Older people may misinterpret callers' smiles

A study by Scottish researchers has found that older people may have difficulty in distinguishing between genuine and fake smiles. This is why they often fall prey to bogus callers at the door.

The study, conducted at the School of Psychology at Aberdeen University involved 39 young adults aged between 17 and 36 and 35 older adults between 65 and 81. All respondents were free from brain disorders.

The test involved looking at a series of photographs on computer showing people with smiling faces. Respondents were asked to consider both the expressions on the faces and the emotional states of the people in the photographs. The older adults displayed more difficulty in deciphering the social meaning behind a person's smile. Indeed, they were liable to ask a favour of a smiling person without distinguishing between a fake and a genuine smile.

On the other hand younger people tended to approach a person with an "enjoyment" smile rather than one with a non-enjoyment or fake smile. Researchers suggested that older people failed to look closely enough at people's eyes and were therefore liable to misinterpret their motives. This could explain why older people have been the victims of bogus tradesmen and holds social implications in that older people are at particular risk of becoming victims of fraud.

Nick Waugh, Age Scotland's Senior Policy and Parliamentary Officer said: "Older people have been subjected to rogue tradesmen using sharp practices such as giving low quotes but pressurising them into paying much more.

"Bogus callers turning up on the doorsteps have also been reported. In some cases the caller engaged the older person on their front doorsteps, distracting them whilst an accomplice sneaked into the house from the back and stole money or property."

Many times older people are embarrassed about what has happened to them and don't want to tell anyone about it and often they stop answering the door.

A new Scottish police initiative will offer advice to older people on how to avoid becoming victims and will be given red cards to show to cold callers.

Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "Older people are specifically targeted by unscrupulous criminals who take advantage of the fact that they can be more vulnerable to deception and fraud. Studies that increase the police service's understanding of why this is the case can help our efforts to prevent this sort of crime."

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