Attitudes

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Attitudes Ageism

• and how language across the life span is
  interwoven with both

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Life-span communication

• Life-span communication suggests that
• while there is decline in some cognitive and
  physical abilities as we age, communication
  development occurs throughout a life spanour
  ability to communicate changes and may even
  improve
• our research on this process needs to be both
  quantitative and qualitative

Pecchioni, Wright Nussbaum 2005. Life Span
Communication. Ch 1
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Age norms cultural reflections?
Ben http//www.comics.com
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What does this clip suggest to you?
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Attitudes about aging

• 3 components behavioral, cognitive, affective
• These components color
• how younger people feel toward older people
• how people feel and think about the aging process
• how people behave as they grow older

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Concerns young people have
For better or for worse, January 20, 2006
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Age norms language development

• Age 3 talk about ideas and feelings
• Age 7 milestones with abstractions
• Age 8 milestones jump in complexity
• Teen years social and linguistic complexity
• And then?

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How older adults use language does this differ
from your usage?
L.Worrall L. Hickson. 2003. Communication
disability in aging. Delmar, p. 140
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Culturally speaking, whats your age norm for
these?

• 1. Wearing a short skirt and high heels
• 2. Living alone
• 3. Getting married
• 4. Raising children
• 5. Being considered sexy
• 6. Drinking alcohol
• 7. Driving a sports car
• 8. Having others make decisions for you

• 9. Displaying affection in public
• 10. Running a marathon
• 11. Running for U.S. president
• 12. Retiring
• 13. Becoming pregnant
• 14. Enrolling in a 4 year college degree program
• 15. Receiving a heart transplant

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Culturally speaking, are these your age norms?
What do these have in common?
Clips from http//www.biology.duke.edu/cunningham/
Villains.html
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Social expectations about language

• Value judgments about language are socially based
• People notice and evaluate ways of talking
  that are different from their own
• They hear words and accents and assign gender,
  age, region, class, and even ethnicity
• And attitudes arise . . .

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When reality intersects with attitude

• Female adult voices typically show a pitch
• that is 75 higher than the males
• different vocal cord length mass
• Male vocal tract length is 15 longer
• resulting in different resonance (and
• greater risk of choking on food)
• Vocal organs show sexual dimorphism
• Gender is something assigned or constructed

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Some tech-terms well need

• Levels of language (brief definitions)
• Phonology, morphology, lexicon, syntax,
  pragmatics, discourse
• Instant background http//homepage.ntu.edu.tw/kar
  chung/linguistics20links.htm
• Word-categories that do special things
• Hedges, intensifiers, go-ahead (feedback)

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Chart of language levels
Meaning Lexis (word meaning) Semantics (sentence meaning Pragmatics (meaning in context) Intertextual features
Grammar Syntax and morphology
Sounds Phonology (speech)
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Gender-cued language and attitudes

• Lexical and morphological differences
• morphology in some languages (Japanese)
• emotive words color terms
• Stylistic differences claimed
• go-aheads, hedges F
• interruptions, direct orders M
• Difference or dominance?
• rapport or informational?

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Generational differences in lexicon
Pickles. January 20, 2006.
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Preston on linguistic prejudice

• A primary linguistic myth, one nearly universally
  attached to minorities, rural people and the less
  well educated, extends in the United States even
  to well-educated speakers of some regional
  varieties. That myth, of course, is that some
  varieties of a language are not as good as
  others.

http//www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prejudice/attitude
s/
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Preston collected perceptions of correct speech
Mean scores for correct Lowest ratings South
and NYC 150 EuroAm, both sexes, all ages
classes, from Michigan
http//www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prejudice/attitude
s/
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Perceptions of pleasant speech
Mean scores for pleasant By Alabamians Again,
1low
http//www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prejudice/attitude
s/
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Just in case you didnt get it
Hand-drawn, from Michigan http//www.pbs.org/speak
/speech/prejudice/attitudes/
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Quantitative and qualitative

• Life Span Communication research assumes that
  both methodologies are important
• Quantitative may measure frequencies or specific
  differences as in finding out how many of us
  think the speaker were about to hear is friendly
  or polite
• Qualitative will explain our perceptions

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Stereotyped projections of elder speech

• Tangential speaker wanders off the topic
• Vacillating speaker cant make choices
• Repetitive speaker repeats same words
• Too wordy speaker gives too many details

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Age-biased reactions Ryans research

• overly familiar talk
• shouting
• non-listening
• showing disapproval
• condescension
• dismissive comments

• avoidance
• impatience
• controlling talk
• baby talk or
• Elderspeak (simplified speech)

• Often, we dont realize that we have changed our
  speech when we talk to an older person.

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Overaccomodation

• Can be seen as
  patronizing
  wrong message!
• Overaccommodation
• - such as babytalk,
• Elderspeak, or being
• overly familiar - means
• we are talking to the
• stereotype of being old and not to the
  individual.
• Thats not the message we want to send.

Strangers with candy publicity still
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Underaccommodation

• Freezing people out sending the wrong message
• We under-accommodate a speakers needs when we
  show that we are not listening, or use dismissive
  comments, condescension, or controlling talk. We
  move away from them.
• Thats not the message we want to send.

Little Miss Sunshine publicity still
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How we change our speech 1

• Conversation with adult 54 years old
• 1. I tended to display my interest by nodding
  much more instead of interrupting

• Conversation with adult 94 years old
• I was much more likely to interrupt with
  interjections and clarifying statements
• Example from Batson 2003

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How we change our speech 2

• With the person aged 54
• 2. I participated actively with my honest
  opinions in this dialogue

• With the person aged 94
• I was much more likely to sugar-coat my
  opinions and/or modify my more modern points of
  view
• Example from Batson 2003

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How we change our speech 3

• With the person aged 54
• 3. I spoke more softly and more quickly

• With the person aged 94
• My voice was much louder, and I spoke slower than
  usual
• Example from Batson 2003

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How we change our speech 4

• With the person aged 54
• 4. I was less unnecessarily pleasant, meaning,
  I didnt use complimentary language unless very
  appropriate

• With the person aged 94
• I consistently mentioned how nice the individual
  looked, and how I enjoyed talking to him/her
• Example from Batson 2003
  

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Age-associated differences in communication
expectations

• Ryan Butler (1996 192) claim that some
  distinctions between young and old adults that
  influence intergenerational relationships arise
  from historical differences in socialization
• This affects patient-provider roles. Haug
  (1996252) reports less time given to
  consultations for patients 60 and older, and that
  doctors may speak more slowly, in a
  louder voice, use simplified language, and
  take on a patronizing air, blaming
  older patients, but not younger, for
  forgetfulness

Special issue, Health Communications 8.3 (1996)
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Healthcare worker interactions

• Burda (20058) notes that older people either
  have little experience with or feel that
  questioning professionals is inappropriate. Since
  many interactions involve tasks (ADL),
  noncompliance may ensue -- particularly if the
  older person doesnt understand the healthcare
  workers accent.
• Hmmm.
  Were back
• 
  _at_ attitudes

Burda, A. Hageman, C. Perception of accented
speech by residents in assisted-living
facilities, J Medical Speech-Language Pathology
13, 7-14
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Language issues for new nurses whats beneath
the surface?
Smith JONAS Healthcare Law Ethics Regulations,
Vol 6(1).March 2004.15-16
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Ageism in general

• In North America and Europe, Older adults are
  often marginalized, given low social status, and
  either ignored in the media or portrayed in roles
  reinforcing negative stereotypes (Nelson, 2002).
  

Nussbaum, J., Pitts, M., Huber, F., Krieger, J.,
Ohs, J. 2005. Ageism and ageist language across
the life span. Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 61,
pp. 287--305
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Ageist stereotypes

• Unfavorable stereotypes characterize older people
  as forgetful, sick, unattractive, useless,
  lonely, and dependent (Hess Blanchard-Fields,
  1999 Nelson, 2002 Palmore, 1999).
• Trait sorting studies have identified several
  negative prototypes of older persons such as
  shrew-curmudgeon, despondent, and severely
  impaired (Ryan et al 2004 344)

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Jigsaw Evaluating intergenerational materials

• Each group will review a different curriculum
  plan that introduces aging from a lifespan
  perspective, using a NATLA rubric
• We will use a jigsaw process 4 people each
  travel to 4 other groups, the rest stay home
  to explain the groups opinion. Back home put it
  all together

http//www.cps.unt.edu/natla/rsrc/lessonplans.html
and http//www.jigsaw.org/
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Evaluating curriculum plans

• What do you call older people?
• Changing attitudes aging in America
• Elder migration where grandparents live
• Ageism word association
• Laws promoting healthy aging Japan-US
• Evaluation rubric

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Intergenerational communication 3 models

• CAT communication accommodation
• Convergent X divergent strategies
• CPA communicative predicament
• Problematic talk lt negative stereotypes
• CEM communication enhancement
• Tailor speech to individual needs and thereby
  reduce stereotypes

Nussbaum, J., Pitts, M., Huber, F., Krieger, J.,
Ohs, J. 2005. Ageism and ageist language across
the life span. Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 61,
pp. 287--305
38
Youth X old age in Asia X Canada

• Views of the old in the East now often resemble
  the Wests.
• Expectations about declining personal
  vitality increasing benevolence in old age
  were found among young and old respondents in
  the East (Mainland, Hong Kong, Korea,
  Philippines and Thailand) and the West
  (U.S.A., Australia, NZ)
• Accepting public norms of filial
• obligation and honor need not conflict
  with negative inner beliefs about aging and
  older people

Ryan, E., Jin, Y., Anas, A., Luh, J. (2004
)Communication beliefs about youth and old age in
Asia Canada. J Cross-Cultural Gerontology 19
343360
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Ryans cross-cultural work suggests

• Educational interventions the CEM model - to
  improve intergenerational communication between
  young and old may be more likely to succeed if
  they target
• fostering of positive attitudes toward empathic,
  socially skilled, story-telling aspects of
  communication in later life
• rather than the reduction of negative attitudes.

Ryan, E., Jin, Y., Anas, A., Luh, J. (2004
)Communication beliefs about youth and old age in
Asia Canada. J Cross-Cultural Gerontology 19
343360.