Disability and Aging Discrimination

We live in a society in which the average age of our citizens grows older every day. In part because of natural demographic changes, a series of legal initiatives have produced public policy efforts to address the problems of disability and aging discrimination. The United States legal system has evolved over the last several decades, creating changes in statute and case law jurisprudence to address prejudice and discrimination against the disabled and the elderly. At the same time, the social sciences, and in particular psychology have made great strides in understanding prejudice and discrimination across societal groups including those with disabilities and the elderly (who often suffer from some forms of disability). §The major premise of Disability and Aging Discrimination is that success at ameliorating the effects of disability and age related bias, prejudice, and discrimination requires a psycholegal approach. It states that psychology can and should test the assumptions that the law makes about bias, prejudice, and discrimination especially as it applies to aging and discrimination. Accordingly, one important role of psychology is to point out the areas of discordance between legal theory and psychological reality in disability and age discrimination. The work in the book furthers an approach to understanding the role that law plays in the way we learn, work, socialize, and regulate ourselves. This volume examines four current themes in law and social science that describe the emerging status of discrimination scholarship and policy that will only become more important in the years to come: §-Disability, Stereotypes, and Implicit Attitudes§-Disability, Stigma, and the Role of Social Science in Law§-Baby Boomers at Work: Growing Older and Working More§-Psycholegal Approaches to Ageism at Work and Home