040 Chapter 4 Pre-workshop beliefs about ageing and older adults Respondents most frequently disagreed with the statements reflecting a reluctance to engage with older adults. Almost everyone disagreed with, ‘I don’t like it when old people try to make conversations with me’ (99%) and ‘I personally would not want to spend much time with an old person’ (99%). Figure 8. FSA statements most frequently agreed with before the workshop ‘Old people deserve the same rights and freedoms as do other members of our society’ Pre-workshop 99% 1% ‘Old people can be very creative’ Pre-workshop 98% 2% ‘The company of most old people is quite enjoyable’ Pre-workshop 98% Agreed 2% Disagreed Respondents most frequently agreed with the statements that recognised older adults as equal members of society, capable of being very creative, and providing enjoyable company. Respondents in the pre-workshop survey almost universally endorsed statements such as, ‘Old people deserve the same rights and freedoms as do other members of our society’ (99%) and ‘Old people can be very creative’ (98%). 4.3 12-Item Expectations Regarding Ageing Scale Unlike the AAS and FSA, the 12-Item Expectations Regarding Ageing Scale (ERA-12) is not specifically a measure of ageism. Instead, it is designed to measure respondents’ beliefs about how well they expect to maintain high physical and cognitive function, and social and emotional wellbeing in later life. The ERA-12 is rated on a 4-point scale ranging from ‘definitely true’ to ‘definitely false’. To explore responses to individual items, responses were coded as either ‘agreed’ (ie, answered ‘definitely true’ or ‘somewhat true’) or disagreed (ie, answered ‘definitely false’ or ‘somewhat false’).