Deck 5: Aging and Inequality

Question 1

Sociologists argue that what we experience as stages of life are

A)defined by biological changes.
B)socially constructed.
C)rooted in psychological states.
D)exactly the same around the world.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Portraying elderly people as a whole as senile, rigid, or old-fashioned is an example of

A)racism.
B)classism.
C)ageism.
D)sexism.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Of the levels of "old" discussed in the text, which category is increasing the most rapidly in number?

A)the "younger old"
B)the "elder old"
C)the "older old"
D)the "oldest old"

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The average age of the U.S.workforce is

A)going up.
B)going down.
C)staying about the same.
D)going up for men and going down for women.

Question 5

The fact that the death of a spouse is a very difficult experience helps explain why

A)surviving partners thrive once this transition is behind them.
B)the surviving partner is at high risk of death, sometimes by suicide.
C)divorce rates are high as people enter old age.
D)single people typically outlive married people.

Question 6

What percentage of the 72,000 centenarians in the United States (people aged 100 years or older) are women?

A)21 percent
B)41 percent
C)61 percent
D)81 percent

Question 7

In Japan, a very low birthrate has resulted in

A)a rapid increase in the share of Japan's population over the age of sixty-five.
B)rapid population increase for decades to come.
C)a decline in the number of elderly people.
D)an increasing share of males in Japan's population.

Question 8

Which of the following terms refers to the socially constructed stages people pass through as they live out their lives?

A)aging
B)geriatrics
C)gerontology
D)the life course

Question 9

Which one of the following statements is correct?

A)Most elderly men and most elderly women live alone.
B)Most elderly men live alone; most elderly women live with a husband.
C)Seventy-two percent of elderly men live with a wife; just 46 percent of elderly women live with a husband.
D)Eighty percent of both elderly men and elderly women live with a spouse.

Question 10

In 1987, Congress passed legislation that

A)set ages of mandatory retirement for everyone.
B)allowed each state to decide if mandatory retirement should exist.
C)required employers to phase out mandatory retirement policies.
D)made mandatory retirement policies optional for companies.

Question 11

By 2030, according to projections, people over the age of sixty-five will represent what percentage of the U.S.population?

A)2 percent
B)20 percent
C)30 percent
D)50 percent

Question 12

In comparison with the word elder, commonly used in preindustrial societies, the modern term elderly

A)has the same meaning.
B)has a more positive meaning.
C)has a more negative meaning.
D)is without meaning.

Question 13

In a ______, the greatest wealth, power, and prestige belong to a society's oldest members.

A)theocracy
B)democracy
C)meritocracy
D)gerontocracy

Question 14

Our society began to define elder abuse as a social problem in the

A)1950s.
B)1960s.
C)1970s.
D)1980s.

Question 15

In 1950, people in the United States typically retired at about age sixty-eight; after dropping to age sixty-three in 2005, by 2014, the retirement-age number was about

A)fifty-five.
B)sixty-five.
C)sixty-nine.
D)seventy.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about elderly widows (females) or widowers (males) remarrying is correct?

A)Widowers are more likely to remarry than widows.
B)Widows are more likely to remarry than widowers.
C)Widowers and widows are equally likely to remarry.
D)Widows and widowers rarely remarry.

Question 17

Which of the following terms refers to the average life span of a country's population?

A)longevity
B)life expectancy
C)life course
D)age cohort

Question 18

When older people, especially women, appear on television or in films, it is most often

A)in stereotypical roles.
B)in leading roles.
C)as physically active people.
D)as the most wealthy and powerful people.

Question 19

Which of the following terms refers to a branch of the social sciences dealing with aging and the elderly?

A)geriatrics
B)aging
C)gerontology
D)gerontocracy

Question 20

The most common source of support and companionship for elderly people is

A)community senior citizen centers.
B)religious institutions.
C)family members.
D)educational programs like Elderhostel.

Question 21

The majority of caregiving to elderly people in the U.S.is provided by

A)senior daycare facilities.
B)nursing homes.
C)women.
D)other elderly people.

Question 22

Intersection theory helps us to see that

A)some categories of elders confront greater disadvantages than others.
B)disengagement is functional for society as a whole.
C)physicians must play a part in a "negotiated death."
D)the poverty rate for seniors is declining over time.

Question 23

On average, U.S.men and women over the age of sixty five spend what percentage of their household budget on health care?

A)1 percent
B)5 percent
C)12 percent
D)32 percent

Question 24

The cost to live in a retirement community is typically between $2,000 and $6,000 per month for an apartment and meals.In addition, residents must usually pay entrance fees of as much as

A)a month's rent.
B)six months of Social Security payments.
C)about 250 dollars.
D)a quarter of a million dollars.

Question 25

The government-sponsored program that pays for hospital care and 80 percent of other medical care costs for people over the age of sixty-five is

A)Medicaid.
B)Medicare.
C)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
D)National Health Insurance.

Question 26

Among full-time workers, women earn 79 percent as much as men.Among people approaching retirement age (forty-five to sixty-four years) women earn _____?___ percent as much as men in the same age category.

A)33
B)53
C)73
D)93

Question 27

What type of facility offers homelike care that provides physical and emotional comfort to dying people and their families?

A)a nursing home
B)hospice
C)a hospital
D)a rehabilitation facility

Question 28

What theory states that modern societies operate more smoothly by transferring responsibilities from the elderly to younger people?
A)disengagement theory

A)geriatric theory
B)activity theory
D)age stratification theory

Question 29

Suppose that a physician administered a lethal injection to a dying person to bring a painless end to life.This would be called

A)active euthanasia
B)complex euthanasia
C)passive euthanasia
D)physician-assisted suicide

Question 30

Most elders prefer to "age in place," meaning that they

A)remain in the same job they had when they were younger.
B)stay in the homes where they lived while they were working and raising their children.
C)seek places to live where aging is easily accommodated, such as assisted living facilities.
D)expect their capabilities to remain the same as they age.

Question 31

In a study of a declining neighborhood along the coast of Southern California, Barbara Myerhoff found that, above all, elderly residents wanted to

A)remain independent.
B)go out at night.
C)move to senior citizen housing
D)move in with their adult children.

Question 32

If you were studying informal and unpaid care provided to a dependent person by family members, other relatives, or friends, which of the following would be your focus?

A)day care
B)disengagement
C)caregiving
D)hospice

Question 33

What is the term for doctors stopping the treatment of a terminally ill person by turning off respirators or other life-support machines?

A)active euthanasia
B)positive euthanasia
C)passive euthanasia
D)negative life support

Question 34

Which of the following terms refers to assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease?

A)euthanasia
B)living will
C)justifiable homicide
D)negotiated death

Question 35

Which of the following concepts refers to social inequality among various age categories within a society?

A)ageism
B)age stratification
C)gerontocracy
D)aristocracy

Question 36

About what percentage of U.S.seniors live in a nursing facility at any specific point in time?

A)3 percent
B)23 percent
C)43 percent
D)63 percent

Question 37

In the United States, if you track income by age, you find that income typically peaks at about what age?

A)30
B)40
C)50
D)60

Question 38

Which theoretical approach points out that society solves the problem of people's physical decline by disengaging the elderly, transferring their roles and responsibilities to younger people?

A)structural-functional approach
B)social-conflict approach
C)symbolic-interaction approach
D)social-disorganization approach

Question 39

As of early 2012, which states have enacted laws allowing physicians to assist in the deaths of terminally ill people?

A)Florida, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
B)Oregon, Montana, Washington, California, and Vermont
C)Virginia, Alabama, and Mississippi
D)Michigan and Minnesota

Question 40

In 2014, about what percentage of people over the age of sixty-five in the United States was living below the official poverty line?

A)3 percent
B)10 percent
C)209 percent
D)33 percent

Question 41

What British nurse and physician helped establish the hospice movement?

A)Cicely Saunders
B)Cicely Tyson
C)Florence Nightingale
D)Mother Theresa

Question 42

Activity theory is an application of which theoretical approach?

A)structural-functional approach
B)social-conflict approach
C)symbolic-interaction approach
D)social-disorganization approach

Question 43

As conservatives see it,

A)a healthy society is built on strong families in which people care for one another.
B)today's society has strong family ties.
C)elderly people should band together and demand greater benefits.
D)government has the major responsibility to provide income to elderly people.

Question 44

According to the liberal view regarding caring for elders, individuals and families

A)should not be involved at all.
B)should be involved but should not have to solve these problems by themselves.
C)should save significant amounts of money for their future.
D)should expect to have their elderly relatives live with them.

Question 45

A major criticism of disengagement theory is that

A)it overlooks the fact that at least some older people are not physically able to maintain a busy schedule.
B)disengagement carries personal costs, including loss of status and income as well as social isolation.
C)disengagement interferes with the efficiency of the labor force.
D)since seniors are disadvantaged in various ways, they cannot shape their lives as they may wish to.

Question 46

Conservatives see which of the following as the main cause of problems faced by the elderly?

A)government cutbacks in funding
B)patriarchy
C)weaker families
D)too little social change

Question 47

According to the liberal view, government programs (such as Social Security) are

A)crucial to meeting the needs of the elder population.
B)actually hurting the interests of the elderly.
C)weakening families.
D)more generous than they should be.

Question 48

According to disengagement theory, what event eases aging people out of productive roles while they are still capable of performing them?

A)illness
B)infirmity
C)retirement
D)death

Question 49

Which theoretical analysis highlights age stratification, pointing out ways that society limits older people's opportunities and resources?

A)the social-conflict approach
B)the structural-functional approach
C)the symbolic-interaction approach
D)the social-disorganization approach

Question 50

According to the radical-left view, age stratification is

A)necessary to keep society operating.
B)a dimension of the striking social inequality caused by the capitalist U.S.economy.
C)beneficial because it makes society more productive.
D)a result of insufficient planning for the future on the part of the elderly and their families.