A stereotype is a belief, nothing more, nothing less. Let's say, just for example, that you're 75 years old, retired and widowed. That's what you'd tell me if I asked you who you were. Perhaps I'd ask you what hobbies you had.
"Well, I can't knit or crochet because of my arthritis. I don't do much reading, because the old eyesight's going, and I don't get out in the garden any more because I can't bend down. I watch television most of the time." So you're an old lady who watches TV.
Suppose you have a daughter, who's understandably and rightly, concerned about you. She may think you shouldn't go into the garden alone in case you fall down. You shouldn't read too much, because it'll hurt your eyes, and knitting only makes your arthritis worse, she believes. So with the best will in the world, she's conditioned you.
The poor woman's trying to protect you, but she's tethering you to a stereotype of your age. You're not too badly off, not rich by any means, but you've plenty in the bank to buy yourself a computer. Ever thought of buying one?
This doesn't apply just to 'old people' either. You can be any age and fall into a stereotype... if you allow it.
We've just had a look at one of the studies carried out by Helen Langer. Here's another one she devised. She took an ordinary optometrist's eye chart, you know the one. A whacking great 'E' at the top, then the writing becomes smaller and smaller the further down you go.
She and her colleague reversed the chart. They had one printed up so that the big 'E' was at the bottom, and the smallest writing was on top.
See, the expectation with the ordinary chart is that at some stage you won't be able to read it, and you're pretty sure where that's going to be.
She was asking the question; 'Would turning the chart upside down reverse people's expectations, so that people believe the letters will become readable?' Well, that's exactly what happened.
Understandably, people still couldn't read the tiniest letters, but since in their minds they were expecting the letters to become more legible, so they were able to read considerably smaller letters than normally they would have done.
So much of what we do or don't do, or don't think we're able to do, is in the expectation. Are you a stereotype? If so, try something different. Dress differently. How we dress sends signals to other people, not just about our age, but also about our outlook on life.
How many times have you heard someone say; "Oh, I'm much too old to wear that." They don't necessarily mean old in years, but old in the way they think.
I'm sure we've all known young people in their mid-twenties who've behaved as though they're well into their seventies. Or the one who says; "Oh, I'd never re-marry. I'm too set in my ways."
Well, un-set yourself and live a bit!
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