chapter 2 theories and methods. the study of aging in the past early developments in aging research...

Chapter 2

Theories and Methods

The Study of Aging in the Past

• Early developments in aging research based on personal experience

• 17th Century researchers trained in natural sciences & medicine– Scientific Methods– Systematic Observations

• 18th century: math in the studying aging

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• 19th Century– Quetelet “social physics”

• Used quantitative methods (numbers) to study physical and social age differences

– “On the Nature of Man and the Development of His Faculties” (1835)



• First use of term “Gerontology”– Elie Metchnikoff

• Pasteur Institute, Paris, 1905

• Society of Geriatry 1912

• “Senescense, the Last Half of Life” (1922)• G. Stanley Hall


Gerontology Research Today

• Rapid growth after World War II

• Began to study normal aging

• Major journals devoted to topic of aging– The Journals of Gerontology– The Gerontologist

• 1954-1974– 50,000 bibliography entries on aging


Is Gerontology a Discipline?

• Biomedicine Studies– Changes in body that come with age

• Experts were in most agreement on content of this subfield

• Geriatrics draws heavily on biomedical knowledge– Contribute though clinical research



• Psychosocial Studies– Changes that take place within the individual– Changes between individuals and groups

• Memory; Creativity; Learning• Personality; Relationships• Death and dying



• Socioeconomic-Environmental Studies– Effects of aging on social institutions

• Sociological definition of an institution• Economy• Family• Health care system



• Social Gerontology

• Includes integration of all three core areas of aging studies

• Makes up part of the total body of gerontological knowledge

• Perspective of individual & social system

• Life course perspective on change


Interpretive Perspective

• Theories within the perspective– Social constructionism– Social exchange theory– Symbolic-interactionist– Social phenomonology– Ethnomethodology

• Few gerontologists use this perspective


Functionalist Perspective

• Based on structural-functionalist theory– Durkheim / Parsons

• Society is a system made up of many parts

• Individual Aging

• Societal Change


Conflict Perspective

• Tensions exist between groups in society– Karl Marx

• Struggle between social classes

• Gerontologists have applied conflict perspective– Older people become victims of system that

serves only to increase profit


Research Issues and Methods

• Experimental Designs• Purpose: Does one variable cause change in

another variable?

– Problem:• Correlation is not causation• Differences between age groups may not be due

to age alone


Research Issues and Methods: The APC Problem

• Gerontologists study age change– Age Effects

• Physical decline

– Cohort Effects• Related to time of individual's birth

– Period Effects• Time of measurement


Disentangling the APC Problem: Cross-Sectional Design

• Several age groups studied at one time

• Is most common research design in gerontology– Strengths of Cross-Sectional Designs– Limitations of Cross-Sectional Designs


Disentangling the APC Problem: Longitudinal Design

• Studies the same individuals or age cohorts over time

• Example: Health and Retirement Study, began 1992, still ongoing– Strengths of Longitudinal Designs– Limitations of Longitudinal Designs


Disentangling the APC Problem: Time-Lag Design

• Attempts to overcome limitations of simple cross-sectional & longitudinal design– Measures groups of people of same age, at

different points in time

• Limitations of time-Lag Design– Confounds cohort effects with environmental

effects


Figure 2.1 Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Time-Lag Designs


Research Issues and Methods: The Researcher’s Tool Kit

• Each method has value

• No method can give a complete picture of aging

• Long-term effects of interventions only possible using a longitudinal design

• No matter the method, researchers must look closely to discover causes of change


Research Issues and Methods: The Researcher’s Tool Kit

• Tool kit includes paradigms– Positivist– Critical gerontology

• Tool kit includes methods– Quantitative– Qualitative– Mixed (quantitative and qualitative)


Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

• Paradigms– Frameworks for thinking about and

understanding natural or social phenomena– Defines research questions– Guides methods for conducting study



• Positivism– A natural science paradigm

• Positivist methods of natural science– Mathematical measurement– Statistical methods; Cause-and-effect

• Main approach to scientific study in Gerontology



• Critical Gerontology– Questions positivism, because it

• Creates a system that dominates older people• Turns older people into passive objects

• Whereas, Critical Gerontology:– Seeks to empower older people– Understanding of forces that shape their lives


The Humanities

• Literature, Philosophy, Fine Arts, etc.

• Humanities Studies on Aging– Film and video portrayal; Photo archives; Self

portraits; Diaries; Autobiography

• The human face of aging

• New ways of thinking about aging


Information Literacy: The Challenge of the Internet

• A vital skill for understanding aging today

• World Wide Web– A storehouse of information– No assurance of quality information

• Readers must keep in mind:– Are sites with advertisements biased?

Infomercials?


Ethical Issues in Research

• Ethical Challenges of Research with Human Beings– Vulnerable groups

• Safeguards– Colleague review of research plans– Professional association codes of ethics– University standards and guidelines


Ethical Issues in Research

• Why are research ethics important?– To protect an institution (i.e., university) from

lawsuit– To ensure subjects understand the studies in

which they take part– To protect research subjects from harm

• Unethical research sours the public


Future of Gerontological Theory and Methods

• New and more sophisticated quantitative methods

• Linking micro and macro levels of theory

• Further development of theories that challenge myths of aging

• Humanities

• Technology


chapter 2 theories and methods. the study of aging in the past early developments in aging research...

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