Govt Essay Note

Govt Essay Note Govt Essay Note Trait Theories * Personality V. traits * Personality- consists of unique and relatively stable patterns of thoughts, feelings, and actions * Traits- personal characteristics we use to describe someone * Gordon Allport described individuals by their trait hierarchy * Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck used factor analysis to identify the smallest possible number of traits * Five-factor model (FFM)- used to describe most individuals * Openness * Conscientiousness * Extroversion * Agreeableness * Neuroticism * Key research finding and criticisms of trait theories * Evolutionary research and cross-cultural studies support the five-factor model * Trait theories are subject to three major criticisms * Lack of explanation- no explanation for why people develop certain traits an why traits sometimes change * Stability versus change- no specifics provided about which early characteristics endure and which are transient * Ignoring situational effects Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic theories * Freud’s psychoanalytic approach to personality * Sigmund Freud founded the psychoanalytic approach to personality, which emphasizes the power of the unconscious * The mind (psyche) reportedly functions on three level of awareness * Conscious * Preconscious * Unconscious * The personality has three distinct structures * Id * Ego * Superego * The ego struggles to meet the demands of both id and superego. * When these demands conflict, the ego may resort to defense mechanisms to relieve anxiety * Freud’s five psychosexual stages * Oral * Anal * Phallic * Latency * Gentital * Freud VS. neo-Freudians’ approaches to personality * Three influential followers of Freud who later broke from him were: * Alfred Adler- * emphasized the inferiority complex and the compensating will-to-power * Carl Jung * Introduced the collective unconscious and archetypes * Karen Horney * Stressed the importance of basic anxiety and refuted Freudâ€℠¢s idea of penis envy, replacing it with power envy * Major criticisms of psychoanalytic theories of personality * Critics of the psychoanalytic approach, especially Freud’s theories, argue that * the approach is difficult to test * overemphasizes biology and unconscious forces * has inadequate empirical support * is sexist * lacks cross-cultural support * Despite these criticisms, Freud remains a notable pioneer in psychology Humanistic Theories * Discuss humanistic theories of personality, comparing the approaches of Rogers and Maslow * Humanistic theories focus on internal experiences (thoughts and feelings) and the individual’s self-concepts * Carl Rogers emphasized mental health, congruence, self-esteem, and unconditional positive regard * Abraham Maslow emphasized the potential for self-actualization * Major criticisms of humanistic theories of personality * Critics of the humanistic approach argue that these theories are based on naà ¯ve assumptions and are not scientifically testable or well supported by empirical evidence * In addition, their focus on description, rather than explanation, makes them narrow Social-Cognitive Theories * Social-cognitive perspective on personality, comparing Bandura and Rotter’s approaches * Social-cognitive theorists- emphasize the importance of our interactions with the environment and how we interpret and respond to these external events * Albert Bandura’s social-cognitive approach focuses on self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism * Julian Rotter- emphasizes cognitive expectancies and an internal or external

Senior Americans - Living Past 90 in the U.S.A.

Senior Americans - Living Past 90 in the U.S.A. Americas population of persons aged 90-and-older has almost tripled since 1980, reaching 1.9 million in 2010 and will continue to increase to more than 7.6 million over the next 40 years, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau. If you think government benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare are financially strained now, just wait. In August 2011, the Centers for Disease Control reported that Americans are now living longer and dying less than ever before. As a result, people 90 and over now make up 4.7% of all people 65 and older, as compared with only 2.8% in 1980. By 2050, projects the Census Bureau, the 90 and over share will reach 10 percent. Traditionally, the cutoff age for what is considered the oldest old has been age 85, said Census Bureau demographer Wan He in a press release, but increasingly people are living longer and the older population itself is getting older. Given its rapid growth, the 90-and-older population merits a closer look. The Threat to Social Security A closer look to say the least. The great threat to the long-term survival of Social Security - the Baby Boomers drew their very first Social Security check on February 12, 2008. Over the next 20 years, more than 10,000 Americans a day will become eligible for Social Security benefits. Millions of these Boomers will retire, begin collecting monthly social security checks and go on Medicare. For decades before the Baby Boomers, about 2.5 million babies a year were born in the United States. Starting in 1946, that figure jumped to 3.4 million. New births peaked from 1957 to 1961 with 4.3 million births a year. It was that spurt that produced the 76 million Baby Boomers. In December 2011, the Census Bureau reported that the Baby Boomers had become the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. The inconvenient and unavoidable truth is that the longer Americans live, the faster the Social Security system runs out of money. That sad day, unless Congress changes the way Social Security works, is now estimated to come in 2042. The minimum age to begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits is 62. Medicare coverage, which covers about 80 percent of basic healthcare, begins automatically at age 65. Persons who wait until age 67 to apply for Social Security currently receive about 30 percent higher benefits than those who retire at 62. It pays to wait. 90 Not Necessarily the New 60 According to findings in the Census American Community Survey report, 90 in the United States: 2006-2008, living well into ones 90s may not necessarily be a decade at the beach.A majority of people 90 and over live alone or in nursing homes and reported having at least one physical or mental disability. In keeping with long-standing trends, more women than men are living into their 90s, but tend to have higher rates of widowhood, poverty, and disability than women in their eighties. Older Americans chances of requiring nursing home care also increase rapidly with advancing age. While only about 1% of people in their upper 60s and 3% in their upper 70s live in nursing homes, the proportion jumps to about 20% for those in their lower 90s, more than 30% for people in their upper 90s, and nearly 40% for persons 100 and over. Sadly, old age and disability still go hand-in-hand. According to census data, 98.2% of all people in their 90s who lived in a nursing home had a disability and 80.8% of people in their 90s who did not live in a nursing home also had one or more disabilities. Overall, the proportion of people age 90 to 94 having disabilities is more than 13 percentage points higher than that of 85- to 89-year-olds. The most common types of disabilities reported to the Census Bureau included difficulty doing errands alone and performing general mobility-related activities like walking or climbing stairs. Money Over 90? During 2006-2008, the inflation-adjusted median income of people 90 and over was $14,760, almost half (47.9%) of which came from Social Security. Income from retirement pension plans accounted for another 18.3% of income for persons in their 90s. Overall, 92.3% of people 90 and older received Social Security benefit income. In 2206-2008, 14.5% of people 90 and older reported living in poverty, compared to only 9.6% of people 65-89 years old. Almost all (99.5%) of all people 90 and older had health insurance coverage, mainly Medicare. Far More Surviving Women Over 90 than Men According to 90 in the United States: 2006-2008, women surviving into their 90s outnumber men by a ratio of almost three to one. For every 100 women between ages 90 to 94, there were only 38 men. For every 100 women ages 95 to 99, the number of men dropped to 26, and for every 100 women 100 and older, only 24 men. In 2006-2008, half of men 90 and older lived in a household with family members and/or unrelated individuals, less than one-third lived alone, and about 15 percent were in an institutionalized living arrangement such as a nursing home. In contrast, less than one-third of women in this age group lived in a household with family members and/or unrelated individuals, four in 10 lived alone, and another 25% were in institutionalized living arrangements.