COMMUNICATION AND AGING
CHP. 2
ATTITUDES AND AGEISM
CHELSEA DAVIS
COMM 165
VIEWS OF AGING PROCESS
The difference between the way young adults
view elderly people and the way elderly view
themselves well over 200 empirical studies. The
majority showed negative attitudes towards the
aging process.
 The United States is based off of a Greek culture
so the negative attitudes are a direct result of
that
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VIEWS OF AGING PROCESS
Greek
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Very negative
Stressed the great
fortune of youth and the
great fortune of youth
and the misfortune of
the old
An individual who dies
young is loved by the
gods. A person who lives
into old age is being
punished by the gods
Middle Eastern
Very positive
 “Age brings status
and prestige to a man
not only in his family
but also in his
community
 Old age is a blessing,
and, therefore if a
person dies young,
that individual is not
blessed
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RESEARCH TRENDS IN AGING STUDIES
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1) Relative to ratings of other age categories, ratings of old
age tend to be more negative
2) Most people have mixed feelings about various aspects of
old age and tend to rate old age positively on some
dimensions and negatively on others
3) There are more stereotypes associated with old age than
with younger ones
4) Many negative stereotypes are held by a majority of
people
5) Knowledge about aging can be improved and
misconceptions can be reduced by training in gerontology,
but attitudes are more resistant to change.
COMMON STEREOTYPES
Negative
Severely impaired
 Despondednt
 Shrew/ curmudgeon
 recluse

Postive
Golden ager
 Perfect grandparent
 John Wayne
conservative

WHAT ACTIVATES
A GIVEN STEREOTYPE
Context
 Characteristics of the perceiver
 Characteristics of the elderly individual

CONTEXT
Activating either a positive or negative
stereotypes by making positive or negative
aspects of aging salient in the encounter
 Example- meeting an older person in a nursing
home would make the negative aspects of aging
more salient
 Example 2- Meeting the same older person on a
cruise ship would make the positive aspects of
aging more salient

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERCIEVER
Influence whether positive or negative
stereotypes are activated
 An individuals cognitive complexity and quality
of prior contact with the elderly people influence
the schema he or she has available to be
activated.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ELDERLY
Characteristics of the elderly individual will
influence which stereotypes are activated
 If the older person exhibits traits that are related
to negative stereotypes those will be activated
with same with positive stereotypes
 The more a younger individual encounters an
elderly in a positive or negative situation is how
the person is going to perceive the elder
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COMMUNICATION ACCOMMODATION
THEORY
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Individuals define their social identity through the
groups to which they belong. Individuals compare
their own group’s status in society to that of other
groups, finding ways to bolster their self esteem by
identifying the positive aspects of their own group.
Theory has been applied to aging by indentifying that
one categorization made by individuals is whether or
not the other person is a age peer or a member of a
different age group
Individuals identified as members of “old age”
because of negative stereotypes of aging are placed in
an undesirable position and find that others diverge
from them
Summarized by the Communication Predicament of
Aging
COMMUNICATION PREDICAMENT OF
AGING
Proposes a spiraling effect of aging-related
expectations, conversational experiences, and
future expectations for interaction.
 Older individuals are believed to have difficulty
with both receptive and expressive
communicative skills.
 Lead younger person to modify and accommodate
their difficulties.
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UNCERTAINTY REDUCTION THEORY
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First, as the social
distance between
individuals decreases,
young people may be
less likely to enter
interaction with the
elderly
Second important
implication involves
the greater
importance of level of
income over age when
young people are
asked about their
willingness to interact
with an “old person”
 “MONEY EQUALS
POWER”
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CONCLUSION
Attitudes are likes and dislikes, which often lead
to prejudice and discrimination
 Recent investigations have explored that
attitudes to the aging process are becoming more
positive, but still predominantly negative
 These attitudes have led to an ageist society
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