Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Author Spotlight: Automated Lifespan Monitoring – Discovering Aging Dynamics with the Lifespan Machine
Published on: January 26, 2024
Civic involvement across the life course: moving beyond age-based assumptions
Barbara A Hirshorn1, Richard A Settersten2
1Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, Suite 507, 1600 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, United States.
Abstract:
This paper critically examines factors which, over time and context, are linked to civic involvement for individuals, age groups, and cohorts. We begin by critiquing current age- and cohort-related civic involvement canons and norms by extracting and evaluating rationales for why such activity in two particular periods of life-early adulthood and old age-is assumed to be good for individuals and for society. Then, employing elements of a life course perspective, we consider an alternative approach to civic involvement-one that emphasizes dynamic trajectories and the significant degree of variability within individuals, age groups and cohorts resulting in a very different set of assumptions about individual choice and activity. We close by discussing the utility of this alternative approach for research, policy, and practice regarding civic involvement.
More Related Videos
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
11:21Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Emerging Adulthood
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adulthood
Intimacy Versus Isolation in Early Adulthood
Individuals in early...
Longitudinal Research
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison