Older people are generally kinder and happier probably due to cognitive processes. They majorly concentrate on the positive past happenings without minding the negatives. Research shows that such cognitive processes are responsible for emotions regulation and helping see life in a better angle.
The perception of ‘grumpy old men’ originated from the effects caused by gradual testosterone decrease in men that made them sarcastic, impatient, and argumentative. Old men may also get grumpy because they may have been physically active and participated in athletic performances, but irritability may increase after losing that identity. Some may want to transform their identity using drugs, such as Viagra. Others may have gone through divorce or raised kids in rehabilitation centers. Most of them are retired, thus lacking a job identity and enough money to sustain them in their old age. It is also during old age where the body weakens due to illnesses caused by deleterious effects. All these could be reasons why old men are grumpy.