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Handbook of the Psychology of Aging
Critical comprehensive reviews of research knowledge, theories, concepts, and issues
Academic Press
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-12-380883-7
Chapter One
Enduring Theoretical Themes in Psychological Aging: Derivation, Functions, Perspectives, and Opportunities Roger A. Dixon Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
CHAPTER CONTENTS
Introduction 4
Characterizing the Theoretical Landscape in Psychological Aging 4
Featured Theorists: Identifying and Integrating Enduring Theoretical Themes 5
Selections from James E. Birren 6 Overview 6 Approach to Theoretical Considerations in Psychological Aging 7 Theoretical Themes: Global-Local, Complexity, Aging Change, Differential Role 7 Special Attention to the Role of Chronological Age 7 Conclusions about Birren 8
Selections from Paul B. Baltes 8 Overview 8 Prominent Themes 1: Aging Change, Balancing Trajectories, Complexity, Differential Role, Global-Local 8 Prominent Themes 2: Linking Global-Local with Chronological Age 9 Conclusion: Special Emphases of Baltes 9
Selections from Timothy A. Salthouse 9 Overview 9 Nature of the Field and Definitions 9 Key Themes: Complexity, Global-Local, and Aging Change 10 Promoting Theoretical Development in Psychological Aging 10
Selections from Other Theoretical Reviews 10 The Themes Appear in Other General Commentaries 10 The Six Themes Appear in Process-Specific or "Local" Theories 11 Summary 12
"Populations" of Theoretical Themes and Perspectives in Psychological Aging 12 A Population of Theories of Psychological Aging 12 Contributions of Developmental Epidemiological Perspectives 14
Illustrations: Selected Future Directions for Psychological Theories of Aging 16 Whither Cognitive/Social/Affect Neurosciences of Aging? 16 Whither Chronological-Biological-Age Indexes: Has BioAge Come of Age? 16 Whither Theoretical Implications of Genetic-Epigenetic-Environment-Process Studies? 17 Toward Explanation in Psychological Aging: Do "Causes" Hunt in Packs? Do "Effects" Assemble in Patterns or Disperse and Flee? 17
Conclusions 18 Acknowledgments 18 References 19
INTRODUCTION
From its earliest editions, the editors of the Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (hereafter, Handbook) series have wisely included informative theoretical, methodological, and historical chapters. On one recent autumn afternoon, I oriented to my upper-level bookshelf containing most editions of this archival series, closed my eyes, and randomly pulled one volume from the shelf. By chance, it was the 20-year-old third edition (Birren & Schaie, 1990), which I opened to the table of contents. As expected, this volume features three chapters in this influential tradition, including contributions to (a) theories and history of the developmental approach to aging (Birren & Birren, 1990), (b) novel (then, but still relevant) methods for analyzing differential and common developmental change (McArdle & Anderson, 1990), and (c) the still important (and unresolved) concepts of chronological age and developmental time in human aging theory and research (Schroots & Birren, 1990). Notably, these three chapters welcomed a reprised inspection, for they had tapped into persistently important themes, issues, and characteristics of psychological aging scholarship. Understandably, the content chapters reflect the texture of the era (e.g., Hultsch & Dixon, 1990). Still curious, I repeated this exercise on several Handbook editions, with the same outcome. To the credit of the field of psychological aging and of the Handbook editors, successive volumes have regularly and systematically presented chapters examining (a) wide-ranging theoretical derivations, underpinnings, and implications; (b) methodological principles and practices relevant to the theoretical study of aging-related change and variability; and (c) illuminative historical roots, conceptual tendencies, and evolutionary trajectories (e.g., Birren & Schroots, 2001; Schaie, 2010).
The overall purpose of this chapter is to fill a niche in the well-established ecology of psychological theories of aging. Four main goals are pursued. First, I note a perspective on the theoretical context of theories of psychological aging. The tenor of this section is more pragmatic-theoretical than global-metatheoretical. Second, I selectively and briefly review theoretical writings from the past 50 years, focusing on the chapter authors previously featured in this Handbook series. Six historically valid, recurring themes or lessons are identified, each of which provides points of contact across developmental processes, theoretical perspectives, and historical periods. Subsequently, I briefly adumbrate several other recent contributions to the literature on theories of psychological aging with attention to the six enduring themes previously identified. Third, these coordinated perspectives and enduring themes provide a foundation upon which to evaluate current theoretical efforts and evolve new and more adaptive ones. Fourth, compelling opportunities for new theoretical advances in psychological aging are provided by new developments in neighboring disciplines, a selection of which are noted in this section. The general goal of this chapter is not one of producing a global or unified theory of psychological aging. Instead, it aims to (a) explain why such a goal may not be among the principal standards or objectives for researchers in this field, and (b) support the contention that theoretical opportunities and advances based on a population of adapted themes and theories are nevertheless plentiful, functional, and promising.
CHARACTERIZING THE THEORETICAL LANDSCAPE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL AGING
Just as no history of a science is without the influence of the historian and his or her historiography, no review of scientific theory exists independently of the filtering lens through which the theorists read, interpret, and write (Hanson, 1958) or the historically evolving conceptual, social, professional, and scientific circumstances of the era (e.g., Kuhn, 1962; Pepper, 1970; Toulmin, 1972). In the past in life-span psychological research, such observations have often led to discussion of scientific paradigms, metatheories, and world views, as they applied to the study of individual development and aging (e.g., Baltes & Willis, 1977; Dixon & Lerner, 1999; Reese & Overton, 1970). This is not the present purpose for three related reasons. First, the general lesson has been learned in that it is probably apparent to most contemporary readers that theories and research methods are informed by underlying (and often untestable) assumptions, models, metaphors, and perspectives (Overton & Reese, 1973). Second, for this reason this particular line of theoretical-historical inquiry has not been particularly active or overtly influential in recent years, at least in the field of psychological aging. Third, one reason it has become both an acknowledged background condition and yet rarely cited or targeted for research is that the field may have moved to a post-paradigmatic period of interdisciplinary, integrative, and even pragmatic perspectives and research. Perhaps in the earlier paradigmatic-centered period metatheoretical differences were accentuated (if not magnified). If so, in a post-paradigmatic period metatheoretical differences (if relevant) may be less likely to restrict or interrupt the pragmatic reconnaissance of (even small) plots of common ground and the probing expansion of these commonalities along shared conceptual and empirical boundaries.
Nevertheless, to recap briefly, the paradigmatic view has held that, because the underlying tendencies of different meta-approaches may be in fundamental conceptual competition, the derived theories may be incommensurable and the associated data collected to test the theories may be mutually unacceptable. This systemic and often static incommensurability may exist even when the research is addressed to common levels of analysis or evidently similar developmental phenomena (Dixon et al., 1991). As a brief illustration, scholars studying the intriguing phenomena of late-life potential or adaptive success can address different (even nonoverlapping) aspects from a variety of largely unshared conceptual and methodological perspectives. These include (a) post-formal or dialectical operations; (b) naturally occurring differential trajectories and protection factors; (c) social-emotional regulation, adaptivity, and influences; (d) cognitive or self reserve, plasticity, or expertise; (e) pragmatic cognitive-personal resilience or compensation; and (f) multiple forms of healthy or successful aging (e.g., Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Ericsson & Smith, 1991; Labouvie-Vief, 1980; Pushkar et al., 1998; Schaie & Carstensen, 2006; Vaillant, 2002). However, paradigm-level perspectives are viewed also as changing, fallible, modifiable, responsive to data, and adaptive (or not). In addition, such metatheoretical perspectives may be inextricably interdisciplinary, theories may be more flexible and pluralistic, methods are definitely more comprehensive and powerful, and the research goals may become more pragmatic and integrative. Specifically, research may become less characterized by how it contributes to a covering metatheory or global theory. Instead, theoretically and clinically significant research may be evaluated in terms of how functional they are, regardless of the academic sources of ideas, levels of analyses (biological, individual–psychological, social–cultural), or the simplicity–complexity of results.
FEATURED THEORISTS: IDENTIFYING AND INTEGRATING ENDURING THEORETICAL THEMES
The Handbook chapters (and related work) of three previous contributors are reviewed and tapped as source material for identifying and integrating key enduring themes of psychological theories of aging. The three contributors are James E. Birren, Paul B. Baltes, and Timothy A. Salthouse. Six common and enduring theoretical themes were identified inductively from these authors' Handbook (and other) chapters. These themes are used as points of contact and complementarity in the discussion of each contributor's theoretical work (see also Table 1.1). To preview, the themes are (a) global-local, or the relative theoretical goal of broader or more narrow theories; (b) complexity, or the tendency to represent or emphasize complex processes, dynamic phenomena, or multiple influences, levels, and determinants; (c) aging change, or the relative emphasis on aging as life span development or the aged as a status or phase in life; (d) chronological age, referring to the much discussed status of age as an index of aging; (e) differential role, or the theoretical and methodological impact of notions of differential change with aging; and (f) balance of trajectory, or the extent to which theories treat or permit multiple directions of aging, including decline, stability, and growth.
Selections from James E. Birren
Overview
In one of the longest running serial commentaries integrating theoretical, methodological, and historical aspects of psychological aging, Birren and colleagues (e.g., Birren, 1959; Birren, 1999; Birren & Birren, 1990; Birren & Cunningham, 1985; Birren & Schroots, 2001 ) identified several key issues that are still relevant. Fifty years after his first gerontological paper, Birren (1999) observed that the study of aging (in general) and psychological aging (in particular) have been revealed as among the most inherently complex phenomena of the human sciences. In Birren's (1999) review, researchers were successful in investigating segments of the factors and dynamics involved in psychological aging, but the essential balance between data and theory had yet to be struck. In fact, he ventured a colorful expression to describe the field as "data-rich and theory-poor" (Birren, 1999, p. 459). In the discussion of this expression he conveyed several points, all of which are relevant to the psychological theories of aging.
Approach to Theoretical Considerations in Psychological Aging
In their history of the field of psychological aging, Birren and Schroots (2001, p. 3) characterized the field as focusing on "manifest changes or transformations that occur in human and animal behavior related to length of life." Unpacking the key terms and relating the overall characteristics to the current field results in several important points. First, derivable from their extensive historical work is the notion that a prominent emphasis in the field of aging is the study of changes, transformations, and transitions. Aging is not just about the aged per se (as a group or category), it is also about the processes that lead to and through the 70% of the life span typically covered by adulthood (the theme of aging change). Parenthetically, this may be one reason some modern observers prefer the term "psychology of aging" rather than terms such as "geropsychology." The former term includes the notion of change and development explicitly (e.g., Baltes & Willis, 1977). Second, reflecting the complexity theme, the term "behavior" is used to demarcate the system of targeted aging-related processes as those that are mediated by the central nervous system (CNS). This likely covers most behavioral processes of theoretical interest in psychological aging (see Bengtson & Schaie, 1999 ), but other mediators are listed briefly including skeletal and muscular fitness, non-CNS health conditions (e.g., Type 2 diabetes), and even institutions. A spectrum of modulators (including the CNS but also more distal mechanisms such as health, institutions, and genetic and epigenetic functions) are of current theoretical interest, as are many of the underlying disciplines such as neurosciences and molecular biology (noted in Birren & Cunningham, 1985). Third, promising theoretical opportunities may be presented when (a) the "black box" of the mediating CNS is opened to direct investigation of its functions in modulating behavioral aging; (b) the mediating CNS is investigated for associations with cognitive, emotional, social, personality, and other behavioral processes of aging; and (c) the ancillary mediating systems (e.g., health, peripheral biology) are included in psychological aging studies (e.g., Cabeza et al., 2004; Craik & Bialystok, 2006; Dixon et al., 2004; Stern & Carstensen, 2000). These considerations are consistent with several key theoretical themes of psychological aging.
Theoretical Themes: Global-Local, Complexity, Aging Change, Differential Role
Birren expressed (a) admiration and satisfaction at the accelerating increase in published literature in the field since the 1950s, and (b) appreciation of the growing challenges associated with both local and larger (global) theories in the field (e.g., Birren & Cunningham, 1985; Birren et al., 1983). This field continues to be provoked by the dynamic interplay among these two associated profiles. Nevertheless, however palpable, manageable, and uncluttered the phenomena of psychological aging may have seemed historically (Birren & Schroots, 2001), it had become increasingly apparent through methodological advances (e.g., Baltes, 1968; Schaie, 1965; Schaie, 2010) and accumulating observed phenomena that psychological aging was dynamic, complex, differential, and interactional across multiple levels of analysis (Birren, 1999). Although many successful theories of specific aging phenomena were accumulating, most theories were constrained by their specificity and most theorists were suitably qualified in their expressions of theoretical ambition and breadth.
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