The Complexities of the Aging Process
One of the most influential and popular theories on development was put forth by Erikson. He believed in a psychosocial structure of development in which society plays a major role in shaping one’s development over the life course (1950). According to Erikson, development is a series of stages that one must go through sequentially and throughout the life course. There are eight stages in Erikson’s psychosocial model of development, with the ultimate goal being the achievement of a stable sense of identity. In order to reach the ultimate goal, one must successfully resolve each of the crises or dilemmas involved in each stage. In each stage, there is a dilemma or crisis that will either result in a positive or negative outcome. If one achieves the positive outcome, he will move onto the proceeding stage and be faced with a different dilemma. However, if one receives the negative outcome in a stage, he will be stuck in this stage until he finally resolves it. Only by achieving the positive outcome in each dilemma will one be able to complete each stage and advance to the next proceeding stage.
Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development apply to the entire life course from birth until old age. According to Erikson, the first conflict that humans experience takes place in infancy, which concerns the dilemma between basic trust and mistrust. In this stage, an infant must establish a warm relationship with his guardian; failure to do may result in a continuous sense of mistrust. During the autonomy vs. shame and doubt stage, a child must master skills such as walking, grasping, and bowel control. The inability to master these skills may result in a sense of shame or doubt in oneself. The next dilemma involves initiation vs. guilt, in which a child must work at taking the initiative in his daily activities. In this stage, the child may become too aggressive and as a result, damage objects, or physically hurt others or himself. In the next stage, a child faces industry vs. inferiority, in which the child must learn new academic skills such as reading and writing, or otherwise feel inferior. The next challenge is known as identity vs. role confusion, and occurs in the teenage years when teenagers are trying to find out who they are and what their occupational aspirations will be. In young adulthood, a person is faced with issues of intimacy and isolation. This is the time when young adults try to establish meaningful and close relationships with others, while also trying to maintain their own sense of individuality. From early to middle adulthood, one is faced with generativity vs. stagnation. In this stage, one must invest time in supporting the younger generations or otherwise, become self absorbed. The final stage of Erikson’s psychosocial model concerns ego integrity vs. despair. At this stage, one must either accept his life for how he has lived it, or look back on life with despair and regrets.
By utilizing biological, evolutionary, and social perspectives to explain aging, Baltes presented a different approach on human development across the life span, known as the life span development theory (1997). Using biological and evolutionary perspectives, Baltes suggested that as humans age, their evolutionary benefits gradually become less advantageous to them (1997). For example, as people get older, their genes are more likely to become defective, and thus, older people are more prone to disease and other disabilities. Aging is also a social process because as one gets older and gradually loses more of his cognitive and physical abilities, he needs to depend on culture more. Culture, in this context, are all the resources that have been created by humans and have helped humankind survive and adapt to the world around them. Culture includes education, technology, and social and psychological support networks. Along with increasing age comes decreased efficiency of culture (1997). In other words, as one’s age increases, the more one needs to practice, study, and train in order to achieve high levels of performance in a particular area. For example, a sixty-year old man would have to spend more time and effort practicing, compared to the a twenty-year old, in order to achieve the same level of physical or cognitive performance as the twenty-year old.
Baltes and his colleagues formulated a higher-order theory called the selective optimization with compensation theory (SOC theory) (1997), which is an application of the life span development theory. The processes of selection, optimization, and compensation are not only characteristic of aging, but are also manifested all throughout human development. As people age, they lose or experience declines in certain abilities, such as hearing, seeing, reacting to situations, and remembering; as a result of these losses and declines, they must go through selection and choose which goals they want to pursue among a variety of potential goals. In order to achieve their goals, people need optimization (1997). This is the process by which one will try his best to achieve his goals and has the means to do so. Such means include commitment, knowledge, time, practice, and energy. The final component of the SOC theory is compensation (1997), the process that one goes through after experiencing certain losses or failing to achieve certain goals. This process involves one making up for previous losses or failures.
Kahn and Rowe offered a different approach on aging. Their theory on aging is primarily about “successful aging (1998).” They defined successful aging as the process that goes beyond haphazard and pleasant outcomes, and involves dreaming, planning, and actually achieving one’s goals. Their concept of successful aging involves three interrelated components: absence of disease and disability, maintenance of mental and physical function, and continuing engagement with life (1998). One of the main cornerstones of achieving successful aging is to be free of disease and disability. If a person is free of disease and disability, he is more able than a sick person, for example, to challenge himself mentally and physically. Because of freedom from disease and disability, a person may be able to engage in activities that stimulate his mind and body, such as jogging or playing chess. In other words, the absence of disease and disability allows for high mental and physical functioning, which is the second component of successful aging. The third and final component of successful aging is active engagement with life. Active engagement involves maintaining close interpersonal relationships with others, as well as participating in activities that are meaningful and productive to oneself.
The theories of Erikson, Baltes, and Kahn and Rowe share several similarities. A common theme in these theories is that overcoming obstacles is an inevitable part of aging. In all their theories, the researchers each defined optimal aging and presented positive perspectives on aging. In addition to the optimistic nature of all their theories, there are also pessimistic aspects about each one of their theories. For one thing, Erikson’s psychosocial model is positive because it implies that one can succeed and advance in life if he overcomes the conflict within each stage. At the same time, however, the psychosocial model implies that one is failing if one does not achieve the positive outcome in each stage or is fixated at one stage. Baltes’ theory, on the other hand, is optimistic in that it emphasizes setting goals, doing your best to achieve the goals, and actually achieving them. However, his theory is pessimistic in that it involves settling for second best. In order to compensate for a loss or failure, for example, one must initially experience a loss or fail in the pursuit of an important goal. In some cases, one must substitute the initial goal with a new and less challenging goal. Kahn and Rowe, however, implies that successful aging can be achieved if one is free of disease, maintains close relationships, and challenges oneself mentally and physically. Although these three conditions may be easy for healthy people to achieve, it may be harder for those who suffer from chronic illnesses to achieve. Therefore, if one cannot satisfy all three conditions, Kahn and Rowe’s theory would suggest that they are failing at successful aging. Overall, it seems that all the theories suggest that people can succeed as well as fail at aging. The main theme appears to be that in order to age optimally, it is necessary to overcome the struggles that come with becoming older.
An integration of Erikson’s, Baltes, and Kahn and Rowe’s theories can be used to explain the developmental phenomenon known as generativity. According to Erikson’s psychosocial model of development, generativity is “primarily the concern with establishing and guiding the next generation (as cited in Bee & Bjorklund, 1963).” One of the ways to be generative is to bear and rear children. However, just simply raising children is not considered generativity according to Erikson (as cited in Bee & Bjorklund, 1963). A generative person must also enjoy spending time with and emotionally dedicating themselves to younger generations. Such emotional investments may involve tutoring younger students, donating to students’ scholarships, or volunteering at a children’s sports camp. Baltes would suggest that being generative is an act of compensation. For example, there may be a time in peoples’ lives when they have suffered from some kind of illness or tragedy. After healing from the illness or tragedy, they may decide to educate others on how to avoid the same suffering. The act of educating others on how to avoid the same fate is an act of compensation as well as generativity. It is an act of compensation because these people have suffered from a loss and are deciding to make up for that loss by educating others. It is also an act of generativity because these people are trying to contribute to the well-being of the younger generation by preventing them from experiencing the same losses. For instance, women who have suffered from anorexia and recovered may choose to educate other women and men about the illness. They may educate others about healthy eating, maintaining high self-esteem and a healthy weight, the warning signs of anorexia, and when and how to seek help when it is necessary. Generativity is also illustrative of Kahn and Rowe’s successful aging concept of active engagement with life. First of all, giving to the members of the community in some way, either emotionally, educationally, or financially, is a critical component of both active engagement with life and generativity. For example, a retired person is volunteering at a local library by narrating stories to children and helping them with their homework. In this scenario, the volunteer is giving to one group of the community: the children. The volunteer is giving to the children by offering educational support by means of reading to them and helping them with homework. Some children may feel upset or angry if they do not understand a math concept. As a result, the volunteer may also provide these children with emotional support and instill the students with confidence. Therefore, this scenario illustrates that being generative is intertwined with active engagement with life.
The community as a whole should promote generativity among all adults. For one thing, public institutions like churches, schools, and hospitals should encourage adults of all ages, from young adults to adults of old age, to take part in volunteering at their institutions. Public institutions could offer incentives for adults to get involved in the community. They could reward them with thank you cards, welcome parties, or gift certificates and discounts to restaurants or clothing stores. On an even wider scale, there could be advertisements or campaigns urging adults of all ages to get involved in the community. Upon seeing the pleasure conveyed in giving to the community through advertisements and campaigns, adults may feel persuaded to join the effort. As adults see that their peers and family members are participating in the community, they will probably decide to join in as well. Community leaders such as the school council, mayor, and church leaders should definitely join this cause. Members of the community, especially admirers of the community leaders, will probably join the cause if their leaders become part of the cause themselves.
Aging is an inevitable process that humans must experience. It is a complex process that is influenced by biology, society, and psychology. Some people are fortunate to go through life leading healthy and productive lives. Others are not so lucky and suffer from debilitating diseases that limit their abilities physically and mentally. As members of the community, we should all encourage active participation within the community among adults of all ages. Being involved will allow one’s aging process to be enriched and pleasant. Not only will the adults themselves benefit from giving to others, but recipients of the service will be appreciative as well.
