Is society ageist?
Our society often holds negative
stereotypes about older adults, which are evident in language, media, and
humour. Common phrases like “over the hill” and “don’t be an old
fuddy-duddy” depict Aging as a period of weakness and incompetence. This
bias against older individuals is termed “ageism.”
Ageism is defined as any attitude, action,
or societal structure that marginalizes individuals or groups based on age or
assigns roles purely on age. Ageism reflects a societal prejudice against older
adults.
However, ageism differs from other forms of
prejudice, like sexism and racism, in two keyways. First, age classification is
dynamic, changing as one progresses through life, unlike fixed categories like
race and gender. Second, nearly everyone will experience ageism unless they die
prematurely, affecting individuals on two levels: they may stereotype others
based on age, and they may internalize ageist attitudes affecting their
self-concept.
A substantial amount of research has been
conducted on ageism, but the empirical evidence is inconclusive due to
methodological differences and errors. Several methodological issues in ageism
research are worth discussing.
First, a prevalent problem in ageism
research is a mono-method bias, where each study employs only one method to
define ageism. This singular focus on age highlights age differences in the
subject’s mind and leads to the discovery of age-related disparities.
Second, many studies on ageism use
predominantly younger populations to investigate ageist attitudes. These
studies often focus on children, adolescents, or young adults, rather than the
older adults who are most affected by ageism. Furthermore, the few studies that
involve older subjects often use institutionalized individuals, who do not
represent the broader population of older adults.
Additionally, ageism research tends to
concentrate on negative stereotypes of old age, disregarding more recent
findings that suggest increasingly positive attitudes. Nevertheless, these
attitudes remain stereotypical, including positive stereotypes that are rarely
studied.
Two theoretical issues are also prevalent
in ageism research. Firstly, there is a lack of exploration into the root
causes of ageism, despite significant theoretical work in this area. Empirical
research is needed to understand these contributing factors better. Secondly,
ageism research often neglects to examine the interactions between ageism and
other forms of prejudice. As many individuals may experience multiple
prejudices simultaneously, it is essential to investigate how these prejudices
interact with each other.
Originally Published on https://boomersnotsenior.blogspot.com/
