Two studies were conducted to investigate how normative conceptions of aging compare
with adult children's expectations of change for their parents. In Study 1, the Implicit
Theories of Aging Questionnaire (ITAQ) was developed to assess implicit theories of
aging as pertaining to either one's mother, one's father, the average woman, or the
average man. Respondents rated various aspects of everyday functioning as to (a) the
direction and degree of expected change versus stability across the latter portion of the
adult life course, (b) the estimated age of change onset, and (c) the target's ability to
influence change. The second study replicated findings of the first, and extended it by
exploring the relationship between implicit theories of aging and factual knowledge
about the elderly as measured by Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz. Results of the two
studies indicated that people share highly similar beliefs about the direction, timing, and
modifiability of aging-related change. For all four targets, respondents predicted more
developmental change than stability and more losses than gains, but there was a strong
optimistic bias in developmental predictions for parents. As compared to normative
conceptions, parents were expected to undergo significantly fewer and significantly less
severe declines in functioning. This optimistic bias did not appear to generalize to other
belief components. Both parents and generalized adults were expected to undergo most functional loss during their mid-60s, and were thought to have some ability to influence loss. Judgments of modifiability seemed based in part on the perceived severity and timing of decline. Findings suggested that individuals may distinguish between aging-related loss that occurs through the intensification versus waning of existing attributes and abilities. It was hypothesized that increasing proportions of falsely held beliefs about old age would be correlated with predictions of greater aging-related decline.
However, there was no association between misconceptions of aging and developmental
beliefs, suggesting a possible distinction between implicit notions of the aging process
and group-level generalizations about old age. These results, their generalizability,
directions for future research, and practical implications were discussed. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/8224 |
| Date | 02 June 2017 |
| Creators | Vernon, Anne Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Hultsch, David F. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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