Perceptions of ageism: views of older people

Abstract

Ageism is a set of social relations that discriminate against older people and set them apart as being different by defining and understanding them in an oversimplified, generalised way. Ageism is claimed to he very prevalent in Westernised societies [...] While Palmore (1988) shows that ageism is prevalent and widely experienced in the community, the literature does not widely report older people's stories of how this phenomenon impacts on their lives. Since the term 'ageism' was coined by Robert Butler in 1969, few studies have researched how older people may recognise and give meaning to the phenomenon of 'ageism'. Studies related to ageism have generally examined how the attitudes and beliefs of younger people contribute to denying older people opportunities and equitable treatment. For example, [...] Ryan and her colleagues (1995) show how younger people at an interactional level use patronising verbal and nonverbal communication towards older carers. Sawchuk (1995), who undertook an extensive analysis of advertisement campaigns and other marketing strategies, concludes that at a public level many marketing discourses perpetuate and reinforce negative stereotypes of old age. Studies which have focused on older workers have consistently found that they often face ageist stereotypes that define them as increasingly marginal in the workforce (Maule et al. 1996).The most significant barriers and deterrents are managerial biases that older workers are too costly, too inflexible and too difficult to train (Imel 1996).