The incomplete social psychology of aging: a psychologist's perspective

The social psychology of aging as currently practiced within social gerontology is incomplete. It is quite different from sociological approaches to (nonaging) social psychology and virtually unrelated to psychological ones. This incompleteness--its origins, range, and effects--is examined, and the outlines of a more complete social psychology of aging are presented in this article. The development of a more complete social psychology of aging, and its expansion toward a life span developmental social psychology, is possible and would have beneficial effects on both social psychologists and on social gerontological research and practice.