Conceptual development in social gerontology is overdue for infusions
of innovative thinking. To date, theorizing has evolved in dialectical
fashion from an emphasis on individual adaptation, to structural cons
traints, to interactive processes. Fruitful as these efforts have been
, they have not adequately addressed issues of cross-cultural and subc
ultural diversity, heterogeneity, and nonlinear change. Also, much of
what has been taken to be life-course development may be grounded in o
ccupational trajectories. The discussion here sets the stage for a ful
ler explication of some of these issues, and, it is hoped, will point
the way toward further innovative conceptual development in the field.