If you’re an older adult and recent news reports about the firing of media icons Bill O’Reilly, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose and Garrison Keillor have rattled you, you’re not alone. I’d like you to read these two statements:
“Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times.”
“Lance Armstrong was banned from sanctioned Olympic sports for life as a result of long-term doping offenses.”
Which of these facts carries greater weight when gauging Armstrong as a person?
I posed this question to a group of seniors in Calabasas recently. It didn’t surprise me that all but a couple chose the second statement.
Studies have shown that when judging strangers and rating their likability, seniors weigh negative information about moral character more heavily than information about their abilities or accomplishments.