Kathleen Berger, who is the lifespan human development textbook author, initiates the conversation about ageism with an example of a study of older adults who performed poorly on the cognitive test which flashed negative stereotypes about aging.
Words like " decline, dependant, senile, misplaces, dementia, dying, forgetful" were flashed quickly on the screen. Cognitive tasks were performed after that. Another group of adults were shown the positive emotion words related to aging like "wise, guidance, alert, creative, insightful". Second group did much better on the cognitive test that followed. The researcher mentions that younger people performing the same test were not affected at all by this stereotyping, because they did not identify with it.
I usually perform better on my oral presentations when people are understanding of an accent and are interested to hear what I say, not the way I pronounce it. I remember long time in DCCC when a teacher ( not English or speech) offered to listen to my assignment beforehand to make sure of my pronunciation, so "students will understand my presentation", when the only person who did not understand me was the teacher. I was so diffident and shy throught the whole thing that I failed miserably and stuttered through the whole thing confirming the stereotype.
Society needs to promote confidence in elderly as well as stress their intelligence to fight off the negative stereotyping.
Did anyone witness or experienced negative stereotyping against elderly? How did it feel? Did it affect your performance or the performance of a person who experienced it?
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Hey Olga,
ReplyDeleteI logged in under your account and wanted to leave you some feedback on this issue.
First off, I feel very strongly about this issue simply because I am part of today's young adults within society. While I have worked very diligently to avoid stereotyping, categorizing or making poorly judged assumptions, I have absolutely faced ageism as a personal conflict.
For example, often when I have applied for jobs at corporate offices, or other upscale, highly professional and prestigious offices I have been practically shunned simply due to my age and presumed "lack of maturity for such an overbearing load of responsibility." While I look rather young, my integrity as an ethical worker or knowledge within the field should be based on my credentials and experience rather than the year I was born...or so one would think.
In addition, I have also been faced with many other expectations that were set for me by other people simply due to my ethnicity and sex. I am Korean, but I grew up in the United States and have been at the top of my english, science and math classes since grade school. Being a younger girl in my middle twenties I was recently greeted upon a gentleman who thought it complimentary to tell me that I "spoke very good English." I could only respond by saying, "Yes, I speak English very well...and I should after living here for twenty-four years." Expectations that we set for other people based on age or appearances are merely lies that our eyes tell us and our mind allows us to believe.
Regarding ageism, I find aging to be a blessed and rewarding experience. While I'm sure most people reading this opinion would laugh, being that I am only 24-years old. But in truth, I'm tired of being considered a child. I have been living on my own and taking care of myself for six years, and I am now currently taking care of my parents. I would love to be in my early thirties and looked upon with a level of respect. While most people my age are having a beer at happy hour, I am grocery shopping, reading a book, or cleaning my apartment. Age does not define people. People can define age. A person with a positive attitude and a rejuvenating spirit is in my opinion timeless.
I agree very much so that people follow stereotypes because they are afraid. I believe moreso that they are afraid of the unknown rather than the stereotype itself. As my mother would say, "call a spade a spade and people feel much more comfortable."
I know my grandmother has been stereotyped due to her age, and while she was offended, she has become wise enough to grow above such negativity. Initially, it affected her self-esteem, but she has enough integrity to bounce back.
Thanks for your input! Talk to you soon!
~ Melissa
Because I help women find jobs and do career changes, I see alot of women in their late 50s and 60s coming to do something different with their lives. Often they have trouble getting interviews in their new career, even if they say they are happy to take lower pay and an entry level job for experience.
ReplyDeleteIt's illegal, but it happens alot - it's another way that ageism affects people. I think younger people in the workplace have alot of stereotypes about working with older adults or may be insecure that they will outpace them for promotions because they have so much experience. It's a real barrier to their making positive changes in their life!