Eradication of Ageism Requires Addressing the Enemy Within

Dr. Palmore’s (2001) Ageism Survey is a muchneeded contribution toward creating awareness about a form of prejudice and discrimination that has been largely ignored by our society. However, the survey omits measuring two components of ageism that have emerged from a series of recent findings. These studies have found that ageism can operate (a) implicitly, or without awareness, and (b) in the form of aging self-stereotypes, or older individuals’ beliefs about the elderly population. To achieve Dr. Palmore’s goal of establishing an “‘epidemiology of ageism’ as a first step toward its eradication,” it seems that these two components might warrant consideration.