The term ‘generation gap’ was coined to describe differences in values and preferences between generations which were considered to provide an insurmountable obstacle to mutual understanding. While it...

The term ‘generation gap’ was coined to describe differences in values and preferences between generations which were considered to provide an insurmountable obstacle to mutual understanding. While it is highly debatable whether any such obstacles are truly insurmountable, differences between people of varying generations do exist. Explore these yourself by asking a parent, grandparent or some other older adult about their experiences at your age – what were they doing, what they were interested in, and so on. Then ask them about their current preferences in music, books, etc. Assuming their current preferences are different from your own, can you decide whether this is due to the age difference, the difference in prior experience, or some other factor? What does this tell you about the difficulties of interpreting developmental research?