Test Bank for Aging as a Social Process Canada and
Beyond 7e Andrew V. Wister
Chapter 1
Aging as a Social Process
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 2016, what percentage of the total Canadian population did baby boomers comprise?
a) 13 per cent
b) 27 per cent
c) 34 per cent
d) 55 per cent
Ans: b
Page: 4
2. In 2015, what percentage of the world’s population was 65 years and older?
a) 3.3 per cent
b) 5 per cent
c) 8.5 per cent
d) 10 per cent
Ans: c
Page: 4
3. What happened to the number of centenarians in Canada between 2011 and 2016?
a) The number stabilized
b) The number increased by 25.7per cent
c) The number decreased by 16 per cent
d) The number increased by 41.3 per cent
Ans: d
Page: 5
4. Which country has the highest life expectancy?
a) Japan
b) Canada
c) Germany
d) Norway
Ans: a
Page: 5
,5. In which country was the longest-living human born?
a) The United States of America
b) France
c) Japan
d) Italy
Ans: b
Page: 6
6. What is the approximate lifespan for humans?
a) 77 years
b) 82 years
c) 102 years
d) 120 years
Ans: d
Page: 6
7. Which of the following statements is true?
a) In the “baby boom echo” period, the number of “echo” births was about 70 per cent of the
number in the original baby boom.
b) The “baby boom echo” period occurred from 1970 until the 1980s.
c) The “baby boom echo” period followed the “baby bust” period.
d) The “baby boom echo” period occurred before the baby boom period.
Ans: c
Page: 7-8
8. When did population aging in Canada begin to increase substantially?
a) Before the baby boom period
b) At the end of the baby boom period
c) 10 years after the “baby bust” period
d) 10 years after the “baby boom echo” period
Ans: b
Page: 7
9. What was the life expectancy at birth for Canadian women estimated to be in 2007–2009?
a) 95 years
b) 90 years
c) 83 years
d) 78 years
Ans: c
Page: 7
10. What was Canada’s birth rate in 2015?
, a) 5 infants per 1,000 people
b) 11 infants per 1,000 people
c) 20 infants per 1,000 people
d) 27 infants per 1,000 people
Ans: b
Page: 7
11. What is the “replacement rate” needed to replenish a population experiencing normal fertility
and mortality rates?
a) 1 child per woman
b) 2.0 children per woman
c) 2.5 children per woman
d) 3.0 children per woman
Ans: b
Page: 8
12. What does “apocalyptic demography” refer to?
a) The categorization of older people as a burden to society
b) The view that population aging is insignificant
c) The shift from contagious disease to chronic disease among older adults
d) The aging experience of elderly people in eighteenth-century Europe
Ans: a
Page: 10
13. Which perspective examines the interplay of individual life stories, social structures,
environments, and historical events at particular times in the lives of individuals or cohorts?
a) The life-course transition
b) The life-course perspective
c) The life experiences approach
d) The cumulative life-experience approach
Ans: b
Page: 12
14. According to your textbook, how will the growth in population aging over the next 30–40 years
impact society?
a) It will bankrupt the pension system.
b) It will be a major contributor to escalating health-care costs.
c) It will cause intergenerational conflict.
d) None of the above
Ans: d
Page: 11
, 15. What is the process by which individuals in comparable situations act in different ways and make
unique decisions?
a) Life course construction
b) Cohort flow
c) Agency
d) Chaos
Ans: c
Page: 14
16. Which of the following affects aging and the status of elderly people in everyday life?
a) The period of history in which they live
b) The culture to which they belong
c) The social structure to which they belong
d) All of the above
Ans: d
Page: 18
17. Which of the following statements is false?
a) Functional age is a more useful guideline than chronological age in determining an elderly
person’s skills and abilities.
b) Chronological age is the age that is represented by calendar time from one birthday to the
next.
c) Disability and illness are influenced by biological aging.
d) Social aging is uniform across societies and cultures.
Ans: d
Page: 14-18
18. A bar mitzvah, a twenty-first birthday party, a graduation from university, a wedding, or a
retirement party are all examples of transitions wherein social timetables dictate that we “should”
or “must” enter or leave various social positions.
a) Rules
b) Ceremonies
c) Rites of passage
d) Culture
Ans: c
Page: 17
19. Which of the following statements about “ageism” is false?
a) It is a socially constructed way of thinking about and behaving toward older people.
b) It is based on negative attitudes and stereotypes about aging.
c) Both individual ageism and institutionalized (or structural) ageism exist.
d) Butler considered ageism to be different than racism and sexism because none of a person’s
biological factors are used to define personality or character traits.
Beyond 7e Andrew V. Wister
Chapter 1
Aging as a Social Process
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 2016, what percentage of the total Canadian population did baby boomers comprise?
a) 13 per cent
b) 27 per cent
c) 34 per cent
d) 55 per cent
Ans: b
Page: 4
2. In 2015, what percentage of the world’s population was 65 years and older?
a) 3.3 per cent
b) 5 per cent
c) 8.5 per cent
d) 10 per cent
Ans: c
Page: 4
3. What happened to the number of centenarians in Canada between 2011 and 2016?
a) The number stabilized
b) The number increased by 25.7per cent
c) The number decreased by 16 per cent
d) The number increased by 41.3 per cent
Ans: d
Page: 5
4. Which country has the highest life expectancy?
a) Japan
b) Canada
c) Germany
d) Norway
Ans: a
Page: 5
,5. In which country was the longest-living human born?
a) The United States of America
b) France
c) Japan
d) Italy
Ans: b
Page: 6
6. What is the approximate lifespan for humans?
a) 77 years
b) 82 years
c) 102 years
d) 120 years
Ans: d
Page: 6
7. Which of the following statements is true?
a) In the “baby boom echo” period, the number of “echo” births was about 70 per cent of the
number in the original baby boom.
b) The “baby boom echo” period occurred from 1970 until the 1980s.
c) The “baby boom echo” period followed the “baby bust” period.
d) The “baby boom echo” period occurred before the baby boom period.
Ans: c
Page: 7-8
8. When did population aging in Canada begin to increase substantially?
a) Before the baby boom period
b) At the end of the baby boom period
c) 10 years after the “baby bust” period
d) 10 years after the “baby boom echo” period
Ans: b
Page: 7
9. What was the life expectancy at birth for Canadian women estimated to be in 2007–2009?
a) 95 years
b) 90 years
c) 83 years
d) 78 years
Ans: c
Page: 7
10. What was Canada’s birth rate in 2015?
, a) 5 infants per 1,000 people
b) 11 infants per 1,000 people
c) 20 infants per 1,000 people
d) 27 infants per 1,000 people
Ans: b
Page: 7
11. What is the “replacement rate” needed to replenish a population experiencing normal fertility
and mortality rates?
a) 1 child per woman
b) 2.0 children per woman
c) 2.5 children per woman
d) 3.0 children per woman
Ans: b
Page: 8
12. What does “apocalyptic demography” refer to?
a) The categorization of older people as a burden to society
b) The view that population aging is insignificant
c) The shift from contagious disease to chronic disease among older adults
d) The aging experience of elderly people in eighteenth-century Europe
Ans: a
Page: 10
13. Which perspective examines the interplay of individual life stories, social structures,
environments, and historical events at particular times in the lives of individuals or cohorts?
a) The life-course transition
b) The life-course perspective
c) The life experiences approach
d) The cumulative life-experience approach
Ans: b
Page: 12
14. According to your textbook, how will the growth in population aging over the next 30–40 years
impact society?
a) It will bankrupt the pension system.
b) It will be a major contributor to escalating health-care costs.
c) It will cause intergenerational conflict.
d) None of the above
Ans: d
Page: 11
, 15. What is the process by which individuals in comparable situations act in different ways and make
unique decisions?
a) Life course construction
b) Cohort flow
c) Agency
d) Chaos
Ans: c
Page: 14
16. Which of the following affects aging and the status of elderly people in everyday life?
a) The period of history in which they live
b) The culture to which they belong
c) The social structure to which they belong
d) All of the above
Ans: d
Page: 18
17. Which of the following statements is false?
a) Functional age is a more useful guideline than chronological age in determining an elderly
person’s skills and abilities.
b) Chronological age is the age that is represented by calendar time from one birthday to the
next.
c) Disability and illness are influenced by biological aging.
d) Social aging is uniform across societies and cultures.
Ans: d
Page: 14-18
18. A bar mitzvah, a twenty-first birthday party, a graduation from university, a wedding, or a
retirement party are all examples of transitions wherein social timetables dictate that we “should”
or “must” enter or leave various social positions.
a) Rules
b) Ceremonies
c) Rites of passage
d) Culture
Ans: c
Page: 17
19. Which of the following statements about “ageism” is false?
a) It is a socially constructed way of thinking about and behaving toward older people.
b) It is based on negative attitudes and stereotypes about aging.
c) Both individual ageism and institutionalized (or structural) ageism exist.
d) Butler considered ageism to be different than racism and sexism because none of a person’s
biological factors are used to define personality or character traits.
