This thesis explores some of the social factors that may affect individuals as
they age. A lifespan developmental perspective is employed in investigating the
effects of societal aging stereotypes on will-to-live and risk-taking skills. Results
suggest negative aging stereotypes may have deleterious effects on the elderly, but
not young individuals in terms of will-to-live, but have no effect on risk-taking
abilities. Furthermore, a cross-cultural analysis of Americans and Japanese reveals
robust differences in self-concept between countries, which in turn partially mediate
the effects of culture and age on control strategies. It appears culture and age may
play important roles in determining individualsÂ’ self-concept, motivation, and
regulation of behavior.
The first part of Study 1 examined whether stereotypes of aging contribute to
decisions the elderly make about when to die. Elderly and young participants (n =
64) were subliminally primed with either negative or positive stereotypes of old age
using a computer, and then responded to hypothetical medical situations involving
potentially fatal illnesses. Consistent with my prediction, the aged participants
primed with negative stereotypes tended to refuse life-prolonging interventions,
whereas those primed with positive age stereotypes tended to accept the
interventions. This priming effect did not emerge among the young participants for
whom the stereotypes were less relevant. The results suggest that sociallytransmitted
negative stereotypes of aging can weaken elderly will-to-live, or at the
very least, willingness to pursue medical intervention.
The second part of Study 1 examined whether the older adults demonstrate
similar risk-taking skills to the younger adults, and whether this ability is preserved,
even after exposure to age stereotypes. Sixteen young and 16 older participants were
tested on a risk-taking decision task following exposure to subliminal aging
stereotypes. In all conditions, both the old and young participants systematically and
equivalently increased their willingness to take risks as risk level decreased.
Furthermore, response times were an inverted U shape curve with slower response
times recorded at the medium risk level and faster times as risk levels shifted up or
down. The findings suggest the ability to make decisions based on risk level is
maintained into old age.
Study 2 investigated results reported by a number of studies finding that
primary control remains stable in old age, is lower in Asian countries, and that
secondary control increases in old age and is higher in Asian countries. I examined
whether these patterns may be due to the mediating influence of an interdependent
self-concept. In a sample of 557 young and older adults in Japan and the United
States, primary and secondary control, age, and interdependence were studied. I
found that interdependence partially mediated the influence of culture on secondary
control and interdependence partially mediated the influence of age on both primary
and secondary control. Findings suggest that interdependence is an important factor
that should be considered in trying to understand the determinants of control crossculturally
and developmentally.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221770 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | ori@ashman.cc, Ori Ashman |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Ori Ashman |
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