If you ask people you know well, or even people you barely know at all, to voice their opinions on various aspects of aging and older adulthood, they will probably be more than happy to do so. One thing is certain: most people already have strongly held views on this topic. As we were writing this book, we mentioned its title (Great Myths of Aging) to close friends, casual friends, and even people we had just met for the first time. These people ranged in age – some were young adults, some were middle-aged, and some were already members of what most of us consider to be the older adult age group (65+). In every instance, people were eager to weigh in with their thoughts on a broad swath of subjects related to the aging process, and particularly their thoughts about older adults in general. Indeed, most considered themselves to be experts on these topics. But when it came right down to it, their avowed expertise often rested on personal experience, anecdotal evidence, or both. We have no gripe with personal experience; we, too, commonly speak from such a vantage point. However, in the area of our professional expertise, we are partial to the scientific method – which can often lead to very different conclusions. If good science contradicts a single personal experience or two, then we advocate that people vote with science. After all, we would all want others to shape their approach toward us in a way that is informed by the best and most valid sources rather than on the basis of personal opinions.

Before delving into specific myths that circulate about aging and older adults, let's start by discussing what we mean by myths. One definition refers to a traditional story that explains some phenomenon – such as the Greek myths we all studied in school. These are understood to be cultural beliefs, perhaps at odds with science, but often useful in their own right. For example, they often provide powerful and lasting moral lessons. However, these are not the kind of myths that “mythbusters” tackle.

Another definition of myth is a belief that is patently false, and this can actually be downright harmful. In this book we will try to persuade you that some common beliefs about older people are just plain wrong and can lead to lost opportunities for keeping some of the most experienced and productive members of society involved in the social fabric.

At age 93, Roger Angell, a long-time editor of the New Yorker, wrote a moving essay about his experience with aging, entitled “This Old Man: Life in the Nineties.” Although most of his views are decidedly upbeat, he does remind us of the harm that some of these views can inflict. For example, in a conversation with old friends, who themselves are in their 60s, he begins to feel invisible:

There's a pause, and I chime in with a couple of sentences. The others look at me politely, then resume the talk exactly at the point where they've just left it. What? Hello? Didn't I just say something? Have I left the room? I didn't expect to take over the chat but did await a word or two of response. Not tonight, though. (Women I know say that this began to happen to them when they passed 50.) When I mention the phenomenon to anyone around my age, I get back nods and smiles. Yes, we're invisible. Honored, respected, even loved, but not quite worth listening to anymore. (Angell, 2014, February 17 & 24, p. 63)

There are a number of myths to explain why folks might begin to ignore older people in conversation, and we touch on some in this book. For example. some people might assume that older adults aren't keeping up with modern life (stuck in their ways) and don't know much about the topic at hand, that they aren't likely to be accurate in their statements (losing brain power), or that they can't hear too well and it is effortful to speak loudly and clearly to make them understand.

When we argue that certain beliefs about older adults are clearly erroneous, we present scientific evidence to back up our position. In this way, we consider ourselves to be mythbusters. But are all myths based on information that is completely fallacious? Perhaps someone has had a specific experience with an older family member. Or possibly a person is having his or her own encounter with the aging process. If people have definite ideas based on what seems to be happening to someone close to them or in their own lives, we cannot very well deny them their opinions, which were obviously formed in part as the result of personal experience. However, there is little doubt that myths about aging can be erroneous simply because they are overgeneralizations that are based on individualized circumstances. Such circumstances may be personally salient but certainly do not always apply to all, or even to the majority of, older adults. We will do some mythbusting by providing evidence that many myths cannot and, in most circumstances should not, be broadly applied.

Although there are some exceptions, myths about aging and older adulthood tend to be negative (anti-aging) rather than positive (pro-aging). Young and middle-aged adults may be fearful about uncertain and potentially unpleasant possibilities, which, as is the nature of myths, get magnified and generalized. Indeed, a web search on “aging stereotypes” yields a plethora of hits about grouchy, frumpy, and smelly old folks. Thus, our myths include some of these overgeneralizations (e.g., the idea that all older adults need diapers and older women don't care about their looks) in addition to some beliefs that are flat-out wrong (e.g., older adults get into more auto accidents than young adults). However, we have not overlooked the pro-aging myths (e.g., older people are all wise), although, frankly, these are in the minority.

At this juncture it is important to remind our readers of two obvious points: Of all the stigmatized groups we know of, the older adult age group (a) is the only group that every person will join, assuming a long enough life; and (b) is likely to include people whom we love and care about. By themselves, these are good enough reasons to study the basis for the myths we will discuss. Understanding that a belief is really a myth should ultimately lower the influence it has on our thinking.

Many “myths” in this book are really stereotypes about aging and older adulthood, which are more often negative than positive in Western countries. In an excellent overview of age stereotypes, Staudinger and Bowen (2010) point out that negative age stereotypes begin as early as childhood. School-aged children often have negative expectations of older adults, and these are bound to affect their interpersonal interactions with older people. The authors contend that stereotypes about older people can have two major harmful effects: “(a) The social environment reinforces behaviors in older adults that conform with the stereotype and (b) the older person internalizes the old-age stereotype” (p. 281).

Stereotypes can result in self-fulfilling prophecies, and research by Becca Levy and her colleagues bears this out. In one study (Levy, 1996), older adults were implicitly primed with exposure either to words designed to elicit a negative age stereotype (e.g., decline, dependent, senile, confused) or to words designed to elicit a positive stereotype (e.g., wise, alert, sage, learned). In an implicit priming experiment, words are shown so quickly that participants do not consciously perceive them. In this case, older adult participants were instructed to localize the word/flash of light on a screen by pressing a key. They were not consciously aware that actual words had even been shown. Yet the older adults who were implicitly primed with negative words did more poorly on a subsequent memory test compared with older adults who were implicitly primed with positive words. Levy, Zonderman, Slade, and Ferrucci (2012) demonstrated that negative self-stereotypes can have far-reaching negative effects on memory even 38 years into the future. Those who held negative age stereotypes at earlier ages, especially when they thought those stereotypes were relevant to themselves, performed more poorly on memory tests many years later compared to those who held less negative age stereotypes.

Levy, Slade, Kunkel, and Kasl (2002) demonstrated that negative beliefs about one's own aging are related to health outcomes such as greater cardiovascular response to stress. In a relatively recent report (Levy, Zonderman, Slade & Ferrucci, 2009), individuals aged 49 and younger who held negative age stereotypes about aging were more likely to experience a cardiovascular event in the 38 years that followed compared with individuals who held positive stereotypes about aging earlier in life. Thus “age stereotypes internalized earlier in life can have a far-reaching effect on health” (p. 297). It is conceivable that poor health earlier in life influences a person's view about aging as well as the probability of cardiovascular problems later on. However, it seems clear that the way people view older adults and the way older adults view themselves can have a broad array of influences on functioning in later life. Staudinger and Bowen (2010) argue that negative stereotypes about old age can ultimately limit older adults' opportunities for personal growth, preventing them from achieving their potential.

In this book, we present evidence that serves to “bust” each myth. To achieve our goal, we relied on studies published in academic journals and academic books written by recognized authorities. We also incorporated information from national media such as the New York Times, which often publishes articles and essays that relate to cultural trends. Many of these articles include interviews with professionals involved in ongoing studies on topics related to aging and older adulthood. We also scoured the web – where we found a great deal of up-to-date survey research, made available by groups such as the Pew Research Center and AARP. In addition, we obtained census information related to the myths from government websites.

We have divided the myths into five basic categories: the body, the mind, the self, living contexts, and endings and loss. The Body concerns the physical changes that occur with age. For example, it contains myths about the type of hearing loss that most commonly develops with age and the ways in which both speakers and listeners can adjust to it. We also cover myths on the negative stereotypes about locomotion, such as whether older adults actually should be worried about falling down and whether everyone else should worry about older people spending time behind the wheel. Finally, we take on the taboo about sex. We note that older people are undeservedly considered sexless in our culture, and we argue that part of the reason is that the young consider the sex lives of the old as just too disgusting to contemplate. This disturbing opinion deserves attention.

Many myths about the Mind are about forgetfulness and diseases such as Alzheimer's, which affect cognitive function. There are fine-grained distinctions to be made concerning the mild types of decline that can be expected with typical aging and the various symptoms and potential treatments for a variety of diseases that are associated with cognitive symptoms. It is here also that we examine one of the positive myths: wisdom comes naturally with age. Regretfully, we will need to debunk this one too.

The category of Self relates to personality. Our society attributes a number of negative traits to older adults, such as being stingy and grouchy, that do not hold up to scrutiny. It is interesting to note that traits that are probably life-long in most people who exhibit them have become associated only with old age. In this section we also consider the problem of how a foreshortened future affects personality. We explain that older people are not necessarily depressed about their age and that they still see themselves as having a future in which they can fulfill some of their hopes and dreams. Likewise, because the future is viable (although finite), therapy can be just as useful for improving that future as it can when the future seems to stretch out infinitely.

Next, in Living Contexts, we consider the social environment that older adults inhabit in our culture. There is some positive stereotyping in how we see grandparenting; again, regretfully, we must bust some pro-aging myths here. On the negative side are the myths about retirement: the presumed decline in work-related skills and the depressing fact of being put out to pasture when retirement occurs.

Finally, we present end-of-life issues. What happens when a husband dies and his widow still craves a social life? Who in our society is most afraid of death? Where do people die? We have found plenty of misperceptions related to these questions.

We hope that this book leads to spirited discussion on topics about which most people have a keen interest. We feel quite certain that every reader has family members who are approaching or have already entered their late years. And, of course, we hope that all of our readers can themselves experience a productive aging process and a long, high-quality life. If we are lucky, we will all have an opportunity to do so.