PSY 3128 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Biopsychosocial Model, Healthy Life Years, Continuity Equation
5 Jun 2018
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Chapter 1: Four Principles of Adult Development
i. Changes are continuous over the lifespan: individuals are fundamentally the same throughout their
lifespan, given the continuity principle of development. Individuals build upon their previous experience
that they had in earlier years. So, they change, but only relative to who they are as a person.
ii. Only the survivors grow old: they managed to avoid much of the threats that kill people when they are
younger, not engaging in risky behaviors, have good bio/psycho/social advantages.
iii. Individuality Matters: increasing divergence as people grow older and exemplify diversity as they
accumulate experiences.
a. Inter-individual differences are the differences between people.
b. Intra-individual differences are variations in performance within the same individual.
c. Multidirectional: development can be processed in many different directions within the same person.
iv. Normal ageing is different from disease: normal ageing is different from disease because growing older
doesn’t necessarily mean growing sicker. People in healthcare need to recognize that a disease is a
disease and needs attention rather than just assuming it is an offset of growing older.
a. Primary Ageing/Normal Ageing refers to the normal changes over time that occur due to universal,
intrinsic, and progressive alterations in the body’s systems.
b. Secondary or Impaired Ageing: changes over time leading to impairment due to disease rather than
normal aging.
c. Tertiary Ageing: towards the end of life individuals may experience a rapid loss of function.
d. Optimal ageing refers to age-related changes that improve the individual’s functioning. Changes
due to optimal aging may reflect the preventative or compensatory measures that adults take to
counter the toll that aging would normally take on their physical and psychological functioning.
Chronological age is constantly changing in its meaning and value we place on the specific number. Social age is
typically dependent on your culture, 18 year olds in Canada are not that different from those in France but the drinking
age is different. To be called an adult you need the chronological and the social age.
Functional Age: Discontented with the entire concept of chronological age, a number of gerontologists are devising a
new classification system that is based not on what the calendar says but on functional age, which is how people
actually perform on biological, psychological, and social tests. With functional instead of chronological age as the
basis for a system of studying aging, we could gain a better grasp of a person’s true characteristics and abilities.
i. Biological Age: functioning of organ systems.
ii. Psychological: functioning on psychological tests.
iii. Social: social roles occupied by the individual.
Personal ageing refers to changes that occur within the individual and reflect the influence of times passage on the
bodies structures and functions. Social aging refers to the effects of personal exposure to a changing environment.
Over time, the changes we see within the individual represent the unique blend of personal and social aging as these
play out in that individuals life.
Normal age-graded influences lead people to choose experiences that their culture and historical period attach to
certain ages or point in the life span.
Normative-History Graded Influences: events that effect everyone.
Non-normative events: random evens, idiosyncratic.
Key Factors in the Development of Adults and Aging
i. Sex and Gender: gender refers to the individual’s identification of being male or female, sex is their
biological orientation. Older people may still hold traditional values of gender that should be accounted
for in long term care.
ii. Ethnicity: ancestral origin, identity, language, religion, or culture.
a. Visible Minority: non-Caucasian, non-aboriginal.
b. Ethnicity is a fluid concept that changes in response to the social context. This has the ability to
impact individuals.
iii. Social Economic Status: reflects the persons position in the educational and occupational ranks of
society. There is not a precise definition for this, but usually an integration of education and your job.
For example, teachers in the USA are apparently according to the textbook are high-prestige but have
low SES due to salary. Whitehall II study fund that SES had an impact on health.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Changes are continuous over the lifespan: individuals are fundamentally the same throughout their lifespan, given the continuity principle of development. Individuals build upon their previous experience that they had in earlier years. So, they change, but only relative to who they are as a person. Only the survivors grow old: they managed to avoid much of the threats that kill people when they are younger, not engaging in risky behaviors, have good bio/psycho/social advantages. Individuality matters: increasing divergence as people grow older and exemplify diversity as they accumulate experiences: multidirectional: development can be processed in many different directions within the same person. Normal ageing is different from disease: normal ageing is different from disease because growing older doesn"t necessarily mean growing sicker. Changes due to optimal aging may reflect the preventative or compensatory measures that adults take to counter the toll that aging would normally take on their physical and psychological functioning.
