Ma Gu, Chen Zizhuo, Zou Wanhua, Zhang Xin
School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Curr Psychol. 2023 Feb 18:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s12144-023-04371-0.
Aging stereotypes affect older adults' behaviors, however, it is unclear whether and how (negative) aging stereotypes influence younger adults' behaviors toward older adults. Two possibilities arose, such that aging stereotypes would reduce helping behaviors according to TMT and SIT; while based on the BIAS map, we would expect the opposite. The present study aimed to further compare the two possibilities by examining the effect of negative aging stereotypes on younger adults' helping behaviors, and testing which theory would fit the data better. In a cross-sectional study (Study 1), 112 Chinese younger adults ( = 22.67, = 2.56) were recruited. Aging stereotypes were measured by the Ambivalent Ageism Scale and the abbreviated ageism questionnaire. And their prosocial behaviors were measured by the modified third-party punishment task. The results revealed that high benevolent ageism would increase helping behaviors toward older adults. In the following experiment with aging stereotype priming (positive, neutral vs. negative) among 130 Chinese younger adults ( = 26.82, = 3.70), we confirmed the influence of negative aging stereotypes on prosocial behaviors measured by both third-party punishment and Social Value Orientation tasks. Study 2 further demonstrated that pity might mediate the association between negative aging stereotypes and behaviors. Our results indicated that younger adults' negative aging stereotypes could increase their prosociality toward older adults through pity in line with BIAS maps. It also had significant theoretical and practical implications for future research. For example, with more education and intergenerational contact in younger generation which could evoke pity feelings for older adults, could help to build harmonious intergenerational relations.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04371-0.
衰老刻板印象会影响老年人的行为，然而，（消极的）衰老刻板印象是否以及如何影响年轻人对老年人的行为尚不清楚。出现了两种可能性，即根据恐怖管理理论和社会认同理论，衰老刻板印象会减少帮助行为；而基于偏见地图，我们预期会得到相反的结果。本研究旨在通过考察消极衰老刻板印象对年轻人帮助行为的影响，并检验哪种理论更符合数据，进一步比较这两种可能性。在一项横断面研究（研究1）中，招募了112名中国年轻人（平均年龄=22.67岁，标准差=2.56岁）。衰老刻板印象通过矛盾年龄歧视量表和简化年龄歧视问卷进行测量。他们的亲社会行为通过修改后的第三方惩罚任务进行测量。结果显示，高度仁慈的年龄歧视会增加对老年人的帮助行为。在接下来对130名中国年轻人（平均年龄=26.82岁，标准差=3.70岁）进行的衰老刻板印象启动（积极、中性与消极）实验中，我们证实了消极衰老刻板印象对通过第三方惩罚和社会价值取向任务测量的亲社会行为的影响。研究2进一步表明，同情可能在消极衰老刻板印象与行为之间起中介作用。我们的结果表明，年轻人的消极衰老刻板印象可以通过同情增加他们对老年人的亲社会性，这与偏见地图一致。这对未来的研究也具有重要的理论和实践意义。例如，年轻一代接受更多教育和进行更多代际接触，可能会唤起对老年人的同情，有助于建立和谐的代际关系。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s12144-023-04371-0获取的补充材料。
