ACT YOUR AGE! YOUNG ADULTS’ CONCERN REGARDING PRESCRIPTIVE AGE STEREOTYPE VIOLATION
2024

Young Adults' Concerns About Age Stereotypes

Sample size: 296 publication

Author Information

Author(s): Gourley Amy, Chasteen Alison

Primary Institution: University of Toronto

Hypothesis

Young adults' concern about age stereotype violations predicts their attitudes toward older adults who feel younger than their actual age.

Conclusion

Young adults are more concerned about older individuals who feel younger than their actual age, which affects their perceptions of those individuals' competence.

Supporting Evidence

  • Participants were more concerned about characters who felt 25 or 45 compared to those who felt 65.
  • Concern about stereotype violation predicted lower ratings of competence for characters feeling 25 or 65.

Takeaway

This study shows that young people worry about older adults acting younger than expected, which can influence how they see those older adults.

Methodology

Young adults evaluated vignette characters of different ages and reported their concerns about age stereotype violations.

Participant Demographics

Young adults, average age not specified.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/geroni/igae098.3250

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