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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Testing the myths of aging stereotyping
— reflection through clothing and appearance related information in a compendium | | Author(s) | Sophia L Skinner, Usha Chowdhary |
| Journal title | Educational Gerontology, vol 24, no 2, March 1998 |
| Pages | pp 175-190 |
| Keywords | Clothing ; Physical characteristics [elderly] ; Attitudes to the old of general public ; Literature ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | `Senility always accompanies ageing'; `All older people primarily function in relationship to their families'; `Individuality disappears with age'; and `The elderly depend upon children to rescue and protect them' are four myths discussed in a 1922 study, 'Promoting aging awareness among youth: establishing intergenerational linkages ...' by H Kujath et al. These myths were tested by analysing a literary compendium, `Songs of experience: an anthology of literature on growing old', edited by M Fowler and P McCutcheon (1991). Clothing and appearance related cues were used to support or reject myths of ageing and stereotyping. Results indicated that only 9 of the 75 compositions representing novels and stories qualified for the analysis. Three of the four myths were not supported by the evidence. Evidence on the first of the myths was controversial, depending on the perspective taken, whether that of a perceiver or the perceived. Several possibilities regarding the viability of extending this technique and results for future use are discussed. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980811218 A |
| Classmark | YW7: BA: TOB: HK: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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