Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2025

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Communication, Contact, and Intergenerational Dynamics: Aging in Not-So-Normal Times
1Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
None:
This Epilogue extends themes from the Special Issue, with a particular focus on how communication operates during times of social disruption. Three forms of disruption are discussed: societal-global disruption (manifested in the Covid-19 pandemic), individual-relational disruption (manifested in a dementia diagnosis), and societal progress (manifested in technological change). The Epilogue discusses how these disruptions affect the quality and quantity of intergenerational contact, and feed into hostile and benevolent forms of ageism. The conclusions discuss connections between disruptions and the Communication Ecology Model of Successful Aging, as well as links to societal segregation, thus suggesting the multiplicity of ways that communication serves as a platform for healthier approaches to aging in society.
Related Concept Videos
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adulthood
Intimacy Versus Isolation in Early Adulthood
Individuals in early...
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Therapeutic Communication
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...

