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Reactions to Stigmas

The Effect of Targets' Age and Controllability of Stigmas

University of Manitoba

Raymond P. Perry, PhD

University of Manitoba

Reactions toward older adults have been widely researched, but the question of whether such reactions are due to age per se or due to the presence of other stigmas (e.g., physical disabilities) has received little attention. This study was designed to investigate emotional reactions and willingness to help older versus younger adults who exhibited a wide range of stigmas, including AIDS, leg amputation, depression, and so on. Guided by attribution theory, the cause of the stigmas was further ascribed to either uncontrollable or controllable factors. Older adults evoked less anger than younger individuals, particularly in the case of blindness, depression, leg amputation, lung cancer, and unemployment. Subjects were also more willing to help an older than a younger amputee. Moreover, stigmas ascribed to uncontrollable factors generally produced less anger, more pity, and greater willingness to help than stigmas described as due to controllable causes. These results provide little support for the notion of ageism, at least within an age range of up to 65 years, but suggest that responses to older adults with stigmas may be subject to positive stereotyping.

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