Marocelle P.

Garcia

attempts to explain the phenomenon of

aging as it occurs over the lifespan
aging

is viewed as a total process that begins at

conception

Biologic
Sociologic

Psychologic

Moral/Spiritual

Concerned with answering basic questions

regarding the physiological processes that occur
in all living organisms as they chronologically
age

Stochastic: Explain aging as events that occur

randomly and accumulate over time
Nonstochastic: View aging as certain
predetermined, timed phenomena

Stochastic Theories

Error Theory

Cross-Linkage Theory

Wear & Tear Theory

Free Radical Theory

Basis:
1)errors can occur in the transcription in any
step of the protein synthesis of DNA
2) error causes the reproduction of an enzyme
or protein that is not an exact copy
3) As transcription errors to occur, the end
product would not even resemble the
original cell, thereby compromising its
functional ability

Free radicals are byproducts of metabolism-can increase as a result of environmental

pollutants
When they accumulate, they damage cell
membrane, decreasing its efficiency
The body produces antioxidants that scavenge
the free radicals

Some proteins in the body become crosslinked, thereby not allowing for normal
metabolic activities

Waste products accumulate

Result: tissues do not function at optimal

efficiency

Proposed first in 1882

Cells simply wear out over time because of

continued use--rather like a machine

Programmed Theory

Immunity Theory

Based on lab experiments on fetal

fibroblastic cells and their reproductive
capabilities in 1961

Cells can only reproduce themselves a

limited number of times.
Life expectancies are seen as
preprogrammed within a species-specific
range

Change include a decrease in humoral

immune response, often predisposing older
adults to:
1)decreased

resistance to a tumor cell challenge

and the development of cancer
2) decreased ability to initiate the immune
process and mobilize defenses in aggressively
attaching pathogens
3) increased susceptibility to auto-immune
diseases

Disengagement Theory
Activity/Developmental Task Theory
Continuity Theory
Age Stratification Theory
Person-Environment Fit Theory

Cumming & Henry--1961

Aging seen as a developmental task in and of
itself, with its own norms & appropriate
patterns of behavior
appropriate behavior patterns involved a
mutual agreement between OAs and society
on a reciprocal withdrawal.

Theory based on assumptions:

1)

its better to be active than inactive

2)

it is better to be happy than unhappy

3)

an older individual is the best judge of his or

her own success in achieving the first two
assumptions

How a person has been throughout life is how

that person will continue through the
remainder of life

Old age is not a separate phase of life, but

rather a continuation and thus an integral
component

Riley--1985
Society consists of groups of cohorts that age
collectively
The people & Roles in these cohorts change
& influence each other, as does society at
large
Thus, there is a high degree of
interdependence between older adults &
society

Lawton, 1982
Individuals have personal competencies that
assist in dealing with the environment:
ego

strength
level of motor skills
individual biologic health
cognitive & sensory-perceptual capacities

As a person ages, there may be changes in

competencies & these changes alter the
ability to interrelate with the environment

Significant implications in a society that is

characterized by constantly changing
technology

Maslows Hierarchy of Human Needs

Jungs Theory of Individualism

Pecks Expansion of Eriksons Theory

Selective Optimization with Compensation

Eriksons Eight Stages of Life

Maslow--1954
each individual has an innate internal
hierarchy of needs that motivates all human
behaviors.
depicted as a pyramid; the ideal is to
achieve self-actualization, having met all the
lower level needs successful

Carl Jung--1960
origins are Freudian
Self-realization is the goal of personality
development
as individual ages, each is capable of
transforming into a more spiritual being

1993
Stages throughout the life course. Each
represents a crisis to be resolved.
For OAs:
40

to 65 (middle adulthood): generativity versus

self-absorption or stagnation
65 to death (older adulthood): ego integrity versus
despair

Self-absorbed adults will be preoccupied

with their personal well-being and material
gains. Preoccupation with self leads to
stagnation of life
Unsuccessful resolution of the last crisis
may result in a sense of despair in which
individuals view life as a series of
misfortunes, disappointments, and failures.

Eriksons last two stages are expanded to 7

The final three of the developmental tasks
for old age:
ego

differentiation versus work role

preoccupation
body transcendence versus body preoccupation
ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation

Baltes--1987

Individuals develop strategies to manage

losses of function that occur over time

3 Interacting Elements:
selection:

increasing restriction of ones life to

fewer domains of functioning
optimization: people engage in behaviors to
enrich their lives
compensation:developing suitable, alternative
adaptations