Ageing

can be sociologically defined as the

combination of biological, psychological and
social processes that affect people, as they
grow older.
Gerontology
• is studying the aging and the elderly in the
population. It is derived from the Greek
word geron, meaning "old person.
• Gerontologists work in many disciplines,
including medicine, psychology, and
sociology investigate not only how people
change as they grow old but also the
different ways in which societies around
the world define old age.
 Stage of Human Life
• Infancy- a very young child or baby.
• Toddler- a young child who is just beginning to walk.(2-3 yrs
old)
• Childhood- refers to the years of your youth, typically it refers
to the time before you turn 13 and become a teenager
• Adolescence- the period following the onset of puberty during
which a young person develops from a child into an adult.
• Young adult- a person in their teens or early twenties.
• Prime adulthood- can be considered the healthiest time of life
and young adults are generally in good health, subject neither
to disease nor the problems of senescence. Strength and
physical performance reach their peak from 30–39 years of
age.
• Middle age- the period between early adulthood and old age,
usually considered as the years from about 40 to 50
• Old age- the later part of normal life. the end of the human
life cycle.
• Ageism
prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person's age.

Are these street signs humorous or offensive? What shared assumptions make them humorous?
Or is memory loss too serious to be made fun of?
• A life course is the period from birth to death, including a sequence
of predictable life events such as physical maturation. Each phase
comes with different responsibilities and expectations, which of
course vary by individual and culture.

Biological Changes
• Primary aging - molecular and cellular changes
• Secondary aging - aging that occurs due to controllable factors such as lack
of physical exercise and poor diet

Physical markers of age:

Skin becomes thinner, drier, and less elastic.
Wrinkles form
Hair begins to thin and gray
Men prone to balding start losing hair.
Social and Psychological Changes
• Retirement—the withdrawal from paid work at a certain age