Historical Context
Four Principles
The Link
Answers to Questions
New Directions
100
What are the two longitudinal studies that enhanced Glenn Elder Jr. research on the life course theory?
Oakland Growth Study which included children born between 1920-22 and the Berkeley Guidance Study which included children born between 1928-29.
100
How might the life course of someone born in 1920 and someone born in 1990 be different?
They would go through the same chronological ages, but their historical context would be different. A woman born in the 1920's might have different career challenges or family roles than a woman born in the 1990's.
100
Which principle indicates that, given a new situation, an individual will need to alter his/her behaviors in order to be successful in the new situation?
The principle of the situational imperative.
100
How does life course theory explain the direction of change over the life span?
Life course is defined as "a sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time."
100
Name one social change the life course theory has been helpful in guiding investigations.
Military service, work, and family roles or the timing of marriage and childbearing.
200
What did the data from the two longitudinal studies offer?
Data from these studies offered a preview into the transformation of children of the depression into adolescents, adults, parents and workers.
200
How do individual differences play a part within a particular cohort?
Individual differences allows someone to make choices which impact their life course. The decisions they make are among the opportunities from their time & society.
200
Which principle states that a person begin to feel alienated if an historical event leads to the disorganization of that person’s support network?
The principle of interdependent lives.
200
What can be expected when the demand properties of the situation remain unchanged? (Under the answer for question #2)
Stability
200
What are turning points?
unique life events that may result in significant reorganization or reframing on one's life trajectory.
300
What historical changes had the participants of the two longitudinal studies experience?
Data from these studies offered a preview into the transformation of children of the depression into adolescents, adults, parents and workers.
300
Explain the term social clock through the use of an example.
The social clock is the appropriate age for significant life events such as marriage and child-rearing as defined by a social class. Ex: A higher social class may see the late fifties or early sixties as an appropriate time to retire from work.
300
The life stage principle indicates that an historical event will impact an individual’s ideas about the world and influence their core values if it happens at which stage of life?
Childhood
300
What are the four testable hypotheses that emerged from life course theory?
1. The influence of an historical event depends upon the stage of life at which a person experiences the event. 2. Lives are interdependent 3. When a person loses control there is generally an attempt to preserve or regain control. 4. Under conditions of crises or critical transition, the person's most prominent personality characteristics and coping strategies will be accentuated.
300
What type of attention has the life course theory increased?
The impact of social policies on development of certain cohorts.
400
As children mature and form families of their own, they bring some of the experiences they have had as young children into their relationships as marital partners and parents. (T or F, give an example to support your claim)
T, an example is children with impulse control problems, emotional regulation and aggressiveness may find that their adult intimate relationships are unstable and characterized by negativity.
400
According to life course theory, how might the social relationships of parents effect their children?
Our lives are influenced by social relationships and patterns that occur. If a parent is going through an economic hardship or fighting with a spouse, their irritability might draw them from their parenting duties, negatively effecting their children.
400
When a person experiences a loss of control, he/she may react with behaviors that magnify his/her most prominent personality characteristics. This describes which principle?
The accentuation principle
400
When does a crises or dramatic social change place individuals at risk according to life course theory?
When a person loses control, or when personal freedoms are threatened
400
Name one social norm change that has been altered since WWII.
married women in the workplace, or men involved in family and household obligations
500
Name the five theoretical traditions that influenced Elder’s concepts on the life course theory.
1st tradition: Charlotte Buhler’s study of individual lives through biographies on the development of individuals and an appreciation for mechanisms of personal change in response to key life events. 2nd tradition: The research of Thomas and Znaniecki on the life history of Polish peasants in Europe and the US 3rd tradition: studied the meanings of age in accounts of birth cohorts 4th tradition: was the study of culture and intergenerational models 5th tradition: was the broad area of personality development and life span psychology
500
How does historical context combined with individual trajectories effect development?
Major historical events result in transforming our environments which influence an individuals pattern of behavior over time.
500
Which principle indicates that a person can use a variety of strategies to cope when his/her freedoms are threatened?
The principle of the control cycle.
500
What did life course theory highlight that was largely ignored in other theories?
Features of the social context
500
The norms have changed from women focusing on family tasks and men focusing on labor-markets to what?
A less differentiated view to men's and women's work and family roles.
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