Age Cohort Effect

            University of Colorado: Dr Massey’s "You are what you were when" is a theory

of human development. He concentrates on the concept of human "value setting." It is his

contention that, about age 14, American youth set their personal "values." They do not

automatically adopt someone else's values, and those personal values are influenced by

more than peers, parents, schools, and social groups. They are also influenced by

what was going on in the media and what the "talk of the town" was at the time?

            Dr Massey claims that the "shared experiences and events" of age cohorts help set

their attitudes for life. An example of this is tastes in music: The type of music enjoy by

teenagers varies greatly due to their "place in time." Some like the Perry Como and some

like "big band sound," others like jazz or rock or "heavy metal."

            Even dance preferences, dress and grooming standards alter according the history

teenagers have lived through. Even medical differences exist, like the cohort that first

took the Salk Polio vaccine, or the "tubes in the ears" (eardrum) that was so popular in

the late 80s, early 90s. Looking at the American scene for those now, in 2004, in their 40s

and above, we find the following influences:

For those now 40 years of age, 1964-65 (the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show) were very influential:

1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

1965 Major wave of race riots begin in Watts, Los Angeles, California.

1965 Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society (War on Poverty) Medicare, Medicaid added to Social Security. The Older Americans Act (OAA) was passed.

40 years old longevity males to 75 years old, females to 78.4 years old (Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)

For those now at 45 years of age, 1959-60 were very influential:

1958-63 Measles vaccine

1960 U-2 plane shot down over Russia; Cold War escalates

Media Influence:

1959

Best Picture: "Ben-Hur"

Best Actor: Charlton Heston

Best Actress: Simone Signoret

1960

Best Picture: "The Apartment"

Best Actor: Burt Lancaster

Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor

Top Songs 1959 (Source: "Billboard's #1 Hits"):

01/19 "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," Platters

02/02 "Flower Drum Song," Original Cast

02/23 "Music From Peter Gunn, The," Mancini, Henry

03/09 "Venus," Avalon, Frankie

04/13 "Come Softly to Me," Fleetwoods

05/11 "Happy Organ, The," Cortez, Dave 'Baby'

05/18 "Kansas City," Harrison, Wilbert

06/01 "Battle of New Orleans, The," Horton, Johnny

06/22 "Exotica," Denny, Martin

07/13 "Lonely Boy," Anka, Paul

07/13 "Film Encores," Mantovani

07/27 "Kingston Trio At Large, The", Kingston Trio

08/09 "Stagger Lee," Price, Lloyd

08/10 "A Big Hunk of Love," Presley, Elvis

08/24 "Three Bells, The," Browns

09/21 "Sleep Walk," Santo & Johnny

10/05 "Mack the Knife," Darin, Bobby

11/09 "Heavenly,” Mathis, Johnny

11/16 "Mr. Blue," Fleetwoods

12/14 "Heartaches By the Number," Mitchell, Guy

12/14 "Here We Go Again," Kingston Trio

12/28 "Why," Avalon, Frankie

45 years old longevity males to 74.6 years old, females to 78.8 years old (Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)

For those now 50 years of age, 1954-55 were very influential:

1954 Invention of hovercraft

1954 Invention of the atomic powered sub

1954 U.S. had a "brief recession" -again in 1957-58 & 60-61

1954 U.S. paying 80% of the cost of war in Indo China- France fighting

1954 Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas - stuck down the "separate but equal” doctrine and forced school integration.

Media Influence:

1954

Best Picture: "On the Waterfront"

Best Actor: Marlon Brando

Best Actress: Grace Kelly

1955

Best Picture:  "Marty"

Best Actor:  Ernest Borgnine

Best Actress: Anna Magnani

Top Songs: 1954 (Source: "Billboard's #1 Hits"):

01/02 "Oh! My Pa-Pa," Fisher, Eddie

02/27 "Secret Love," Day, Doris

03/13 "Make Love to Me," Stafford, Jo

04/10 "Wanted," Como, Perry

06/05 "Little Things Mean a Lot," Kallen, Kitty

07/24 "Three Coins in the Fountain," Four Aces

08/07 "Sh-Boom," Crew-Cuts

09/25 "Hey There," Clooney, Rosemary

11/06 "This Ole House," Clooney, Rosemary

11/13 "I Need You Now," Fisher, Eddie

12/04 "Mr. Sandman," Chordettes

1955

01/01 "Let Me Go Lover," Weber, Joan

02/05 "Hearts of Stone," Fontaine Sisters

02/12 "Sincerely," McGuire Sisters

03/26 "Ballad of Davy Crockett, The," Hayes, Bill

04/30 "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," Prado, Perez

05/14 "Unchained Melody," Baxter, Les

05/14 "Dance With Me Henry," Gibbs, Georgia

05/28 "Crazy Otto," Otto, Crazy

06/11 "Starring Sammy Davis, Jr.," Davis, Sammy, Jr.

07/09 "Rock Around The Clock," Haley, Bill, & His Comets

07/09 "Learnin' the Blues," Sinatra, Frank

07/23 "Lonesome Echo," Gleason, Jackie

08/06 "Love Me or Leave Me," Day, Doris

09/03 "Yellow Rose of Texas, The," Miller, Mitch

09/17 "Ain't That a Shame," Boone, Pat

10/08 "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing," Four Aces

10/29 "Autumn Leaves," Williams, Roger

11/26: Sixteen Tons," Ford, 'Tennessee' Ernie

50 years old longevity males to 75.4 years old, females to 79.5 years old (Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)

For those now at 55 years of age, 1949-50 were very influential:

1949 Russia succeeds in building their first A-bomb

1947-1950 U.S. "Marshall Plan" sends $12 billion to Western Europe

Early in the 1950s, Senator McCarthey's "red scare" went until 1954

Media Influence:

1949

Best Picture: "All the Kings Men"

Best Actor: Broderick Crawford

Best Actress:  Olivia de Havilland

1950

Best Picture: "All About Eve"

Best Actor:  Jose Ferrer

Best Actress: Judy Holliday

Top Songs: 1949 (Source: "Billboard's #1 Hits"):

01/15 "Little Bird Told Me, A," Knight, Evelyn

01/15 "My Darling, My Darling," Stafford, Jo, & Gordon Macrae

03/05 "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," Brown, Les

03/05 "Powder Your Face with Sunshine," Knight, Evelyn

03/12 "Cruising Down the River," Barron, Blue

03/26 "Cruising Down the River," Morgan, Russ

04/30 "Careless Hands," Torme, Mel

05/07 "'A' - You're Adorable," Como, Perry

05/14 "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)," Monroe, Vaughn

05/14 "Forever and Ever," Morgan, Russ

07/30 "Some Enchanted Evening," Como, Perry

09/03 "You're Breaking My Heart," Damone, Vic

09/10 "Someday," Monroe, Vaughn

10/01 "That Lucky Old Sun," Laine, Frankie

11/12 "Slippin' Around," Whiting, Margaret, & Jimmy Wakely

11/26 "Mule Train," Laine, Frankie

1950

01/07 "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Autry, Gene

01/14 "I Can Dream, Can't I?" Andrews Sisters

02/11 "Rag Mop," Ames Brothers

02/11 "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy," Foley, Red

03/11 "Cry of the Wild Goose, The"," Laine, Frankie

03/18 "Music! Music! Music," Brewer, Teresa

03/25 "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake," Barton, Eileen

04/29 "Third Man Theme, The," Karas, Anton

05/06 "Third Man Theme, The"," Lombardo, Guy

06/03 "Hoop-Dee-Doo," Como, Perry, & the Fontane Sisters

06/10 "Sentimental Me," Ames Brothers

06/24 "I Wanna Be Loved," Andrews Sisters

07/08 "Mona Lisa," Cole, Nat 'King'

08/19 "Goodnight Irene," Weavers with Gordon Jenkins

10/28 "All My Love," Page, Patti

11/18 "Harbor Lights," Kaye, Sammy

12/02 "Thing, The," Harris, Phil

12/16 "Tennessee Waltz, The," Page, Patti

55 years old longevity males to 76.3 years old, females to 80.3 years old (Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)