Welcome back! Last week, we chatted about the suicide rates in our elderly. If you missed it, click HERE to catch up! We hope you took that seriously and check in on your loved ones, friends, and co-workers often.
This week, we welcome Dr. Lei Ross. Dr. Ross will lead us on a journey unlike any other we’ve taken thus far. It will mean we have to go deep inside and examine our personal beliefs and how they relate to the elderly. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s chat…
Every day we are bombarded by images in the media of ways to stave off the aging process ranging from the use of non-invasive products, such as those deemed to be “rejuvenating” in nature (e.g., skin creams and even toothpaste) to more invasive procedures (e.g., Botox injections, plastic surgery). While society is acutely aware of the human life cycle, which consists of birth, life, and death, the emphasis on youth, beauty, and personal effectiveness is something that the media ensures that you don’t forget.
After more than a decade of working with the geriatric nursing home population, I now see things from a rather different perspective. This differential perspective was clearly brought to my attention when a young woman was soliciting donations to “help the children.” I thanked her for efforts, however, declined to make a donation. She began pressing me and questioned, “Why don’t you want to help sick children?” I responded by saying, “It’s not that I don’t want to help sick children. However, there are far more people who support children than the elderly. Therefore, I choose to donate to charities that assist the elderly.” My comment was met with the following biting remark, “Why waste your money on them? They’re going to kick it anyway.”
I was quite appalled at the callousness of her comments and also perplexed that someone so young possessed such a negative view of the elderly. This fueled my desire to understand the development of such negative age-related stereotypes and identify some strategies to institute a cognitive shift in how society views its senior citizens.
Back in 1954, Gordon Alport wrote a book entitled “The Nature of Prejudice”. He detailed how any prejudice that a child internalized is based on attitudes and stereotypes that are taught and reinforced by one’s family and cultural milieu. In 1977 Seefeldt, Jantz, Galper, & Serock conducted research with drawings depicting a man at four stages of life. This study clearly illustrated Alport’s point, as the results yielded that 67% of the children sampled viewed the oldest man to be “helpless, incapable of caring for himself, and generally passive.“
Such internalized aging stereotypes carry with them expectations that these individuals possess about their aging process. Seefeldt et al. further stated that when asked about their feelings about eventually becoming an elderly person 60% of the children sampled gave negative responses such as, “I would feel awful.”
The internalization of aging stereotypes is further reinforced via cognitive processes, such as cognitive dissonance. Levy (1996) alluded to the possibility that selective recollection pertaining to information about the elderly may occur so that it is “stereotypically congruent,” much like how we only pay attention to evidence that supports our hypotheses and personal views.
Finkelstein, Burke, & Raju (1995) and McCann and Giles (2002) found that while young workers may have regular contact with older workers, they are still inclined to adhere to the inaccurate stereotype that older workers are less productive. By categorizing any highly successful elder as an “exception to the rule,” or in this case an “exception to the internalized category,” Levy & Banaji (2002) claim that such a strategy is a form that younger workers utilize to eliminate any contrary evidence to a previously established cognitive schema. Once an elderly population is categorized as “incompetent, ugly, and burdensome” (Kitwood, 1997) one’s personal definition and perception of older individuals becomes set in stone.
We may think that this negative opinion of a few people may not be that big of a deal. However, when such a perspective begins to shape how policies are developed, begins to create parameters on how the value of a life is defined, and how it drives patient care, this seemingly insignificant personal perspective begins to have a direct effect on each of us.
So, what can be done if cognitive dissonance can have such a powerful hold on the way a person views others?
Rather than segregating groups by age, we need to make more of a concerted effort to make opportunities for intergenerational engagement possible. Intergenerational programs at the elementary school level that require a collaborative effort by various age groups to work toward a unified goal is one way to begin dispelling age-related stereotypes early on. Mentoring programs where children are paired with an older adult is another method to bridge the gap between the age groups.
Such contrived opportunities for engagement can only accomplish so much. For these programs to be effective, the establishment of genuine connections between the age groups needs to occur. And yet, real relationships cannot be forced, rather, they develop over time. Programs need to integrate opportunities for the age groups with identifying commonalities and deemphasizing differences. That can be a hard task when there is quite a disparity between the age groups. This process can be aided with the assistance of skilled personnel to assist the groups with finding connection points where on the surface they may not seem to exist and providing opportunities for the groups to examine and learn about each groups’ set of values and how they developed.
On an individual level, we can choose to engage with the elderly rather than shying away from them. We can choose to take the time to learn about their experiences and how this has contributed to the person they are today. Just as no one wants to be defined by their circumstances (e.g., poor, uneducated, orphaned, widowed, immigrant, etc.), we can choose to see beyond a person’s circumstances and view them for who they are.
I’m already a subscriber and please don’t start sending me 2 copies of everything just because you require me to subscribe to leave a reply on the blog.
I recommend Dr. Korr’s book “Living Long and Loving It” available as an e-book as the paper copy is out of print. It provides a wonderful osteopathically oriented alternative to the dominant aging stereotypes in the US. These stereotypes are reinforced by our health care system as it looks upon older folks as income opportunities. I loan my copies of this book to my patients and (hopefully) pass on to my grandchildren a different perspective on us older folks. There is also a U tube video entitled “93 year old weightlifter” which I applaud and promote as an example of an alternate self image which can be cultivated by choice. Thanks.
Hi Tom,
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “2 copies?” Our system is set up to send once, and if opened, not again. It resends then one more time if not opened, as the assumption is that emails get buried and in our stressful and busy lives, we often forget about the ones we intended to open. We get a much better open rate using this system.
As far as needing to subscribe in order to reply, that feature should be turned off on our part. Thank you for the feedback, as we don’t know these things are happening unless someone tells us. We will check into it today.
Lastly, thank you very much for both reading us, and commenting. I will look into the recommended reading material!
Be well, Linda Tate
This blog is important as a strategy to reverse the current “us against them” politics that has currently overridden our current political climate. Preventing or eliminating prejudice of all kinds is important for our democracy to survive.