Ageism PPT

Ageism

Brown (2007)
• It is tempting to think that ageing is
‘natural’, but the opposite is the case. Ageing is an artefact of culture.
It is very rare in wild animals and was rare in humans until 200 years ago. Comfort 1977
• People cease to be people, cease to be the same people or, become people of a distinct and inferior kind, by virtue of having lived a specified number of years.

Ageism in the UK
• 10 million people in the UK are over 65 years old. The latest projections are for 5½ million more elderly people in
20 years time and the number will have nearly doubled to around 19 million by 2050.
• A man born in the UK in 1981 had a life expectancy at birth of 84 years. For a boy born today, the figure is 89 years, and by 2030 it is projected to be 91. The trend for women is similar. A girl born in 1981 was expected to live for 89 years and one born today might expect to live to 92.

Age Concern (2000)
• In the UK, 1 in 20 people aged 65+ have been refused treatment by the
NHS.
• In the UK, 1 in 10 people aged 50+ believe they were treated differently
(worse) because of their age.

Abrams, 2000
• In a survey for the University of Kent, England, 29% of respondents stated that they had suffered from age discrimination. This is a higher proportion than for gender or racial discrimination.
• Dominic Abrams professor at the university, concluded that Ageism is the most pervasive form of prejudice experienced in the UK population.

Media Influence
• Television portrays only 1.5 of its characters as elderly, and most of them are in minor roles (Zebrowitz and Montepare 2000).
• Scientists are generally stereotyped as older, grey-haired men who are academically oriented.

Age Concern (2000)
• In April 2000, Jill Baker was a cancer patient in her 60’s.
Despite being in generally good health, a junior doctor put a ‘not for resuscitation’ on her records.

Levy et al (2000)
• Elderly participants carried out a computer questionnaire, and subliminal messages both positive and negative were presented on screen.
• Given the choice of receiving a procedure without which they would die in a month.......... • Those shown the positive words chose the life saving treatment, while those exposed to negative words declined.

Gross, 2010
• Some of the words associated with older people include; vulnerable, weak, forgetful, clumsy, wrinkly, smelly, quiet, hunched over.
• It is a common perception that as we get older, we ‘loose our marbles’.
• Compared to other stereotypes, Old age is something that will affect everybody at some stage.

Ageism
• Smith (1998) argues that ‘we must abandon the fatalistic view that mental decline is an inevitable accompaniment of ageing’.
• A study by Schooler and Mulatu (2001) found that people who engage in intellectually demanding work, or hobbies tend to have better preserved intellectual capabilities and lower instances of dementia.
• Charness (1981), found that older Chess players demonstrated the same if not higher capabilities than those of their younger counterparts.

Ageism
• Negative cultural stereotypes of ageing actually cause memory decline in the elderly (self fulfilling prophecy). • Many medical students refer to their older patients as ‘geriatric crumbly’ or GOMER (get out of my emergency room) patients.