You may have noticed more TV ads lately–about medicines, etc.–that are obviously aimed at older viewers. Is this because they have more money than younger viewers, many of whom are out of work? Or could it be because their aging brains make them vulnerable?
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Our memories may deteriorate as we get older, but our HEARTS become wiser.
A hundred years ago, life was harder, so people tended to erect a hard crust around their emotions. Children died young, which led to the emotionally cold and distant father–very common in that era.
Men who grew up in homes with warm parents were much more likely to become first lieutenants and majors in World War II. The men who grew up in cold, barren homes were much more likely to finish the war as privates.
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Why do the elderly support politicians who want to do away with Medicare and Social Security? Scientists say this is because a specific area of the brain has deteriorated or is damaged.
By examining patients with various forms of brain damage, researchers have pinpointed the precise location in the human brain, called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that controls belief and doubt, and which explains why some of us are more gullible than others.
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Is the old adage "older and wiser" true? A recent study suggests that it is. A psychologist found that in the US, older folks have more of it than younger people, despite the fact that we seem to admire youth so much here. Surprisingly, he found the opposite in Japan, a country where they venerate their elders.
When psychologist Igor Grossman sent out questionnaires at random to Japanese citizens and then evaluated them without know the ages of the respondents, he found that Japanese youth had better solutions to complex questions than older citizens.
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