disengagement theory

a theory proposing that old age involves a gradual withdrawal of the individual from society and of society from the individual. According to this theory, those happiest in old age have turned their attention inward toward the self and away from involvement in the outside world. Empirical research has shown, however, that this mutual withdrawal is not an inevitable component of old age. Compare activity theory; continuity theory. [developed by 20th-century U.S. psychologists Elaine Cumming and William E. Henry]

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

March 9th 2025

true experiment

a study in which participants are assigned at random to two or more experimentally manipulated treatment conditions or to a treatment group and a control group. This type of experiment is in contrast to quasi-experimental designs, such as natural experiments and field experiments.