Chapter Questions
What is the definition of old age? How was this criterion chosen?
What trends have there been during the 20th century concerning the average age of the population?
What trends have there been this century in the numbers of older adults in the population? What future trends are predicted?
What trends exist in populations of older adults in various countries around the world?
How does age differ from other aspects of identity?
How does social identity theory relate to age and identity?
What are some negative and positive stereotypes of aging?
What are the structural and interactionist perspectives? How do they differ in terms of people's acquisition of status and role?
How are status and the treatment of older adults related?
How are status, role, and gender related in various societies?
How are ethnic group, ethnicity, and ethnic identity related?
What is the double jeopardy hypothesis? Does it help us understand aging of people in ethnic groups?
What are the effects of acculturation on older adults in ethnic groups?
How does the experience of segregation, discrimination, and racism affect older African Americans?
How are gender-typed age norms important to Hispanic Americans?
What are some age-graded historical influences on older Asian and Pacific Island Americans?
How does the experience of being a conquered people influence older Native Americans?
How do older adults balance the pressure for ethnic identity with the pressure to assimilate into the larger society?
How do different cultures vary in terms of their use of chronological age to define status and roles?
What role do rites of passage play in many cultures?
What similarities and differences are there among egalitarian societies, ranked horticultural societies, and age-set systems?
How are older adults treated in Asian cultures? Why are traditional values changing?
What are the patterns of status and role in societies with old men at the top and old women at the top?
How universal is intergenerational conflict? Why?