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There are also data which query whether, as activity theory implies, greater social activity is linked with well-being in adulthood. [55] Selectivity theory mediates between the activity and disengagement theories and suggests that it may benefit older people to become more active in some aspects of their lives and more disengaged in others. [55]
Gerontology (/ ˌ dʒ ɛr ən ˈ t ɒ l ə dʒ i / JERR-ən-TOL-ə-jee) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging.The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek γέρων (gérōn), meaning "old man", and -λογία (), meaning "study of".
Aging studies is an interdisciplinary field, which can be affiliated with the wider approaches found in cultural studies, gender studies, media and film studies, consumer culture, etc. Researchers working in this field interrogate the cultural discourses and practices that construct the meaning of ageing.
Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena. [1] A tool used by social scientists, social theories relate to historical debates over the validity and reliability of different methodologies (e.g. positivism and antipositivism), the primacy of either structure or agency, as well as the relationship between contingency and necessity.
Social theories, or concepts, [163] propose explanations for the distinctive relationships between old people and their societies. One theory, proposed in 1961, is the disengagement theory, which proposes that, in old age, a mutual disengagement between people and their society occurs in anticipation of death. By becoming disengaged from work ...
According to the theory of degeneration, a host of individual and social pathologies in a finite network of diseases, disorders and moral habits could be explained by a biologically based affliction. The primary symptoms of the affliction were thought to be a weakening of the vital forces and willpower of its victim.
Ageism is a social inequality resulting from age stratification. This is a sociological concept that comes with studying aging population. [3] Age stratification within a population can have major implications, affecting things such as workforce trends, social norms, family structures, government policies, and even health outcomes.
The activity theory and the disengagement theory were the two major theories that outlined successful aging in the early 1960s. [4] The theory was developed by Robert J. Havighurst in 1961. [ 1 ] In 1964, Bernice Neugarten asserted that satisfaction in old age depended on active maintenance of personal relationships and endeavors.