Psyc 339 Ch. 1

What are your views?

• Please write down the first words or phrases that come to mind when you think of someone who is over the age of 65.

Demographics of Canada

• David Foot: Boom, Bust & Echo

What are your views?

• Please write down the first words or phrases that come to mind when you think of someone who is over the age of 65.

• Please write down the first words or phrases that come to mind when you think of someone who is between the ages of 18 and 30.

What is a stereotype?

• A generalization about a group of people in which identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group, regardless of actual variation among the members (Aronson et al., 2000).

Where do stereotypes originate?

• Family and friends

Where do stereotypes originate?

• Family and friends

• School (Ekstrom et al., 1976)– Youth Beauty Life

Age _____ Death

• Media– advertising

• Media– advertising– television

• Media– advertising– television– movies

• Media– advertising– television– movies– greeting cards

• Age specific paper birthday cards– 67% represent aging in a –ve manner

(Ellis & Morrison, 2005)

Documented Age-Related Stereotypes

• Multiple Stereotypes

Younger Adults Stereotypes of Older Adults

• 3 positive; 5 negative (Hummert, 1994)

• Positive– golden ager– perfect grandparent– John Wayne conservative

Younger Adults Stereotypes of Older Adults (cont’d)

• Negative stereotypes– shrew/curmudgeon– despondent– vulnerable– severely impaired– recluse

Consequences of Negative Stereotypes

• Prejudice - evaluation

Consequences of Negative Stereotypes

• Prejudice - evaluation

• Discrimination - action

Consequences of Negative Stereotypes

• Prejudice - evaluation

• Discrimination - action– Ageism (Butler, 1969)

The Most Common Types of Ageism (Palmore, 2001)

• Told an ageist joke• “You’re too old”• Ailments caused by age• Patronized • Assumed I could not

hear• Assumed I could not

understand

• Ageist birthday cards• Ignored/not taken

seriously• Not treated with

dignity or respect• Called an insulting

name• Rejected as

unattractive

Improving attitudes

• Intergenerational interactions– contact theory

Improving attitudes

• Intergenerational interactions– contact theory (Allport, 1954)– mentoring programs

Improving attitudes

• Increase intergenerational interactions– contact theory (Allport, 1954)– mentoring programs– intergenerational shared site programs

• nursing home/childcare

• adult day service centers/childcare centers– e.g., Schultz, 1976

Improving attitudes (cont’d)

• Education/Information– e.g., Ragan and Bowen, 2001

Grp 1 Information Only

Grp 2 Info plus innocuous discussion grp

Grp 3 Info plus reinforcing discussion grp

Improving attitudes (cont’d)

• Education/Information– e.g., Ragan and Bowen, 2001

Grp 1 Information OnlyGrp 2 Info plus innocuous discussion grpGrp 3 Info plus reinforcing discussion grp

Results: Info alone initial improvementsInfo plus reinf +ve change at 1 mo. follow-up

Summary

• Multiple age-related stereotypes exist.

• There are methods to reduce negative stereotypes.

• We need to:– educate others– reinforce positive age-related stereotypes – adopt positive age-related behaviours.

A Message from CARP

• Chronological age vs. functional age (Birren, 1969)

• Young-old s. old-old – Refers to health and social chars

(Neugarten, 1974)

• The fourth age = after 80 years(Baltes, 1997)