Health Psych Session 2- Stereotypes And Ageing Flashcards
Define stereotype
Generalisations we make about specific social groups and members of those groups. Prone to an emphasis on negative traits, and are resistant to change.
What is the function of stereotypes?
Save ‘processing power’
Environment is more predictable
Allows anticipation
Avoids information overload
Define schemata
Members of group share same characteristics
What are the benefits of grouping people?
Assign people to categories to help understand social environment
Social identification
Social comparison builds self esteem
How can grouping people lead to prejudice?
People are more likely to focus on negative attributes of people from other social groups, and on positive attributes of people in their own social groups- negative bias can lead to prejudice
How does prejudice differ from discrimination?
Prejudice is prejudgment often based on negative stereotypes and discrimination is allowing that judgement to affect how you behave
When are we more likely to rely on stereotypes?
Under time pressure, fatigued or suffering information overload
How does intellect change with ageing?
Some aspects of cognitive function decline with age
Some aspects of intellect are very stable over time
Some individuals change very little
Describe the developmental model of personality ageing
It derives from psychoanalytical theory
Young adult life- intimacy vs isolation
Mid adult life- generation vs stagnation
Old age- integrity vs despair
Describe the trait model of personality ageing
Personality is described in terms of constituent traits
Cross sectional studies suggest a different distribution of traits at different ages
Longitudinal studies emphasise the stability of traits within an individual over time
Briefly list the different aspects of life that change in old age
Family- ‘empty nest’, grandparenthood, importance of friends
Work and retirement
Death and bereavement
