Aging  (Page 3/10)

We tend to believe, again wrongly, that as people age they experience changes in personality. In actuality, unless there is illness or brain damage such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, changes in personality, perceptions, and attitudes do not occur. Cranky, ill-tempered, unpleasant older people, in general, were cranky, ill-tempered, unpleasant young people, just as pleasant, enjoyable, fun old people were pleasant, enjoyable, fun young people. The differences that we think we see often are related to the conditions in which the elderly live. Elderly people who are alone, or who are in nursing homes (a form of total institution) often suffer from severe levels of clinical depression. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology: 2 nd Edition. Thompson, William E. and Joseph V. Hickey. New York: HarperCollins. 1996. Sociology: Sixth Edition. Schaefer, Richard T. and Robert P. Lamm. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society . Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2000. The old people depicted on the television show The Simpsons who sit in wheelchairs and stare out the window all day are clearly chronically depressed. Elderly people who have nothing to do, who feel purposeless and useless, tend toward severe depression. Alcoholism and suicide are at nearly epidemic proportions. However, according to Havighurst different personality types adjust differently to aging; while Russell argues that aging is a normal process and healthy older people can do most of the same things as younger people. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology: 2 nd Edition. Thompson, William E. and Joseph V. Hickey. New York: HarperCollins. 1996. Sociology: Sixth Edition. Schaefer, Richard T. and Robert P. Lamm. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society . Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2000.

Social roles do change over time as do the norms and folkways concerning “proper” behavior for the elderly, such as appropriate clothing styles, activity levels, and sexual activity. Healthy oldsters however, should be allowed and encouraged to engage in physical activity including sex. Most elderly people enjoy normal relationships with spouses and families, and when their own families are not present they tend to form family-like relationships with others. Contrary to popular wisdom, most elderly people care for themselves, with spouses caring for each other in times of illness or distress, rather than relying on adult children to become caregivers. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology: 2 nd Edition. Thompson, William E. and Joseph V. Hickey. New York: HarperCollins. 1996. Sociology: Sixth Edition. Schaefer, Richard T. and Robert P. Lamm. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society . Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2000.

Stratification by age

There is indeed inequality that is based on age, although gender and race or ethnicity are more significant indicators of stratification than age alone. Throughout the years there have been laws that prevented the elderly from working past the age of 65. However, the Age-Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 made such policies and laws illegal. The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is the largest lobbying group in the United States. (A lobbying group petitions Congress to pass laws favorable to the specific agenda of the group.) The AARP’s membership is composed of people over the age of 49 who, along with their younger spouses, pay ten dollars each year and in turn receive discounts on car rentals, vacations, hotels and motels, resorts, cruises, and insurance, among other things. Most members of the AARP are employed, and are not officially elderly. Along with Maggie Kuhn of the Grey Panthers—an organization whose goal is to eliminate all aspects of ageism, which is the belief or ideology that people in a particular age category are inferior to people in other age categories—the AARP was responsible for the passage of many laws favorable to the elderly. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology: 2 nd Edition. Thompson, William E. and Joseph V. Hickey. New York: HarperCollins. 1996. Sociology: Sixth Edition. Schaefer, Richard T. and Robert P. Lamm. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society . Andersen, Margaret L. and Howard F. Taylor. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2000.