As a 36-year-old with a master's degree and nearly 10 years of experience working for the federal government, Luciano Lima expected a bit more respect when he went back to school to pursue his doctorate in psychology.
Now a second-year clinical psychology student at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Chicago, Lima says he's felt disempowered as a student because he's had little ability to shape his own education. Rather, students are told what courses to take, what materials to study — and within a particular course — are rarely asked what they are interested in and how they would like to structure the class.
As an experienced professional with his own interests, Lima expected a more collaborative, rather than a top-down, approach to education.
"Having worked my way up to become a really valued employee in my field, it was very jarring," he recalls. His program and professors "didn't really care about the resources and knowledge that the students might bring to the table."
Of course, most graduate students recognize that they don't have the experience that established psychologists do, but sometimes they feel that they are victims of ageism, or as some call it, "studentism": They feel they are treated as incompetent or with disrespect simply because they are younger or not as experienced in the field. This feeling can continue into their early career years.
"I've actually had staff try to kick me out of my classroom — during a class, unfortunately — because they assumed I was a student," says Amanda Kraha, PhD, 31, who graduated with a doctoral degree in experimental psychology in 2013 and is now a psychology professor at Indiana University East. "I was told to expect resistance from students due to my age, but that just hasn't been the case. Overwhelmingly, it has come from staff and fellow faculty."
Often, these statements are made in jest or without regard for how the victims of ageism may feel, says Nabil El-Ghoroury, PhD, associate executive director of APAGS.
"It's not uncommon for APA governance leaders to call student leaders ‘kids,' which can really be seen as diminishing to these emerging professionals and leaders," he says. Kraha agrees, noting that she's often referred to as a kid when she's introduced to speak at conferences. Last year, the mother of an undergrad she'd been advising flat out asked her how old she was because she couldn't believe that Kraha was her daughter's professor.
"It's definitely degrading," she says. "I'm a scholar and a teacher and I'm trying to develop this professional identity, but at the same time people are doing things like calling me a kid and questioning my age."
The truth is that most psychology doctoral students are nowhere close to being kids. According to a 2008 APAGS member survey — the latest year for which data are available at press time — 43 percent of APAGS members were over age 30.
University of Connecticut clinical psychology doctoral student Ian Gutierrez says his first experience with studentism came during negotiations for the school's first graduate student collective bargaining agreement. The university had announced significant changes in its health insurance benefits for graduate students, as well as an increase in mandatory student fees, so several graduate students joined to form a labor union and develop a contract. Gutierrez says the generation gap was a significant reason the contract spent almost a year in negotiations.
Many older faculty today earned their PhDs in their early 20s, he says — a feat that's nearly impossible now — and the cost of education was a fraction of what it is today.
"Now you have people who are getting their PhD between the ages of 27 and 33, some of whom are married, some of whom have kids, some of whom have or may be beginning to develop some health problems — basically people who have greater responsibilities," Gutierrez says. "You also have an increased time to graduation, a more competitive labor market and higher student debt, so you have people who are struggling financially in a way that's different from previous generations. There seems to be this humongous gap in understanding what the graduate student experience is like today."
So what advice do these experts have in dealing with situations in which you feel that older, more experienced psychologists aren't treating you fairly?
Act the part. Many students don't focus as much on status as defined by how one dresses and may not be aware of how much older adults do evaluate on how one dresses. But to be seen as a peer, students need to understand and accept those norms. Kraha suggests taking the mantra made popular by Harvard University social psychologist Amy Cuddy, PhD: Fake it until you become it. That means dressing the part and acting like a professional, she says.
University of Central Florida psychology doctoral student Julia Wright agrees, noting that we show others how we want to be treated in the way we conduct ourselves and the way we dress. As an older graduate student returning to school after a 25-year career as a product design engineer, Wright notes that dressing appropriately is more important than many students think.
"You should not look like you just rolled out of bed or that you're ready to go play volleyball at the beach," she says.
It's also about being engaged in the program. "The people I hear complain about being treated fairly are those who, when the professor is lecturing or they're part of a group discussion, are sitting there surfing the web on their laptops or texting people on their cellphones."
Gutierrez urges students to treat graduate school as their first real entrance into the job market. "People who dress appropriately, who interact with others appropriately, and who carry themselves as professionals are going to get the respect professionals ought to receive," he says.
Believe in yourself. Have confidence in your capacity because people can see that, Gutierrez says. But also understand that you don't have to know everything to feel and be competent.
"Asking someone with more experience for help is never a bad thing," he notes. "In fact, it demonstrates maturity."
Speak up. When someone implies that you're too young or inexperienced, correct them. Point to all you've done to get where you are in your career so far, the research you've completed, the publications you've been involved with, even if you weren't recognized as a co-author, and the experience you do have with the field of psychology.
"I think if we all asserted ourselves more — in a respectful way, of course — we could really change people's views," Lima says. "Our silence endorses the status quo."
Recognize that it's not you. Kraha says it's important to keep in mind that the disrespect or unfair treatment you may experience is not really about you as a person or what you can and will accomplish. It often stems from a lack of understanding or awareness.
"It always helps me to remember that," she says. "What they're saying isn't a reflection on you, it's a reflection on who they are and where they are in their lives."
Become an advocate. Gutierrez says it's never too early to get involved in activism. As psychologists and psychology students, we know too much about human behavior not to get involved in advocating for political or social or institutional changes. It can also help you learn more about your institution — and can leave you feeling more empowered.
"I'm not saying that everyone has to go out and form a labor union, but if you don't want to feel taken advantage of as a student, get involved in the system and do something about it," he says.
