Situational Determinants of Attitudes toward the Elderly

Abstract
The present investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of systematic variation of described situational factors on a multidimensional evaluation of the elderly by young adults. Young male and female subjects received a positive, neutral, or negative description in conjunction with the photo of a young or old male. As hypothesized, the ratings of both young and old "persons" were a function of associated situational description. It was also found that the views of the young varied considerably across the different attitude dimensions considered. Further, ratings on these dimensions were differentially-influenced by the different descriptive situations provided.