![]() ![]() Finally, social withdrawal is gendered, meaning it is experienced differently by men and women. Therefore, this withdrawal allows a greater freedom from the pressure to conform. Second, as the elderly withdraw, they receive less reinforcement to conform to social norms. First, because everyone expects to die one day, and because we experience physical and mental decline as we approach death, it is natural to withdraw from individuals and society. There are several main points to the theory. The earliest gerontological theory in the functionalist perspective is disengagement theory, which suggests that withdrawing from society and social relationships is a natural part of growing old. Three social theories within the functional perspective were developed to explain how older people might deal with later-life experiences.įigure 13.17 Does being old mean disengaging from the world? (Credit: Candida Performa/Wikimedia Commons) How does this perspective address aging? The elderly, as a group, are one of society’s vital parts.įunctionalists find that people with better resources who stay active in other roles adjust better to old age (Crosnoe and Elder 2002). Functionalists gauge how society’s parts are working together to keep society running smoothly. Functionalismįunctionalists analyze how the parts of society work together. What roles do individual senior citizens play in your life? How do you relate to and interact with older people? What role do they play in neighborhoods and communities, in cities and in states? Sociologists are interested in exploring the answers to questions such as these through three different perspectives: functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory.
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