RUNNING HEAD: Age stereotypes, self-views, and well-being

Age Stereotypes, Self-Views, and Well-Being in Later Life:

Evaluating Rival Assumptions

Klaus Rothermund and Jochen Brandtstdter

University of Trier

Address:
Dr. Klaus Rothermund
University of Trier
Department of Psychology
D-54286 Trier
Germany

Phone: ++49 651 2012972

Fax: ++49 651 2012971
E-Mail: rothermu@uni-trier.de
Negative Stereotype Infusion 1

Abstract

Concerning the relation between age stereotypes, self-views, and well-being in older

people, three lines of argument can be distinguished: Whereas cognitive theories of aging

posit that age stereotypes contaminate the self-views of older people (infusion hypothesis),

recent positions also emphasize potential self-enhancing effects of negative age stereotypes.

A comparison hypothesis predicts that age stereotypes serve as a reference standard for self-

enhancing comparisons, and an externalization hypothesis holds that individually held age

stereotypes are a projection of elderly persons self-views. Empirical implications of the

different hypotheses were tested on data from a cross-sequential study assessing self-ratings

and ratings of the typical old person over a longitudinal interval of 8 years in a sample of

690 participants (initial age range 5477 years). In general, the infusion hypothesis found the

strongest support. Stereotyped expectations about elderly people predicted later self-

appraisals and tended to boost rather than dampen the detrimental impact of negative self-

appraisals on well-being. Findings also highlight the importance of differential factors: A

disposition to flexibly disengage from blocked goals (Flexible Goal Adjustment;

Brandtstdter & Renner, 1990) seems to shield self-views from ego-deflating influences of

negative age stereotypes. (186 words)

Key words: Age Stereotypes, Successful Aging, Comparison Processes

Negative Stereotype Infusion 2

Age Stereotypes, Self-Views, and Well-Being in Later Life:

Evaluating Rival Assumptions

Substantial agreement exists that generalized expectations about age and aging across

all age groups are tainted by negative connotations of failing performance, physical

unattractiveness, loneliness, and morbidity (e.g., Green, 1981; Heckhausen, Dixon, & Baltes,

1989; Hummert, 1999; Kite & Johnson, 1988; Lutsky, 1980; McTavish, 1971). Such

stigmatizing connotations have been documented amply in questionnaire studies using

explicit measures of evaluation (e.g., attitude scales, semantic differentials, sentence

completion) as well as in experimental studies employing implicit measures such as semantic

priming techniques (Perdue & Gurtman, 1990; Rothermund, Wentura, & Brandtstdter, 1995;

Wentura, Drger, & Brandtstdter, 1997) or the Implicit Association Test (Karpinski &

Hilton, in press; Nosek, Banaji, & Greenwald, in press; Rothermund & Wentura, in press).

The present study focuses on the effects that individually held stereotypes may have on the

self-views and well-being of elderly people. This is an issue upon which opinions tend to

diverge. In a first approximation, we can discern two basic assumptions that, although not

mutually exclusive in any strict sense, have different empirical implications. A first line of

argument has its roots in theories of social comparison (e.g., Festinger, 1954; Wills, 1981;

Wood, 1989) and assumes that age stereotypes serveor can serveas a reference standard

for self-enhancing downward comparisons (comparison hypothesis; e.g., Heckhausen &

Krueger, 1993; Heidrich & Ryff, 1993a, 1993b; Rickabaugh & Tomlinson, 1997; Robinson-

Whelen & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1997; Suls, Marco, & Tobin, 1991).1

This view can be contrasted with an assumption originally advanced by labeling

Negative Stereotype Infusion 3

approaches and cognitive theories of aging (e.g., Kuypers & Bengtson, 1973; Rodin &

Langer, 1980; Thomae, 1970). According to this second line of argument, people tend to

gradually incorporate stereotyped views about age and aging into their self-views (infusion

hypothesis). A corollary to this view is that negative age stereotypes are acquired early in

life, at a time when they have no strong self-referential implications. Thus, self-views should

become contaminated with negative implications of the age stereotype as people grow older.

Having internalized negative connotations of old age and aging before being personally

affected might render older people particularly vulnerable to negative influences of the age

stereotype (cf. Crocker & Major, 1989; Goffman, 1963).

Using concepts that have been introduced in social-psychological research on

judgmental processes, the comparison hypothesis predicts a contrast effect, whereas the

infusion hypothesis predicts an assimilation effect (Schwarz & Bless, 1992). In the case of a

contrast effect, positive self-appraisals should be enhanced by a negative age stereotype, so

that, on a correlational level, more negative appraisals of the typical old person should be

accompanied by a more positive self-view. In the case of an assimilation effect, on the other

hand, we should expect negative appraisals of the stereotype to map onto self-appraisals in

ways that produce a positive association between both ratings. There is empirical evidence for

such a positive relationship (OGorman, 1980) that seems to favor interpretations in terms of

an assimilation effect. This interpretation, however, is not strictly conclusive: A positive

relationship might also obtain when attitudes or experiences related to ones own aging are

projectedperhaps in exaggerated formonto personal construals of the typical old person.

By appraising own problems as being normal or typical for ones age, the person might

alleviate the emotional turmoil that would otherwise result from experiences of loss and
Negative Stereotype Infusion 4

constraint. A similar argument was advanced by Heckhausen and Brim (1997) under the

notion of social downgrading. Furthermore, older people might also revise prior

expectations about age and aging on the basis of their own experiences (Brubaker & Powers,

1976; Whitbourne, 1985). In the following, we shall refer to these alternative accounts as the

externalization hypothesis.

Regarding empirical implications of the three hypotheses, a positive relationship

between self-appraisals and stereotype appraisals already renders the assumption of self-

enhancing contrasts (as assumed by the comparison hypothesis) less plausible than accounts

in terms of infusion or externalization effects. To discern between the two latter accounts,

however, a more powerful combination of correlational and sequential or time-lagged

observations is obviously needed. One might object at this point that negative age stereotypes

could also function as an interactive buffer that mitigates the negative impact of losses and

constraints on personal well-being. While conforming with comparison accounts, such

buffering effects would be inconsistent with an infusion hypothesis: The negative impact of

experienced losses on well-being should be boosted rather than dampened when these losses

are construed as confirming a negative stereotype and its threatening implications for future

personal development.

Table 1 summarizes the arguments so far by contrasting the three basic

hypothesescomparison, infusion, and externalizationand their empirical implications.

This scheme serves as a guiding framework for the following analyses.

Table 1
Negative Stereotype Infusion 5

Effects of Age Stereotypes: The Question of Interindividual Differences

The preceding arguments have focused on the consequences of negative age

stereotypes on the self-appraisals and well-being of older people in general. Elderly people,

however, may differ not only with regard to their stereotyped views about age and aging but

also with regard to the ways in which these views affect self-evaluations. For instance, own

findings suggest that older persons who are disposed to flexibly disengage from blocked goals

(as measured by the scale of Flexible Goal Adjustment, Brandtstdter & Renner, 1990)

harbor a more positive attitude toward aging and are more prone to enrich the attribute old

with positive meaning (Brandtstdter, Rothermund, & Schmitz, 1997, 1998; Rothermund et

al., 1995; Wentura et al., 1997). Likewise, whether and to what extent assimilation or contrast

effects dominate in the interplay between self-views and stereotyped expectations may

depend on factors that vary systematically between individuals. It might plausibly be argued

that some people are more capable than others of dissociating their self-concept from

stereotyped expectations, for instance, by playing down the importance of negative aspects of

the stereotype (cf. Brandtstdter & Rothermund, 1994; Crocker & Major, 1989; Greve, 1990;

Kling, Ryff, & Essex, 1997) or by avoiding a self-categorization as old (elderly people

notoriously report feeling less old than they actually are; Baum & Boxley, 1983; Filipp &

Ferring, 1989; Heckhausen & Krueger, 1993; Montepare & Lachman, 1989).

Overview

In the present study, appraisals of the self and of the typical old person were
Negative Stereotype Infusion 6

assessed repeatedly over a longitudinal interval of 8 years in a core sample of 690 participants

in the initial age range from 54 to 77 years.2 The cross-sequential design affords

methodological options that may help to clarify some of the issues addressed above. Beyond

the analysis of age-graded change in stereotypes and self-definitions, the longitudinal format

permits a comparison of time-lagged effects. The assessment procedure also involved

measures of life-satisfaction and depression that served as outcome variables for the analysis

of effects of personal age stereotypes on well-being and successful aging. In the analysis of

differential effects, we focus on the construct of Flexible Goal Adjustment that has been

found to predict differences in adjustment to old age and to buffer negative effects of age-

related losses on well-being (Brandtstdter & Renner, 1990; Brandtstdter, Wentura, &

Rothermund, 1999).

Method

Sample

Participants were recruited from an urban area in southwestern Germany. For cross-

sequential comparisons, they were evenly grouped into six birth cohorts (age ranges refer to

the first occasion of measurement, 1991): Cohort I, 54 to 57 years, Cohort II, 58 to 61 years,

Cohort III, 62 to 65 years, Cohort IV, 66 to 69 years, Cohort V, 70 to 73 years, and Cohort VI,

74 to 77 years (initial sample size was N = 1,256; 635 women, 621 men). In terms of

occupational status, income level, and education, the sample was fairly representative of the

general population in this age range.

Negative Stereotype Infusion 7

Longitudinal data over an 8-year interval were available for a core sample of 690

participants (54.9% of the initial sample; number of respondents contributing data at both

measurement occasions within Cohorts I to VI: 144, 136, 137, 110, 99, and 64, respectively).

Attrition patterns were examined by comparing dropouts and persisters on variables assessed

at the first measurement occasion. On average, dropouts were 3.5 years older than persisters,

t(1254) = -9.25, p < .001. Dropouts also reported lower life satisfaction (18.3 vs. 19.6,

t[1241] = 4.22, p < .001), and higher depression (14.2 vs. 12.7, t[1243] = -3.55, p < .001). No

selective attrition effects were observed on other variables involved in the present study.

Measures

Assessment of Self-Evaluations and Individual Age Stereotypes

Self-evaluations as well as stereotypes of the typical old person were assessed using

a semantic differential that containing 32 pairs of antonyms covering a broad range of

personality attributes (e.g., patient - impatient, self-confident - diffident, attractive -

unattractive, optimistic - pessimistic; the anchoring of attributes as positive and negative was

confirmed by separate ideal-self ratings). Ratings were given separately for each antonym pair

on 11-point bipolar scales (e.g., patient 5-4-3-2-1-0-1-2-3-4-5 impatient) and were recoded so

that extreme ratings on the negative and positive side received a 1 or 11, respectively. To

obtain a global index of the positivity of the self and the stereotype, individual ratings were

averaged across attributes (up to 10% missing values were tolerated). The aggregation yielded

highly homogeneous scales (see Table 2).

Negative Stereotype Infusion 8

Table 2

Reference Measures

Cross-sequential assessments also included the Life-Satisfaction Index (LSI;

Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961) and a short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale

(GDS; Sheik & Yesavage, 1986). In the present context, these scales are of interest as

potential outcome measures. The scale of Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA; Brandtstdter &

Renner, 1990) was included as a measure of accommodative flexibility. As intimated above,

the flexibility construct is of particular interest for gauging differential and interaction effects.

Internal consistencies were satisfactory for all reference measures (see Table 2).

Results

Cross-Sequential Patterns

The first set of analyses addressed age-related change in self-evaluations and age

stereotypes. Effects of measurement occasion, cohort, and gender on the self-ratings and

stereotype ratings (aggregated positivity scores) were assessed by separate 2 6 2

MANOVAs. For self-ratings, only the interaction of measurement occasion and cohort was

significant, F(5,599) = 2.50, p < .05 (all other Fs < 1.13, ns). Polynomial contrasts revealed

that this interaction effect was largely due to the linear cohort trend, t(599) = -2.73, p < .01.

Self-evaluations were fairly stable across the 8-year longitudinal interval for the younger

cohorts, but became more negative with advancing age in the oldest cohorts. Ratings of the
Negative Stereotype Infusion 9

typical old person revealed a main effect of measurement occasion, F(1,588) = 20.55, p <

.001. Across cohorts, the typical old person was perceived more positively with advancing

age. Other effects remained nonsignificant throughout, all Fs < 1.10, ns. Figure 1 illustrates

the cross-sequential findings.

Figure 1

An analysis involving both ratings as dependent variables substantiated the

differences between the two cross-sequential patterns. Self-ratings were clearly more positive

than ratings for the typical old person, F(1,577) = 1144.80, p < .001. An interaction of

measurement occasion with rating target was found, F(1,577) = 12.89, p < .001: Whereas

self-ratings remained stable across measurement occasions, ratings for the typical old person

increased over the 8-year longitudinal interval. Additionally, a three-way interaction of

measurement occasion, rating type, and cohort emerged, F(5,577) = 2.54; p < .05, which,

however, was difficult to interpret (polynomial contrasts indicated that the cubic trend of the

cohort factor was modulated by measurement occasion and rating target). Other effects did

not attain significance, all Fs < 1.61, ns.

Supplementary analyses produced a strong positive correlation between Flexible Goal

Adjustment and self-evaluations, r = .44, p < .001. People scoring high on FGA also tended

to view the typical old person more positively, r = .08, p = .05, which is consistent with

earlier observations (Rothermund et al., 1995; Wentura et al., 1997). Correlations of FGA

with longitudinal change scores in self-evaluations and age stereotypes were nonsignificant,

both *r* < .02, ns.

Negative Stereotype Infusion 10

Relationships Between Age Stereotypes and Self-Evaluations

To gauge effects of individually held stereotypes on self-evaluations, different

methodological options were used. A largely consistent picture emerged from these analyses.

1. On the level of bivariate correlations, more negative age stereotypes tended to be

accompanied by a more negative view of the self, r = .12, p < .01. Moderated multiple

regressions (Aiken & West, 1991) involving the FGA measure, however, revealed that this

association was dampened by accommodative flexibility (the regression weight for the

product term FGA Stereotype was negative, = -.75, t[573] = -2.11, p < .05). Apparently,

FGA shields self-evaluations from being contaminated with a negative age stereotype.

2. The analysis of individual profile intercorrelations between the semantic

differential ratings for the self and the typical old person further substantiated these effects.3

These individual profile correlations were distributed with M = .23, SD = .26, which deviates

significantly from a theoretical distribution for unrelated profiles, t(576) = 20.55, p < .001.

Self-descriptions on the attributes of the semantic differential related positively to

descriptions of the typical old person. The magnitude of the individual correlation

coefficients increased with age, r = .13, p < .01, and showed a negative association with

Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA), r = -.14, p < .01. Interestingly, a strong interaction effect of

age and FGA was observed, = -1.71, t(567) = -3.30, p = .001. For participants scoring high

on FGA, the correspondence between age stereotypes and self-evaluations did not increase

with age. Figure 2 illustrates this pattern of effects (high and low values on FGA represent the

10th and 90th percentile of the sample distribution, respectively).

Negative Stereotype Infusion 11

Figure 2

3. Further insight into the causal dynamics underlying the above relationships could

be gained from a consideration of time-lagged effects. In a first analysis, longitudinal change

scores for the self-ratings were predicted from initial ratings for the typical old person and

vice versa. None of these effects attained statistical significance, both ** < .05, *t* < 1.02,

ns. However, FGA was found to moderate the effect of initial stereotype ratings on

subsequent change in self-appraisals, = -.96, t(579) = -2.75, p < .01. For people scoring low

on the FGA scale, self-evaluations tended to converge with initial stereotype ratings over

time, suggesting an assimilation effect. For people scoring high on FGA, on the other hand, a

contrast effect emerged; that is, a negative stereotype predicted a positive change in self-

evaluations. In contrast, effects of initial self-evaluations on subsequent change in the

individually held age stereotypes were not moderated by FGA and age, = -.37, *t* < 1.

4. Similar differential effects were obtained when the change in the profile of self-

ratings across the 32 bipolar attributes was predicted from respondents stereotype profile.

The individual beta weights for these predictions were distributed with M = .09, SD = .20.

The mean of this distribution deviates significantly from zero, t(576) = 10.33, p < .001. For

the opposite prediction (change in the profile of stereotype ratings regressed on initial self-

ratings), the relationship was somewhat lower but still positive: Individual betas were

distributed with M = .06, SD = .23, t(576) = 6.80, p < .001. The first result supports the

infusion hypothesis: Over the longitudinal interval, self-descriptions tended to drift in the

direction of initial stereotype ratings. At the same time, however, there was some evidence for

a projection or externalization effect, that is, later stereotype ratings tended to change in the
Negative Stereotype Infusion 12

direction of earlier self-ratings. Both effects tended to increase with age (rAge, (Inf.) = .04, ns,

rAge, (Ext.) = .10, p < .05); accommodative flexibility (FGA) seemed to dampen infusion as well

as externalization effects (rFGA, (Inf.) = -.07, p < .05 [one-tailed], rFGA, (Ext.) = -.08, p < .05).

Supplementary moderated regression analyses revealed that the age-related increase of

infusion effects was boosted by low FGA, whereas for participants scoring high on FGA,

infusion effects tended to decrease with age ( = -1.21, t[564] = -2.29, p < .05). This result

converged with the pattern that emerged in the analysis of aggregated ratings above (see

Figure 3; high and low values on FGA represent the 10th and 90th percentile of the sample

distribution). Effects of initial self-evaluations on subsequent change in the individually held

age stereotypes, however, were not moderated by FGA and age, = -.42, *t* < 1.

Figure 3

Effects of Self-Evaluations and Age Stereotypes on Subjective Well-Being

The final set of analyses investigated effects of self-evaluations and age stereotypes on

subjective well-being using life-satisfaction and depression as outcome measures.

Hierarchical regressions were performed with self and stereotype ratings being entered in the

first step. To test interaction effects, the product term of the two ratings was entered in the

second step. Results are reported in Table 3.

Table 3
Negative Stereotype Infusion 13

Life satisfaction (LSI) was found to depend on the positivity of self-ratings as well as

on the positivity of stereotype ratings. With signs reversed, a similar pattern emerged in the

prediction of depression (GDS). In general, effects were much stronger for self-evaluations

than for the individually held age stereotypes. Of particular interest in the present context are

the interaction effects of self-evaluations and age stereotypes which emerged in these

analyses. The direction of these effects indicates that the impact of self-evaluations on

subjective life quality is boosted by a negative stereotype and dampened when the stereotype

is more positive (Figure 4 illustrates the moderation effects; high and low values on self-

evaluations and evaluations of the typical old person represent the 10th and 90th percentile of

the respective sample distributions). These observations support the infusion hypothesis, but

discredit the comparison hypothesis that would predict the opposite pattern.

Figure 4

General Discussion

The present study evaluated rival assumptions about the relation between age

stereotypes, self-views, and well-being. We have distinguished three basic assumptions

concerning this relationship: A comparison hypothesis, according to which a negative age

stereotype serves as a reference standard for self-enhancing comparisons, an infusion

hypothesis assuming that age stereotypes taint the self-views of elderly people, and an

externalization hypothesis positing that individually held age stereotypes are a projection of
Negative Stereotype Infusion 14

the elderly persons self-view or personal experiences. The three hypotheses lead to different

predictions about relationships and sequential dependencies between self-ratings and

stereotype ratings, as well as about moderating effects of age stereotypes on the relation

between self-evaluations and well-being. These implications were evaluated with data from a

larger cross-sequential study assessing self and stereotype ratings in a sample of elderly

participants over a longitudinal interval of 8 years. Our findings support the following

conclusions:

1. The pattern of effects that emerged from correlational analyses supports the

assumption that age stereotypes taint self-evaluations in line with the infusion hypothesis.

This conclusion is further strengthened by the observation that stereotype ratings predict

subsequent 8-year longitudinal change in self-ratings, and that this change tends to take the

same direction as the persons earlier view of the typical old person. These findings replicate

and extend the results of previous studies investigating the relation between individual age

stereotypes and self-perceived problems (OGorman, 1980). The fact that infusion effects of

age stereotypes on later self-evaluations were also observed when longitudinal change in self-

evaluations was used as the dependent variable renders competing explanations of the

positive association between self-views and age stereotypes in terms of an externalization of

personal problems or experiences implausible.

2. Age stereotypes correlate negatively with measures of subjective life quality, and

negative age stereotypes boost rather than buffer the impact of negative self-evaluations on

low personal well-being. This result does not conform to the assumption that negative

stereotypes serve as a reference standard for self-enhancing downward comparisons, and it

contradicts the assumption that negative stereotypes have a general and pervasive positive
Negative Stereotype Infusion 15

effect on the well-being of elderly people. According to the infusion hypothesis, negative

views of the typical old person may generate expectations about personal developmental

prospects that accentuate the negative impact of perceived problems and losses. This would

explain the observed amplifying effects.

3. In general, construals of the typical old person seem to affect self-evaluations and

subjective well-being in ways that conform with the assumption of an assimilation effect.

Holding a negative age stereotype by no means guarantees that it will be used as a reference

value against which old people will compare themselves. Instead, the contents of individually

held age stereotypes tend to contaminate the self-concept of older persons and taint their

interpretation of their current and future situation. Our findings indicate that negative views

on age and aging render people more vulnerable to dissatisfaction and depression in later life,

as already proposed by cognitive theories of aging (Kuypers & Bengtson, 1973; Rodin &

Langer, 1980; Thomae, 1970). Nonetheless, although the present findings point to a

dominance of infusion effects of age stereotypes in old age, this should not be read as

implying that all elderly people are equally vulnerable to such effects, or that negative age

stereotypes may not serve for self-enhancing downward comparisons in a particular case.

However, the present findings suggest that such self-enhancing effects do not compensate or

outweigh negative infusion or assimilation effects in general. Parenthetically, this also sheds

an interesting light on the interpretation of the results of previous studies that investigated

comparisons with age stereotypes. Many of these studies showed that older persons differ

from their stereotyped views of older people in general and also report a positive correlation

of the frequency and/or intensity of these downward comparisons with indicators of

subjective well-being and psychological adaptation (e.g., Heidrich & Ryff, 1993a,b;
Negative Stereotype Infusion 16

Rickabaugh & Tomlinson-Keasey, 1997; Robinson-Whelen & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1997). But in

all these studies, comparisons of self-views with the age stereotype were either prompted by

the specific questions participants had to answer (Heidrich & Ryff, 1993a,b; Robinson-

Whelen & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1997), or only those statements were analyzed in which explicit

comparisons of the self with a negative age stereotype were made (Rickabaugh & Tomlinson-

Keasey, 1997). Contrast effects are a logical implication of comparing with a given reference

value (Schwarz & Bless, 1992). Therefore, assimilation effects are excluded by an assessment

format that forces participants to compare themselves with the typical old person. An

unbiased assessment of the effects of age stereotypes on self-appraisals obviously requires a

methodological approach that does not procedurally predetermine particular effects while

systematically excluding others.

4. The externalization hypothesis was proposed as a third hypothesis accounting for

influences between self-views and individually held age stereotypes. The results of the

present study lend some support to this hypothesis: Time-lagged effects indicate a slight

tendency for stereotype ratings to become more similar to initial self-ratings over time.

However, an inspection of the cross-sequential pattern of age-related change in self-

evaluations and evaluations of the typical old person reveals that this effect seems to reflect a

revision of negative age stereotypes in the light of positive personal experiences (Brubaker &

Powers, 1979; Whitbourne, 1985) rather than a projection of personal problems into a

generalized image of older people (as suggested by the social downgrading hypothesis;

Heckhausen & Brim, 1997): Individual construals of the typical old person become more

favorable over the 8-year longitudinal time interval of the investigation (cf. Hummert,

Garstka, Shaner, & Strahm, 1995; Rothermund et al., 1995; Wentura et al., 1997). This
Negative Stereotype Infusion 17

argues against a projection of personal deficits onto the image of the typical old person

becauseat least for the older cohortsself-evaluations deteriorate during the same time

interval.

5. While highlighting potentially insidious functions of negative age stereotypes, our

results do not support sweeping conclusions that disregard differential factors. Apparently,

such conclusions have to be qualified with regard to age differences and differences in coping

style: Assimilation or infusion effects seem to become more influential with advancing age.

At the same time, however, a readiness to disengage from blocked goals and to adjust

personal goals to action resources (as measured by the FGA scale) tends to dampen this age-

graded effect. People scoring high on this dispositional variable also seem more capable of

protecting their selves from negative stereotypes, and more prone to construing a positive

contrast between self and stereotype. This converges with previous studies in which

accommodative flexibility has been found to mitigate the negative emotional impact of

aversive life events, perceived developmental losses, or the fading of residual life-time (e.g.,

Brandtstdter & Renner, 1990; Rothermund & Brandtstdter, 1998; Schmitz, Rothermund, &

Brandtstdter, 1999). People scoring high on FGA seem more able to dissociate problems and

losses in particular domains from global appraisals of themselves and their lives, and thus are

less likely to experience a crystallization of discontent (Baumeister, 1994) vis--vis major

life change. In the context of the present findings, this disposition seems to shield self-views

from ego-deflating influences of a negative age stereotype. A clear separation between self-

views and construals of a generalized other also seems to be a prerequisite for using age

stereotypes as a reference point for self-enhancing comparisons.

Negative Stereotype Infusion 18

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Negative Stereotype Infusion 24

Footnotes

1
Positive effects of negative age stereotypes on the evaluation of older persons were
reported in a number of previous studies: Specific personality descriptions of persons who

were designated as old were appraised more positively than identical descriptions referring to

young persons (Bell & Stanfield, 1973; Braithwaite, 1986; Fliege, 1997; Sherman, Gold, &

Sherman, 1978). Reference to old age automatically seems to activate a negative age

stereotype that provides a reference standard against which the target object is evaluated (cf.

Green, 1984). But this effect refers to the process of evaluating descriptions of others. The

comparison hypothesis, however, predicts a positive effect of negative age stereotypes on the

self-assessments of the elderly.

2
This study is part of a larger project on Adaptive Resources of the Aging Self that

is supported by research grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to JB.

3
A correlation of averaged ratings, as computed in the previous analysis, reflects

similarities in global positivity for the stereotype and the self. Profile correlations, on the

other hand, reflect similarities in the pattern of deviations from the average ratings for the

stereotype and the self across attributes. Both aspects are statistically independent.
Negative Stereotype Infusion 25

Author Note

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Klaus Rothermund,

University of Trier, Department of Psychology, D-54286 Trier, Germany. Electronic mail

should be sent to rothermu@uni-trier.de.

Negative Stereotype Infusion 26

Table 1. Comparison, Infusion, and Externalization: Contrasting Implicationsa

Comparison Infusion Externalization

(1) Association between individually held Negative Positive Positive
age stereotypes and self-evaluations

(2) Moderating effect of a negative age Buffering Amplification (No Prediction)

stereotype on relation between self-
evaluations and subjective well-being
a
Schematic overview. See text for further explanation.
Negative Stereotype Infusion 27

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics and Internal Consistencies for Self-Ratings, Stereotype Ratings, and Reference Measures

1991 1999
n items M SD M SD
Self-evaluation 32 7.90 1.08 .92 7.94 1.36 .94
Typical old person 32 5.59 1.22 .93 5.85 1.42 .95
Life satisfaction (LSI) 10 19.59 5.21 .82 19.06 5.11 .82
Depression (GDS) 15 12.70 6.81 .87 13.00 6.56 .88
Accommodative Flexibility (FGA) 15 55.41 7.91 .79 55.26 7.62 .80
Negative Stereotype Infusion 28

Table 3. Life-Satisfaction and Depression as Predicted by Self-Ratings and Stereotype

Ratings: Hierarchical Regression Analyses

Step 1 Step 2
(Main effects) (Interaction effect)
Self Typical old Self Typical old
Life satisfaction .56*** .14*** -.77**

Depression -.65*** -.11*** .88**

a
Variables were aggregated across measurement occasions.
Negative Stereotype Infusion 29

Figure Captions

Figure 1. Cross-sequential patterns of self-ratings and stereotype ratings (higher ratings reflect

more positive evaluations).

Figure 2. Age-related change in similarity between stereotype ratings and self-ratings:

Moderating effects of Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA).

Figure 3. Age-related change in similarity between stereotype ratings and subsequent change

in self-ratings: Moderating effects of Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA).

Figure 4. Conditional regressions of life satisfaction (LSI) and depression (GDS) on self-

appraisals: Moderating effects of stereotype ratings.

Negative Stereotype Infusion 30

Fig. 1

8.5

8.0

7.5
1991
1999
1991 - 1999

54-57 58-61 62-65 66-69 70-73 74-77 78-81 82-85

Age Groups

6.5

6.0

5.5
1991
1999
1991 - 1999

54-57 58-61 62-65 66-69 70-73 74-77 78-81 82-85

Age Groups
Negative Stereotype Infusion 31
Negative Stereotype Infusion 32

Fig. 4

25

20

Typical old person

15 S
+

S +
Self

25

Typical old person

20
S
+
15

10

S +
Self