DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF VARIOUS EXPERIENCES ON BREAKING DOWN AGE STEREOTYPES

Abstract

Academic courses in gerontology have several functions with reference to individual students: (a) to increase student knowledge about aging, (b) to develop a more positive attitude toward aging and older people, (c) to have a positive impact on the students' views of aging family members, (d) to have a positive impact on the students' own eventual aging. Gerontology courses have a number of emphases and opportunities for direct experience with older people. A variety of tests were administered to learn what kinds of academic experiences might be most effective in changing negative attitudes and stereotypes about older people and influencing one's perception of one's own eventual aging as well as the aging of one's family members. The results suggest that the faculty and the learning environment are far more important than informational content and course orientation. The results also suggest that it may be extraordinarily difficult to quantify qualitative data.