Ageing - Physical and Psychological Changes. Pathological Ageing
4. Discuss the physical and psychological changes associated with normal ageing. How can one minimise pathological ageing?
The process of aging has been around as long as life itself. All living organisms pass through three broad stages from conception to death, which are maturation, maturity and aging. Aging affects everyone because nearly everyone has the potential to grow old and all the societies in which we live have older members (Macdonald, 1997). Gerontology is the use of reason to understand aging. The term was used to refer to the scientific study of aging, but nowadays it includes the study of aging using views from other disciplines such as humanities, social policy and human services. To correctly understand aging, knowledge from a variety of sources is needed, therefore gerontology includes the results of research on aging from all academic disciplines and fields of professional practice. There are four interrelated aspects to the study of aging, which are, physical, psychological, social psychological and social. The study of physical aging examines the causes and consequences of the body’s declining capacity to renew itself and the means for preventing, treating, or compensating for illness or disability caused or related by physical aging (Atchley, 1997). Psychological aging focuses on sensory processes, perception, coordination, mental capacity, human development, personality, and coping ability as they are affected by aging.
In most societies, older people are generally viewed as a group of with common characteristics and needs. Older age is usually viewed as a state, a stage or an event. In reality, older people are not a homogenous group, but rather highly diverse individuals. The factor that is common to all older people is the accumulation of more numerous life experiences over a greater period of time than those of younger people (Bowling & Dieppe, 2005). Aging is defined as the process of becoming older, a process that is genetically
The process of aging has been around as long as life itself. All living organisms pass through three broad stages from conception to death, which are maturation, maturity and aging. Aging affects everyone because nearly everyone has the potential to grow old and all the societies in which we live have older members (Macdonald, 1997). Gerontology is the use of reason to understand aging. The term was used to refer to the scientific study of aging, but nowadays it includes the study of aging using views from other disciplines such as humanities, social policy and human services. To correctly understand aging, knowledge from a variety of sources is needed, therefore gerontology includes the results of research on aging from all academic disciplines and fields of professional practice. There are four interrelated aspects to the study of aging, which are, physical, psychological, social psychological and social. The study of physical aging examines the causes and consequences of the body’s declining capacity to renew itself and the means for preventing, treating, or compensating for illness or disability caused or related by physical aging (Atchley, 1997). Psychological aging focuses on sensory processes, perception, coordination, mental capacity, human development, personality, and coping ability as they are affected by aging.
In most societies, older people are generally viewed as a group of with common characteristics and needs. Older age is usually viewed as a state, a stage or an event. In reality, older people are not a homogenous group, but rather highly diverse individuals. The factor that is common to all older people is the accumulation of more numerous life experiences over a greater period of time than those of younger people (Bowling & Dieppe, 2005). Aging is defined as the process of becoming older, a process that is genetically