An Inquiry into the Positive Personal and Social Effects of Old Age Stereotypes among the Elderly

Abstract

Much has been written or inferred about the detrimental consequences of old age stereotypes for elderly individuals. This paper presents and tests an alternative perspective called relative advantage. As the reciprocal counterpart of relative deprivation theory, this perspective claims that such stereotypes may be psychologically and sociologically functional for the old to believe. Using the results of the 1975 Louis Harris-NCOA “The Myth and Reality of Aging in America” survey, two hypotheses were tested: 1) those who feel other older individuals are worse off than themselves will have higher life satisfaction scores than those perceiving others to be as well or better off; 2) these imputations of others' difficulties correlate with one's likelihood to support and join coalitions on behalf of the old and to approve government taxing of all age groups to support them. The evidence presented raises some dysfunctional implications of debunking aging myths.

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