Advisement to Take Risk: A Study of Attitudes toward the Old

Abstract

An investigation of young persons' attitudes toward older individuals was undertaken by obtaining risk scores on a modified form of the Choice Dilemmas Decision Questionnaire (CDQ). College student subjects scoring low on this measure were more risky in giving advice to a fictitious character to make a gamble on a life situation than subjects scoring high. A series of 12 choice dilemma situations were constructed so as to be interchangeable as to the age (young or old) and sex of the central character. Groups of subjects subdivided by sex (8 groups total) advised old men, young men, old women, or young women central characters. An 'ageism-sexism' dimension was uncovered among the male subjects advising old women. The relation of this finding to the literature and suggestions for further research were discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ansello, E.F. , 1977. Old age and literature . Educational Gerontology 2, 211-217 .

Auerbach, D. and R.L. Levenson , 1977. Second impressions: attitude change in college students toward the elderly . Gerontologist 17, 362-366 .

Barr, A. , T. Goodnight , J. Sall and J. Helivig , 1976. A user's guide to SAS-76. Raleigh, NC: SAS Institute Inc. pp. 57-65.

Bengtson, V.L. , 1971. Inter-age perceptions and the generation gap . The Gerontologist 11, 85-86 .

Bennett, R. and J. Eckman , 1973. Attitudes toward aging: a critical examination of recent literature and implications for future research. In: C. Eirdorfer and M.P. Lawton (eds.), The psychology of adult development and aging. APA, Washington .

Botwinick, J. , 1966. Cautiousness in advanced age . Journal of Gerontology 21, 347-353 .

Botwinick, J. , 1969. Disinclination to venture response versus cautiousness in responding: age differences . Journal of Genetic Psychology 115, 55-62 .

Britton, J.O. and J.H. Britton , 1970. Young people's perceptions of age and aging . Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society, Toronto, Canada, 1970.

Christenson, J.A. , 1977. Generational value difference . Gerontologist 17, 367-374 .

10.

Collette-Pratt, C. , 1976. Attitudinal predictors of devaluation of old age in a multigenerational sample . Journal of Gerontology 31, 193-197 .

11.

Conner, C. , P. Walsh , D. Litzelman and M. Alvaraz , 1978. Evaluation of job applicant: the effect of age versus success . Journal of Gerontology 33, 246-252 .

12.

Fitzgerald, J. , 1978. Actual and perceived sex and generational differences in interpersonal style: structural and quantitative issues . Journal of Gerontology 33, 394-401 .

13.

Keith, P. , 1977. An exploratory study of sources of stereotypes in old age among administrators . Journal of Gerontology 32, 463-469 .

14.

Kogan, N. and F.C. Shelton , 1962. Beliefs about old people . Journal of Genetic Psychology 62, 44-45 .

15.

McTavish, D.G. , 1971. Perceptions of old people: a review of research methodologies and findings . Gerontologist 11, 90-101 .

16.

Newgarten, B. and D. Gutman, 1958. Age-sex roles and personality in middle-age: a thematic apperception study. Psychological Monographs 72, (17, whole Number 470), 33 pp.

17.

Okun, M. , 1976. Adult age and cautiousness in decision: a review of the literature . Human Development 19, 220-223 .

18.

Peterson, D.A. and D.Z. Eden , 1977. Teenagers and aging: adolescent literature as an attitude source . Educational Gerontology 2, 311-325 .

19.

Rosencranz, H.A. and T.E. McNevin , 1969. A factor analysis of attitudes toward the aged . Gerontologist 9, 55-59 .

20.

Ryan, E. and H. Capadano , 1978. Age perception and evaluative reactions toward adult speakers . Journal of Gerontology 33, 98-102 .

21.

Schenda, S., 1975. Alte Leute. Enzyklopadie des Marchens. Berlin: DeGruyter. pp. 373-380.

22.

Seefeldt, C. , R. Jantz , A. Galper and K. Serock , 1977. Children's attitudes toward the elderly: educational implications . Educational Gerontology 2, 301-310 .

23.

Troll, L. and N. Schlossberg , 1970. A preliminary investigation of "age-bias" in the helping professions . Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society, Toronto, Canada, 1970.

24.

Troll, L. and N. Schlossberg , 1971. How "age biased" are college counselors? Industrial Gerontology 10, 14-20 .

25.

Tuckman, J. and T. Lorge , 1953. Attitudes toward old people . Journal of Social Psychology 37, 249-260 .

26.

Wallach, M. and N. Kogan , 1961. Aspects of judgement and decision-making: interrelationship and change with age . Behavioral Science 6, 23-36 .

27.

Ward, R.A. , 1977. The impact of subjective age and stigma on older persons . Journal of Gerontology 32, 227-232 .