Awareness of age-related change: examination of a (mostly) unexplored concept.

This theoretical article discusses the emerging concept of awareness of age-related change (AARC). We propose that a focus on AARC extends the research traditions on subjective age experiences and age identity and that examination of this concept can serve a stimulating role in social gerontology. After defining and contrasting AARC against similar concepts, several reasons for the relevance of this mostly unexplored construct are provided. The sample domains of health and physical functioning, cognitive functioning, and interpersonal relations are used to illustrate the relevance of AARC. Based on this review, we then provide a heuristic framework that describes antecedents, processes, and outcomes related to AARC. Overall, we argue that research on AARC should become an integral part of social gerontological research.

[1]  B. Levy.  Improving memory in old age through implicit self-stereotyping. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[2]  S. Stryker,et al.  Stability and change in self over the life course. , 1988 .

[3]  Todd D. Nelson.  Ageism: Stereotyping and prejudice against older persons. , 2003 .

[4]  Julia Twigg,et al.  The body, gender, and age: Feminist insights in social gerontology , 2004 .

[5]  Toni C. Antonucci,et al.  Social relations: An examination of social networks, social support, and sense of control. , 2001 .

[6]  C. Carver,et al.  On the Self-Regulation of Behavior , 1998 .

[7]  Jochen Brandtstädter,et al.  The Life-Course Dynamics of Goal Pursuit and Goal Adjustment: A Two-Process Framework , 2002 .

[8]  Ross Macmillan,et al.  THE STRUCTURE OF THE LIFE COURSE: STANDARDIZED? INDIVIDUALIZED? DIFFERENTIATED? , 2005 .

[9]  G. Westerhof,et al.  Age identity and subjective well-being: a comparison of the United States and Germany. , 2005, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[10]  D. Deeg,et al.  Concepts of self-rated health: specifying the gender difference in mortality risk. , 2003, The Gerontologist.

[11]  V. Marshall.  Age and Awareness of Finitude in Developmental Gerontology , 1975 .

[12]  K. Roen,et al.  Surgery and Embodiment: Carving Out Subjects , 2008 .

[13]  C. Carver,et al.  Self-regulation of action and affect. , 2004 .

[14]  R. Allada,et al.  Biological clocks , 2000 .

[15]  W. Fleeson,et al.  Developmental regulation before and after a developmental deadline: the sample case of "biological clock" for childbearing. , 2001, Psychology and aging.

[16]  R. Settersten.  Invitation to the Life Course: Towards new understandings of later life , 2002 .

[17]  K. Vohs,et al.  Handbook of self-regulation : research, theory, and applications , 2004 .

[18]  L. Carstensen.  The Influence of a Sense of Time on Human Development , 2006, Science.

[19]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Life Span Theory in Developmental Psychology , 2007 .

[20]  Richard M. Lerner,et al.  Theoretical models of human development , 2006 .

[21]  H. Wahl,et al.  Patterns of Communication in Old Age: The Dependence-Support and Independence-Ignore Script , 1996 .

[22]  N. Steverink,et al.  The personal experience of aging, individual resources, and subjective well-being. , 2001, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[23]  L. Bäckman,et al.  Effects of multifactorial memory training in old age: generalizability across tasks and individuals. , 1995, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[24]  M. Becker,et al.  Health Belief Model and Personal Health Behavior , 1976 .

[25]  Jacqui Smith,et al.  Self-perceptions of Aging: Do Subjective Age and Satisfaction with Aging Change during Old Age? Subjective Age Satisfaction with Aging , 2022 .

[26]  Frieder R. Lang,et al.  Psychological Aging: A Contextual View , 2006 .

[27]  I. Connidis.  The Subjective Experience of Aging: Correlates of Divergent Views , 1989, Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement.

[28]  T. Salthouse.  Effects of age and skill in typing. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[29]  C. Ryff,et al.  My children and me: midlife evaluations of grown children and of self. , 1994, Psychology and aging.

[30]  S. Whitbourne.  The Aging Individual: Physical and Psychological Perspectives , 1996 .

[31]  G. Jay,et al.  Longitudinal Change and Prediction of Everyday Task Competence in the Elderly , 1992, Research on aging.

[32]  Alan A. Hartley,et al.  Changing Role of the Speed of Processing Construct in the Cognitive Psychology of Human Aging , 2006 .

[33]  K. Ferraro,et al.  Gerontology : perspectives and issues , 1990 .

[34]  F. Craik,et al.  The handbook of aging and cognition , 1992 .

[35]  P. Baltes,et al.  Life Span Development and Behavior , 1978 .

[36]  Karl M. Newell,et al.  Aging, Complexity, and Motor Performance , 2006 .

[37]  T. Hess.  Attitudes toward Aging and Their Effects on Behavior , 2006 .

[38]  J. Muehlenkamp,et al.  Aging, Body Image, and Body Shape , 2008, The Journal of general psychology.

[39]  V. Bengtson,et al.  Social breakdown and competence. A model of normal aging. , 1973, Human development.

[40]  P. Baltes,et al.  Perceived controllability of expected psychological change across adulthood and old age. , 1991, Journal of gerontology.

[41]  V. Marshall.  Agency, Events, and Structure at the End of the Life Course☆ , 2005 .

[42]  C. Hertzog,et al.  Adults' Efficacy and Control Beliefs Regarding Memory and Aging: Separating General from Personal Beliefs , 1998 .

[43]  J. Munnichs.  Old Age and Finitude: A Contribution to Psychogerontology , 1966 .

[44]  S. Biggs.  Beyond appearances: perspectives on identity in later life and some implications for method. , 2005, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[45]  E. Tulle,et al.  The Ageing Body and the Ontology of Ageing: Athletic Competence in Later Life , 2008 .

[46]  B. Levy,et al.  Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Aging Self-stereotypes Internalization of Aging Stereotypes , 2022 .

[47]  Y. Benyamini,et al.  Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. , 1997, Journal of health and social behavior.

[48]  S. Duval,et al.  A theory of objective self awareness , 1972 .

[49]  Ethel Shanas,et al.  Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences , 1991 .

[50]  Martin D Slade,et al.  Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. , 2002, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[51]  C. Bode,et al.  Expectations of gains in the second half of life: a study of personal conceptions of enrichment in a lifespan perspective , 2003, Ageing and Society.

[52]  M. Marsiske,et al.  Subjective memory beliefs and cognitive performance in normal and mildly impaired older adults , 2006, Aging & mental health.

[53]  B. Roberts,et al.  Conscientiousness and health-related behaviors: a meta-analysis of the leading behavioral contributors to mortality. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[54]  K. Rook,et al.  Dealing with negative social exchanges in later life: coping responses, goals, and effectiveness. , 2006, Psychology and aging.

[55]  E. Tulle.  Ageing, the Body and Social Change , 2008 .

[56]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Gains and losses in development throughout adulthood as perceived by different adult age groups. , 1989 .

[57]  Denise C. Park,et al.  Handbook of the Psychology of Aging , 1979 .

[58]  P. Moen,et al.  Converging divergences in age, gender, health, and well-being: Strategic selection in the third age , 2006 .

[59]  C. Hertzog,et al.  Metacognition in adulthood and old age. , 2000 .

[60]  Ross Macmillan.  The Structure of the Life Course: Classic Issues and Current Controversies , 2005 .

[61]  I. Sigel,et al.  HANDBOOK OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY , 2006 .

[62]  R. Schulz,et al.  A life-span theory of control. , 1995, Psychological review.

[63]  A. Barrett.  Socioeconomic status and age identity: the role of dimensions of health in the subjective construction of age. , 2003, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences.

[64]  C. Longino,et al.  Towards the Postmodernization of Aging: The Body and Social Theory , 2001 .

[65]  K. Warner Schaie,et al.  Developmental Influences on Adult Intelligence: The Seattle Longitudinal Study , 2012 .

[66]  D. B. Mitchell,et al.  The handbook of aging and cognition , 2001 .

[67]  Amy J. C. Cuddy,et al.  Doddering, but Dear: Process, Content, and Function in Stereotyping of Older Persons , 2002 .

[68]  T. Calasanti.  Ageism, Gravity, and Gender: Experiences of Aging Bodies , 2005 .

[69]  M. Scheier,et al.  Giving Up on Unattainable Goals: Benefits for Health? , 2007, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[70]  D. Wentura,et al.  Immunizing the Self: Self-Concept Stabilization Through Reality-Adaptive Self-Definitions , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[71]  K. Schaie,et al.  Perceived intellectual performance change over seven years. , 1994, Journal of gerontology.