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Senior Citizens Are Not Rude, Just Have Uninhibited,
Aging Brains
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Bill von Hippel |
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Sept. 9, 2005 If you are a senior citizen and
sometimes wonder why people think you are rude, it may be because you
are. Seniors seem to be prone to this malady, according to new research,
that says changes in brain function as we age may explain our lack of
tact.
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If you suffered from piles, would you want your
friends asking about your condition in public? Most people wouldn't, yet
the older you become the more likely you are to make someone blush with
embarrassment in that way.
Old people may not intend to be rude, its just the
natural result of an aging brain, according to a new Australian study
just published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
Tests carried out by researchers at the University
of New South Wales, in Sydney, found that people aged 65 to 93 years
were more likely to ask each other such personal questions in a public
setting than younger people aged 18 to 25 (see example below).
Yet the study also found that older people were
just as likely as younger ones to agree that making public inquiries
about private issues was socially inappropriate and embarrassing: so why
do older people blurt out such discomforting questions?
The ability to inhibit thoughts and actions is
critical for socially appropriate discourse but that ability appears to
weaken due to changes in brain function related to the normal ageing
process, according to one of the authors of the report, Associate
Professor Bill von Hippel, of the UNSW School of Psychology.
"It's not just that older people were more likely
than younger people to ask personal questions," says Professor von
Hippel. "In fact, young people in our study were more likely to ask each
other questions of a personal nature, but they usually did so in
private.
"It seems that young adults have a greater ability
to hold their tongue than older adults in contexts where it is
inappropriate to discuss personal issues." Behaving badly like this also
seems to have negative consequences for peer relationships, particularly
for older people.
"Young people weren't too bothered when their friends were occasionally
inappropriate, but older adults felt much less close to those
acquaintances who asked about their private lives in public," says
Professor von Hippel.
Are you tactful?
In the research project, small groups of friends
were asked questions like this about each other: Imagine that you have
some private medical condition (for example, hemorrhoids). Your friend
knows about your condition. You are alone together with your friend,
maybe at home having a coffee together.
Would your friend inquire or comment about your
condition?
How about if you were at a gathering with other
people? When your friend arrives, would your friend inquire or comment
about your condition in front of the others? Similar questions were
asked about recent weight gain, personal family problems, etc.
About Bill Von Hippel
Bill von Hippel, PhD, is associate professor in the
school of psychology at the University of New South Wales (Sydney,
Australia). His research interests include prejudice and stereotyping,
social-cognitive ageing, and evolutionary psychology.
Homepage:
http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/Users/BHippel/
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