Ageism has been generally defined as a prejudice people from a certain age group hold towards other age groups (Butler, 1969; 1975). Although such definitions do not restrict the use of the term to researching prejudices regarding a certain age group, currently ageism is deployed in studies concerning prejudices regarding older people and includes cognitive evaluations (negative stereotypes people might have regarding older people) as well as affective – emotional reactions towards older people, in different instances of daily life. Researchers admit the fact that some of the ageist reactions (both cognitive and emotional) could be captured by implicit measures. Implicit association tests have been used to measure subtle cues of ageism (see Levy & Banaji, 2002) and the validity of these measurements are largely discussed in the international psychological literature (see Greenwald, McGhee &Schwartz, 1998; Rudman et al., 1999, for a review). Drawing could also be used as a tool to research implicit ageism, though it has been approached to a lesser extend to research on ageism (see for example Barrett & Cantwell, 2007). In the current research, we employ the drawing technique on a sample of undergraduate students from a public university (N=165) to assess their visual representations of older people. Examining the features of the drawing allows us to talk about implicit ageism and the way the drawing tool could be a valid tool to examine implicit ageism.
The study falls into interactive stylistics. It deals with forms of accommodation-assimilation processes in communication between young and elderly, while examples from research material are from the perspective of older people. The accommodation-assimilation processes in interaction with seniors are influenced both by the stereotypes associated with these people and by the individual personality of both communication partners. We distinguish between over accommodation and under accommodation. The over accommodation is language ageism or patronizing communication and is perceived negatively as it leads to underestimation of elderly and their negative self-image. Under accommodation is perceived as not respecting the elderly and may lead to social exclusion of the elderly because they feel inferior and uneducated in such communication. The paper emphasizes the importance of optimal accommodation-assimilation processes in intergenerational communication, which is based on the individuality of both interactors and should lead to convergence of generations and to social inclusion.
Noting the tendency of students of work and organizational psychology to choose internships among a smaller number of hosting organizations paired with satisfaction with completed internship expressed by the sentence ‘It was great, they were all young’, we performed qualitative content analysis of students’ reflections on age in the context of internship attractiveness. Materials for the analysis were 1) Fifty internship reports and 2) Discussions with students. There was no explicit ageism in students’ reports. Students were equally satisfied with mentors from more and less popular organizations. Four categories related to attractiveness of internship hosting organizations emerged: organizational culture, organizational climate, working conditions and mentors’ work. As in the case of more attractive organizations they point to ‘younger’ organizations, as a factor of their attractiveness, they could be discussed as ‘clear manifestations of ageism’, but also they could be regarded as ‘younger generation centeredness’, and partly a form of ‘covert ageism’. Reflections could also be interpreted as a consequence of students’ professional insecurity, need for peer support, ease of communicating with peers and those of similar age. A psychological distance from older generations of colleagues and mentors at work can be both the source of covert and overt ageism. In order to enable students to fully utilize the benefits of internship for their professional development, it is important to work on recognizing and preventing ageism and overcoming generational distances.
Functional aging is a negative occurrence at society that gets old globaly. The authoress presents how many personal nad social advantages bring the activity in an old age. Many forms of social processes create the possibility of saving skills, personal development and satisfaction - considered to be the most important in aging. The main ones are to be useful for community and to fulfil their own choices, create and develop new connections and relationships. The success lies in the ability to find happiness in satisfying relationships related to the activities. The social activities are prospected to replace a job and a carrier making the whole (general) society happier, more functional and free from ageism.
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