Effects of age and interpersonal contact on stereotyping of the elderly

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the age of an individual, the type of contact an individual has with the elderly, the amount of knowledge an individual has about the elderly, and the extent that the individual stereotypes the elderly. In accordance with the Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, stereotyping was predicted to be higher among individuals who did not identify with nor have contact with the elderly. Fifty young (18-25 years of age) and fifty elderly (64-79 years of age) participants completed surveys measuring their level of contact with the elderly, knowledge about aging (knowledge score), and tendency to stereotype the elderly (stereotype score). Results of this study indicated that regardless of age, participant knowledge of aging and application of aging stereotypes were affected by the quality of contact experienced. Although the young participants achieved significantly higher knowledge scores than the elderly participants, there was no significant age difference in stereotype scores for the young and elderly groups. However, as predicted, the young and elderly participants who experienced high levels of contact with the elderly achieved higher knowledge scores and lower stereotype scores. These scores were compared to the respective scores of the young and elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly. Moreover, the elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly achieved lower knowledge scores than any of the other groups. Elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with other competent elderly individuals may be more susceptible to the negative effects of aging stereotypes and at risk for not identifying with their own social group.     

Effects of age and interpersonal contact on stereotyping of the elderly

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the age of an individual, the type of contact an individual has with the elderly, the amount of knowledge an individual has about the elderly, and the extent that the individual stereotypes the elderly. In accordance with the Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, stereotyping was predicted to be higher among individuals who did not identify with nor have contact with the elderly. Fifty young (18-25 years of age) and fifty elderly (64-79 years of age) participants completed surveys measuring their level of contact with the elderly, knowledge about aging (knowledge score), and tendency to stereotype the elderly (stereotype score). Results of this study indicated that regardless of age, participant knowledge of aging and application of aging stereotypes were affected by the quality of contact experienced. Although the young participants achieved significantly higher knowledge scores than the elderly participants, there was no significant age difference in stereotype scores for the young and elderly groups. However, as predicted, the young and elderly participants who experienced high levels of contact with the elderly achieved higher knowledge scores and lower stereotype scores. These scores were compared to the respective scores of the young and elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly. Moreover, the elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with the elderly achieved lower knowledge scores than any of the other groups. Elderly participants experiencing low levels of contact with other competent elderly individuals may be more susceptible to the negative effects of aging stereotypes and at risk for not identifying with their own social group.     

SEX TRAIT STEREOTYPES OF ADULTS ACROSS DIFFERENT LIFE PERIODS

An attempt was made to identify the stereotypes that young Indian people hold of adults of their community representing the different life periods. Twelve groups of 30 subjects aged 18 to 19 years were the subjects. A 2×2×3 (sex of subjects × sex of target figures to be rated × age of target figures, young, middle-aged, elderly) experimental design was used. Each group rated one target figure on the Adjective Check List (ACL) devised by Gough and Heilbrun (1965). The major findings include (a) a decrease in the number of adjectives attributed to the target figures as a function of increasing age, (b) a greater number of traits to describe male than female target figures, (c) a similar trend for the stereotypes of the different figures, and (d) an increase in the unfavourable evaluation of the adjectives comprising the stereotypes related to the age of the target figures. Possible reasons for the findings were discussed.     

Emotional inhibition in essential hypertension: obstacle to communication during medical visits?

A substantial literature on the "hypertensive personality" links essential hypertension (EH) with the suppression of negative emotions, implying that suppression may elevate blood pressure. Yet affective inhibition might also impair communication with health care providers and exacerbate EH by limiting therapeutic collaboration. We studied 542 patient-physician interviews from a national sample to see if patients with EH (n = 203) were less likely to exhibit negative emotions than normotensive patients (n = 339) as rated by their physicians and independent observers. EH patients did not differ from others on self-rated emotional or physical health. However, physicians were less accurate in characterizing the emotional states of EH patients than those of normotensive patients, and they rated EH patients as exhibiting fewer signs of distress during the visit. Independent observers also judged the EH patients as less distressed than normotensives, thereby validating the physicians' appraisals. Content analysis disclosed that physicians paid less attention to psychosocial concerns and concentrated on biomedical matters to a greater degree with hypertensive patients than with their normotensive patients. EH patients, particularly those experiencing emotional distress, appear to have patterns of self-presentation that could present an obstacle to effective communication with their physicians, and this difficulty may be amplified by physicians' disinclination to probe for emotional difficulty.     

老年歧视的特点、机制与干预

目前在全球范围内普遍存在老年歧视和消极的老化态度。2~3岁的幼儿就已经具有了老化的消极刻板印象, 家庭、社会、媒体和图书资料是为人们提供消极老化态度的主要来源, 而缺少代际接触、缺乏对老化知识的了解是人们形成老年歧视的主要原因。老年歧视会影响个体的行为、自我老化接受度、心理健康状况、生活方式以及择业。了解老化知识信息、讨论老龄化问题, 以及与老年人直接接触等方法可以帮助人们改变老化消极刻板印象, 并且代际接触的质量比数量更重要。目前, 老年歧视的研究横向研究多, 纵向研究少; 特点描述、干预研究多, 机制研究较少; 研究方法多样, 测量工具不同, 导致研究结果不同, 各研究间难以进行比较, 如直接测量主观态度的老年歧视调查, 人们表现出更多的积极态度, 而采用间接方法测量时, 人们则表现出更多的消极态度。我国对老年歧视的研究有待进一步深入和扩展。     

小而灵通，老而顽固？年龄信息对创造性观念评价的影响及其机制

创作者的年龄作为重要的社会线索信息,可能会影响大众对其观点的创造性评价。本研究以物品非常规用途想法作为评价材料,考察了4类年龄信息对创造性观念评价的影响,以及相关刻板印象在其中的作用。结果发现,10岁左右年龄信息会提升被试的新颖性和适用性评分;30岁左右的信息提升了新颖性评分,但刻板印象强弱对评分变化不具有预测作用。这表明,对于领域一般性产品,有关创作者的刻板印象不易被激活并应用于创造性评价。     

Attitudes toward older and younger adults: a meta-analysis

Attitudes toward the elderly have been examined in a number of empirical studies, yet the question of whether the elderly are viewed more negatively than younger persons has not been resolved. A meta-analysis of the literature was conducted to examine this question; results demonstrated that attitudes toward the elderly are more negative than attitudes toward younger people. However, smaller differences between the evaluations of elderly and younger targets were found when (a) the study used measures of personality traits (compared with measures of competence), (b) there were a larger number of dependent measures included in the effect size, (c) specific information was provided about the target person (compared with when a general target such as old person was used), and (d) a between-subjects design (compared with a within-subjects design) was used. These results support Lutsky's (1981) conclusion that age, in and of itself, seems to be less important in determining attitudes toward the elderly than other types of information. The methodological limitations within the literature and a need to consider multiple components of attitudes toward older individuals are discussed.     

"Trust me...": psychological and behavioral predictors of perceived physician empathy

A sociocognitive model of distal and proximal predictors of empathic judgments was tested among 100 physicians. The authors hypothesized that physician perceived control would affect empathy ratings via physician communication style. Specifically, physicians with high perceived control would use more open communication and be rated as more empathic. Physicians with low perceived control would use a controlling communication style and be rated as less empathic. Physicians completed a medical attribution questionnaire prior to a structured patient consultation exercise, during which patients and assessors rated physician empathy. The exercise was audiotaped, transcribed, and content analyzed for verbal behaviors. Support was found for the hypotheses; however, patients, but not medical assessors, associated empathy with reassurance and provision of medical information.     

Patient Perspectives on the Learning Health System: The Importance of Trust and Shared Decision Making

We conducted focus groups to assess patient attitudes toward research on medical practices in the context of usual care. We found that patients focus on the implications of this research for their relationship with and trust in their physicians. Patients view research on medical practices as separate from usual care, demanding dissemination of information and in most cases, individual consent. Patients expect information about this research to come through their physician, whom they rely on to identify and filter associated risks. In general, patients support this research, but worry that participation in research involving randomization may undermine individualized care that acknowledges their unique medical histories. These findings suggest the need for public education on variation in practice among physicians and the need for a collaborative approach to the governance of research on medical practices that addresses core values of trust, transparency, and partnership.     

Assessment of depression in patients with Alzheimer's disease: concordance among informants.

This study is an investigation of the concordance among different sources of information on ratings of depression in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Informants were 75 outpatients with diagnosed AD (22 with major depressive disorder), their caregivers, and geriatric clinicians. Clinicians rated each patient on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression on the basis of (a) the patient's report, (b) the caregiver's report, and (c) the clinician's evaluation. Overall, patients perceived themselves as less depressed than did caregivers or clinicians; for nondepressed patients, caregivers reported patients less depressed than clinicians reported; for depressed patients, no significant differences were obtained between caregiver or clinician. Certain items were more discrepant among informants and significantly differentiated depressed from nondepressed AD patients. Level of patient dementia did not affect ratings. These findings support the need for comprehensive, accurate assessment of depression in AD patients.     

印象形成中交叉刻板印象的加工机制

以大学生作为被试,旨在探究：在交叉刻板印象加工过程中,是否存在某一单维刻板印象的加工优势效应？如果存在,靶子熟悉度的差异是否会影响单维刻板印象的加工优势效应？该单维刻板印象加工优势效应是否还会受到其他单维刻板印象加工的调节。研究结果表明：（1）在对具有性别-年龄组合而成的交叉刻板印象的人群进行判断时,通过面孔进行启动,发现在不同的条件下分别存在性别单维刻板印象和年龄单维刻板印象的加工优势效应,即年轻男性或女性面孔的性别特征较年龄特征更容易得到加工和提取,老年男性或女性面孔的年龄特征较性别特征更具有加工优势。而在范畴词汇启动下,老年男性或女性词汇启动下的年龄特征较性别特征更具有加工优势。（2）熟悉性会影响单维刻板印象的加工优势,即在年轻被试感知面孔或范畴词汇时,其对老年男性或女性靶子间击中率的差异要显著大于对年轻男性或女性的靶子间击中率的差异。换言之,年轻被试感知老年人靶子的性别与年龄间的差异要显著大于年轻人靶子,出现自我参照现象。（3）在交叉刻板印象加工中,同时存在的各类单维刻板印象加工是彼此削弱的,具有优势加工效应的刻板印象的加工会受到非优势刻板印象加工的抑制。（4）在交叉刻板印象加工中,优势刻板印象加工会受到其相对刻板印象加工的削弱。     

The perceived credibility of older adults as witnesses and its relation to ageism

In experiment 1, 267 undergraduates read a case summary and witness statement. Sex and age of the witness (49, 69, 79 or 89 years) were varied. Participants rated the witness's perceived convincingness, confidence, quality of observation, accuracy, honesty, competence, memory, suggestibility, and cognitive functioning. As well as an age effect for honesty, age by sex interactions were observed for several characteristics, particularly for comparisons of the 79-year-olds versus the 49-year-olds, and 89-year-olds versus the 49-year-olds. In experiment 2, 94 undergraduates read the same testimony given by a 79-year-old male or female witness, and completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism and the Aging Semantic Differential. Participants who evidenced stronger aging stereotypes on these measures rated the witness less favorably than did participants who were less prejudiced. This experiment is the first to show a link between perceived credibility of older adults and ageist attitudes. Practical applications regarding how older witnesses are viewed by jurors, and the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.     

Multiple stereotypes of elderly and young adults: a comparison of structure and evaluations

Following Schmidt and Boland's (1986) method, college student informants sorted a trait set into 1 or more groups with reference to elderly or young adults. Analysis of these data confirmed the existence of multiple stereotypes of both age groups but showed little similarity between stereotypes of the elderly and the young. Other informants made attitude, age, and typicality judgements of persons representing either the elderly or young adult stereotypes. Results showed that attitudes varied with the stereotype activated and were similar for analogous elderly and young adult stereotypes. Results also suggested that young adults do not view negative stereotypes as more typical of the elderly than positive ones; however, they believe the negative stereotypes are more characteristic of the old-old than are the positive and see positive stereotypes as more typical of young adults than negative ones.     

College students' self-estimated and actual knowledge of gender traditional and nontraditional occupations: A replication and extension

This study investigated the degree and congruence of students' estimated and actual information about gender traditional and nontraditional occupations as well as the relationship of students' gender stereotyping of occupations to predicted and actual knowledge. One hundred female and 102 male college students rated how much they thought they knew about 18 male-dominated and 18 female-dominated occupations. They also rated these 36 occupations for their appropriateness for men vs. women, and completed an instrument that measured their actual knowledge of these and a wide variety of occupations. Women rated themselves more knowledgeable about female- than male-dominated occupations. Men rated themselves as equally knowledgeable about the two. Men and women themselves as equally knowledgeable about the two. Men and women didn't differ in any area of their actual knowledge. There was little relationship between actual and predicted scores for either sex. However, men's errors did not relate to the type of occupation, while women overestimated their scores on traditional occupations and underestimated on nontraditional ones. No relationship was found between the degree to which subjects held gender stereotypes of occupations and either actual or predicted knowledge scores.     

Priming effects of age stereotypes on memory of older adults in Korea

This study examined priming effects of age stereotypes on memory of Korean older adults. Age stereotypes refer to general beliefs about older adults. Through a priming task, older participants were briefly exposed to positive or negative age stereotypes without awareness. Before and after the priming task, free‐recall tasks were given to participants to measure their memory performance. Changes in performance caused by the priming task were estimated as priming effects of age stereotypes. Participants showed better memory performance after they were exposed to positive stereotypes during the priming task (positive priming effects). In contrast, participants showed worse memory performance after they were exposed to negative age stereotypes during the priming task (negative priming effects). The magnitude of priming effects was similar in positive and negative stereotypes. This result suggests that the implicit activation of age stereotypes can change memory of Korean elderly in both positive and negative ways.     

Age and Gender Stereotypes: New Challenges in a Changing Workplace and Workforce

The current research investigated age and gender stereotypes in relation to adaptive performance. Using methods similar to those used in Schein's studies (1973, 1975) , 496 undergraduate students rated 1 of 7 targets on 6 dimensions of adaptive performance. All of the targets varied in age (25, 40, or 55 years) and gender, except one that was age and gender neutral. The 7^th served as a reference group and was an age- and gender-neutral target. Results showed that older targets were perceived as less adaptable across most of the dimensions of adaptability. Further, men and women were perceived differently, but differences were consistent with many prevalent gender stereotypes. Finally, female participants tended to rate all targets more favorably than male participants. Implications for human resources management and future research on stereotypes at work are discussed.     

Memory processes in elderly eyewitnesses: What we know and what we don't know

Research is reviewed on the memory abilities of elderly eyewitnesses. Two major issues are addressed: First, how credible are elderly witnesses? Second, how accurate are they? Despite negative stereotypes regarding elderly eyewitnesses, they do not necessarily lack credibility at trial. In terms of their memory performance, older witnesses are as accurate as young adults in many respects, but they are particularly vulnerable to misleading information that is presented after the witnessed event. Furthermore, their performance varies depending on the type of information that is sought and the manner in which their memory is assessed. Recommendations are made for improving the reliability of testimony that is offered by elderly eyewitnesses.