Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
London, Bonita | Levy, Sheri R | Eaton, Nicholas | Bear, Julia.
Date
2016-12-01
Keywords
Psychology -- Social psychology | ageism, education, extended contact, intervention, older adults
Department
Department of Social/Health Psychology
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76794
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
Ageism continues to be a widespread problem and is of increasing concern given the growing older population worldwide and youth-centered focus of many societies. Despite the need for a better understanding of attitudes towards older adults, ageism is a relatively understudied area of social psychology. This dissertation sought, for the first time, to compare two theoretical approaches to addressing ageism: education about aging (providing accurate information about aging) and extended contact (knowledge of positive intergenerational contact) as well as their potential combined impact (education plus extended contact). Across two studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions: education, extended contact, combined condition, and a control condition. As expected, in Study 1, participants (community adults ages 18-59) in all three experimental conditions (vs. participants in the control condition) reported decreased negative attitudes toward older adults and increased aging knowledge immediately after the study. Building upon the design of Study 1, in Study 2, attitudes toward older adults were assessed before, immediately after the conditions, and in a delayed post-test. In Study 2, participants (undergraduate students) in all three experimental conditions (vs. participants in the control condition) reported decreased negative attitudes toward older adults as well as increased aging knowledge. Generally speaking, the three experimental conditions did not differ from one another pointing to the efficacy of the theoretical background underlying each experimental condition. Overall, these findings point to the effectiveness of a brief online intervention in reducing ageist attitudes among age-diverse adult community members as well as undergraduate students. Implications and future directions are discussed. | 86 pages
Recommended Citation
Lytle, Ashley Elizabeth, "A Comparison of Two Theoretical Approaches to Addressing Ageism: Education and Extended Contact" (2016). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2672.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2672