Experimental Studies on Subjective Views of Aging: Overview, Challenges, and Future Directions

in Diehl, Manfred; Palgi, Yuval; Shrira, Amit (Eds.) Subjective Views of Aging: Theory, Research, and Practice (in press)

A major body of evidence points to the significant associations between views on aging (VoA) and key developmental outcomes, such as health and well-being. While much of this evidence comes from ... [more ▼]

A major body of evidence points to the significant associations between views on aging (VoA) and key developmental outcomes, such as health and well-being. While much of this evidence comes from longitudinal studies, research on VoA has also been strongly experimental since its inception. Our chapter aims to provide an overview about the major lines of prior experimental research on VoA and by this means derive its role for present and future VoA research overall. We first offer an organizing scheme for the existing body of experimental work on VoA. We arrive at the conclusion that previous experimental research on VoA with older adults has been conducted in a broad range of studies with different dependent variables and experimental manipulations, showing the importance of VoA and their impact on a wide range on phenomena. We then go into more detail of VoA research that has been done in the past decade. Here, our conclusion is that recent experimental research on VoA is taking up societal challenges, such as the aging workforce, older people in the health care system, and stereotype threat elicited by digital technologies. At the same time, current VoA research is adding to the differentiation of established effects in the prior literature as well as helped to identify moderating and contextual conditions not considered previously. We end with a set of recommendations for future experimental VoA research including strengthening the needed liaison with other research formats. [less ▲]

“I Felt so Old This Morning.” Short-Term Variations in Subjective Age and the Role of Trait Subjective Age: Evidence from the ILSE/EMIL Ecological Momentary Assessment Data

in Psychology and Aging (2021), 36(3), 373-382

Subjective age, how old people feel compared to their chronological age, is a central indicator of age identity and highly predictive for developmental outcomes. While mostly used as a trait-like concept ... [more ▼]

Subjective age, how old people feel compared to their chronological age, is a central indicator of age identity and highly predictive for developmental outcomes. While mostly used as a trait-like concept in previous research, recent studies employing experimental designs and daily assessments suggest that subjective age can vary after experimental manipulations or between days. However, less is known about whether subjective age varies over even shorter time frames such as within moments on a given day, how such short-term variability differs by age and its association with trait subjective age. We examined these questions with data obtained from 123 young–old (Mage = 67.19 years) and 47 old–old adults (Mage = 86.59 years) who reported their momentary subjective age six times a day over 7 consecutive days as they were going about their everyday lives. Participants felt younger on a large majority of occasions, and 25% of the total variability in subjective age could be attributed to within-person variation. Within-person variability in subjective age amounted to an average of about 3 years from one moment to the next and did not differ between age groups. However, those with younger trait subjective ages exhibited larger moment-to-moment variation. Our findings extend the literature on subjective age by showing that how old people feel can vary on a momentary basis and that state and trait components of subjective age are related. Further research should investigate the contextual predictors of variability in subjective age and the links between trait and state concepts and developmental outcomes. [less ▲]

Examining the Interplay of Generalized and Personal Views on Aging on Physical and Mental Health Across 2.5 Years

in Innovation in Aging (2020), 4(Supplement_1), 588-588

It remains unknown how distinct types of views on aging (VoA) are related to one another, and to aging outcomes. We used a latent-variable structural equation model to test the hypothesis that generalized ... [more ▼]

It remains unknown how distinct types of views on aging (VoA) are related to one another, and to aging outcomes. We used a latent-variable structural equation model to test the hypothesis that generalized views on aging (assessed as Age Stereotypes (AS)) would influence personal views on aging (assessed as Self-Perceptions of Aging (SPA)), which in-turn would influence later physical and mental health. Data came from a longitudinal survey on VoA (N= 537, MageT1 = 64.13, age rangeT1 = 40-98). As expected, SPA mediated the effect of AS on physical (loss-SPA: β = .23, p< .001; gain-SPA: β = .06, p< .001; R2 = .62) and mental health (loss-SPA: β = .13, p< .001; gain-SPA: β = .03, p< .01, ; R2 = .31). Congruent with theoretical assumptions, our findings provide empirical support for a directional pathway by which generalized views on aging affect health outcomes via personal views of aging. [less ▲]

The interplay of personality and attitudes toward own aging across two decades of later life

in PLoS One (2019), 14(10),

Big Five personality traits are assumed to be linked with attitudes toward own aging. Since both constructs have central importance for the aging process, it is surprising that to our knowledge no study ... [more ▼]

Big Five personality traits are assumed to be linked with attitudes toward own aging. Since both constructs have central importance for the aging process, it is surprising that to our knowledge no study so far comprehensively addressed their mutual connection over time. We used data from the ILSE study, a longitudinal study capturing personality and attitudes toward own aging at four measurement occasions, spanning 20 years and including two participant cohorts in midlife (n = 501; born 1950–52) and later life (n = 500; born 1930–32). Dual latent change score models showed that personality was longitudinally related to change in attitudes toward own aging: Lower Neuroticism, higher Conscientiousness, and higher Openness predicted more positive attitudes, whereas the direction of the effect for Extraversion varied by time. Furthermore, the role of personality seems to be confined to certain sensitive periods in midlife and early old age. Contrary to our expectations, attitudes toward own aging had only marginal longitudinal impact on the Big Five. Our results shed light on the developmental co-dynamics of personality and subjective perceptions of aging across the second half of the lifespan. [less ▲]

How do views on aging affect health outcomes in adulthood and late life? Explanations for an established connection

in Developmental Review (2017), 46

Personal views on aging, such as age stereotypes and subjective aging, can affect various health outcomes in later life. For the past 20 years or so, a large body of experimental and longitudinal work has ... [more ▼]

Personal views on aging, such as age stereotypes and subjective aging, can affect various health outcomes in later life. For the past 20 years or so, a large body of experimental and longitudinal work has provided ample evidence for this connection. Thus, it seems timely to better understand the pathways of this linkage. The majority of existing studies has either focused on age stereotypes or subjective aging. This theoretical paper provides a systematic comparison of major theoretical approaches that offer explanations through which different views on aging may affect health. After a short review of findings on the short- and long-term effects of different views on aging, we describe theoretical approaches that provide explanations of underlying mechanisms for the effect of both uni- and multidimensional views on aging on health outcomes. We compare the specific characteristics of these approaches, provide a heuristic framework and outline recommendations for future research routes. A better understanding of the impact of different views on aging on health outcomes is not only relevant for basic research in life-span developmental psychology, geropsychology and health psychology, it has also implications for intervention research and public health practices. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. [less ▲]