Author: Sunderland, Jacqueline Tippett

Publication Year: 1977

Media Type: Report

Summary:

Abstract:

In 1975, the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) published a study, The Myth and Reality of Aging in America, by Louis Harris and Associates. They found that older Americans used cultural, recreational, and intellectual resources significantly less than the young or middle-aged. (this response reflects people's education and income; also the accessibility and content of the program). Yet, in contrast to the popular view that old people are warm and experienced but sedentary and unable to learn new skills, the NCOA-Harris study found that most older people have the desire and potential to be productive. The tragedy is that older adults believe in their abilities but apply the stereotype to peers.

Psychologically, the arts can help the aged cope with aging. Helen Turner Burr, a gerontological therapist, believes that old people are haunted by the transcendental moments of their lives. They reminisce, often repeating stories, to find and communicate the significance of their experience. It is a kind of healing.

In The Courage to Create, Rollo May remarks that creativity is the ability to see things a new way, to recognize what is significant, to relate meaningful observations, and to pull them together into some new whole. When an older person develops mature creative talents, he has the tools to understand and order the perhaps seemingly inconclusive events of his life. He can find purpose and design to the past, even beauty; and can then face the loss of personal powers and approach death, knowing himself and appreciating life. (p. 35-37)

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Aging