Origins of the Ageism Concept[i]
Many
of the just fewer than 11,000 page views of this blog have indicated a strong
interest in Ageism. Recently as I
was exploring around in the Internet, I came upon this material, which in
addition also has interesting information about aging and intelligence.
I
intend to examine it thoroughly and it is likely that several blog posts will
be created. It is important to remember that this was written in 1984, so this
information as been around for a while.
To
continue…”studies reveal that many people see the elderly as predominantly
sick, tired individuals who are often grouchy, withdrawn, and self-pitying.
According to this stereotype, they are also mentally slow, have trouble
learning and remembering and have little interest in sex. Robert Butler, the American founder of
the National Institute on Aging referred to this stereotyping, and the discrimination that
accompanies it as ‘ageism’. He
liken’s ageism to racism, and sexism, noting that it allows young people to ‘cease
to identify with their elders as human beings.’”
“Why
has ageism come about? There are a
number of reasons, not the least of them being our own fears of growing old.
This fear, no doubt, has prompted much of the prolongevity research mentioned
earlier. But there are other
explanations as well. Robert F.
Almeder,…attributes ageism to materialism. Almeder notes that in a materialistic society where people
are judged according to their productivity and wealth, it is not surprising to
find that ‘the elderly lose their right to respect’ as they abandon their
economically’ productive role.”
(This gets me thinking as I retired Aug 30th last year)
“Donald
O. Cowgill, University of Missouri, Columbia, claims that ‘modernization’ has
lower the status of aged individual. He reports that the elderly tend to be
revered in more primitive societies where they are relatively rare, and where
their experience can benefit younger people.
“One
of the most harmful outcomes of this obsolescence may be that it reinforces the
stereotype that the elderly are less intelligent than the young. Such stereotypes, particularly
regarding elderly people’s supposed inflexibility and inability to learn new
things can cause job-related discrimination.”
I would be interested if you let me know
if you have found this useful
[i] Essays
of an Information Scientist (1984) April 2, Vol:7 p. 97-107. Social Gerontology,
Part 1 Aging and Intelligence Found
online
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