She envisions a person who has stopped learning and refuses to take care of herself - someone who has given up.

But that doesn't mean, Wyatt, who lives in West Jordan, has a problem with aging.

She is 78 after all. As she searches for words to describe people who have lived a long time, her contempt melts. Wyatt picks "wisdom," "thoughtful," "considerate," "useful" and "refined."

The difference between old and aged? Perception, she says.

"When I was 30, 50 was old. When I was 50, 70 was old. Old is the feeling and the attitude."

Under her own definition, Wyatt isn't old. She still sells real estate, studies history and loves solving crossword puzzles. For the past few years, she has taken Spanish classes at the West Jordan Senior Center.

Does her active lifestyle fuel her view of aging or does her positive outlook lead to an active lifestyle?

Yale researcher Becca Levy argues both are true to some degree.

Levy has spent the past decade studying how a person's perception of aging and their deeply held stereotypes can affect everything from their ability to hear to how long they live.

The results of every study follow this same thread, she said: "Those who have more positive views of aging have some sort of advantage over time."

Levy said part of this effect can be explained by the health behaviors of upbeat older people, who are more inclined to see doctors regularly, exercise, take their medication and watch what they eat.

But it's more than that. As Wyatt said, getting older is a feeling and the power of perception can go a long way to impact a person's health.

Levy's research usually starts with a variation of the same question - "When you think of an old person, what are the five words or phrases that come to mind?"

Most of the responses she received were similar to those given recently by Barbara Landon and Matt Rager.

Landon, 73, of West Jordan responded, "gray hair, disability, cranky, generous, active."

Rager, a 25-year-old University of Utah student, said "nursing home, slow, disconnected, mentor, wisdom."

Researchers categorize the responses of participants as positive and negative, then they track their health. In some experiments, words like "senile" or "sage" flash on a computer screen. The seniors subliminally see the words and Levy can observe any impact they have on behavior.

She found those with positive views about growing old had a stronger will to live, managed stress better, were able to walk faster and with more balance. They had sharper memories and better hearing. They even lived longer.

In 2002, Levy tapped into data collected on a number of Ohio residents starting in 1977. She found that those with positive self-perceptions of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with negative views.

Her most recent study examined the recovery rates of 62 seniors who suffered a heart attacks. She examined the age stereotypes of these people within two weeks of having a heart attack, then checked their health two more times in the next seven months.

Over that time frame, the health of positive seniors improved on average four times faster than those who had a negative outlook.

She said positive seniors "perceive recovery as an attainable goal," which helps them heal.

Most of her study participants express negative views of growing old in general and more positive views when it was about them specifically. Their true feelings are deeply held - even subconscious - stereotypes learned as children and reinforced constantly.

Levy believes these views can change and that people can become more positive about growing older, but they face one daunting obstacle - mass media.

Television in particular reinforces a revulsion to all things old. Every participant in a study Levy conducted last fall had a more negative image of aging as they watched more TV.

She urges people to think critically about the shows they enjoy.

"Question the negative stereotypes you see in television and in magazines," Levy said.

Wyatt doesn't watch many shows and she doesn't know why she would when she is healthy enough to get out of the house. Wyatt would rather get involved in politics, take a swim, visit her family or enjoy a summer picnic.

"Old is not in years," Wyatt said. "Old is failing to recognize and be happy."

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* MATT CANHAM can be contacted at mcanham@sltrib.com or 801-257-8728. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

What the younger respondents said

Sarah Modesto, 18, of Salt Lake City:

slow, sweet, wise, caring, dependent

Ammee Snyder, 18, of Salt Lake City: bad drivers, white hair, relatively nice, slow, behind the times

Matt Rager, 25, of Salt Lake City: nursing home, slow, disconnected, mentor, wisdom

Lynette Wilson, 72, of Midvale

wrinkles, polka dots on skin, gray hair, baldness, big nose

Arthur Blain, 85, of West Jordan: immobility, bad eyesight, decrepit, memory loss, getting heavy

Joye Wyatt, 78, of West Jordan: wisdom, thoughtful, considerate, useful, refined

Barbara Landon, 73, of West Jordan: gray hair, disability, cranky, generous, active

Roene Dickinson, 80, of Washington, Utah: wearing out slowly, unable to do things, living to best of their ability, dependent, patient