To be or Not to be

The Effects of Aging Stereotypes on the Will to Live

Bibliographic Data

ID13628166
AuthorsBenjamin R Levy (0000-0002-1611-7460, Yale University, corresponding author), Becca Levy (Yale University), Ori Ashman (Harvard University), Itiel Dror (0000-0003-4866-209X, University of Southampton)
Year2000
Volume40
Issue3
Pages409-420
Publication date2000-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/y2ge-bvyq-nf0e-83vr
PMID12557880
OpenAlexW2333399534
LanguageEN
Citations received52
References cited11

This study examined whether stereotypes of aging might contribute to decisions the elderly make about when to die. Old and young participants (N=64) were subliminally primed with either negative or positive stereotypes of old age and then responded to hypothetical medical situations involving potentially fatal illnesses. Consistent with our prediction, the aged participants primed with negative stereotypes tended to refuse life-prolonging interventions, whereas the old participants 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 societally-transmitted negative stereotypes of aging can weaken elderly people's will to live

Developmental psychology · Priming (agriculture · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Successful aging · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Medicine · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Gerontology