037 Chapter 4 Pre-workshop beliefs about ageing and older adults • Prior to attending the workshop, participants generally rejected ageist views and endorsed favourable views of older adults. Nevertheless, many still appeared to be influenced by implicit stereotypes of older adults as vulnerable and in need of protection. This may be related to their expectations of physical and cognitive decline in older age. • The pre-workshop survey found that respondents most strongly disagreed with statements reflecting overt avoidance of older adults. They most strongly endorsed statements that acknowledged positive attributes and contributions of older individuals. • While respondents commonly rejected overtly hostile and paternalistic attitudes towards older adults, more subtle forms of benevolent ageism generated mixed responses. • Most found the notion that physical health challenges are a normal part of ageing to be at least somewhat true. Responses to the statements connecting cognitive decline with ageing generally fell within the range of ‘somewhat true’ and ‘somewhat false’, suggesting ambivalence among respondents. Key findings The results from the pre-workshop survey indicate that even prior to the workshop, respondents overall held favourable views of older adults, and tended to reject ageist views. Responses to individual items were examined to gain a more detailed understanding of respondents’ attitudes and expectations prior to the workshop. This was done by categorising responses into those who agreed (ie, answered ‘strongly agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’) or disagreed (ie, answered ‘strongly disagree’ or ‘somewhat disagree’) for each question.