©EVERLY 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Gerontology Test 1: Chapters 1-5 Exam
Questions And Answers 100% Pass.
Age discrimination - Answer✔negative behavior toward older people; acting on the basis of
stereotypes
ageism - Answer✔a systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they
are old
chronological age - Answer✔number of years a person has lived
cohort - Answer✔the aggregate of individuals who experienced the same event within the same
time interval
cohort aging - Answer✔the continuous advancement of a cohort from one age category to
another over its life span
cohort effect - Answer✔a difference due to the experiences or characteristics of the particular
cohort to which an individual belongs
frail elderly - Answer✔older people who depend on others for carrying out their daily activities;
they show some mental or physical deterioration and need care from family members
functional age - Answer✔a definition of age based on how people look and what they can do; in
functional terms, a person becomes old when he or she can no longer perform the major roles of
adulthood
generation - Answer✔a term applied to studies of family processes; refers to kinship links
gerontology - Answer✔the scientific study of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of
aging
middle-old - Answer✔people aged 75 to 84
oldest-old - Answer✔people 85 or older
senescence - Answer✔
social gerontology - Answer✔the study of social aspects of aging
social roles - Answer✔a set of expectations or guidelines for people who occupy a given position
or status, such as widow, grandfather, or retiree
1|Page
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somewhat impaired elderly - Answer✔people who are beginning to experience chronic ailments
and need some assistance from family or community service agencies
stereotypes - Answer✔a composite of ideas and beliefs attributed to people as a group or social
category
subjective age identity - Answer✔how people subjectively define their age; most important
factors in determining _______________ are activity level and health
successful aging - Answer✔the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning and
participation in rewarding social activities
well elderly - Answer✔people who are healthy and active, involved in social and leisure
activities, often employed or busy with volunteer work, still carrying out family responsibilities,
and fully engaged in the life of the community
young-old - Answer✔people 65 to 74
age effect - Answer✔a difference due to chronological age or life course stage
age grades - Answer✔use of age as a social category to group people by status - the expectations
for when the transition from one role to another should occur
age norms - Answer✔informal rules that specify age-appropriate roles and behavior
age timetables - Answer✔similar to age norms but looser and more flexible; informal rules,
which specify age-appropriate roles and behavior
countertransitions - Answer✔life course transitions produced by the role changes of others
cross-sectional research - Answer✔research comparing people of different age cohorts at a single
point in time
crowded nest - Answer✔the trend of young adults returning to the parental home
empty nest - Answer✔period when a couple is alone together following the departure of children
from the home
life course - Answer✔the interaction between historical events, personal decisions, and
individual opportunities; experiences early in life affect subsequent outcomes
life course framework - Answer✔an approach to the study of aging that combines the study of
the changing age structure with the aging experiences of individuals
longitudinal research - Answer✔process of sorting complex-methodological issues involved in
distinguishing between age effects, cohort effects, and period effects
open-ended interviews - Answer✔a technique used in qualitative research that allows
respondents to answer a question without using pre-determined categories
2|Page
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participant observation research - Answer✔a type of data collection used in qualitative research
that allows the researcher to gain close knowledge of a group of people or a community
period effect - Answer✔the impact of a historical event on the people who live through it
social clock - Answer✔the age norms that provide a prescriptive timetable, which orders major
life events
theory of cumulative disadvantage - Answer✔a theory that people who begin life with greater
resources continue to have opportunities to accumulate more of them while those who begin with
few resources fall further behind
trajectory - Answer✔a series of transitions such as education, work, and retirement
transitions - Answer✔refers to the shifts in roles that occur over the life course
activity theory - Answer✔a theory of aging which states that the psychological and social needs
of the elderly are no different from those of the middle-aged and that it is neither normal nor
natural for older people to become isolated and withdrawn; also called the implicit theory of
aging
age cohort - Answer✔refers to people who were born at the same time and thus share similar life
experiences
age integration theory - Answer✔a theory that recognizes that societies have both age-segregated
and age-integrated institutions that can either impede or enhance the participation of the aged
age stratification theory - Answer✔underlying proposition is that all societies group people into
social categories and that these groupings provide people with social identities; age is one
principle of ranking, along with wealth, gender, and race
continuity theory - Answer✔a more formal elaboration of activity theory; uses a life course
perspective to define normal aging and to distinguish it from pathological aging
critical gerontology - Answer✔an approach that emphasizes how the forces of globalization
affect policies and programs for the aged and the daily lives of older people
deferred exchange strategies - Answer✔exchanges between individuals over the life course
disengagement theory - Answer✔the first formal theory of aging; the view that normal aging
involves a natural and inevitable mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreasing
interaction between an aging person and others
exchange theory - Answer✔a theory that social interaction between individuals is based on
rational calculations and that people seek to maximize their rewards from these exchanges and
minimize their costs; exchange theorists argue that interaction between the old and the young
decreases, because older people have fewer resources to bring to the exchange
3|Page
Gerontology Test 1: Chapters 1-5 Exam
Questions And Answers 100% Pass.
Age discrimination - Answer✔negative behavior toward older people; acting on the basis of
stereotypes
ageism - Answer✔a systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they
are old
chronological age - Answer✔number of years a person has lived
cohort - Answer✔the aggregate of individuals who experienced the same event within the same
time interval
cohort aging - Answer✔the continuous advancement of a cohort from one age category to
another over its life span
cohort effect - Answer✔a difference due to the experiences or characteristics of the particular
cohort to which an individual belongs
frail elderly - Answer✔older people who depend on others for carrying out their daily activities;
they show some mental or physical deterioration and need care from family members
functional age - Answer✔a definition of age based on how people look and what they can do; in
functional terms, a person becomes old when he or she can no longer perform the major roles of
adulthood
generation - Answer✔a term applied to studies of family processes; refers to kinship links
gerontology - Answer✔the scientific study of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of
aging
middle-old - Answer✔people aged 75 to 84
oldest-old - Answer✔people 85 or older
senescence - Answer✔
social gerontology - Answer✔the study of social aspects of aging
social roles - Answer✔a set of expectations or guidelines for people who occupy a given position
or status, such as widow, grandfather, or retiree
1|Page
, ©EVERLY 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
somewhat impaired elderly - Answer✔people who are beginning to experience chronic ailments
and need some assistance from family or community service agencies
stereotypes - Answer✔a composite of ideas and beliefs attributed to people as a group or social
category
subjective age identity - Answer✔how people subjectively define their age; most important
factors in determining _______________ are activity level and health
successful aging - Answer✔the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning and
participation in rewarding social activities
well elderly - Answer✔people who are healthy and active, involved in social and leisure
activities, often employed or busy with volunteer work, still carrying out family responsibilities,
and fully engaged in the life of the community
young-old - Answer✔people 65 to 74
age effect - Answer✔a difference due to chronological age or life course stage
age grades - Answer✔use of age as a social category to group people by status - the expectations
for when the transition from one role to another should occur
age norms - Answer✔informal rules that specify age-appropriate roles and behavior
age timetables - Answer✔similar to age norms but looser and more flexible; informal rules,
which specify age-appropriate roles and behavior
countertransitions - Answer✔life course transitions produced by the role changes of others
cross-sectional research - Answer✔research comparing people of different age cohorts at a single
point in time
crowded nest - Answer✔the trend of young adults returning to the parental home
empty nest - Answer✔period when a couple is alone together following the departure of children
from the home
life course - Answer✔the interaction between historical events, personal decisions, and
individual opportunities; experiences early in life affect subsequent outcomes
life course framework - Answer✔an approach to the study of aging that combines the study of
the changing age structure with the aging experiences of individuals
longitudinal research - Answer✔process of sorting complex-methodological issues involved in
distinguishing between age effects, cohort effects, and period effects
open-ended interviews - Answer✔a technique used in qualitative research that allows
respondents to answer a question without using pre-determined categories
2|Page
, ©EVERLY 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
participant observation research - Answer✔a type of data collection used in qualitative research
that allows the researcher to gain close knowledge of a group of people or a community
period effect - Answer✔the impact of a historical event on the people who live through it
social clock - Answer✔the age norms that provide a prescriptive timetable, which orders major
life events
theory of cumulative disadvantage - Answer✔a theory that people who begin life with greater
resources continue to have opportunities to accumulate more of them while those who begin with
few resources fall further behind
trajectory - Answer✔a series of transitions such as education, work, and retirement
transitions - Answer✔refers to the shifts in roles that occur over the life course
activity theory - Answer✔a theory of aging which states that the psychological and social needs
of the elderly are no different from those of the middle-aged and that it is neither normal nor
natural for older people to become isolated and withdrawn; also called the implicit theory of
aging
age cohort - Answer✔refers to people who were born at the same time and thus share similar life
experiences
age integration theory - Answer✔a theory that recognizes that societies have both age-segregated
and age-integrated institutions that can either impede or enhance the participation of the aged
age stratification theory - Answer✔underlying proposition is that all societies group people into
social categories and that these groupings provide people with social identities; age is one
principle of ranking, along with wealth, gender, and race
continuity theory - Answer✔a more formal elaboration of activity theory; uses a life course
perspective to define normal aging and to distinguish it from pathological aging
critical gerontology - Answer✔an approach that emphasizes how the forces of globalization
affect policies and programs for the aged and the daily lives of older people
deferred exchange strategies - Answer✔exchanges between individuals over the life course
disengagement theory - Answer✔the first formal theory of aging; the view that normal aging
involves a natural and inevitable mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreasing
interaction between an aging person and others
exchange theory - Answer✔a theory that social interaction between individuals is based on
rational calculations and that people seek to maximize their rewards from these exchanges and
minimize their costs; exchange theorists argue that interaction between the old and the young
decreases, because older people have fewer resources to bring to the exchange
3|Page
