Social Development and Aging: Affiliation, Social Convoy, and Intimacy, Slides of Social Theory

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Social Development

 Sources:

 Family  Work/school/activities

 Need for Affiliation: social convoy

 Establish relationships  Mate selection  Friendship

Social Convoy

 Antonucci, 1990

 Network of close relationships

 Accompany individual throughout life

 Size

 @ 2-5 close relationships  Little change during adulthood

• change: death, illness, move  Quality more important than quantity

 Young, middle adulthood

 More likely to see size, emotional identity of convoys as inadequate compared to older adulthood

 Women

 Larger convoys than men  Maintain friendships longer  More meaningful cross-gender friendships

Disengagement Theory

 late adulthood: mutual withdrawal of

individual and society

 shrinkage of life space

 social circle narrows

 Increased individuality

 Anticipate, accept narrowing of social circle; give up roles

 Result of intrinsic changes in aging

person

 Interaction style becomes passive

 Less likely to be chosen for new roles:

 further disengagement

 Predicts socially disengaged person has

high satisfaction

 But: No evidence of disengagement  Justifies ageist stereotypes

 Predicts:

 active older people have high satisfaction

 But:

 Satisfaction measured by how close real and desired levels of activity are

• high level of activity not necessary for satisfaction  Reverse Ageism?
• Might force roles, activities on those who prefer to withdraw

Continuity Theory

 People cope with late adulthood much

like the way they coped with earlier

periods of life

 Consistency of personality traits

 Carstensen: Socioemotional Selectivity

Theory

 Maximize social gain  Minimize social risks

Long-Standing Friendships

 Correlate with feelings of well-being, self-

esteem

 May account for choices in late adulthood:

maintain established contacts

 friends, religious affiliations, social/ethnic clubs

Friendship

 Qualities

 Role present throughout lifespan (different qualities)  Voluntary, less social regulation than other relationships  Based on similarity (age, sex, background)  Oriented towards enjoyment, personal satisfaction  Importance of trust

 Gender differences?

 Males

 Less emotional expressiveness  Less self-disclosing  Instrumental (activity oriented)  More tolerant of conflict

 Females

 Closer, deeper, more intimate  Communality, helping

• Video Activity

Dating and Mate Selection

 North America: Courtship, dating

 After WW

 Emergence of dating resulted from

 Urbanization  Rise of secondary education  Decreased parental supervision  Female equity movement of 1920s

 Changes in Dating Since 1950s

 Increase in adolescent dating  Decrease in tendency for a pattern of progression of intimacy

• From initial meeting to marriage

 Qualities most valued in a date?

 Men: Looks, personality, sex appeal

 Women: Looks, personality,

thoughtfulness