Understanding the Stereotypes to Older Adults (Research Paper Sample)

Working with Age
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Working with Age
Advanced age presents many health issues, both physical and mental. Working with an aging patient requires a practitioner to liberate themselves from common stereotypes and deal with each individual case without judging based on the stereotypes. To work effectively with older clients, counsellors must learn how to communicate and deal with the clients' cognitive issues; they should understand the mental health issues in the aging such as anxiety and free their minds from negative stereotypes.
The Stereotypes about Older Adults
Stereotypes are overstated beliefs or myths about a particular social group, which are deeply entrenched in society. The biases and automatic thoughts are observed, learned and absorbed in the course of someone's lifetime, especially in the early ages. As one grows, they learn and internalize the varying stereotypes through channels such as discussions among their peers, parents and the media(Shepherd and Bronchu, 2021). Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but the tendency to judge people based on generalized beliefs can harm people socially, physically, and psychologically as personal differences are overlooked through stereotyping.
Aging is a complex and individualized process that, unfortunately, is highly and negatively stereotyped. Older adults face the same stereotypes despite their social status, gender, and other characteristics (Lehmiller et al., 2020). On the negative side, older adults are stereotyped as dependent, lonely, sickly, old fashioned, forgetful, stubborn, weak, and unattractive (Shepherd and Bronchu, 2021). Nevertheless, a few positive stereotypes exist regarding older adults, such as being wealthy, wise, and kind.
The stereotype content model attempts to explain two basic categories of stereotypes, which are warmth and competence. Older people are stereotyped as being warmer (moral, sincere, trustworthy and friendly) than competent( Intelligent, efficient, creative and confident) (Shephered and Bronchu, 2021). Both the negative and positive stereotypes can have constraining and enabling effects on the older adult's life, such as their performance and holistic health.