Martens Andy, Greenberg Jeff, Schimel Jeff, Landau Mark J
University of Arizona, Department of Psychology, Tucson, USA.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004 Dec;30(12):1524-36. doi: 10.1177/0146167204271185.
The present research investigated the hypotheses that elderly people can be reminders of our mortality and that concerns about our own mortality can therefore instigate ageism. In Study 1, college-age participants who saw photos of two elderly people subsequently showed more death accessibility than participants who saw photos of only younger people. In Study 2, making mortality salient for participants increased distancing from the average elderly person and decreased perceptions that the average elderly person possesses favorable attitudes. Mortality salience did not affect ratings of teenagers. In Study 3, these mortality salience effects were moderated by prior reported similarity to elderly people. Distancing from, and derogation of, elderly people after mortality salience occurred only in participants who, weeks before the study, rated their personalities as relatively similar to the average elderly person's. Discussion addresses distinguishing ageism from other forms of prejudice, as well as possibilities for reducing ageism.
老年人会让我们联想到死亡，因此对自身死亡的担忧会引发年龄歧视。在研究1中，与只看年轻人照片的参与者相比，观看两位老年人照片的大学生参与者随后表现出更高的死亡易感性。在研究2中，让参与者意识到死亡凸显会增加他们与普通老年人的距离，并降低他们认为普通老年人持有积极态度的看法。死亡凸显对青少年的评价没有影响。在研究3中，这些死亡凸显效应受到先前报告的与老年人相似性的调节。只有在研究前几周将自己的性格评为与普通老年人性格相对相似的参与者，在死亡凸显后才会与老年人保持距离并贬低他们。讨论部分阐述了区分年龄歧视与其他形式偏见的方法，以及减少年龄歧视的可能性。
