Deck 1: Does Old Age Have Meaning

Question 1

Which of the following includes evidence of American society's denial of the aging process?

A) Advertisements that show invariably young people
B) A cosmetics industry that pushes anti-aging products
C) Plastic surgery to erase the effects of aging
D) All of the above
E) A and B above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

As people get older, overall participation in leisure activities tends to:

A) Increase
B) Decrease
C) Remain the same as earlier in life

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Participation in intellectual and political leisure activities may have protective benefits for cognition during later life.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In American society, aging is often regarded as something to be:

A) Eagerly anticipated
B) Denied or concealed
C) Approached with indifference
D) None of the above

Question 5

Life satisfaction is ______ among those with high levels of religious commitment compared to those with no sense of religious commitment.

A) higher
B) lower
C) about the same

Question 6

As people age, they tend to engage in:

A) New activities with newly acquainted people
B) New activities with the same people they knew from middle age
C) The same activities with the same people they knew from middle age
D) A and B above

Question 7

Some of the potential roles for elders in our society include which of the following?

A) As conservationists
B) Less differentiated in their masculine and feminine predilections
C) As arbiters of disputes
D) As advocates for a new international understanding
E) All of the above

Question 8

Which of the following includes the main components of "successful aging"?

A) Avoiding disease and disability
B) Maintaining mental and physical function
C) Continuing engagement with life
D) All of the above
E) A and B above

Question 9

The "gray market" refers to the:

A) Consumption of goods and services during one's retirement years
B) Growing market for business comprised of those over age 50
C) Growing number of businesses that offer "senior discounts"
D) Growing market for meaningful activities among people over age 50
E) None of the above

Question 10

It was only in the 20th century that a sizable proportion of the population survived to experience old age.

Question 11

Older women tend to have higher levels of religious participation and belief than do men.

Question 12

Recent survey findings show that persons 75 and older spend about _____ hours a day on leisure activities.

A) 10
B) 8
C) 2
D) 5

Question 13

Which theory of aging does de Beauvoir's solution to a defensive and aggressive attitude in old age best reflect?

A) Disengagement theory
B) Activity theory
C) Modernization theory
D) Continuity theory
E) Exchange theory

Question 14

To live a meaningful old age, de Beauvoir argues that we should do which of the following?

A) Devote ourselves to other individuals, to groups, or to causes
B) Engage in social, political, intellectual, or creative work
C) Set aside money for retirement
D) All of the above
E) A and B above

Question 15

People tend to become more religious as they age.

Question 16

"Vital involvement" in old age best reflects which theory of aging?

A) Continuity theory
B) Disengagement theory
C) Modernization theory
D) Activity theory
E) None of the above

Question 17

As people grow older:

A) Many decrease their involvement in organized religion and increase their involvement in nonorganized religion
B) Many increase their involvement in organized religion and decrease their involvement in nonorganized religion
C) Many increase their involvement in both organized and nonorganized religion
D) Many decrease their involvement in both organized and nonorganized religion
E) Involvement in both organized and nonorganized religion tends to stay the same as in younger years

Question 18

How should people prepare for old age, according to de Beauvoir?

A) Set aside money
B) Choose the place where they will retire
C) Acquire hobbies
D) Live a committed, justified life
E) All of the above

Question 19

As people get older and have more leisure time, they tend to take up new activities.

Question 20

The most damaging threat to well-being in later life is:

A) Fear of destitution
B) Poor health
C) Absence of religiosity
D) Death of loved ones
E) Boredom and loss of life purpose

Question 21

The question about whether old age has meaning is both a personal question and a challenge for social gerontology. The personal question is ultimately a matter of values: What is it that makes my life worth living into the last stage? From the vantage point of your current life course stage and age, how do you respond to this question?

Question 22

According to Scott-Maxwell, old people's outward appearance may seem drab, but inside they have much passion about life.

Question 23

Does leisure inevitably become a source of meaning in old age? Explain.

Question 24

de Beauvoir argues that old age brings serenity in that all of life's conflicts have been resolved and people can happily live out the remainder of their lives.

Question 25

How, according to de Beauvoir, can old age bring both liberation and bitter disillusionment?

Question 26

Scott-Maxwell suggests that life has changed her, and at the same time, it has left her nearly the same.

Question 27

How does life prepare people for old age, according to Scott-Maxwell? How might you apply Scott-Maxwell's insights in your own life as you grow older?

Question 28

What does it mean to "age successfully"? What can society do to enhance the possibility of successful aging? Do you see any problems with this perspective on aging? What might an alternative perspective promote regarding aging?

Question 29

According to Scott-Maxwell, old people think often about how old they will become and how much decay they will have to endure until death.

Question 30

Scott-Maxwell argues that in old age, people have no duties except to themselves.

Question 31

How do people find meaning in old age? Does the period of old age have intrinsic meaning? Explain.

Question 32

The life course perspective views "stages of life" as unchanging and universal in meaning.

Question 33

Erikson, Erikson, and Kivnick argue that recollection is one way to adapt to the constant losses that occur in old age, but a more rewarding form of adaptation is to develop new relationships.

Question 34

Erikson, Erikson, and Kivnick argue that elders should accept the inevitable losses of aging and retreat from society.

Question 35

According to their definition of "successful aging," Rowe and Kahn argue that legendary pitcher Satchel Paige was aging successfully.

Question 36

According to Erikson, Erikson, and Kivnick, what challenge faces our aging population? How should this challenge be met?

Question 37

Compare and contrast activity theory, disengagement theory, and continuity theory with respect to how they can be applied to the study of leisure activity patterns in old age. Of the three theories, which do you feel best reflects what you have observed about aging and later life?

Question 38

The goal of the social integration of the aged is widely shared by many gerontologists. What are some of the primary approaches to making sure older adults stay engaged in society?

Question 39

If leisure activity is to be a path to deeper meaning, then it must have some dimension of growth or personal development.