The stereotyping of 'old people' : a qualitative exploration of preschool children's constructions of older adults : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Abstract

Despite an ageing population, in Western countries, children and older adults are being provided fewer opportunities to spend time together. Intergenerational (IG) programmes were developed to intentionally bring these two groups together, for the mutual benefit of both parties. However, the voices of children, particularly preschool aged children, are often excluded from the research focussing on these programmes. The aim of the current research was to explore the experiences of the preschool children engaged in a shared-site intergenerational programme, based in New Zealand, and to explore the children’s constructions of older adults. Seventeen children participated in the study, aged between 3 and 5 years old. Methodological choices were ethnographically informed, and included interviews, observations, photographs, and the children’s drawings. Analysis of the data from all four methods produced two key themes. The first revealed that the relationships the children developed with the older adults were with this group as a collective, rather than with particular individuals. Although the children were able to experience individual connections with older adults, these were dependent on the context, and often temporary. The second theme detailed how the children understood what it means to be an older adult, which involved the identification of its group members. The children held a belief that old age was manifested physically, and each child used a singular physical feature of old age to identify older adults as a group. This focus on the physical highlighted the important role that observation played in the children’s developing conceptualisation of older adults. These findings suggest that the children were stereotyping the older adults, but that there was no positive or negative judgement placed on these stereotypes, they just simply existed. They also support a discursive understanding of stereotypes, as opposed to a cognitive one, which is how much of the existing literature conceptualises stereotyping. Finally, the findings demonstrate that very young children are capable of participating in qualitative research, and that they have important and interesting contributions to offer. Future research should prioritise the inclusion of these voices and would benefit from the use of multiple methods to engage children.