Australian researchers say they've determined why older people are more likely to say tactless things in public than are younger people.
The researchers told the Sydney Morning Herald bluntness may be caused by aging of the brain's frontal lobes, which govern verbal controls and social behavior.
In fact, the scientists said, brain changes might become the catch-all excuse for any insensitive behavior.
"Older adults are generally very nice and they try hard not to hurt someone's feelings," said Bill von Hippel, associate professor of psychology at the University of New South Wales. But he said the data suggest older people also loose the ability to inhibit themselves.
The professor and his team studied 41 people aged 18 to 25, and 39 aged 65 to 93. They determined members of the older group were nearly three times more likely than the young adults to say socially inappropriate things.
"The frontal lobes of the brain are the last to develop," said von Hippel. "That's why kids are so disinhibited." He also noted the frontal lobes are the first areas of the brain to atrophy, diminishing the ability to inhibit one's behavior.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
