CHAPTER 18
SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
IN LATE ADULTHOOD
RESOURCES-AT-A-GLANCE
Detailed Outline
Learning
Objectives
Instructor’s Resources
Test Bank
MyPsychLab Connections
Chapter Introduction pp. 442-443
PowerPoint Slides
1-4
MC 1
Sketchnote Video
Late Adulthood
Psychosocial Functioning
Individual Differences pp. 445-449
The Successful Aging Paradigm
Religious Coping
18.3
18.4
PowerPoint Slides
MC 18-30
FI 79–80
SA 95–97
Watch
Late Adulthood: Religion and
Theories of Social and Personality
Development pp. 443-445
PowerPoint Slides
5-9
MC 2-17
FI 76–78
ES 107–109
Religion and Longevity, p. 448
Social Relationships pp. 449-457
Living Arrangements
Partnerships
Family Relationships and Friendships
Gender and Ethnic Differences
in Social Networks
18.5
18.6
18.7
18.8
Lecture Enhancer
Elder Abuse
PowerPoint Slides
13–37
MC 31-58
FI 81–88
SA98–102
ES 110–112
Watch
Late Adulthood: Late Adulthood
Relationships, p. 449
Love Again, p. 454
FI 89–90
Late Adulthood: Work
Career Issues in Late Life
PowerPoint Slides
MC 59-75
Watch
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Maintaining a sense of personal uniqueness can be especially challenging for older adults, who are often
stereotyped by others as sick, disabled, or incompetent. Moreover, changes in social roles and
relationships are just as important as the physical changes of late adulthood. Thus, late adulthood is
perhaps the most socially and personally challenging period of life.
Erikson’s ego integrity stage has been influential in studies of social and personality functioning in older
adults; however, research does not support his view that ego integrity is essential to mental health in old
Most unmarried elders live alone, and the majority prefers this living arrangement. Older adults who are
married exhibit high levels of relationship satisfaction. Many elderly spouses are primary caretakers for a
spouse who is ill or disabled. The positive effects of marriage seem to be greater for men than for
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing Chapter 18, students should be able to answer the following questions:
18.1 What does research say about Erikson’s stage of ego integrity versus despair?
18.2 What are the main ideas of activity, disengagement, and continuity theory?
18.3 How is successful aging manifested in the lives of older adults?
18.4 How does religious coping influence physical and mental health in late adulthood?
18.5 What are the living arrangements of most elderly people in the United States and in other
industrialized countries?
KEY TERMS
institutional migration (p. 462)
life review (p. 444)
reminiscence (p. 443)
volunteerism (p. 447)
INTEGRATED CHAPTER TEACHING NOTES
THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT (pp. 443-445)
Erikson’s Stage of Ego Integrity versus Despair
LO 18.1 What does research say about Erikson’s stage of ego integrity versus despair?
Erikson termed the last of his eight life crises the ego integrity versus despair stage. He thought that the
task of achieving ego integrity, the sense that one has lived a successful life, began in middle adulthood
but was most central in late adulthood. To achieve it, the older adult must come to terms with who she is
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.1, p. 443)
What do you think? Does the task of achieving ego integrity need to begin in middle adulthood, or can an
older adult achieve ego integrity as an elder?
Developmentalists have no data to suggest whether older adults are more likely than younger or middle–
aged adults to achieve self-acceptance. What they have, instead, are a few bits of information suggesting
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.1, pp. 443-444)
Give examples of reminiscences you might share with an older or a younger adult.
Among older adults, reminiscence is also the foundation for the process of life review, an evaluative
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.1, p. 444)
Give examples of how positive and negative results from a life review are consistent with Erikson’s view
of ego integrity versus despair.
Other Theories of Late-Life Psychosocial Functioning
LO 18.2 What are the main ideas of activity, disengagement, and continuity theory?
The ideas of Paul and Margaret Baltes about selection, optimization, and compensation are often applied
to older adults, as well as middle-aged adults. As adults get older, they maintain high levels of
performance by focusing on their strengths. In this way, they compensate for weakness.
Another theoretical perspective on old age focuses on the question of whether it is normal, necessary, or
healthy for older adults to remain active as long as possible, or whether the more typical and healthy
An alternative theory on social and personality development in old age is the disengagement theory, first
proposed as a formulation of the central psychological process for older adults. The disengagement
theory has three aspects:
▪ Shrinkage of life space: As persons age, they interact with fewer and fewer others, and fill fewer and
fewer roles.
The first two of these aspects seem largely beyond dispute. The third point has caused the theory to be
controversial. Advocates argue that the normal and healthy responses to the shrinkage of roles and
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 18.1-18.2, pp. 443-445)
Think about the oldest person you know. How are the themes of ego integrity, reminiscence, life review,
activity, disengagement, and continuity manifested in his or her lives?
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES (pp. 445-449)
The Successful Aging Paradigm
LO 18.3 How is successful aging manifested in the lives of older adults?
As defined by authors John Rowe and Robert Kahn, successful aging has three components: good
physical health, retention of mental abilities, and continuing engagement in social and productive
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 445)
Give examples to distinguish a paradigm from a theory.
Staying Healthy and Able
In a sense, older people reap the consequences of behavioral choices they made when younger; however,
there are also aspects to staying healthy that most of us never face until old age. For example, when an
older adult suffers a stroke or fractures a bone, his willingness to engage in the sometimes painful process
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 446)
Give examples of behaviors that might impact the effectiveness of rehabilitation of older adults.
Retaining Cognitive Abilities
and social engagement. Additionally, the complexity of the cognitive challenges older adults are willing
to take on also influences their cognitive functioning. For example, older adults are sometimes reluctant
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 446)
What do you think? Is cognitive adventurousness a part of successful aging? Give examples to support
your answer.
Social Engagement
Social connectedness and participation in productive activities are clearly important to successful aging.
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 447)
Why do you think remaining socially connected and helping others is so important to successful aging?
Give examples of how even ailing elders can accomplish these tasks.
Productivity
Volunteerism, performing unpaid work for altruistic reasons, has been linked to successful aging. One
study found that mortality rates were 60% lower among volunteers than among non-volunteers.
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 447)
In teams, design a campaign to promote volunteerism among the elders in your community. Share the
design with the entire class.
Some adults remain productive by venturing into new pursuits, such as taking music lessons, attending
college classes, or learning to paint or sculpt. Artistic productivity provides a purpose in life,
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 447)
Senior citizens are often on a fixed income. Where can they go in your community to pursue artistic
creativity without spending a lot of money?
Life Satisfaction
Life satisfaction, or a sense of personal well-being, is also an important component of successful aging.
What is critical to life satisfaction in almost all cases is an individual’s perception of her own situation,
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 447)
What happens when we perceive that we are the ones that are the worst off—everyone else has it better
than we do?
Criticisms of the Successful Aging Paradigm
Critics of the successful aging paradigm suggest that the concept can be misleading. They say that the
paradigm has the potential to become a new kind of ageist stereotype that portrays older adults who suffer
from disabilities as incompetent. Such critics point out that, for many older adults, no amount of
optimism, willingness to rehabilitate, social support, or involvement in intellectually demanding activities
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.3, p. 447)
What do you think? Will focus on successful aging detract from research on the diseases of old age?
Nevertheless, critics concede that the successful aging paradigm has broadened gerontologists’
Religious Coping
LO 18.4 How does religious coping influence physical and mental health in late adulthood?
Religion appears to be one factor contributing to individual differences in life satisfaction. Psychologists
use the term religious coping to refer to the tendency to turn to religious beliefs and institutions in times
of stress or trouble. Religious coping may be particularly important in the later years because of the high
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.4, p. 448)
What do you think? Is religious coping particularly important in the later years because of the high
number of life stressors? Are there other reasons, as well? If so, what are they?
Racial and Sex Differences
The tendency to turn to religion for comfort is stronger among African Americans than among other racial
or ethnic groups. Participation in church social activities is linked to higher reported levels of well-being
among older African Americans more than among older White Americans.
Religious Beliefs
The psychological component of religious coping involves people’s beliefs and attitudes. Investigators
have examined the links between religious beliefs and various measures of well-being among the elderly.
For examples, elders who place a great deal of emphasis on religious faith worry much less than those
who do not. Thus, the positive effects of religious faith may have more to do with a general attitude of
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.4, p. 448)
Do the people you know who use religious coping do so positively or negatively? How do you think their
use of such coping affects these individuals’ attitudes and behavior?
Attendance at Religious Services
The social aspect of religious coping most often examined by researchers is attendance at religious
services. Adults who regularly attend such services are physically and emotionally healthier than their
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.4, pp. 448-449)
Can you think of any other benefits to the elderly of participating in religious services? What are the
benefits to younger members of the religious group?
Alternative Explanations
Researchers must always consider selection effects when examining links between variables such as
religious coping and health. There are other possible confounding factors as well, such as personality
traits. Additionally, research on the association between religious faith and health focuses on the personal
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.4, p. 449)
Can you think of other variables that could account for the correlations between religious coping and
health?
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 18.3-18.4, pp. 445-449)
How do the concepts of successful aging and religious coping apply to people who have not yet reached
late adulthood?
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS (pp. 449-457)
MyPsychLab Connections
Living Arrangements
LO 18.5 What are the living arrangements of most elderly people in the United States and in other
industrialized countries?
Aging in Place
Elders’ preference for living in a private home environment has led to a pattern known as aging in place.
Aging in place involves making modifications to a private residence in response to the changing needs of
older adults. It may include hiring a home health aide to provide assistance with ADLs when necessary.
At the core of the aging-in-place concept is the idea that, as much as possible, changing a normal living
environment to meet an elder’s needs is preferable to moving the elder to an institutional environment.
Aging in place can involve the services of a wide range of health care professionals. Comprehensive
home-based care has strong positive effects on elders’ physical and mental health, and is believed to be
both more supportive of elders’ psychosocial needs and less costly than institutional care.
Feature Box Activity (Learning Objective 18.5, p. 452)
Research Report: Filial Piety
Why do you suppose adults who depend on their children for financial help, especially men, experience
emotional distress in Western cultures but not in non-Western cultures? Give examples to support your
answer.
Residential Options for Older Adults
Older adults who are no longer able to live independently or who don’t want to deal with the demands of
caring for a home often turn to one of several residential options.
▪ An independent living community is an apartment complex or housing development in which all the
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.5, p. 451)
Why is participation in social activities important to the overall life satisfaction and mental health of
elders?
▪ When an elder needs more help with ADLs than is available in an assisted living facility, many turn
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.5, p. 452)
What other benefits of CCRCs can you think of?
Feature Box Activity (Learning Objective 18.5, p. 453)
No Easy Answers: Deciding on Nursing Home Care
Partnerships
LO 18.6 How do intimate partnerships contribute to development in late adulthood?
Because men typically marry younger women and because women live longer than men, a man can
normally expect to have a spouse or intimate partner until he dies. The normal expectation for a woman
is that she will eventually be without such a partner, often for many years. Thus, there are many more
women than men in nursing homes and among the victims of elder abuse.
Relationships in late adulthood are similar to those in middle adulthood. Marital satisfaction is higher in
the late years, but the satisfaction may be based less on passion and mutual disclosure and more on
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.6, pp. 452-453)
How many different explanations can you think of for the fact that older single men are more likely to
remarry than are women?
Married older adults, like married adults of any age, have certain distinct advantages. They have higher
life satisfaction, better health, and lower rates of institutionalization. Such differential advantages are
Feature Box Activity (Learning Objective 18.6, p. 454)
Developmental Science at Home: Elder Abuse
Give examples of the different types of elder abuse.
Family Relationships and Friendships
LO 18.7 What is the significance of family relationships and friendships for older adults?
Folklore and descriptions of late adulthood in the popular press suggest that family, particularly children
and grandchildren, form the core of the social life of older adults, perhaps especially those who are
Contacts with Adult Children
Most elderly adults have frequent contact with their adult children. Regular contact is made easier by the
fact that three-quarters of elders live within an hour’s travel of at least one of their children. Part of the
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.7, p. 455)
Of several grown children, who do you suppose would be the most likely one to be a confidant to an
elderly parent?
Effects of Relationships with Adult Children
Some studies indicate that when relationships between elders and adult children are warm and close, they
are more important to elders’ sense of well-being than any other kind of social relationship. Other
researchers have found that elders who see their children more often, or report more positive interaction,
do not describe themselves as happier or healthier overall than do those who have less frequent or less
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.7, pp. 455-456)
What do you think? How is the relationship between an elder and a friend different from that of an elder
and her adult children?
Grandchildren and Siblings
Interactions between grandchildren and middle-aged grandparents are beneficial to both. In late
adulthood, however, contact between grandchildren and grandparents declines as the grandchildren
become adults themselves. Thus, grandchildren are rarely part of an elderly adult’s close family network.
Relationships with siblings may become more important in late adulthood, especially after both parents
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.7, p. 456)
Why do you suppose sibling relationships become more important in late adulthood?
Friendships
Mounting evidence suggests that contact with friends has a significant impact on overall life satisfaction,
on self-esteem, and on the amount of loneliness reported by older adults. For those elders whose families
reciprocal or equitable, and such equitable relationships are more valued and less stressful. Friends have
Gender and Ethnic Differences in Social Networks
LO 18.8 What are some gender and ethnic differences in older adults’ social networks?
As at earlier ages, women and men appear to form different kinds of social networks, with men’s
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.8, pp. 456-457)
What do you think? Of the elderly people you know, how does the social network of the men compare to
that of the women?
African Americans tend to have warmer relationships with their siblings and higher rates of co-residence
with their children more often than White Americans do. They also show two other distinctive patterns in
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.8, pp. 456-457)
What are some factors that might impact the ethnic differences in friendships?
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 18.5-18.8, pp. 449-457)
What kinds of physical and social barriers are there to creating social friendships in late adulthood?
CAREER ISSUES IN LATE LIFE (pp. 457-462)
MyPsychLab Connections
Timing of and Reasons for Retirement
LO 18.9 What factors contribute to the decision to retire?
Delayed Retirement
Individuals in challenging and interesting jobs or who are self-employed are likely to postpose retirement
or reject the idea of leaving paid work unless they are pushed into such a decision by ill health of attracted
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.9, p. 458)
Give examples of people who have delayed retirement. What were their reasons for making the decision
to delay?
Older Workers
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to employment for older adults is that many potential employers express
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.9, p. 458)
What kinds of modification in training might be needed to facilitate older adults’ learning?
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.9, p. 459)
What are some reasons that older adults might be perceived as more reliable with higher quality of work?
Early Retirement
Many older adults choose to retire before the traditional age of 65. A particularly strong push toward
early retirement is poor health, which lowers the average age of retirement from one to three years. The
Gender Differences
Women retire at about the same age as men do, on average, but retirement benefits, health, or job
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.9, p. 459)
Think about your own attitudes toward retirement. Do you expect this life change to be positive and
enjoyable, or do you anticipate it with dread or some anxiety? What do you think has shaped your
attitude?
Effects of Retirement
LO 18.10 How does retirement affect the lives of older adults?
There are a number of shifts that take place at retirement, some positive and some negative. Overall,
however, retirement seems to have positive effects on the lives of older adults.
Income
One significant change at retirement is in income, but it is highly culture-specific. In the United States,
retired adults have five potential sources of income:
▪ government pensions, such as Social Security
In the United States, many retired adults own their own homes and thus have no mortgage payment; their
children are self-reliant; they are eligible for Medicare, as well as for many special Senior Citizen
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.10. p. 459)
Compare your current budget to what you might anticipate when you are 65 or older. Where would your
expenses be less? In what areas might your expenses rise in late adulthood?
Poverty
It used to be that post-retirement income losses resulted in high poverty among the elderly. Over the past
several decades, however, poverty rates among the elderly have declined substantially—from 35 percent
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.10, pp. 459-461)
Although increased Social Security benefits and higher incomes at retirement for well-educated
Americans have influenced the overall poverty rates, do these factors apply to all retirees? Why?
Low rates of poverty in the total elderly population obscure much higher rates in various subgroups.
Health, Attitudes, and Emotions
Health does not change, for better or for worse, because of retirement. When ill health accompanies
retirement, the causal sequence is nearly always that the individual retired because of poor health. For the
vast majority of adults, retirement is not a highly stressful life change.
Similarly, the bulk of the evidence suggests that retirement has essentially no impact on overall life
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.10, p. 461)
One of the bits of folklore about retirement is that it is hard on wives, who must adjust to the full-time
presence of a husband who previously was out of the house most of the day. How could you design a
study that would tell whether this is true or not?
Other evidence suggests that those who respond least well to retirement are those who had the least
control over the process. Those who are forced to retire due to poor health or those who took special
early retirement offers from their companies are likely to report lower satisfaction and higher levels of
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.10, p. 461)
Based on your experience, do grumpy young people become grumpy old people? Give examples.
Mobility
For many adults, retirement brings an increase in choices about where to live. Most retirees, however,
stay fairly close to the place they have called home for many years.
Discussion Launcher (Learning Objective 18.10, p. 461)
List reasons that retirees might stay close to the place they have called home for many years.
Charles Longino suggests that elderly adults make three types of moves:
▪ An amenity move is one usually away from the older person’s children, frequently to a warmer
climate. Those who make such a move are likely to be still married, be relatively healthy, and have
adequate or good retirement income. Seasonal migration also becomes a pattern for some—spending
winter months in sunnier areas and summer months at home, nearer to family.
Critical Thinking Question (Learning Objectives 18.9-18.10, pp. 457-462)
In what ways do the educational and career decisions that people make in their 20s and 30s shape the
decisions they make about retirement in late adulthood?
LECTURE ENHANCERS
Elder Abuse
Much is heard in this country about child abuse. Without a doubt, it is a serious problem. There is also
In addition, characteristics of the abuser influence the magnitude and type of abuse that is used. These
characteristics include the following:
▪ presence of mental illness
Although media attention to this problem has increased dramatically in recent years, the problem may not
be as widespread as the media has portrayed it to be. Most estimates place the prevalence of this problem
at three percent. Even more important for our consideration than prevalence are the potential negative
effects.
There may be some significant parallels in the patterns of elder abuse and child abuse. Research shows
that many of the same factors contribute to the incidence rates for both. Perhaps, then, some of the same
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Media
▪ MyPsychLab—MyPsychLab contains a variety of engaging activities and assessments that aid in
teaching and learning, including the following tools:
o Writing Space. A single place to create, track, and grade writing assignments, provide writing
resources, and exchange meaningful, personalized feedback with students quickly and easily. For
Fall 2014 courses, Writing Space for the 7th edition will contain new auto-graded writing
prompts. Instructors can also offer their own writing prompts and rubrics through this tool.
▪ MyPsychLab Connections
o Watch: Late Adulthood: Religion and Spirituality, p. 448
o Watch: Religion and Longevity, p. 448