Week 9: Ageism and Stereotypes Flashcards
TED Talk on Ageism
-Ageism survey in Canada found that ageism is the most tolerated form of social discrimination in Canada. 8/10 believe seniors aged 75+ seen as less important and are more ignored than younger generations.
-TED talk: U-Curve of happiness in life (happiest at the beginning and end of life, lowest in the middle), ageism is prejudice against our own future self, a sense of purpose can make you clear until the end (even with a declining brain) and when you have more ageism, you make it harder for older people to have purpose,
-There is no ‘typical’ older person
Negative Expectations for Old Age (6 examples)
-Demanding
-Needy
-Boring
-Useless
-‘Empty years’
-Out of touch
What is a stereotype
-“How we think”
-Age-related stereotypes are defined as cognitive structures embedding beliefs and expectations that people hold about different age stages.
-Stereotypes of aging include assumptions and generalizations about how people at or over a certain age should behave
How do Stereotypes Exist (2 Subcategories)
- Explicit Attitudes
-Previously learned information
-What people consciously endorse or believe
-Direct and deliberate
-Can be acknowledged - Implicit priming
-Associations that are outside of the conscious awareness
-Unconscious and effortless
-Indirect and automatic
-Involuntarily active
The stereotype content model (SCM):
- First proposed in 2002
- All group stereotypes and interpersonal impressions form along two dimensions:
-WARMTH
-COMPETENCE - The model is based on the notion that people are evolutionarily predisposed to first assess a stranger’s intent to either harm or help them (warmth dimension) and second to judge the stranger’s capacity to act on that perceived intention (competence dimension)
-elderly people: friendly and want to help, but don’t have the capabilities to do so (high warmth, low competence)
Case Study Example Stone & Baker (2017)
-Self-efficacy and biomechanics related to stair navigation in older adults
-primed older adults can navigate stairs with more confidence, quickness, and efficiency
Barber et al. (2020)
-Stereotype threat can impair older adults’ physical performance
-Dependent on task’s objective difficulty and participants’ subjective evaluations of their own resources
-primed either positive or negative (2 different pamphlets), more positive primer resulted in more positive thoughts and less falls
What is ageism
-Ageism refers to how we think (stereotypes), feel (prejudice) and act (discrimination) towards others or ourselves based on age.
-Everyday ageism – occurs in day-to-day lives through interpersonal interactions and exposure to ageist beliefs, assumptions, and stereotypes. For adults aged 50-80 years old this means:
-82% experience one or more forms of everyday
-65% exposure to ageist messages
-45% ageism in interpersonal interactions
-36% internalized ageism
- Cognitive (stereotypes)
- Emotional (prejudice)
- Behavioural (discrimination)
Ageism is Everywhere
-According to the World Health Organization, 50% of people worldwide are ageist against older people
-Ageism affects our organizations, institutions, relationships and ourselves
-Workplace: Ageism can affect financial security and mental health. A 2020 survey found that 78% of older workers experienced or witnessed age discrimination at work.
-Healthcare: Ageism is prevalent in healthcare, through communication, diagnosis and treatment decisions
-Media: Ageism is present in the media with negative portrayals, underrepresentation, and framing aging as the program
-Legal system: Ageism is present in the legal system with ageism language, age restrictions, and accessibility
Ageism Affects Everyone
Ageism shortens older adults’ lives (WHO, 2021)
-Poor physical health
-Delay in injury or illness recovery
-Decreased mental health
-Increased social isolation and loneliness
-Lower quality of life
-Ageism costs society billions of dollars (WHO, 2021)
-Ageism causes conflict between generations (Palmore, 2015)
-Ageism causes loss of productivity in the workplace (Palmore, 2015)
-Ageism causes elder abuse (Pillemer, 2021)
Example: Media Representations
-Portrayal of older adults:
-96% positive portrayal for individuals under 50 years old
-only 72% positive portrayal for individuals 50+ years old
-Only 15% of images in the news are of individuals over 50+ years old
-Disney roles for older characters:
-39% of older adults had major role
-80% were male
-Many portrayed as negative
Categories of Everyday Ageism (3)
-Exposure to ageist messages
-Ageism in interpersonal interactions
-Internalized ageism
How is it all related? (Stereotypes -> Health)
Age Stereotypes cause activation in threatening situation or internalization, affects hedonic well-being (life satisfaction, positive affects) and eudaimonic well-being (purpose, autonomy, personal growth, positive relationships, self-acceptance) = concept of physical and mental health
Combatting Ageism (3 ways)
Policy and Law- Policy and law can address discrimination and inequality based on age and protect the human rights of everyone, everywhere.
Education- Educational activities can transmit knowledge and skills and enhance empathy
Intergeneration- Intergenerational interventions can contribute to the mutual understanding and cooperation of different generations
Combatting Ageism with Research
-Investing resources in research activities, including into formative, monitoring and evaluation research
Important for campaigns to foster a learning environments
-Include research throughout the entire campaign
-Know when to measure, what to measure and how best to measure
-Ensure research findings are responded to in an appropriate and timely manner
Combatting Ageism with Community Work (3 categories)
- Engage
-Engage, respond to, and incorporate voices of the community
-Participatory Action Research Engage - Involve
-Involve a range of government structures
-Middle-out approach
-Work alongside various partners to enable to effective use of resources - Include
-Include representatives from affected communities in workshops, marketing, and feedback
-Create co-researchers
