Interbehavioral Perspectives on Aging

Abstract

This paper questions the assumption that behavioral, mental, or cognitive incompetence accompanies the biological aging process, a fundamental assumption underlying a great deal of the geropsychological research. Using Kantor's analysis of the history of psychological thought and systems, the philosophical, psychological, social, and cultural-historical bases to this erroneous assumption are investigated. It is concluded that gerontological psychologists have, through their uncritical use of medieval conceptions of behavior, directly contributed to the negative stereotypes of elderly persons found in our society. This has resulted in what is termed “scientific ageism.”