Stereotypes about very old people and perceived societal appreciation in very old age

BackgroundAs “one of the most salient social categories” [51, p. 477], age activates a variety of societally shared beliefs about older people, their attributes, behavior, competencies and desires, also referred to as old age stereotypes. By exaggerating the extent to which older people resemble each other, stereotypes both homogenize them and separate them from other social groups [4]. It has been shown that individuals in all age groups hold both positive and negative stereotypes of older people [20]. Positive stereotypes depict them, for example, as warm-hearted, loyal, or reliable [3]; however, negative ster…