Title: 10 Stereotypes About Aging (That Just Aren't True) | HowStuffWorks
Headings: 10 Stereotypes About Aging (That Just Aren't True)
10 Stereotypes About Aging (That Just Aren't True)
10: Older People Aren't Interested in the Outside World
Our Shared Human Condition
9: Older People Don't Want or Need Close Relationships
8: Older People Contribute Little to Society
Do less-industrialized societies treat the elderly better?
7: As You Get Older, You Get More Set in Your Ways
Are all old people are the same?
6: Mental and Physical Deterioration Are Inevitable in Old Age
5: Older People Are Comfortable Financially
4: Older People Aren't Interested in Sex or Intimacy
3: Older People Can't Make Good Decisions about Important Issues
2: Older People Want to Die
1: Science Has Answered All Our Questions about Aging

Content: These blanket assumptions arise in part from what social scientists call the psychologist's fallacy: judging another person's state of mind based on your own experiences and perspectives [source: Blackwell ]. For example, a 40-year old may think his 75-year-old mother will be happy to move in with his family after his father has died. She won't have to worry about keeping up a big, empty house -- and you know how she loves the grandkids. His mother may see it as losing her home and independence, and being tied down with babysitting. On the other hand, the 40-year-old and the 75-year-old might find a lot of common ground -- they'll never know until they sit down and talk about it. Over the next 10 pages, we'll try to clarify some of the misconceptions surrounding aging. Our first stereotype looks at what retiring means for today's older adults. Contents
Older People Aren't Interested in the Outside World
Older People Don't Want or Need Close Relationships
Older People Contribute Little to Society
As You Get Older, You Get More Set in Your Ways
Mental and Physical Deterioration Are Inevitable in Old Age
Older People Are Comfortable Financially
Older People Aren't Interested in Sex or Intimacy
Older People Can't Make Good Decisions about Important Issues
Older People Want to Die
Science Has Answered All Our Questions about Aging
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