Gerontology September 10 2012 Ageism and Employment Negative stereotypes about aging productivity Older workers perceived as Disinterested in promotion Expensive for the organization Slow learners Less flexible utilization Strategies to Reduce Ageism Reducing individual ageism Ageism and the Public Policy Not tested on Criticized on benefiting the old at the expense of the young ex Healthcare Slogans benefits of aging media personal contact models of successful aging Changing social structures Economy family housing ex Residential segregation Combating Ageism Challenge Reluctance to cite ageism Education Knowledge is Power Focus on Healthcare settings educate judges jurors on age discrimination 1 Formal education continuing education 2 Needs based vs age based programs 3 Build intergenerational programs coalitions Lifespan Development and Research Lifespan Perspective Paul Baltes Places adulthood in a developmental context Later in life Abilities continue to develop Key Features of the Life Span Perspective 1 Multidirectionality characterized by both growth and loss 2 Plasticity Degree things both change remain stable extent to which development is modifiable 3 Historical Context Historical events trends influence development 4 Multiple Causation Biology cognition emotion social relationships and interactions Developmental Influences 1 Normative age graded influences Occurs in a similar way to most people in a particular age group e g menopause 2 Normative history graded influences Occurs in a similar way to most people in a particular cohort or generation ex The Internet 3 Non normative influences Unusual events unique to an individual ex Winning the lottery Sampling Sample smaller group within the population Random Selection Ensure representativeness every person has equal chance of being selected Stratified Random Sample sampling within subgroups Research Designs Experimental designs o Random assignment o Experimental group o Control group receive intervention do not receive intervention Independent variable factor manipulated ex Memory strategies Dependent variable outcomes measure ex Memory performance Cause and effect Correlational Designs Examines relations between variables Direction of relationship o High Low or Low Low o High Low or Low High Magnitude of relationships 1 0 to 1 0 o 1 Perfect negative relationship o 1 Perfect positive relationship o 0 No relationship Correlation DOES NOT EQUAL Causation Cross Sectional Studies Several groups of difference aged people studied at one point in time Example 40 year olds 50 year olds 60 year olds studied in 2008 Allows us to study age differences Advantages Representative sample Less costly to conduct Disadvantages Cannot tell us about age change Confound AGE COHORT Longitudinal Studies One group of same aged people studied at different points over time Example 50 years old in 2001 60 years old in 2010 70 years old studied in Study same people over time 2020 Allows us to study age changes Advantages Can assess age changes Considers cohort effects ex Effects due to a person s year of birth Disadvantages Time Cost Subject attrition people dropping out Tools of the Trade Questionnaire Self report Positive Surveys Questionnaires o People best reporters of their own behavior o Unobservable data ex Opinions beliefs Negative o Social desirability o Memory Systematic Observations Naturalistic Laboratory Positive Negative o Social desirability o Observer bias o Captures nonverbal behavior behavior unaware of reluctant to report o Able to study people who cannot self report Physiological Measures Recordings of physiological characteristics or responses Example Height blood pressure hormone levels
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