Attitudes toward aging portrayed by birthday cards.

In this article, contemporary attitudes toward the aged inferred from an analysis of birthday greeting cards which are divided into six thematic categories. Overall, the attitudes appear to be negative supporting previous studies that analyzed attitudes toward the aged found in joke anthologies. The question is raised whether this kind of humor is being used defensively to counteract age anxiety by exaggerating age-related deficits to create a psychological distance, or whether, in fact, it reflects a healthy adaptation to a difficult truth.