University of Maryland, Baltimore County

AGNG 200

Moody-Sasser Quiz 2 [Controversy 1. Does Old Age Have Meaning?]

1)Which of the following is a question that gerontologists seek to explore about old age?

1. 1. 1. Does old age have meaning for society?
      2. How do individuals experience their lives as meaningful in later life?
      3. How do we imagine our future older selves and what will be meaningful to us as we grow older?
      4. All of the above

1. 2.                . An activity engaged in for its own sake is known as               .
      1. Religion
      2. Leisure
      3. Social Role
      4. Free Radical

1. 3.                . In later life, patterns of leisure activity             .
      1. Stay relatively the same as in midlife
      2. Become much less involved and active than in midlife
      3. Show a dramatic increase in social networking over midlife
      4. Drop-off entirely as most people lose the ability to see and hear well

1. 4.                . Patterns of late-life leisure activity may have important implications for which of the following areas of an aging society?
      1. The welfare system
      2. The educational system
      3. The political system
      4. The economy

1. 5.                . In order to understand the role of religion in later life, social scientists need to distinguish formal religious behavior from                           .
      1. An inner attitude of spirituality
      2. Societal expectations of religious beliefs
      3. What the scientists themselves might personally believe
      4. None of the above
      5. All of the above

1. 6.                . Which of the following might be an example of the term "multidimensional disengagement"?
      1. Older people are more likely to be involved with religious organizations, but less involved with other community organizations.
      2. There are strong correlations between well-being and religious beliefs in older adults.
      3. Religion can help older people cope with stressors, such as illness, but not with dwindling psychological resources, such as self-esteem.
      4. As people grow older, they may attend church less often, but engage in more personal religious practice, such as reading the Bible.

1. 7.                . Churches and other religious organizations play many roles in the lives of older Americans, including which of the following?
      1. Formal religious programs
      2. Pastoral care programs
      3. Sponsoring or providing social services
      4. All of the above

1. 8.                . Social researchers theorize that religion helps older adults cope in which of the following ways?
      1. By reducing the stress of late-life illness
      2. By providing a sense of meaning in life
      3. By offering social networks and activities

1. 1. 4. By strengthening inner resources
      5. All of the above

1. 9.                . James Fowler (1981) developed a framework describing how people move from simpler, more literalist ideas of religion to levels where they see themselves in more universal terms. This framework was called             .
      1. Biomarkers
      2. Faith stages
      3. Multidimensional disengagement
      4. The rectangular curve

2.10             . Blazer (1991) identified six dimensions of spiritual well-being that included all of the following except:

1. Self-determined wisdom
2. The discovery of meaning in aging
3. Participation in public religious activities
4. Revival of spirituality