Internalization or Dissociation? Negative Age Stereotypes Make You Feel Younger Now But Make You Feel Older Later

Abstract

Objectives Negative age stereotypes have negative, assimilative effects on the subjective aging experience due to internalization processes, but sometimes positive contrast effects are reported as well, reflecting dissociation and downward comparisons. Our aim was thus to compare short-term and long-term consequences of age stereotypes on the subjective aging experience, to test the hypothesis that contrast effects are visible cross-sectionally, whereas internalization processes are observed when considering long-term changes. Method We assessed age stereotypes and subjective age in a core sample of N=459 participants (initial age range 30 – 80 years) from the Ageing as Future project (Lang et al., 2022) across three consecutive measurement occasions spanning a longitudinal interval of 10 years. Short-term and long-term effects were estimated with latent growth models by assessing effects of age stereotypes on the intercepts (cross-sectional) and on the slopes (longitudinal) of subjective age, respectively, while controlling for current self-views. Results Age stereotypes had opposite effects on subjective age depending on the time frame. A cross-sectional contrast effect was found, whereas longitudinal effects were assimilative in nature. Discussion Our findings support the time-dependent nature of effects of age stereotypes on the subjective aging experience. Negative age stereotypes temporarily lead to a significantly younger subjective age, indicating dissociation from one’s age group and downward comparison. In the long run, however, negative (positive) age stereotypes become internalized into the self-views of older people and are linked to a relatively older (younger) subjective age.

Psychological Well-Being and Self-Aging Attitudes Moderate the Association Between Subjective Age and Age Discrimination in the Workplace

“…Moreover, prior research found a negative relationship between discrimination at work and respect towards older workers which, in turn, is associated with higher psychological well-being. In this study conversely, discrimination at work was associated with job insecurity which, in turn, was found to be associated with lower psychological well-being [47]. In conclusion, lower levels of discrimination at work were negatively associated with stress, insecurity, and the tendency to retire from work; and positively associated with appreciation of older employees, commitment to work, and life satisfaction.…”

Explaining Variation in Individual Aging, Its Sources, and Consequences: A Comprehensive Conceptual Model of Human Aging

“…Depending on which standards of reference are chosen, the same objective aging status can result in positive or negative evaluations of one’s own aging. Variability in these processes can (partly) be explained by differences in age stereotypes that individuals have acquired earlier in life and that later become internalized and shape an individual’ views of their own aging [ 54 , 61 , 62 ]. These stereotypes also influence a person’s behavior (preparation for old age [ 63 , 64 ], physical activity [ 65 ]) and health [ 66 ], which feeds back into the sources of aging (see above).…”