Public Perceptions of Older People A literature review

Appendix 1: Glossary of terms
Perceptions
Perceptions consist of the process whereby people take in information about
others, understand it and form impressions of them (Bernstein et al. 2000).
Our perceptions of other people influence and reflect our thoughts, feelings
and actions. Some commonly used terms representing or relating to
perceptions include attitude, beliefs, stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination
and ageism.
Attitudes
Attitudes have three general components. These include feelings, knowledge,
and readiness to act (Soderhamn et al. 2001). Attitudes reflect a personal
state composed of a complex interplay of personal values and experiences,
which evolve, develop and are reinforced through family, social and cultural
influences, such as parent’s views, education and media portrayals of older
people (Barrett & Pai 2008).
Beliefs
A belief is simply a statement that is understood to be true.
Stereotype
Stereotypes can be defined as fixed, over-generalised or simplified beliefs
about the characteristics and attributes of a group of people that are applied
indiscriminately to all group members (Steele et al. 2007). Stereotypes are
pervasive in society and may be built up as ‘social facts’ over time through
experience and exposure to culture (Laditka et al. 2004; Okoye & Obikeze
2005; Steele et al. 2007) and are often based on false assumptions rather
than facts (NCAOP 2005b).
Prejudice
Prejudice is defined as a pre-set negative attitude towards another person
based on their membership of a particular social group (NCAOP 2005b; Steele
et al. 2007).
Discrimination
Discrimination refers to the behavioural component of prejudice or
stereotypes and results in differential treatment of individuals in a given group
(Steele et al. 2007). Discrimination includes both personal acts and
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