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What do we Mean by ‘Development’ in Old Age?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Andrew William McCulloch
Andrew William McCulloch
Affiliation:
SSRC Research Student in Ageing, Department of Psychology, The University of Southampton, Southampton SO9 5NH, England.
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Abstract

It is currently the vogue to speak of development throughout life. It is here argued that epigenetic models of human development are unsuited to explaining psycho-social change in old age. An alternative model of the emergence of psycho-social change in old age is proposed. An indication is given of why such change should occur, and the argument is illustrated with two catastrophe models of change, one hypothetical, and another describing events in the life of the composer Sibelius. These models indicate how role loss and modernization could have a causal role in psycho-social change. It is then argued that under prevailing social conditions emergent change could take the form of an ‘inner journey’ in old age. It is concluded that it is time to re-assess the use of developmental models of change in old age.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , July 1981 , pp. 229 - 245
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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NOTES

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