017 1.1 Chapter 1 Introduction Why this research? Have you ever told someone they look great for their age? Or perhaps you’ve been told by someone that you don’t look your age. Sayings such as these are almost always meant as a compliment but are actually loaded with implicit biases about ageing. You only need to imagine replacing ‘your age’ with another social category, such as gender, cultural background, or socioeconomic status to realise that such a statement is not a compliment at all.12 Examples are widespread. The phrase ‘having a senior moment’ associates forgetfulness with older adults, thereby perpetuating negative stereotypes of cognitive impairment and incompetence. It is also all too easy to find birthday cards that make fun of ageing, reinforcing the idea that growing older is a source of shame, rather than celebration. ‘Anti-ageing’ is a global multibillion-dollar beauty market that rests on the fundamental notion that ageing is something to be resisted and treated. As the examples above indicate, ageism is deeply ingrained in our society and in the language we use. For this reason, it is arguably the least understood, least recognised and most accepted of social prejudices. In Australia, the Commission’s 2021 What’s age got to do with it? report, which surveyed a national sample of adults 18 years and older, found that ageist attitudes are prevalent in society and underpin many of the stereotypes and assumptions people hold about life stages and roles, and about ageing itself.13 The Commission found that most respondents saw age as ‘just a number’ – only 28% reported feeling their age, whereas 64% felt either older or younger than their chronological age and 8% didn’t think about age at all. Yet, 63% reported they have experienced ageism and of these, 69% admitted they have stereotyped others based on their age.14 This disconnect between explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) attitudes is not uncommon in the literature,15 and points to the ways in which ageism is normalised and largely goes unrecognised and unchallenged in society. Stereotypes about older people may be activated automatically when we perceive someone to be ‘old’, which means we can be ageist against older people without awareness or intention.16 One of the most insidious aspects of ageism is that it can operate without conscious awareness, control, or intention to harm.17 As the Commission found in its 2021 research, ageist attitudes – even when not expressed consciously – underpin how people perceive different age groups and the expectations they have for the ways individuals of certain ages should behave and the experiences they are likely to have.18 The Commission’s finding of widespread, unconscious ageism in the community suggests that efforts to combat ageism need to focus first on raising awareness. Informed by the Commission’s earlier work, the current research aims to raise awareness of ageism and shift ageist attitudes among individuals who provide aged care or community programs to older adults (‘aged care and community workers’). These categories of workers were selected due to their potential to exert significant influence over the lives of older adults.