ABSTRACT
One of the most remarkable has been the change in attitude by gerontologists themselves towards reminiscence as a healthy rather than an unhealthy activity of elderly people. Elderly people who were classified as 'reminiscers' on the basis of their conversation habits were shown to react differently to 'non- reminiscers'. If one wants to know what elderly people are doing when they reminisce, one can do worse than ask them directly. Even if sympathetic and seeking to be 'understanding', the attitude to reminiscence was demeaning. It is important to note that even in the first writings on reminiscence, quite a divergence of views was expressed on the function reminiscence might play in old age. One man and some of the others might have benefited a great deal from a therapeutic intervention, such as could be provided in a group work setting.
