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The Rubber Hand Illusion
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« Monkhouse Monday | Main | Sam is Guest Blogging Aging 100 »
December 2, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (1)
The Rubber Hand Illusion
I am deeply opposed to the "declinist" vision of aging because it damages both our society's vision of elders and the way older people view themselves. Dr. Judah Ronch recently forwarded to me a fascinating published study that shows how the use of declinist language to describe age and aging fosters direct, measurable and highly negative changes among young people who use such terms.
Why should mere words matter so much?
The tendency of the human brain to carry out self-fulfilling prophecies is much more powerful than is commonly supposed.
The "Rubber Hand Illusion" illustrates the power of suggestion at work with ordinary people...
Beware of expectations for they can easily become realities.
Comments ( 1)
What is so insidious about declinist language with elders is leveraging the power of suggestion to advance an existing ageist perception. So, how can we leverage this same power of suggestion to advance a developmental view of elders? In part, I think we have to continue to create postive examples (Green House)of elders who are provided a living community and who demonstrate their capacity to grow. As these environments become more common place, we can then powerfully "suggest" the beauty of elderhood and see our world change it's mind.