You’re Too Old for That! Ageism and Prescriptive Stereotypes in the Workplace

Abstract

AbstractUsing a vignette-based design, the current study addresses the question of what happens when a worker violates prescriptive age identity stereotypes (i.e., does not act in ways that align with cultural expectations for people in their age group). The study extends prior research by including a mixed adhering-violating condition, investigating the effects of prescriptive stereotype violation on the application of descriptive age stereotypes, and examining the role of negative affect (a composite of frustration, irritation, and annoyance) as a mediating mechanism in the prescriptive stereotyping process. Results indicate that violators of prescriptive age stereotypes are perceived more negatively in terms of warmth, competence, and desire for workplace interactions. Exhibiting some adhering and some violating behaviors largely did not lessen the effects of violation. The idea that some descriptive age stereotypes would be applied less often to violators did receive some support. Frustration was shown to be a useful mechanism for explaining prescriptive stereotyping effects, but the general absence of age of participant effects raises new questions regarding the role of expectancy violation in this process. Taken together, these findings offer an extension of the research on prescriptive age stereotypes to the workplace context, show that there can be a cost to violating prescriptive age stereotypes, and provide insight into potential mechanisms. We provide several suggestions for expanding this work, including the consideration of the intersection of age with other identity groups and ways to explore the roles of expectancy violations and perceived subjective age in the prescriptive stereotyping process.