Psychology of Aging Module 1: Introduction to Aging

 

 

 

Who are you calling old!?

Videos


Dove Pro Age Commercial - This is a link to a YouTube video that challenges the perception of what is beautiful in the aging society. It is something that has gained popularity in challenging the norm. Dove has created a whole campaign for this stereotype changing cause which began about a year ago.

 

Meet Me at the Top - This is a YouTube video about the oldest person in North America to make the Seven Summits.  Werner Berger summited Mount Everest at 68 last May.  What stereotypes that we discussed in class does this case study dismiss?

 

Watch Me -This Coke commercial is funny, and it deals with breaking the "old people" stereotypes. This falls into ageism, where we as young adults would never imagine older adults doing any of these things! This guy is crazy!  
Text Messaging Commercial- This is a Cingular commercial where a elderly woman is getting yelled at by her daughter for too much text messaging to her bff, Rose. This also breaks out of typical stereotypes for older people in our society. It is funny because you would never expect the grandma to be using text messaging; it is out of our "norms" for older people. = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O />= O /> 


Funny Old People - This YouTube video portrays that the elderly are not just sitting at home watching T.V. The typical stereotype for the elderly. The video shows old people doing things that most people would expect only younger aged people to do. Such as skateboarding, jumping on a trampoline, and riding a bicycle. While showing that elderly people like to have fun, it also shows that they cannot do things as well as the younger crowd. But you have to give them props for trying!


 

This Far by Faith Barbados Centenarians-Barbados has the second highest per capita number of centenarians - people living to over 100 years old - in the world.

 


Interactive Material

Real Age Quiz - This is an online quiz to determine your "real age".  While its reliability is probably questionable, it is fairly long.  While taking it, think about how the subject matter actually does affect an individual's longevity.  If one lives a healthy enough lifestyle, will they reach the magical 120 years?

 

Test Your Aging Knowledge - This site offers helpful quizzes that test your knowledge of aging. It might be helpful in putting to rest the stereotypes of aging.

 


Find your REAL age!-This online quiz is a pretty in-depth measure to find your real age. It is fun and interesting to see how old you really are with the quality and lifestyle that you choose. The quiz firsts asks your chronological age, and then will either add or subtract years onto that age depending on different factors such as health, lifestyle, etc.



Longevity Quiz -What's the secret to a long, healthy life? The secret is that it depends on you -- and you can take steps to keep yourself healthy in the long run. Find out what you know about living longer by taking this true-false quiz.

 

Additional Websites

 
 

 

 

 

Centenarians in 1990 - From the report issued in 1999: 80% were women, and 78% were white.  1 in 4 of the men were married, while only 1 in 25 of the women were married.  1 in 4 of the men, and 1 in 5 of the women lived in poverty.  Approximately 1 in 5 reported no self-care or mobility limitations.  This report has a lot of charts that display relevant information without reading the whole report.

 

The Graying of America - A short website with a link to a video about the elderly that remain politically active.  The website says that citizens aged 65-70 have the highest voting rate in the country, and that those over 75 are next.

 

Cultural Differences in Respect for the Elderly - This is an article from the Wall Street Journal that discusses the cultural differences in respect for the elderly. It makes you cherish the knowledge and wisdom that comes with age.

 

 

 Article on memory loss -This article is from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) that talks about memory loss that happens when people get older. It talks about cognitive training that will help older adults maintain skills that will help them live a longer, better quality of life without needing as much assistance. This would relate to the topics in our book about older people losing some cognitive ability with primary or secondary aging, and how activities to stimulate their brains would be useful.


 

 National Institute of Aging Website -The U.S. National Institute of Health has the National Institute of Aging website (NIA) that provides extensive information for our ever-growing older population. This website provides information about health including tips on: care giving, healthy aging, medications, diets, and diseases.  You can also obtain information on clinical research using human participants, and there are links to other helpful websites and Health and Aging Organizations that might provide information or support for whatever they need. 

 

 

 Information on Ageism -Dr. Linda Woolf of Webster University has done extensive research on Gerontology. This section of the website discusses the topic of Ageism. Although ageism is pretty evident from the reading, this website goes in depth to explain how older adults are viewed negatively and biasedly through common stereotypes. There is also a really good section on ageism not being universal, and how in some cultures, the elderly gain the highest respect from others in their culture.

 

 

 

Genetics, Behavior, and Aging-This is an article on Genetics, Behavior, and Aging. This article is very interesting and discusses research done on twins to further understand the influence of not only genetic make-up, but also environmental factors. This ties in with the nature-vs.-nurture controversy in development. They also stress the influence that social influences and personal experiences has on a person's development. They also go on to further explain the topic of dementia and how there not a lot of information on what causes it. They did say that although women tend to live longer, they are at a higher risk for dementia (which sucks for all us ladies).


 

US Census Bureau-This website is the US Census Bureau website and it discusses the projections of the elderly population in the coming years. This further supports what we have already discussed in class about the "Baby Boomers" generation increasing the elderly population. It states in the website that the population of adults that are 65 and older will grow from 34.6 million in 1999, to 82.0 million in 2050, which most of us will just be about to fall into that category.

 


Want to live longer????? Be a Monk! -Taking up holy orders may not guarantee life after death, but it does ensure a longer one on earth.


 


Twin Studies in Alzheimer's Disease - This is a story from 60 minutes ll on CBS.  These identical twin ladies grew up in the same place, married brothers, had the same number of children and basically have lead the same type of lifestyle.  There are very few differences between them. These ladies one of the 200 pairs of identical twins being researched as a part of a Duke University Study. The study is shedding light on the issue of whether nature or nuture plays a bigger part in the onset of some diseases. 
 

Aging News Feeds


Issues Facing the Elderly -This is a news feed that discusses a study done in the UK. The study focuses on brain change issues that face healthy aging adults. The study shows that the elderly population is more prone to fraud due to changes in their decision making process. This is an example that ties in to what we have learned about functional aging in seniors.

My RSS Feed on Ageism in the US -This is a news that focuses on articles and websites about Ageism in the US.

 

 

Media

 

  This is a comedic example of how society views getting older. Think of all the horrible birthday cards that you see when you go to buy your parents a card...none of them are nice about getting older. Even though your mom laughs at the cheesy card, you know she really wants to kill you for buying it. We dread getting older, and do not put any value on the elderly of our society.  This is also an example of the biological changes that occur in the elderly.
This is a "pig and python" chart that describes the "Baby Boomer" demographic shift in population.



When Dad should stop Driving- Marion Somers may be an expert on caring for elderly people, but that didn't mean it was a cinch persuading her father to quit driving.

AoA Statistics: Aging into the 21st Century-This website is from the Department of Health and Human Services. The article has several charts and graphs that the Administration of Aging has designed to show you statistics on several different groups. One being a chart of life expectancy of all races and both sexes, from birth, age 65, and age 85. There are also 3 other charts that have statistics on health status, disability and nursing home usage.  Each of these offers statistics from different cultural backgrounds as well as age, and both sexes.


Do women really live longer than men???- The following web-site shows a graph and chart that shows the life span of men and women over a period of years. The proof is in the charts!!! Women do live longer than men!

Driving Skills Decline Among People With Early Alzheimer's-People with early Alzheimer's disease were involved in more traffic crashes and performed worse on road tests than drivers without cognitive impairment, a new study finds.