Contemporary Theories of Aging
THREE DEFFERENT MODEL FOR AGING (FISKE & CHIRIBOGE, 1990)
1. Stability Template Model
• Based on theories presented by Freud and other psychoanalysts
• Individuals do not change once they become adults
• Is an individual’s identity is stable over time, he or she will react to stress and life’s events in a consistent manner
• Erikson describes the take during midlife as generativity versus despair; establishing and guiding the next generation
• Erikson describes the task during later life as integrity versus despair; people reviewing their lives to assess whether they have become who they wanted to be
2. Orderly Change Model
• Is a stage theory
• The individual’s identity is formed early in life but changes through interaction with the environment
• Adults in midlife examine their current life and may make a new life based on changing circumstances (Levinson)
3. Theory of Random Change
• Fate or non-normative events cause change in identity because of how individuals adapt to their new roles
• Social change affects the behavior of a cohort (known as the cohort effect)
• Individuals change over time in response to biological, cultural, psychological and sociological factors
• Patterns or behaviors exist because cohorts are exposed to similar experiences
• It is possible to predict the behavior of future generations
Social Construction Theory
• Is related to symbolic interactionism
• Actions and feelings of individuals have no intrinsic meaning of their own, but are given meaning based on expectations of society
• People choose to act in a certain way based on personal interpretations of a situation
• The Empty Nest Syndrome was identities as a crisis in the 1960s, but is not longer identified as one in the 1990s. (The way in which women interpret the situation has changed.)
The Seasons of Life
• Coming stages in life are defined according o the expectations of society as to when events should occur
• The seasons are defined but the
1. Stability Template Model
• Based on theories presented by Freud and other psychoanalysts
• Individuals do not change once they become adults
• Is an individual’s identity is stable over time, he or she will react to stress and life’s events in a consistent manner
• Erikson describes the take during midlife as generativity versus despair; establishing and guiding the next generation
• Erikson describes the task during later life as integrity versus despair; people reviewing their lives to assess whether they have become who they wanted to be
2. Orderly Change Model
• Is a stage theory
• The individual’s identity is formed early in life but changes through interaction with the environment
• Adults in midlife examine their current life and may make a new life based on changing circumstances (Levinson)
3. Theory of Random Change
• Fate or non-normative events cause change in identity because of how individuals adapt to their new roles
• Social change affects the behavior of a cohort (known as the cohort effect)
• Individuals change over time in response to biological, cultural, psychological and sociological factors
• Patterns or behaviors exist because cohorts are exposed to similar experiences
• It is possible to predict the behavior of future generations
Social Construction Theory
• Is related to symbolic interactionism
• Actions and feelings of individuals have no intrinsic meaning of their own, but are given meaning based on expectations of society
• People choose to act in a certain way based on personal interpretations of a situation
• The Empty Nest Syndrome was identities as a crisis in the 1960s, but is not longer identified as one in the 1990s. (The way in which women interpret the situation has changed.)
The Seasons of Life
• Coming stages in life are defined according o the expectations of society as to when events should occur
• The seasons are defined but the