The document discusses various theories of aging from biological, sociological, psychological, and spiritual perspectives. Biologically, theories include the stochastic theories of error theory and free radical theory, as well as nonstochastic theories like the programmed theory. Sociologically, theories address disengagement, activity, continuity, and person-environment fit. Psychologically, theories outlined include Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Jung's individualism, Erikson's stages of development, and selective optimization with compensation. The document provides an overview of the key concepts and proposed mechanisms within each theoretical perspective of the aging process.

1. THEORIES OF AGING
by
Dr M. Rajani Cartor PT
Principal
VAPMS College of Physiotherapy

2. --- phenomenon of aging as it occurs over the lifespan
 aging is viewed as a total process that begins at
conception
 senescence: a change in the behavior of an organism
with age leading to a decreased power of survival and
adjustment
Theories of Aging

3.  Biologic
 Sociologic
 Psychologic
 Moral/Spiritual
Theories of Aging: Types

5.  Concerned with answering basic questions regarding the
physiological processes that occur in all living organisms as they
chronologically age
 Explanations of:
 1) deleterious effects leading to decreasing function of the
organism
 2) gradually occurring age-related changes that are progressive
over time
 3) intrinsic changes that can affect all member of a species because
of chronologic age
Biologic Theories:

6.  Stochastic: Explain aging as events that occur
randomly and accumulate over time
 Nonstochastic: View aging as certain predetermined,
timed phenomena
Biologic Theories: Divisions

8.  Error Theory
 Free Radical Theory
 Cross-Linkage Theory
 Wear & Tear Theory
Stochastic Theories
(stochastic=
having a random probability distribution or pattern that may be analysed
statisticallybut may not be predicted precisely.)

9.  Basis:
1)errors can occur in the transcription in any step of the protein
synthesis of DNA
2) error causes the reproduction of an enzyme or protein that is
not an exact copy
3) As transcription errors to occur, the end product would not
even resemble the original cell, thereby compromising its
functional ability
Error Theory
Originally proposed in 1963

12.  Free radicals are byproducts of metabolism--can increase as a
result of environmental pollutants
 When they accumulate, they damage cell membrane,
decreasing its efficiency
 The body produces antioxidants that scavenge the free
radicals
 Free radicals are also implicated in the development of plaques
associated with Alzheimer’s
Free Radical Theory

14.  Some proteins in the body become cross-linked, thereby not
allowing for normal metabolic activities
 Waste products accumulate
 Result: tissues do not function at optimal efficiency
 Some research supports a combination of exercise and dietary
restrictions in helping to inhibit the cross-linkage process
Cross-Linkage Theory

16.  Proposed first in 1882
 Cells simply wear out over time because of continued
use--rather like a machine
 Would seem to be refuted by the fact that exercise in
OA’s actually makes them MORE functional, not less
Wear & Tear Theory

18. Nonstochastic Theories:
Programmed Theory
Immunity Theory

19.  Based on lab experiments on fetal fibroblastic cells
and their reproductive capabilities in 1961
 Cells can only reproduce themselves a limited number
of times.
 Life expectancies are seen as preprogrammed within
a species-specific range
Programmed (Hayflick Limit) Theory

20.  Immunosenescence:Age-related functional diminution
of the immune system
 Lower rate of T-lymphocyte (“killer cells”)
proliferation in response to a stimulus
 & therefore a decrease in the body’s defense against
foreign pathogens
Immunity Theory

21.  Change include a decrease in humoral immune
response, often predisposing older adults to:
 1)decreased resistance to a tumor cell challenge and the
development of cancer
 2) decreased ability to initiate the immune process and
mobilize defenses in aggressively attaching pathogens
 3) increased susceptibility to auto-immune diseases
Immunity, cont’d

23.  Neuroendocrine Control (Pacemaker) Theory
 Metabolic Theory/Caloric Restriction
 DNA-Related Research
EMERGING THEORIES OF AGING

24.  “…examines the interrelated role of the neurologic
and endocrine systems over the life-span of an
individual”.
 there is a decline, or even cessation, in many of the
components of the neuroendocrine system over the
lifespan
Neuroendocrine Control

25.  “…proposes that all organisms have a finite amount
of metabolic lifetime and that organisms with a
higher metabolic rate have a shorter lifespan”.
 Rodent-based research has demonstrated that caloric
restriction increases the lifespan and delays the onset
of age-dependent diseases
Metobolic Theory of Aging (Caloric
Restriction)

26.  Major Developments:
 Mapping the human genome (“…there may be as many
as 200 genes responsible for contolling aging in
humans”)
 Discovery of telomeres
DNA-Related Research

27. SOCIOLOGIC THEORIES OF AGING

28. Disengagement Theory
Activity/Developmental Task
Theory
Continuity Theory
Age Stratification Theory
Person-Environment Fit Theory

29.  Changing FOCUS of Sociological considerations of
aging:
 60’s focus on losses and adaptation to them
 70’s broader global, societal, and structural factors
influencing lives of OA’s
 80’s-90’s exploration of interrelationships between OA’s
and their physical, political, environmental &
socioeconomic mileau

30.  Cumming & Henry--1961
 Aging seen as a developmental task in and of itself,
with its own norms & appropriate patterns of
behavior
 “appropriate” behavior patterns involved a mutual
agreement between Old Aged and society on a
reciprocal withdrawal.
 No longer supported
Disengagement Theory

31.  Havighurst, Neugarten, Tobin ~1963
 “Activity is viewed by this theory as necessary to maintain a
person’s life satisfaction and a positive self-concept”.
 Theory based on assumptions:
 1) it’s better to be active than inactive
 2) it is better to be happy than unhappy
 3) an older individual is the best judge of his or her own success in
achieving the first two assumptions
Activity Theory (Developmental Task
Theory)

33.  How a person has been throughout life is how that
person will continue through the remainder of life
 Old age is not a separate phase of life, but rather a
continuation and thus an integral component
Continuity Theory

34.  Riley--1985
 Society consists of groups of cohorts that age
collectively
 The people & Roles in these cohorts change &
influence each other, as does society at large
 Thus, there is a high degree of interdependence
between older adults & society
Age Stratification Theory

35.  Lawton, 1982
 Individuals have personal competencies that assist in dealing with
the environment:
 ego strength
 level of motor skills
 individual biologic health
 cognitive & sensory-perceptual capacities
 As a person ages, there may be changes in competencies & these
changes alter the ability to interrelate with the environment
 Significant implications in a society that is characterized by
constantly changing technology
Person-Environment Fit Theory

37.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs
 Jung’s Theory of Individualism
 Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life
 Peck’s Expansion of Erikson’s Theory
 Selective Optimization with Compensation
PSYCHOLOGIC THEORIES OF AGING

38.  “…each individual has an innate internal hierarchy of needs that
motivates all human behaviors”.
 depicted as a pyramid; the ideal is to achieve self-actualization,
having met all the “lower” level needs successful
 “Maslow’s fully developed, self-actualized person displays high
levels of all of the following characteristics: perception of reality;
acceptance of self, others, and nature; spontaneity; problem-
solving ability; self-direction; detachment and the desire for
primacy; freshness of peak experiences; identification with other
human beings;…….
 …satisfying and changing relationships with other people; a
democratic character structure; creativity; and a sense of values.
 Only about 1% of us are truly ideal self-actualized persons
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs (1954)

39.  Carl Jung--1960
 origins are Freudian
 Self-realization is the goal of personality development
 as individual ages, each is capable of transforming
into a more spiritual being
Jung’s Theory of Individualism

40. Stages throughout the life course. Each represents a crisis to be
resolved.
 For OA’s:
 40 to 65 (middle adulthood): generativity versus self-absorption
or stagnation
 65 to death (older adulthood): ego integrity versus despair
 Self-absorbed adults will be preoccupied with their personal well-
being and material gains. Preoccupation with self leads to
stagnation of life”
 “Unsuccessful resolution of the last crisis may result in a sense of
despair in which individuals view life as a series of misfortunes,
disappointments, and failures”.
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life(1993)

41.  Erikson’s last two stages are expanded to 7
 The final three of the developmental tasks for old
age:
 ego differentiation versus work role preoccupation
 body transcendence versus body preoccupation
 ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation
Peck’s Expansion of Erikson’s Theory

42.  Individuals develop strategies to manage losses of function that
occur over time
 3 Interacting Elements:
selection: increasing restriction ofone’s life to fewer
domains of functioning
optimization: people engage in behaviors to enrich their lives
compensation: developing suitable, alternative adaptations
Selective Optimization with
Compensation -Baltes-1987

44. THE END!