Deck 1: Aging in America

Question 1

Gerontology is the study of the aging process from

A) childhood to late life.
B) maturity to old age.
C) middle age to retirement.
D) retirement to death.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following illustrate ageism?

A) keeping one's age a secret
B) seniors who forgo senior discounts
C) birthday cards that joke about adding another year
D) All of these choices

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of environmental press?

A) An elderly woman is swimming in the Senior Olympics.
B) An elderly man can no longer cook, clean, or do laundry for himself.
C) A group of elderly men and women play cards together once per week.
D) An elderly woman serves as a volunteer at the local hospital.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In colonial America,

A) youth was exalted.
B) young adults held the highest status positions.
C) long life was thought of as a "call" to heaven.
D) people tended to report themselves in the census as younger than they really were.

Question 5

All of the following are reasons stated in your text for why elders were accorded high status in early American society EXCEPT

A) it was a family value to honor older people and one's ancestors.
B) because so few people lived into later life, old age was a marker of exclusivity.
C) frail elders were viewed as closer to the stage of rebirth as one of God's holy angels.
D) because the aged were closer to death, they were believed to serve as mediators between this world and the next.

Question 6

In the 1930s and 1940s,

A) older people received little public attention.
B) older people were viewed as more independent and capable.
C) older people began to be valued for their accumulated knowledge and wisdom.
D) responsibility for aging individuals began to be seen as belonging to society as well as the family.

Question 7

Sociogenic aging is based on

A) folklore, prejudices, and stereotypes about age.
B) biological age.
C) age stereotypes.
D) senescence.

Question 8

Geriatrics

A) is more multidimensional than gerontology.
B) uses a biopsychosocial model.
C) helps the elderly gain greater insight into the meaning of life.
D) focuses on preventing and managing disease in later life.

Question 9

Ageism is a

A) political movement.
B) religious philosophy.
C) prejudice against any age group, young or old.
D) mark of status.

Question 10

During the classical period,old age was considered

A) ugly.
B) a sign of wisdom.
C) heroic.
D) beautiful.

Question 11

Which of the following was an important cause of the change in society's attitudes toward the elderly in the 1800's?

A) urban and industrial growth
B) higher birthrates
C) religious freedom
D) advances in medicine

Question 12

The Detroit syndrome is a term the media has used to refer to the

A) obsolescence of the knowledge and skills of the older worker.
B) older American's preferences for big cars.
C) reluctance of older Americans to give up driving their own car.
D) willingness of American industry to retrain, rather than replace, older workers.

Question 13

Historically,the status of elderly was related primarily to their

A) health.
B) property.
C) ability to work.
D) wisdom.

Question 14

Gerontologists define aging in terms of

A) the number of years since the individual's birth.
B) changes in memory, learning, adaptive capacity, personality, and mental functioning.
C) social roles, relationships, and the overall context in which we grow old.
D) All of these choices.

Question 15

Industrialization in America was significant to the changing status of the aged because

A) more old people were in demand as employees.
B) older persons flocked to cities.
C) it freed young people from dependence on their parents' land.
D) it made aging more respectable.

Question 16

"Culturally competent" health care providers

A) require the elderly to adapt their values to an institutional environment.
B) encourage the elderly to become dependent on their services.
C) help the elderly develop personal mastery of their changing environments.
D) motivate the elderly to ignore the aging process.

Question 17

All of the following were aspects of modernization that contributed to lower status of the elderly EXCEPT

A) values of equality.
B) control of property.
C) health technology.
D) education.

Question 18

Recent research indicates that genes account for about _______ of our longevity.

A) one-fourth
B) one-third
C) one-half
D) two-thirds

Question 19

Gerontologists are most likely to use the _________ to understand the political,social,and economic inequities associated with aging.

A) Detroit syndrome
B) selection for survival
C) critical perspective
D) population pyramid

Question 20

In the late 1700s and 1800s,

A) the emphasis upon equality enhanced the status of the elderly.
B) most of the negative terms for men, such as "old goat" and "geezer" came into general use.
C) religious elders gained influence.
D) All of these choices.

Question 21

Analysis of gender differences in life expectancies of Americans shows that

A) males have longer life expectancies than females at every age, regardless of race and ethnicity.
B) females have longer life expectancies than males at every age, regardless of race and ethnicity.
C) females are more likely to live to be in their 80s, but males are more likely to live to be centenarians (100 or above).
D) the life expectancy of black males is higher than that of black females.

Question 22

A major factor contributing to increases in the proportion of elderly in the United States is

A) reduced birthrates.
B) greater infant mortality.
C) more spread of infectious childhood diseases.
D) molecular alteration of aging.

Question 23

"Selection for survival" means that members of a society are selected for survival based on

A) their resistance to common causes of death.
B) the nutrition in their diets.
C) the amount of stress in their lifestyle.
D) the safety of their environment.

Question 24

From a global perspective

A) America has the leading number of older adults.
B) Mexico has the leading number of older adults.
C) Asia has the leading number of older adults.
D) the aging population is growing the same globally.

Question 25

The number and proportion of older people in the U.S.is

A) gradually declining.
B) staying about the same.
C) rapidly increasing.
D) unknown.

Question 26

The most rapidly growing age group among those over 65 is

A) 65 to 70.
B) 70 to 75.
C) 75 to 80.
D) 85 and older .

Question 27

Gains in life expectancy over the last 125 years are due primarily to

A) increased exercise and lower alcohol and nicotine consumption.
B) genetic engineering that has delayed the aging process.
C) reduced deaths of young children and mothers in childbirth.
D) lower ingestion of high-cholesterol foods.

Question 28

The "baby-boom generation" refers to those Americans born between

A) 1915 and 1929.
B) 1929 and 1945.
C) 1946 and 1964.
D) 1964 and 1980.

Question 29

The state with the highest proportion of over-65 elders in the nation is

A) California.
B) Florida.
C) Arizona.
D) Maine.

Question 30

Gerontophilia means

A) fear of aging.
B) aversion of aging.
C) hatred of aged.
D) honoring old age.

Question 31

Due to aging of the baby boom generation and current trends in birth and death rates,the proportion of elderly in the U.S.is projected to be _______ by 2030.

A) 10 percent
B) 15 percent
C) 20 percent
D) 30 percent

Question 32

The region of the U.S.with the largest number of counties with higher than national average proportions of people over 65 is the

A) Northeast.
B) Midwest.
C) South.
D) Southwest.

Question 33

Men have higher death rates from all causes except

A) heart disease.
B) diabetes.
C) cancer.
D) suicide.

Question 34

Compared to white males,black males can expect to live

A) more than 6 years less.
B) 3 years less.
C) about the same number of years.
D) 2 years longer.

Question 35

Which of the following is most likely to produce further increases in life expectancy in the U.S.,according to Monton at Duke University?

A) alteration of aging at the molecular level
B) eliminating cancer, heart disease, and other major killer illnesses
C) reaching a near zero population birth rate
D) low-risk lifestyles that exclude smoking, alcohol, and high cholesterol foods

Question 36

Americans' increase in life expectancy is due primarily to

A) increased birthrates.
B) improved genetic counseling.
C) change in the factors intrinsic to the aging process.
D) change in environmental factors that cause death.

Question 37

A child born in the United States in 2006 can expect to live to age

A) 68.
B) 70.
C) 78.
D) 81.

Question 38

The leading cause of death of older Americans today is

A) heart disease.
B) cancer.
C) pneumonia and flu.
D) diabetes.

Question 39

The increase in life expectancy for both males and females is due to

A) genetic factors.
B) being the ideal weight for one's stature.
C) low blood pressure.
D) All of these choices.

Question 40

Increased proportions of elderly in the farm belt states is due primarily to

A) lower-risk life styles of residents of these states.
B) in-migration of elders to retirement communities.
C) out-migration of young people seeking jobs in cities.
D) lower infectious disease rates among their elderly populations.

Question 41

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for older adults.

Question 42

In the 1800s,the political change brought about by greater emphasis on principles of equality in the Declaration of Independence lowered the status of the aged in America.

Question 43

Life expectancy in the United States consistently increased through the 19ᵗʰ and 20ᵗʰ centuries.

Question 44

Among the Puritans in early Judeo-Christian America,long life was believed to be the result of God's favor.

Question 45

Social policy is most likely to be directed toward the young if the nation's population pyramid

A) is box-like.
B) has a small base and large top.
C) has a large base and small top.
D) has a large middle but small base and top.

Question 46

Belief in social equality was associated with negative views of old age.

Question 47

A country with zero-population growth will eventually have a population pyramid that

A) is box-like.
B) has a small base and large top.
C) has a large base and small top.
D) has a large middle but small base and top.

Question 48

A boxlike shaped population pyramid for a nation would indicate a

A) small proportion of elderly.
B) high proportion of elderly.
C) high birthrate.
D) high death rate.

Question 49

Noninstitutionalized elderly living alone are more likely to be men than women.

Question 50

A person who fears the aged suffers from gerontophilia.

Question 51

With the economic shift from family to corporations,the status of older adults also declined.

Question 52

The proportion of elderly is increasing in the United States but decreasing worldwide.

Question 53

The shape of the population pyramid for a less developed country,such as Nigeria,would

A) have a large base and a small top.
B) have a large top and a small base.
C) have a small base and top but a large middle.
D) be a box-like shape.

Question 54

The old-age dependency ratio is the number of people

A) over 80 years of age relative to the rest of the population.
B) 65 years of age and older relative to the rest of the population.
C) 65 years of age and older relative to the working-age population (18-64)
D) over 80 years of age relative to the working-age population (18-64)

Question 55

Ageism is primarily a biological phenomenon.

Question 56

The baby boom generation includes those individuals born after 1945 and before 1965.

Question 57

Women have a longer life expectancy than men.

Question 58

Various gerontologists mentioned in the text believe the higher proportion of elderly in the population has or will result in all of the following EXCEPT

A) higher taxes
B) more Social Security and Medicare payments
C) growth of the youth cult
D) retraining of older employees

Question 59

The longer a person has lived,the lower their life expectancy.

Question 60

Ageism can oppress any age group,young or old.

Question 61

What are the problems associated with ageism?

Question 62

Compare the attitudes toward and treatment of the elderly in colonial America with today. Explain why these differences exist.

Question 63

Increases in life expectancy are due to reductions in smoking,overuse of alcohol,and poor diet.

Question 64

The human life span has fixed limits.

Question 65

What are the major factors that contribute to a long life?

Question 66

Explain the person-environment approach to aging.

Question 67

Explain how longevity is a complex interaction in our present century.

Question 68

How do the emphases of the biological,sociological,psychological,and philosophical perspectives of aging differ?

Question 69

In general,the higher the old-age dependency ratio the greater the economic burden of providing for the elderly.

Question 70

Explain the 3 cultural characteristics of modernization,as described by Cogill and Holmes,that contributed to the lower status for elders.

Question 71

Sweden and Japan have virtually achieved zero population growth.

Question 72

The longest documented human life span on record is 130.

Question 73

Gerontophobia refers to an older adult having the fear of being placed in a nursing facility.

Question 74

What factors help explain the longevity gap between men and women?