Feeling Aging: How Embodied Simulation Shapes College Students’ Psychosocial Understanding of Older Adults

This study examines how an embodied aging simulation embedded within the Design Thinking Intergenerational Service Learning Model (DTISLM), an educational framework integrating simulation, intergenerational engagement, and collaborative problem-solving, shapes students’ empathy, attitudes toward older adults, and emerging professional orientations. Embodied aging simulation involves students physically engaging with sensory, mobility, and dexterity limitations associated with later life. Drawing on embodied cognition theory, this study analyzes written reflections from 451 college students across multiple universities. Thematic analysis showed that experiencing functional limitations (1) fostered emotional empathy through discomfort and vulnerability, (2) shifted students’ interpretations of older adults’ behaviors from personal deficits to contextual constraints, (3) revealed psychosocial experiences such as fear of judgment and social withdrawal, and (4) strengthened commitment to aging-related professional roles. These findings suggest that integrating embodied simulation with sustained intergenerational engagement enhances students’ psychosocial understanding of aging and preparedness to work with older populations.