1. Psyc 339 Ch. 1

2. 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.

3. Demographics of Canada
David Foot: Boom, Bust & Echo

4. 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.

5. 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).

6. Where do stereotypes originate?
Family and friends

7. Where do stereotypes originate?
Family and friends
School (Ekstrom et al., 1976)
Youth Beauty Life Age _____ Death

8. Media
advertising

9. Media
advertising
television

10. Media
advertising
television
movies

12. Media advertising television movies greeting cards
Age specific paper birthday cards
67% represent aging in a –ve manner
(Ellis & Morrison, 2005)

17. Documented Age-Related Stereotypes
Multiple Stereotypes

18. Younger Adults Stereotypes of Older Adults
3 positive; 5 negative (Hummert, 1994)
Positive
golden ager
perfect grandparent
John Wayne conservative

19. Younger Adults Stereotypes of Older Adults (cont’d)
Negative stereotypes
shrew/curmudgeon
despondent
vulnerable
severely impaired
recluse

20. Consequences of Negative Stereotypes
Prejudice - evaluation

21. Consequences of Negative Stereotypes
Prejudice - evaluation
Discrimination - action

22. Consequences of Negative Stereotypes
Prejudice - evaluation
Discrimination - action
Ageism (Butler, 1969)

23. 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

24. Improving attitudes
Intergenerational interactions
contact theory

25. Improving attitudes Intergenerational interactions
contact theory (Allport, 1954)
mentoring programs

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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
Results: Info alone initial improvements
Info plus reinf +ve change at 1 mo. follow-up

29. 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.

30. A Message from CARP

31. 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)