Perception is the process of categorizing and interpreting the "sensory experience [surrounding people] and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli" (Cherry, n.d). One of the factors that influence how individuals perceive the environment and situations is age. People undergo various experiences at different life stages, and the older the age of a person is, the deeper their knowledge is about life and certain circumstances. For instance, asking a rhetorical question such as "What is love?" to people of different ages (a six-year old, a 15-year old, and a 65-year old) would generate diverse responses from the respondents because of the kind of love they have experienced at their current age. A six-year old would probably think of parental and sibling love while the 15-year old would think about first love or puppy love. However, the 65-year old would draw much of his or her response from the vast relationships he or she has had, including parental love, puppy love, friendship love, love between couples, and universal love, in general. Thus, because of these life experiences, the younger generations are more likely to heed the advice of their elders than recommendations coming from their peers or colleagues.
In the past, I used to think that the younger the person is, the lesser information I can get out of the individual. I used to think that older people have more wisdom than the younger generation. Thus, when it comes to "responsibility" and "obligation", my thoughts were always, "A child cannot be responsible enough to take care of him or others" and "The older people are wiser than the adolescents", among others. Although there is truth to this, the reality is that there are also individuals who, despite their old age, have not had experienced much of what the world can offer them and vice-versa.
With this new understanding, I would say that my mind is now more open about how an individual perceives situations depending on age. Together with this understanding is my realization that individuals, regardless of age, can present various insights that I can use alongside views of other people. The benefit of this change is I can choose whether to follow a simplified outlook regarding a situation or a more complex approach when it comes to deciphering the meanings of a situation.
References
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Perception and the perceptual process. About.com. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm
