Week 8 - Social Environments and Cognition Lecture Notes PDF

Lecture 8: Social 3012PSY Environments and Cognition Social Environments and Cognition Learning Objectives ­ Describe the competence and environmental press model ­ Understand how this applies to the ecology of ageing ­ Describe the preventive and corrective proactivity (PCP) model ­...

Lecture 8: Social 3012PSY Environments and Cognition Social Environments and Cognition Learning Objectives ­ Describe the competence and environmental press model ­ Understand how this applies to the ecology of ageing ­ Describe the preventive and corrective proactivity (PCP) model ­ Understand the importance of stereotypes and stereotype threat for ageing ­ Discuss differences in social judgement processes for younger versus older adults Does “place” matter in ageing? Competence + Environmental Press Competence is the upper limit of a personʼs capacity to function ­ Social, physical, psychological Environments can be classified on the basis of the varying demands they place on the person, a notion called environmental press ­ Adaptation Level: Where behavior and affect are normal, slight increases in press improve performance, slight decreases create a Zone of Maximum Comfort. Competence + Environmental Press Each person has the potential of being well-adapted to some (but not all) living conditions Institutional care often maintains a level of homogeneity in environmental press ­ Each individual has differing competencies ­ Environment as to be adjusted to dynamically to meet appropriate press conditions ­ EP can be both objective and subjective (different levers) How people deal with EP Proactivity Docility Environmental: Situations in which Environmental: Situations in which an increase in personal personal competence declines competence enhances a person’s and behavior are increasingly ability to make use of affected by characteristics of the environmental resources and achieve a more positive outcome environment Personal: When people exert Personal: When people allow the control over their lives by situation to dictate the options choosing new behaviours to meet they have, and have little control their needs or desires Preventive and Corrective Proactivity (PCP) Model Explains how life stressors and lack of congruence in P/E interactions results in poor life outcomes ­ Two types of proactive adaptations: ­ Preventive adaptations – actions that avoid stressors and increase or build social resources ­ Corrective adaptations – actions taken in response to stressors and can be facilitated by internal and external resources  Where to live? 1. Community living ­ Retirement villages and congregate housing ­ Assisted living 2. Home care ­ Aging in place ­ Home help and day care 3. Residential aged care ­ Special care units  Retirement Villages ­ A managed community for seniors over 55 ­ Social ­ Lifestyle ­ Financial ­ Different types of residence ­ Independent living units ­ Assisted living Average entry age in Aus is 75, 8% of those 75+ live in retirement villages McCrindle Baynes Villages Census Report 2013  Home Care Adults live independently in their own home and community Ageing in Place ­ Balancing environment press and competence through selection and compensation Home Modification ­ Helping people deal with tasks of daily living by modifying the environment  Adult Home Help and Care Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) and Home Care Packages Programme (HCPP) ­ Social and recreational ­ Day centres (therapeutic) ­ Domestic assistance (transport, home help) 800K CHSP and 72K HCPP 25% Australians aged 65+ access some form of support or care at home 30% who receive some home help stay at home until death – 50% transition into RAC 17% who receive some home help have dementia AIHW (2017 & 2018). Older people.  Residential Aged Care Residential aged care is for older people who can no longer live at home. Reasons can include illness, disability, bereavement, an emergency, the needs of their carer, family or friends, or because it is no longer possible to manage at home without help. Residential Aged Care ­ 2018: Australia had 216,000 government-subsidised places in residential aged care and flexible care programs ­ Over ½ residents are 85+ ­ 2/3 are in major cities ­ Nearly ½ are privately run ­ 1/3 people (31%) have high care needs (ADLS, cognition & behaviour, complex health) ­ Offer supported living for those who need daily personal assistance and cannot live alone - skilled nursing staff are employed RAC ­Characteristics: ­ Over age 85 ­ Female ­ Recently admitted to a hospital ­ Widowed or divorced ­ Has no children or siblings nearby ­ Has some cognitive impairment ­ Has one or more problems with IADL ­Health issues and functional impairment ­ Average resident has significant mental and physical problems ­ Main reason for placement (80%) ­ One third of residents have mobility, eating or incontinence problems  CALD Older Australians 37% of people aged 65+ were born overseas: ­ 67% of born in Europe ­ 16% in Asia ­ 82% report speaking English well or very well at home Non-English speakers tend to have higher usage rates of Home and Community Care less likely to live in RAC Stereotypes and Ageing Stereotypes: A special kind of social knowledge structure or social belief that represents organized prior knowledge about a group of people that affects how we interpret new information ­ Young and older adults hold similar stereotypes about ageing ­ An age-based double standard operates when people judge older adults’ failures in memory Stereotypes and Aging Activation of Stereotypes ­ Implicit stereotypes ­ Automatically activated negative stereotypes about aging guide behaviour beyond our awareness ­ Implicit stereotyping influences the way we communicate with older adults Stereotype Threat ­ An evoked fear of being judged in accordance with a negative stereotype about a group to which you belong Ageism – the under-researched “ism”? Ageism is perceived to be less severe and less common Most older adults in North America (91% of older adults surveyed from Canada and 85% of older adults from the United States) report having experienced ageism Half of these report being patronised (46%), ignored (43.5%), or having been treated as if they were incompetent (35.5%) Ageism is a complex prejudice involving positive and negative stereotypes of older adults Cary, L.A., Chasteen, A.L., & Remedios, J. (2017). The Ambivalent Ageism Scale: Developing and Validating a Scale to Measure Benevolent and Hostile Ageism, The Gerontologist, 57 (2), 27–36 1. It is good to tell old people that they are too old to do certain things; 2.54 2.55 otherwise they might get their feelings hurt when they eventually fail. 2. Even if they want to, old people shouldn’t be allowed to work because they 1.97 1.97 have already paid their debt to society. 3. Even if they want to, old people shouldn’t be allowed to work because they 2.14 2.07 are fragile and may get sick. 4. It is good to speak slowly to old people because it may take them a while to 2.66 2.91 understand things that are said to them. 5. People should shield older adults from sad news because they are easily 1.96 2.24 moved to tears. 6. Older people need to be protected from the harsh realities of society. 2.01 2.09 7. It is helpful to repeat things to old people because they rarely understand 2.55 2.88 the first time. 8. Even though they do not ask for help, older people should always be offered 4.28 4.43 help. 9. Even if they do not ask for help, old people should be helped with their groceries. 3.79 3.72 10. Most old people interpret innocent remarks or acts as being ageist. 2.60 2.95 11. Old people are too easily offended. 2.67 2.83 12. Old people exaggerate the problems they have at work. 2.51 2.64 13. Old people are a drain on the health care system and the economy. 2.34 2.41 Self-Perceptions ­ Self-Perception of Ageing: Individuals’ perceptions of their own age and ageing ­Two frameworks for this influence: ­ Labeling theory: When confronting an age-related stereotype, older adults are more likely to integrate into their self-perception ­ Resilience theory: Confronting a negative stereotype results in a rejection of that view Perceptions of others Age differences are found: ­In the endorsement of social rules/norms ­Impression Formation – or the way we form and revise first impressions about others ­ Older adults use less detailed information when making an initial impression ­ Tend to have a negativity bias Social Judgment Processes Social Judgment Processes Social Judgment Processes ­ Social knowledge: When we are faced with new situations, we draw on our previous experiences stored in memory ­ Source Judgments: Trying to determine the source of a particular piece of information ­ Declines in cognitive processing resources might impact the social judgment process Social Judgments and Causal Attributions ­Causal attributions ­ Explanations people construct to explain their behavior ­Dispositional attributions ­ Behavioral explanations that reside within the person ­Situational attributions ­ Behavioral explanations that reside outside the person ­Correspondence bias ­ Relying on dispositional information and ignoring situational information Social Judgments and Causal Attributions