Implicit Ageism and Age-Related Stereotypes Between the Old and Young.

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IMPLICIT, AGE-RELATED STEREOTYPES BETWEEN THE OLD AND YOUNG.

Abstract:

This study examined the implicit and explicit stereotypes that first year Psychology students at the university of New South Wales have of young and old people. Each student completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) using photographs of young and old people and matching them up to Bad-Good words such as (evil, joy, happy, failure). A random sample of the IAT tests were examined and recorded. Once the results had been calculated it was found that males had an average IAT score of 1.875 and females 1.784. This indicated that both males and females show a significantly higher explicit than implicit preference for old people and furthermore, have a strong to moderate automatic preference for young people.

"Certain stereotypes and myths have grown up in Western cultures in relation to old people and the roles that they play in our society". For a number of years, elderly people were seen by the younger population as dependant on others, unable to work and learn new skills and are withdrawn for any social life that they may have had previously. Even though several of these myths are dissolving and a more positive attitude towards the elderly is developing, many young people still accept these stereotypes. In 1998, Anthony Greenwald, McGhee and Jordan L.K. Schwartz created an Implicit Association Test, which provides a "flexible measure of the automatic associations, underlying implicit prejudices based on age."

University - aged subjects completed the IAT age test by visualizing a photo of either a young or old subject and corresponding that photo to the most appropriate word that describes them. There were two words to chose from, one was positive such as joy, happy, friend and the other word was negative for instance evil, failure, awful. Similarly, it is very important to note that, "The hallmark of implicit prejudice is that is operates with out individuals conscious awareness" therefore when the subjects completed the IAT the results are solely based on effortless, automatic association with both young and old people and not outside influential behavior.

Laurie Rudnman exemplifies how the IAT could be influenced due to prior exposure. Familiar stimuli tend to be preferred over unfamiliar stimuli and therefore would be remiss not to emphasize that "stimuli familiarity influences the IAT effects when stimuli are social". Therefore the results may not always be as accurate as they should be.
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The aim of the present study, then, is to examine whether college-aged subjects still hold stereotypical views of elderly people and whether their automatic preference of age is old or young.

According to the previously reported findings of random IAT tests, it should be found that, both males and females show statistically significant higher explicit than implicit preference for elderly people. In addition, it should also demonstrate that, females show statistically significant higher feeling thermometer scores for both young and old people and it should further report that males and females prefer younger people to the elderly.
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