Psychology Proposed by the American psychologists E Cumming and R E Henry.
This concerns the psychological processes at work in reduced involvement in the social environment, contending that retirement involves a sharp decline in social interaction, a reduced life space and loss of social esteem and morale. This contrasts with the view that the individual shifts from one set of activities and social roles to others that may be equally or even more satisfying (re-engagement theory). The role of cultural values, attitudes, mode of life, economic and social factors were relatively neglected in the earliest formulations of the theory. SeeACTIVITY THEORY OF AGEING.
D Bromley, The Psychology of Human Ageing (Harmondsworth, 1966)
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