Age Prejudice Research Articles

Age metastereotypes at work: The influence of individual differences on age metastereotype consciousness, accessibility, and activation

Much of the recent literature on ageism has focused on age stereotypes, the beliefs workers have about other workers because of their age. Less attention has been devoted to age metastereotypes, the stereotypes people think others are applying to them because of their age group. Following tenets of a model of workplace age metastereotype activation, we evaluated the individual difference variables that relate to age metastereotype consciousness (degree of being self-conscious of age stereotypes), age metastereotype activation (implicit cognitive cues of age metastereotypes), and age metastereotype accessibility (explicit knowledge of age metastereotype content). Study 1 (N = 272) used a cross-sectional design from a sample of working college students to show that public self-consciousness and external locus of control is related to the likelihood that a person worries about being age stereotyped (age metastereotype consciousness). Study 2 (N = 357) used a two-wave survey design from a sample of workers recruited through a crowdsourcing platform to show that older workers are particularly vulnerable to negative age metastereotype activation, the implicit process of age metastereotypes. Public self-consciousness, external locus of control, age prejudice, and age group identification inconsistently promote age metastereotype accessibility, age metastereotype activation, and age metastereotype consciousness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Disrupting Temporalities, Multiplying the Self: An Age-Studies Approach to Two Contemporary Plays

In our increasingly aged societies, old age continues to be equated with decline (Gullette 2004) and becomes the source of the most invisible yet persistent forms of discrimination, namely, ageism (Butler 1969). Even though theatre, like other artistic forms, has traditionally promoted a negative image of ageing (Mangan 2013), some contemporary plays have begun to favour more complex portrayals of old age. Nevertheless, when considered from a gender-based angle, these portrayals often acquire quite a problematic undertone: while roles for older female actors remain exceptional, many peripheral or, if centred, mainly problematic dramatizations of ageing femininity in the theatre arena fuel age prejudice against older women on and off stage. This article offers an age-focused analysis of two plays that counteract stereotypical images of female ageing through various dramaturgical strategies: Michel Tremblay’s Albertine in Five Times (1984) and Matt Hartley’s Here I Belong (2016). Through a comparative analysis of the Naturalistic and Non-Naturalistic devices employed in the two plays, and the examination of the meanings of age generated by the characterization of the two female protagonists, we hope to demonstrate that Tremblay’s and Hartley’s texts contribute to creating a truly anti-ageist theatre while at the same time enhancing the visibility of the older woman on the stage.

Resisting ageism through lifelong learning. Mature students' counter-narratives to the construction of aging as decline

This study aims to investigate the narratives of some “mature” students who are challenging the widely-shared view that studying, and learning new things, is a prerogative of young people. Twenty-five narrative interviews were conducted with older people enrolled at the University of Padua, Italy, to shed light on the motives, values, self-image, and personal solutions that supported their decision to resume and successfully pursue a path of studies at a “non-canonical” age. Starting from perspectives that emphasize the social dimension of meaning-making activity, we explore the counter-narratives functional to the deconstruction of “age prejudice”. The results that emerge from a thematic and structural narrative analysis show some common themes and three different counter-narratives through which respondents try to challenge the idea that they are too old to study. The paper ends with some considerations on the degree of efficacy with which these counter-narratives can resist age prejudice, identifying cases in which they favor change on a personal, social, or cultural level.

Deconstructing Ageism

Fifty years of ageism research has identified the psychosocial subconstructs and consequences of ageism and produced over 30 published definitions. However, some educators still define ageism as age discrimination or prejudice against one age group by another age group. This oversimplification provides camouflage for insidious ageism, messages that are not recognized as harmful by their source or by the target of the ageism message. This type of ageism message cultivates implicit fears of aging and negative self-perceptions, and because they are not recognized, they undermine efforts to reframe aging. This presentation deconstructs ageism to make this extremely complex phenomenon clear without oversimplifying its nature or understating its consequences. It differentiates ageism from youthism through their developmental processes, persistence, and consequences. Knowledge will be integrated and synthesized across disciplines using a biopsychosocial lens. Examples of insidious ageism are presented to increase one’s capability to recognize and avoid insidious ageism.

Supporting the old but neglecting the young? The two faces of ageism.

Ageism is the most prevalent form of prejudice and is experienced by both older and younger people. Little is known about whether these experiences are interdependent or have common origins. We analyze data from 8,117 older (aged 70 and over) and 11,647 younger respondents (15–29 years) in representative samples from 29 countries in the European Social Survey. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we test the hypothesis that older people are less likely, and younger people more likely, to suffer age discrimination if they live in a country with stronger structural support for older people. We also test the hypothesis that although stronger social norm against age discrimination reduce age discrimination suffered by older people it does not inhibit discrimination against younger people. These hypotheses are supported, and the results underline the neglected problem of ageism toward youth. Findings highlight that strategies for reducing age prejudice must address ageism as a multigenerational challenge, requiring attention to intergenerational cohesion and resource distribution between ages.

Old Age Prejudice in Mexican University Students: Comparisons by Gender

The goal of the present research was to compare the profiles of old age prejudice in male and female students from the area of physical activity. The study was conducted from January to October 2016. Participants were recruited from different semesters of the Physical Education and Human Motricity bachelor’s degrees offered at the Faculty of Physical Culture Sciences of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico. The sample was obtained through convenience sampling, and included 1652 participants; 828 women and 824 men, mean age was 20.51 ± 1.83 years 20.90 ± 2.03 years respectively. The approach of the study was quantitative with a descriptive survey-like design. All participants completed the Questionnaire on Negative Stereotypes towards Old Age. Results from the Multivariate Analyses of Variance, and the follow-up Univariate Analyses of Variance, show that men report greater levels of prejudice towards old age on the sociomotivational (F = 31.657, p<.001) and character-personality (F = 15.789, p<.001) factors. No differences were found on the health factor (i.e., mental and physical). These results suggest that when designing any type of intervention in which the purpose isto improve the perception of young people towards the elderly, the variable gender should be considered. Future research should replicate these findings in larger samples.

Doddering but dear … even in the eyes of young children? Age stereotyping and prejudice in childhood and adolescence.

This study aims to explore age prejudice, and to examine age stereotyping in children and adolescents by adopting the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) as a theoretical framework. It was hypothesised that children are socialised into adopting an ambivalent representation of old age (socialisation hypothesis) and that this cognitive bias becomes weaker in adolescence due to greater cognitive maturity (developmental hypothesis). By analysing representative data from Portugal (European Social Survey; N = 2367), it was ascertained that the ambivalent age stereotype (higher evaluations of warmth than competence for older people) is indeed a shared social representation of older people in Portuguese society. A total of 103 Portuguese children (6-10 year olds) and adolescents (11-15 year olds) were then sampled from a local school and responded to age-appropriate measures assessing age prejudice as well as age stereotypes. Contrary to previous studies, the findings do not provide evidence for the existence of age prejudice because both children and adolescents reported positive feelings towards older people. However, the socialisation hypothesis was corroborated by showing that the ambivalent old age stereotype was already present in childhood. Contrary to the stipulated developmental hypothesis, the magnitude of this cognitive bias was very similar in adolescence.

Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People

Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old‐age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty‐six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What do older people think that others think of them, and does it matter? The role of meta-perceptions and social norms in the prediction of perceived age discrimination.

Psychological theories of aging highlight the importance of social context. However, very little research has distinguished empirically between older people’s perception of how others in their social context perceive them (personal meta-perceptions) and the shared perceptions in society (societal meta-perceptions). Drawing on theories of intergroup relations and stereotyping and using a multilevel perspective, this article examines how well older people’s perceptions of age discrimination (PAD) are predicted by (a) older people’s personal meta-perceptions, (b) societal meta-perceptions, and (c) social norms of intolerance toward age prejudice. Aging meta-perceptions are differentiated into the cognitive and affective components of ageism. Multilevel analyses of data from the European Social Survey (Nover 70 years of age = 8,123, 29 countries; European Social Survey (ESS) Round 4 Data, 2008) confirmed that older people’s personal meta-perceptions of negative age stereotypes and specific intergroup emotions (pity, envy, contempt) are associated with higher PAD. However, at the societal-level, only paternalistic meta-perceptions were consistently associated with greater PAD. The results show that a few meta-perceptions operate only as a psychological phenomenon in explaining PAD, some carry consonant, and others carry contrasting effects at the societal-level of analysis. This evidence extends previous research on aging meta-perceptions by showing that both the content of meta-perceptions and the level of analysis at which they are assessed make distinct contributions to PAD. Moreover, social norms of intolerance of age prejudice have a larger statistical effect than societal meta-perceptions. Social interventions would benefit from considering these differential findings.

The Age of Ageism

This article discusses how research on ageism has gained more attention, especially as the baby boomers have started retiring, shepherding in an era that some call “the graying of America.” As the population of the country aged 65 and over is projected to double by 2030, it is especially important to study and help reduce age prejudice, so that the lives of older people can be improved. The papers presented in this issue represent some of the best empirical and theoretical work on the influence of ageism on the workplace environment and on healthcare for the older adult. These papers are summarized, and their recommendations for change in policy, law, and education are further highlighted.

Emergence of internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice in White children

This research examined White U.S. children’s internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice (IMS and EMS). Study 1 examined the psychometric properties of IMS and EMS scales adapted from Plant and Devine (1998) in a predominately White sample of children ( N = 123, ages 7–12, Mage = 9.50, SD = 1.66). Among children aged 8 and older, both scales were reliable and correlated with theoretically relevant constructs. Study 2 examined whether IMS and EMS mediate the inverse relation between age and explicit prejudice in a sample of White children ( N = 145, ages 8–10, Mage = 8.98, SD = 0.82). When ethnic labeling was present, EMS mediated the inverse relation between age and explicit ethnic bias. When ethnic labeling was absent, IMS mediated the inverse relation between age and explicit ethnic bias. Results indicate IMS and EMS emerge in childhood and bear implications for theories of ethnic attitude development.

Younger workers’ metastereotypes, workplace mood, attitudes, and behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of age-related stereotyping processes on younger workers’ mood, attitudes, and impression management behaviors at work. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from 281 younger workers, the hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – As younger workers are more self-conscious about being age stereotyped, they are less likely to be satisfied with older co-workers, which is partly explained by negative mood associated with that metastereotype consciousness. Also, chronological age, age-group identification, and age prejudice, were critical influences on the emergence of metastereotype consciousness. Research limitations/implications – Unexpected findings point to: experiences of younger workers which may not follow the same patterns found with older groups and unique operation of age as a dynamic social category that may not parallel findings regarding other social categories. Practical implications – There is clearly potential for younger workers to be concerned they are viewed “stereotypically” and this metastereotype consciousness influences how they feel, think, and behave at work. Organizations should be aware of the potential antecedents and consequences, as well as the nature of metastereotypic perceptions, to better facilitate positive and productive interactions across age groups at work. Originality/value – This research contributes to an understanding of younger workers’ experiences at work, highlights the role of mood in the operation of metastereotypes on attitudes and behaviors in age-diverse contexts, and improves our understanding of social biases and inequality associated with age-based groups.

The social history of older age

In the making and execution of public policy of every kind, health and welfare services crucially among them, a long demographic perspective is a valuable instrument. It becomes clear that, amid the exponential growth of world population, with its attendant expansion of those in the older age-group, survival, rather than longevity, is the key. Adopting the UK as a working model, the use of a social and numerical analysis by function rather than chronological age is advocated as a help-meet, not least because this evades some of the negativity with which older age is regarded. A brief summation of age prejudice is added as a further caution about the watchfulness necessary when in pursuit of social goals, such as health and welfare.

Mandatory Retirement for Gastroenterologists: A Viewpoint

Mandatory Retirement for Gastroenterologists: A Viewpoint

Four years on: The impact of the National Service Framework for Older People on the experiences, expectations and views of older people

Evaluation of the impact of the National Service Framework for Older People (NSFOP) on the experiences and expectations of older people, 4 years into its 10 year programme. the NSFOP is a comprehensive strategy designed to promote fair, high quality, integrated health and social care services for older people in England. It emphasises (i) the need for services to support independence and promote health, (ii) the specialisation of services for key conditions (stroke, falls and mental illness) and (iii) advocates a cultural change in services so that the older people and their carers are treated with respect, dignity and fairness. It has a 10-year timetable for implementation, starting in 2001. A mixed methods approach to evaluation was taken in ten purposively selected localities in England. A portfolio of methods (listening events, nominal groups and interviews) was used with older people and carers to focus on processes as well as on outcomes and to allow for the possibility of conflicting or differing judgements about service quality. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine people participated in public listening events, 1,639 took part in nominal groups and 120 were interviewed individually. The existence of the NSFOP was not widely known beyond the NSFOP local implementation teams and voluntary sector activists. Many, but not all older people, identified themselves as members of a group that was subject to age prejudice that altered the quality and standard of their care. This identity included a role as carer for others, but there was less emphasis on the rights of older people. Positive changes in primary care services were offset by difficulties in accessing general practice and a sense that services were becoming impersonal. The quality of social care at home varied from sensitive and personal to fragmentary, hurried and impersonal. Hospitals treatment was perceived as improved in speed and quality in most places, but hospitals were also seen as risky and insufficiently caring, with discharge sometimes being unprepared, over-zealous and disorganised. If asked, older people do not perceive improvements as the result of a NSFOP, but nonetheless they do perceive improvements in systems. It is difficult to attribute any of the changes in experiences that we identified to the NSFOP itself, but we can see that other change processes run contrary to some aspects of the NSFOP whilst some trends are congruent with the aspirations of the NSFOP. Government initiatives face the difficulty of distinguishing experiences that may be attributable to multiple causes. They are influenced nonetheless by the outcome of public consultation since these provide relatively rapid means of feedback and commentary by citizens and regulators on the performance of services.

Never the Right Age? Gender and Age‐Based Discrimination in Employment

Although UK legislation against age discrimination is required by December 2006, little is yet known about how ageism affects different age categories of employees, and the gender dimensions of ageism have also been neglected. Both issues were investigated by questionnaire survey, producing responses from over 1000 employees of a major UK financial services enterprise. The extent and manifestations of ageism were found to vary across age categories and by sex, and evidence of gendered ageism emerged. Reported examples of ageism were highest among younger and older age categories, but all age groups were affected to some degree. Across all ages, women were more likely than men to experience ageist attitudes concerning appearance or sexuality. To be effective, legislation will need to cater for the complex nature and patterns of age discrimination revealed, though the comparator problem and other complexities are such that important aspects of age prejudice, including gender dimensions, risk being overlooked.

Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice against Older Persons

Along with race and gender, people commonly use age to categorize -- and form stereotypes about -- others. Of the three categories, age is the only one in which the members of the in-group (the young) will eventually join the out-group (the old). Although ageism is found cross-culturally, it is especially prevalent in the United States, where most people regard growing older with depression, fear, and anxiety. Older people in the United States are stigmatized and marginalized, with often devastating consequences. Although researchers have paid a great deal of attention to racism and sexism, there has been a dearth of research on ageism. A major reason for this neglect is that age prejudice is still considered socially acceptable. As baby boomers approach retirement age, however, there has been increased academic and popular interest in aging. This volume presents the current thinking on age stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination by researchers in gerontology, psychology, sociology, and communication. The book presents theoretical and empirical findings on the origins and effects of ageism, as well as suggestions on how to reduce ageism for the approaching graying of America.

Implicit Memory for Age Stereotypes

The study addressed two interrelated questions concerned with automatic or unconscious manifestations of age prejudice: (a) Is there greater implicit memory for adjectives associated with negative stereotypes about older people than for adjectives not associated with such stereotypes; and (b) Is this effect moderated by consciously held attitudes toward older people? Eighty people, classified as low or high in age prejudice, studied adjectives that were either consistent or inconsistent with negative stereotypes of older people. Later, participants were instructed to complete fragments of the adjectives with either one of the studied adjectives or a new adjective. The influence of controlled and of implicit memory on participants' performance was estimated. Implicit memory was greater for stereotype consistent than for stereotype inconsistent words. A simple effects analysis also disclosed that among high prejudice participants there was significantly more implicit memory for stereotype consistent than fo...

Age Prejudice of ‘Act Your Age’

This article will increase awareness of age prejudice. Many are aware of it with reference to the elderly, but few sense its power and pervasiveness concerning people of all ages. Many life‐style decisions are often adversely influenced by prejudicial attitudes, norms, and laws about age. The relationship between ways of thinking about developmental tasks and age prejudice is discussed. Change is encouraged and a list of objectives that could be the focus of educational activities is presented. An end objective is to encourage people to stop acting their age and start being themselves. Zander Ponzo is an assistant professor in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont.

Play and Peer Teaching

age prejudice, I begin with a couple of questions: Have you ever wanted to be older than you are? How old would you like to be? Usually the children answer, Twelve, Sixteen, Eighteen, or Twenty-one. Most children want to be older because to them being older means getting bigger, growing stronger, and having more privileges, such as staying up late or driving a car. Sometimes children tell me what it is like to be left out because