuity of their own life as well as how society views the various life phases.
 Ageism
- It is the treatment of persons unfairly or discriminatorily because of their age.
Although it often relates to elderly individuals, it can also have an impact on younger
people. Ageism has a detrimental effect on one's physical and emotional well-being,
and studies have linked it to an early mortality.
 Gerontology
- The scientific study of aging processes and issues from all perspectives, including
biological, clinical, psychological, sociological, legal, economic, and political.
 Social Gerontology
- A science-based but application-focused subdiscipline of gerontology. It focuses in
particular on the preservation of their unique requirements as well as social ties in
old age, social involvement of the elderly, and older people.
 Geropsychology
- It is the area of psychology that uses psychological knowledge and techniques to
comprehend and support older people and their families in maintaining their well-
being, resolving issues, and reaching their full potential in later life.

 Financial Gerontology
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- An interdisciplinary branch of study that combines research
on aging and human development with financial and commercial
issues. It covers both academic and professional education. Financial gerontology,
which has its origins in social gerontology, highlights numerous aging processes
rather than only focusing on older individuals. The "four lenses" for viewing aging
and finance are population aging, individual aging, family aging, and generational
aging. These four forms of aging are the focus of study and instruction in financial
gerontology.
 Gerontological Nursing
- The particular physiological, social, psychological, developmental, economic,
cultural, spiritual, and advocacy requirements of older individuals are addressed by
the evidence-based nursing specialty. The nursing profession is primarily concerned
with the aging process, the preservation, enhancement, restoration, and optimization
of health and generalized functions, the prevention of illness and injury, the
promotion of healing, the reduction of suffering through the identification and
management of human responses, and advocacy in the care of older people,
caregivers, families, groups, communities, and populations (Bickford 2018). In a
range of practice settings, such as hospitals, institutional skilled nursing facilities,
ambulatory care, the home, and the community, nurses with various degrees of
academic education provide gerontologic nursing care.
Define the following theories and give at least 1 example for each theory

 Biological Theories
- The study of the biology of behavior, sometimes known as physiological psychology,
is centered on the nervous system, hormones, and heredity. Biology-based
psychology investigates brain processes, the interplay between the mind and body,
and the genetic component of behavior. It is also concerned with providing
fundamental answers about physiologic processes that take place in all living things
across time
o Stochastic Theories
-describe aging as a series of events that happen randomly and aggregate over
time.
 Error Catastrophe Theory
 Proposed by Leslie Orgel in 1963
 Is predicated on the notion that transcription and DNA synthesis
can both contain mistakes. These mistakes keep happening, and
eventually they cause systems to not perform as well as they
should. These events result in aging and eventual death of the
organism.
 Example: The transmission ability of virus, Alzheimer’s Disease
 Free Radical Theory
 Free radicals are byproducts of metabolism. When these by-
products accumulate, they damage the cell membrane, which
decreases its efficiency. The body produces antioxidants that
scavenge the free radicals
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 Example: lipid peroxidation of
membranes, formation of age
pigments, cross-linkage of proteins, DNA damage and decline of
mitochondrial function
 Cross-Linkage Theory
 This idea proposes that the body's proteins undergo cross-linking
as we age. As a result, normal metabolic processes are impeded,
and waste builds up in the cells. The final effect is that tissues do
not operate as efficiently as they should.
 Example: Age-related changes in the lens of the eye, loss of skin
and muscle flexibility, hardening of blood vessel walls, slower
wound healing, and decreased joint mobility
 Wear and Tear Theory
 It compares people to machines. It postulates that usage is what
causes aging.
 Example: wrinkles and other skin changes that develop with time,
or arthritic joints that get stiffer and hurt more as people get older.
o Non-stochastic Theories
-see aging as a series of predefined, timed phenomena
 Programmed or Hayflick Theory
 Given that normal cells may only divide a certain number of times,
Hayflick and Moorehead proposed that life expectancy was
predetermined.
 Asserting that creatures age and die because doing so is
genetically preprogrammed throughout evolution
 Example: endocrine theory, programmed senescence theory, and
immunological theory
 Immunity Theory
 Changes occur in the immune system, specifically in the T
lymphocytes, as a result of aging. These changes leave the
individual more vulnerable to disease.
 Example: higher health risks brought on by typical illnesses like
the flu or the common cold to a rise in the prevalence of chronic
inflammatory conditions like gout and some kinds of arthritis
 Sociologic Theories
- These are efforts to provide an explanation for how civilizations function and evolve.
They aim to critically yet approachably describe society's most important facets.
Additionally, they concentrate on the responsibilities and connections that people
have in later life.
o Disengagement Theory
 It is a now-discredited theory of aging that contends that active
participation in social roles throughout active adulthood is necessary for
successful aging. This detachment was considered useful and
advantageous for society.
 It is made up of a number of postulates that explain how senior citizens
are liberated from societal standards, disengage in the face of imminent
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death, undergo ego transformation, and
disengage regardless of their location in time
and space.
 Example: If a senior with heart disease experiences shortness of breath,
they could find it difficult to continue their usual walks with companions.
The older adult will maintain less touch with friends, which might cause
friendships to dwindle.
o Activity/Development Task Theory
 It suggests that maintaining activity levels and social connections is key to
older folks' happiness. When these activities are meaningful, they can
help seniors fill in for lost life responsibilities after retirement and resist
societal constraints that might otherwise limit their worldview. The
hypothesis assumes that activity and life happiness are positively
correlated. The functionalist view that an individual's equilibrium
developed in middle age should be maintained in later years is reflected
in activity theory. According to the notion, elderly people who experience
role loss will replace lost positions with new ones. Example: encouraging
elderly people to attend religious services, take group vacations, and, if
they are widowed, discover new romantic interests
o Continuity Theory
 Asserts that middle-aged and older individuals want to retain and sustain
existing internal and external structures when making adaptive decisions,
and they prefer to achieve this goal by adopting tactics connected to their
previous experiences of themselves and their social environment.
Change is correlated with how someone perceives their history, resulting
in continuity in inner psychological traits, social conduct, and social
context. Thus, continuity is a major adaptation tactic that is supported by
both personal desire and societal acceptance.
 Example: Elderly people still exercise by running, but they do so in a less
demanding way.
o Age Stratification Theory
 Posits that age hierarchy governs how societies are organized, with
younger individuals holding lower roles and elderly people holding higher
positions.
 Based on their age group, the theory contends that people have varying
degrees of access to resources. Inequalities in opportunities and results
for various age groups are brought on by such uneven resource
availability.
 Example: Due to their years of job experience and bigger resources, older
generations may have more access to financial security and prosperity
than younger ones.
 Example: Due to their years of experience, older individuals are
frequently treated with higher respect, whereas younger people may have
lower status in terms of knowledge but can leverage prestige in terms of
attractiveness.
o Person-Environment Theory
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 Powell Lawton proposed the concept of
"person-environment fit" for the first time
approximately 30 years ago (Lawton, 1983). According to this theory, the
circumstances for general well-being are produced by the relationship
between an older adult's talents and their specific living environment. As a
result, a "good fit" would suggest a circumstance in which the older adult
felt comfortable and autonomous since their surroundings did not "press"
them but instead encouraged them and accepted their limitations.
 Example: Someone who attends church as a child. This person continues
to choose to attend church when they are older and able to make their
own decisions. This illustrates how the environment had an effect on the
person.
 Psychological Theories
- Techniques that give a foundation for treatments to encourage adaptation to health-
related changes that become more and more common in later life, explain how
illnesses may be prevented or postponed, and explain how healthy aging can be
promoted.
o Maslow Hierarchy of Human Needs
 Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory that explains why
people are motivated to pursue certain wants at different levels.
According to the hypothesis, people are driven to prioritize meeting their
wants. The most fundamental requirements come first, followed by more
sophisticated demands. The fifth level of the hierarchy, self-actualization,
is the ultimate objective in this paradigm.
 Example:
Physiological Needs include Food, Water, Shelter, Sleep, Excretion, etc.
A student finds it challenging to learn if they are hungry. A student won't
be able to focus entirely on their studies until their fundamental
physiological demand for eating has been met. Instead, getting food will
take up much of their thoughts.
Safety Needs (Safety, Protection and Security) include a sense of
security of the self, laws, order, policies, job-safety, etc.
Social Needs (Belongingness and love) as well, including: the need to
make and maintain strong bonds with other humans, develop
relationships along with romantic relationships, etc.
Esteem Needs include respect (from others- public recognition)(from
self-sense of competence and confidence), good reputation, etc.
Self-Actualization Needs: Realizing all of his potential, a person works
to fulfill it. His drive will be to figure out how to fulfill his potentials and
continue to develop.
o Jung’s Theory of Individualism
 The process through which a person recognizes his inherent individuality
and develops into a psychological individual, a separate indivisible unity
or whole, is known as self-realization, which he separated from "ego-
centeredness" and individualism. The goal of individuation, which is linked
with the expansion of awareness and the development of personality, is
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to free oneself from the persona, which
serves as the personality's public face.
 Example: As Mrs. Culhi is aging, she realized that she was not able to
enjoy being an elementary student because she has to carry the
responsibility of taking care of her younger sister at the same time to be a
breadwinner in the family. With that, she questions herself if her decision
she made of staying single is the right thing to do.
o Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life
 The scientist and psychotherapist Erik Erikson first proposed this
hypothesis in the 1950s. In addition to adding the role of social dynamics
and the continuation of psychosocial development into adulthood, it
expanded upon Freud's theory of psychosexual development by drawing
analogies in childhood stages. Eight successive phases of personal
human development are proposed, with each stage being impacted by
biological, psychological, and social variables throughout the course of a
lifetime. Gerontology, personality development, identity formation, life
cycle development, and other disciplines of research have all been
affected by this bio-psychosocial approach.
 In stage 5, throughout adolescence, the ego identity becomes concrete.
The two opposing characteristics are confusion/diffusion and ego
identification. Those who successfully establish their ego identities
produce the attribute of loyalty, whereas those who are unable to do so
due to ego uncertainty produce the trait of repudiation. A greater sense of
ego identity results in interactions with the external and internal worlds
that reject inconsistent assessments of oneself and reduce anxiety,
respectively.
o Peck’s Expansion of Erikson Theory
 Focuses on a person's mental flexibility and stiffness. He also
emphasized emotional flexibility and stability, deprivation in the many
emotional states, and sexualizing and socializing in interpersonal
interactions. Finally, he concentrated on emphasizing the importance of
morality and values over human might in favor of knowledge. The
psychological theory put forward by Erikson is directly at odds with each
of these characteristics.
 Body transcendence versus body preoccupation is a phase concerned
with enjoyment of life in the face of physical discomforts associated with
aging.
 Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation is a phase concerned with
the older adult’s ability to focus on the welfare of the future generation
rather than on one’s own inevitable death.
 Example: Viktor Frankl's experience in the concentration camps of World
War II. Despite his great personal suffering (and frequently having few or
none of the hierarchy needs met)—or perhaps because of it—Frankl
found a higher purpose in his life.
 Example: Mrs. Stalks gathered her grandchildren to assign the lot she’s
going to pass on in each of them. All of her wealth will be distributed
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fairly. Also, she explained what her funeral
would be once she dies.
o Selective Optimization Theory with Compensation
 It is a method for enhancing older individuals' health and wellbeing as well
as a representation of healthy aging. Seniors are advised to prioritize their
strongest skills and most resilient functions while making up for losses
and declines.
 Example: An older person who likes to sing but has failing eyesight may
devote more time and attention to singing, possibly by joining a new
chorus, and less time to reading. Overall, this paradigm advises seniors
to actively participate in their aging process and establish realistic,
worthwhile goals.
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