Title: Elderly stereotypes - Applied Social Psychology
Headings: Elderly stereotypes
Elderly stereotypes
Tags:
No TrackBacks
Manage This Blog

Content: I have found this population to be engaging, helpful, wise, and quite active. Society however, has tended to overlook, undervalue, and stereotype the elderly. The stereotype is often based on myths and assumptions. Seniors are often thought of as unproductive, alienated, and ineffectual. Parsons  (1993) notes that society views the aged as an "increasing burden on society because they are unproductive, increasingly frail, and vulnerable with their decreasing ability to perform activities of daily living, and frequently poor mobility". Reality is that the percentage of elderly working has risen substantially since 1994. The U.S. Labor Force Participation Rates reports that 58% of men and 45% of women between the ages of 60-64 are employed. The number of those that are employed full time is also increasing. Society assumes the elderly have greatly reduced physical or mental capacities that have resulted in the need to live in nursing homes. The fact is only 5.4% of the aged are placed in institutions  (nursing homes) due to either physical or emotional reasons (Butler et al.