A nurse overhears a colleague suggesting that lapses in memory are part of aging. What phenomenon does this represent?

The concept referred to in the statement involves the tendency to attribute certain characteristics or behaviors to age without recognizing the nuances and variations that exist among older adults. Age attribution specifically addresses how we ascribe specific traits or capabilities, such as memory lapses, directly to aging itself, often overlooking other contributing factors like health status, stress, or environmental influences.

While ageism refers to discrimination based on a person's age and aging stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about older adults, age attribution focuses on the specific act of connecting cognitive decline or memory issues directly to aging, rather than understanding these as part of a complex interplay of factors. Cognitive decline misconceptions would suggest misunderstandings about the cognitive abilities of older adults, but age attribution pinpoints the tendency to attribute specific behavioral changes directly to age.