Elderly people not as 'set in their ways' as is popularly believed, studies show

New research reveals that people's attitudes appear considerably malleable in their golden years, countering stereotypes of elderly people having unyielding opinions.

In a series of studies involving adults of various ages, psychologists found that people are least open to changing their views during their middle adult years. The studies by Penny S. Visser, PhD, of Princeton University, and Jon Krosnick, PhD, of Ohio State University, are featured in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 75, No. 6, p. 13891410).

The results indicate that the rising number of elderly in this country could create a large population of people who easily shift their viewpoints on various issues, the researchers speculate. That could create volatility in public opinion, especially in times of great public debate such as elections, they say.

Using their own surveys and data from other studies, Visser and Krosnick reviewed the opinions of more than 8,570 people nationwide on such topics as defense spending, abortion, environmental protection, gun control and the death penalty.

The studies employed various methods to gauge each participant's openness to changing his or her view on the given topic.

In one telephone survey, for example, about 1,230 adults, age 18 to 89, were presented with a hypothetical foreign conflict and asked whether they thought the U.S. military should intervene.

After the participants answered, the researchers provided additional information, such as the fact that the United Nations opposed U.S. military involvement, to see if the participants would change their minds. Less than half the respondents overall changed their minds based on the new information. Those who did were most likely to be either adults in their late teens or 20s, or those older than 60.

The findings counter previous studies suggesting that people become increasingly entrenched in their opinions as they age. Older people may be especially open to change for a variety of reasons.

For example, their declining cognitive abilities may hinder their ability to counter other people's arguments, they say.
--S. Sleek



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