Views on Ageing

Abstract

An essential part of the project Ageing as Future consists of examining views on ageing. In other words, we are investigating the ideas that people have about old age in general, but also about their old age. The chapter reports core findings on how views on aging shape individual development in old age.

An essential part of the project Ageing as Future consists of examining views on ageing. In other words, we are investigating the ideas that people have about old age in general, but also about their personal old age. Why are we doing this? Should we not have been studying old age and ageing itself, rather than just ideas or attitudes that people have about others’ old age?

In fact, old age as an individual and social phenomenon can neither be adequately described nor understood without an accurate knowledge of our expectations and perceptions of old age. There are two reasons for this: First, ageing is not an objective fact that could be clearly identified independently of our ideas about old age. Second, actual age-related changes are decisively shaped by our expectations and images of old age.

From our perspective, therefore, age experiences to a large part reflect a social and individual construction. Age and ageing as we know it are not a natural, purely biological phenomenon; we create our age and ageing to a large extent ourselves, and our views on ageing play a decisive role in this. Only by knowing the expectations, ideas, and attitudes that people associate with old age can we understand their diverse experiences. Let us now take a closer look at the two points mentioned above.

FormalPara What Is Old Age, Actually?—Views on Ageing as a Basis for the Construction of Age

The perspective we take on these questions is: There is no age and ageing independent of our views on ageing. After all, what exactly does it mean to be old? In the following, we discuss several criteria by which age is often defined.

FormalPara Chronological Age

Does being old mean having lived a certain number of years? Certainly, chronological age plays a central role in our concept of age, providing the only true answer to the direct question “How old are you?”. The years already lived, however, are not the only criterion that determines our use of the concept of age; otherwise we would not understand what it means to have remained young despite having lived many years or to have aged prematurely. Also, what number of years must have passed until someone is considered “old”? Retirement age is often used when we talk about the proportion of old people in the population, and it can also be of considerable importance for the self-perception of an older person. But what about countries where there is no such thing as a mandatory retirement age (and here we should also bear in mind that the pension system is a relatively new invention, just over a hundred years old)? Do people in these countries not know the phenomenon of being old, or do people in these countries never grow old? How do we estimate the age of people who have no paid employment at all? The influence that the retirement age has on our perception of people’s age shows one thing above all: Our understanding of and our approach to old age are to a large extent socially produced and shaped. A significant part of our views on ageing in Western industrialized nations is related to whether a person is still participating in working life or not anymore. Moreover, retirement ages are set quite arbitrarily, they differ historically and between countries, and they can be moved from 1 day to the next or removed altogether. Despite their arbitrariness and variability, these changes in social age limits, which are largely based on political and economic considerations, have an immense impact on the ageing experience and on the living conditions in old age.

Interestingly, the thresholds at which we tend to label a person as old also depend on life domains (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011a). Retirement age refers to the domain of work and occupation, but what age thresholds do we use when it comes to age attributions in the domains of leisure activities, social relationships, or in the choice of a life partner? There are sometimes important differences in the reference threshold at which we categorize people as old (see also Sects. 3.3.2 and 3.3.4).

FormalPara Life Expectancy

In addition to the years already lived, the remaining years also play an important role for the experience of old age (see also the more detailed explanations in Chaps. 4 and 5). Proximity to death is an important criterion of being old, and those who really “feel old” see this end within reach and no longer expect much from life. Nevertheless, even this characteristic is not a direct criterion of old age. Without having already lived a (long) life, even the prospect of imminent death does not make a person old. Moreover, most of us do not know exactly how many years of life are still ahead of us. In most cases, there is no objectively definable time left to live that can be expressed in years. This also shows the important role that personal expectations and evaluations play in our experience of old age: How long does someone think they will live? Under what circumstances do they expect to spend the remaining years? How long do they want to live at all, and under which conditions (de Paula Couto et al., 2023; see also Chap. 4)? These expectations, hopes, and fears are quite decisive for our experience of old age, but they too, in turn, represent only one, albeit very important, part of the large and complex concept of old age and age-related beliefs (cf. Sects. 4.3.6 and 5.3).

FormalPara Characteristic Age-Related Changes and Age Markers

Perhaps we should measure age less in terms of years and more in terms of actual changes in certain attributes (Rothermund et al., 2023). What attributes might these be? Does being old mean something like decreasing efficiency, or increasing forgetfulness, frailty? Wrinkles, stooped posture, gray hair? Old-fashioned clothing? Or positively instead: More experience, serenity, or wisdom?

The characteristics mentioned are mainly common and socially widespread age stereotypes. Often, such attributes certainly shape our impression of the age of a person; some of these characteristics are referred to in the research literature as so-called age markers which are externally visible signs of age (Featherman & Petersen, 1986). We automatically use these features as a guide when assessing a person’s age. Nevertheless, even these features are not necessarily congruent with the subjective experience of old age (Linn & Hunter, 1979). Whether and how old a person feels depends very much on their individual assessment criteria (Kotter-Grühn et al., 2016): Do people base their perceptions primarily on positive (experience) or negative (decline in performance) attributes, and what standards do they use in their assessment? Do they identify with other persons of their age, or do they try to distance themselves from their age group (Weiss & Lang, 2012)?

Moreover, the characteristics and standards we use to define old age vary considerably across contexts and cultures (Filipp & Ferring, 1989; Hess et al., 2017; Kornadt et al., 2018a). Athletes are already considered old when their physical strength or speed starts to decline; in occupational contexts we may orient ourselves to the decreasing learning ability (“too old for the job”) or to the not yet existing experience (“not yet old enough for this task”); in contrast, in the choice of a partner, mainly the external appearance may play an important role for our age estimations. Finally, age estimates are influenced by the age-related expectations that are widespread within a society. Forgetfulness, for example, is a characteristic that is associated with age mainly in Western countries, but not in Asia. Interestingly, it has been shown that even in the seemingly objective trait of memory performance, age-related impairments are more pronounced in Western cultures (Levy & Langer, 1994).

There are different explanations for such expectation effects. They relate to our confidence regarding our competences and abilities in old age, but also to our motivation to achieve something or to make a contribution, and to our fears to fail on a task, which leads to avoidance. Age-related decline vs. stable performance also relates to how we explain performance in an area: Do we tend to attribute failures and deficits to our advanced age (Rothermund et al., 2021a), or do we tend to look for other explanations, such as having a bad day, distraction, lack of practice, over- or under-challenge, exclusion?

FormalPara Conclusion

These considerations show that age and ageing are multilayered phenomena that are strongly determined by age-related expectations. If we want to understand what people’s experience of old age depends on, we need to engage with the different, sometimes contradictory, constructions of old age and try to identify the different criteria, expectations, age-related rules, and regulations that may play a role in this. It is certainly not enough to limit ourselves to simple subdivisions based on years; likewise, it is not helpful for us to look only at seemingly objective or biological criteria of age, although of course all these perspectives and criteria have their justification and play an important role in our conception of age (Rothermund et al., 2023). Age and ageing are complex. For example, the same person may feel either young or old in different situations and areas of life, and even people who show a high degree of similarity on the basis of objective criteria can evaluate their own life situation and age quite differently, depending on the expectations and standards they are guided by, who they are comparing themselves with, etc.

In a nutshell: What age and ageing mean, who feels old and how, who we consider old and treat as old, all this is influenced by our age-related beliefs and views on ageing. However, these age-related perceptions are very heterogeneous; they differ between cultures, between life domains and between persons—even within one and the same person; different views on ageing can exist simultaneously and in parallel for different situations (Rothermund, 2024; Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024).

FormalPara Consequences of Views on Ageing

Views on ageing not only determine what ageing means to us and whom we call old under which conditions. They also shape our lives in old age and in this way often produce precisely those changes in people’s lives that correspond to these views of old age.

FormalPara Age Thresholds and Their Consequences

The influence of age thresholds becomes obvious in the case of age-related social regulations. Mandatory retirement age is the best example for this (see above). The transition from working life to retirement that is imposed upon reaching a certain age (for a critical discussion of the concept of mandatory retirement, see Chap. 5) represents a drastic intervention in a person’s life circumstances. It is quite telling that in German, the word for retirement literally means “a state of rest.”¹ This change is accompanied by a loss of role, but also by diminishing external obligations and gaining more freedom, that is, by a completely new temporal structuring of everyday life, and by a new and qualitatively different financial provision. The crucial point of this example is that the time point at which this transition takes place does not result from objective, for example, biological, or performance-based age-related changes; it also often does not the result from an individual decision, but reflects a more or less arbitrary, general regulation, which in turn is shaped by age-related—but also economic or political—ideas: When do we typically expect a decline in working capacity? How many years of subsidized retirement do we, as a society, consider appropriate and affordable? How do supply and demand shape the labor market? How can pensions and health care be financed in old age if life expectancy increases overall and the age composition of society changes because of demographic developments?

FormalPara Prescriptive Age Norms and Their Consequences

It is not only such age-related changes, regulated or dictated by laws and collective agreements, that set the course for our actual lives in old age. Our ideas of what older people are like and what changes we expect in old age are also determined by expectations of what older people should be like (de Paula Couto et al., 2022a; Ludwig et al., 2024; Rothermund, 2019). What behaviors do we consider age-appropriate? At this point, research refers to prescriptive age norms or normative views on ageing (Neugarten et al., 1965; Rothermund & Wentura, 2007). These norms are typically not explicitly expressed in laws and legislation, and deviations from these norms are not associated with direct penalties and sanctions. Their mode of action is subtle and indirect: They are most evident in how we evaluate older people’s behavior. For example, we expect older people to “make way” for the next generation, to be humble when it comes to scarce social resources, and to behave according to their age (“act your age”) and not to presume a youthful identity (North & Fiske, 2013). Older adults whose behavior violates these norms, such as those who, for example, remain in their professional and social roles and assert their entitlements, are attributed negative characteristics, such as doggedness, not being able to let go, or selfishness (Martin & North, 2021). To avoid such negative evaluations, older people base their behavior on these age norms, and they internalize these prescriptions to such an extent that they seem completely natural to them. Age norms become personal evaluation standards that guide one’s own behavior. Normative views on ageing thus directly or indirectly (mediated via internalization) influence the actions and lives of older people and thus shape the reality of life in old age.

FormalPara Personal Views on Ageing and Their Consequences

Finally, our very personal expectations of age-related changes also shape our lives in old age. Self-views on ageing influence our thoughts and actions and can thus become self-fulfilling prophecies. How does this happen? Roughly, this process can be divided into three steps (Rothermund, 2018; cf. Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1

Acquisition, internalization, and embodiment of views on ageing across the lifespan. (adapted from Rothermund, 2018; Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024)

First, we acquire views on ageing as ideas about old age and old people. This typically happens when we ourselves are still young (Vauclair et al., 2018). That is, we acquire our—predominantly negative (Kite et al., 2005)—views on ageing at a time when these perceptions do not yet apply to ourselves. They are views and perceptions of other people—of “the old.” They shape the way we think, feel, and act when interacting with older people (Rothermund & Mayer, 2009). They already influence life in old age, for example, when we avoid, exclude, or patronize older people based on negative views on ageing (Ayalon & Tesch-Römer, 2018). At this point, this influence of views on ageing is still limited to the lives of other people; it does not affect us ourselves.

However, things start changing with the next step. At some point, the time comes when we begin to ask ourselves what our own lives will look like in old age. The trigger for this question can be very different: We may notice some changes in ourselves, or we may experience first-hand how our own parents change due to old age, maybe we ask ourselves what it means to have a significantly younger or older partner (e.g., after a divorce or in a situation of re-partnering), or perhaps we simply think about what our relationship with our own children will be like once they are grown up. When the question of our own age and ageing arises, we are typically not yet “old” ourselves, that is, we have had virtually no experience of old age ourselves. To answer the question, therefore, we must get back to our views on ageing, and this is precisely the crucial point at which our ideas about old age, which originally referred only to other people, suddenly become views of our own ageing: They now shape our ideas of what our own age and ageing might look like one day. This transfer of age-related beliefs and perceptions to our own person is called internalization of views on ageing, such that these views taint our self-concept (Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a; see also Kornadt & Rothermund, 2012; Kornadt et al., 2017; for more details see Sect. 3.3.5).

This supposedly innocuous step marks a crucial transition in the development of views on ageing. Once views on ageing have become part of our self-image, they subsequently influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions thereby shaping our actual development in old age. For this last step in the transmission of views on ageing, the English literature has coined the term embodiment (Levy, 2009). Embodiment highlights the concrete consequences and effects of internalized views on ageing that express themselves in the life of an older person and thus become visible and tangible, like sediments and deposits of repeated experiences, thoughts, and actions.

There is hardly a more powerful influence on human development in adulthood than our self-views on ageing. Ideas about who we are and what we are like, what we can and cannot do, what we want to be like and what we are afraid of, these ideas determine our lives—for better or for worse. Recidivism rates for offenders and drug or alcohol addiction are critically influenced by whether the person defines him—or herself—as an offender or an addict (Blevins et al., 2018; Greve & Enzmann, 2003; Tombor et al., 2013). Likewise, our positive self-views help us in everyday life to act justly or honestly, to be a good mother or father to our children and to care for our family, or to fulfill occupational role expectations. According to this perspective, our self-views on ageing shape our lives in old age (Rothermund, 2018, 2024; Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024): Those who believe that there is nothing new to learn in old age will also ignore their employer’s training offers—and therefore actually learn nothing more. Those who think that romance and sexuality are taboo in old age will feel ashamed if they nevertheless feel such needs and will suppress corresponding behaviors. The result will be a life without romance and sexuality. Those who consider illness to be an inevitable side effect of old age have little reason to have their state of health checked regularly, to adopt a healthy lifestyle or to avoid risky behaviors—after all, they will get sick anyway. This is often the indirect consequence of such self-views on ageing.

However, these self-views do not only affect development in old age. Even before entering old age, they already shape our preparations for old age and the way we make provisions for the future. Negative self-views on ageing undermine the motivation to deal with one’s own age and to prepare adequately for the possible changes in old age; positive self-views on ageing, on the other hand, are a source of motivation to plan one’s own old age and to take appropriate precautions so that the positive views can become reality (see Sect. 3.3.7 and Chap. 4).

3.1 Research Questions

Based on the model shown in Fig. 3.1, the study of views on ageing and their consequences represents the main concern of this subproject in which the large-scale questionnaire study was conducted. A first central set of questions of our project consists in describing views on ageing in a systematic and differentiated way. What ideas do people have about old age and about old people? How strong is the consensus, and how large are the differences in views on ageing? How do these views change across the life span? How and in what respects do views on ageing differ between different countries and cultures?

To reflect the complexity and specificity of age-related perceptions, we examined views on ageing in different life domains. The research was guided by the assumption that perceptions about age and ageing differ greatly depending on the life domain to which they refer (e.g., family, work, leisure, etc.; Kornadt & Rothermund, 2015; Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024).

Furthermore, we distinguished between general views on ageing (perceptions about older people in general, or age stereotypes) and self-views on ageing (perceptions of oneself in old age). The separate assessment of age stereotypes and personal views on ageing allows us to analyze in detail the relationship between these two facets of age-related conceptions; in particular, we wanted to investigate processes of internalization and projection (Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a), i.e., a transfer of general views on ageing to self-views on ageing (internalization) or a generalization of one’s own age-related experiences to ideas of old age per se (projection).

Another goal of the project was to capture not only descriptive views on ageing but also prescriptive views on ageing, that is, beliefs and expectations about how older people should be. Here, too, we were interested in a differentiated assessment of these normative beliefs regarding the social expectations that traditionally call for older people to withdraw from important positions and life activities (disengagement), but also regarding demands for active ageing. The central concern of the project is hence to assess changes in the endorsement and internalization of age-related prescriptive norms over the life span.

The second core concern of our research on views on ageing was to identify the consequences that they have on life in old age. How do positive compared to negative views on ageing affect the lives, behavior, and life satisfaction of older people? How do our views on ageing shape development?

The remainder of this chapter provides an overview of our project’s key findings on these central questions.

3.2 State of Research

Attitudes Toward Old Age as a Unidimensional Construct

Previous research on views in ageing is overwhelmingly concerned with general age stereotypes and prejudices about older people. Overall, these studies show that negative beliefs about old age or older people dominate (e.g., Kite et al., 2005). This research is based on the implicit assumption that there is such a thing as the image of old age—the one conception of old age held by a society, an individual, or a group of individuals. However, this is a misleading simplification. It is true that study participants can be persuaded to give an answer to the question of what old people are like or how they evaluate old people, and this answer tends to be negative. However, this generalized information does not have much to do with our actual ideas about old age and ageing, which are much more complex and multi-layered.

Age-Related Gains and Losses

If we take a closer look at the content of views on ageing, both gains and losses play an important role (Heckhausen et al., 1989): Most of us associate old age with declines in health and physical fitness, with forgetfulness or with a diminishing capacity to learn, but also with a gain in life experience, with greater serenity, and with caring and warm-heartedness.

Old People as Warm But Incompetent

A first attempt to summarize and systematize these different age-related beliefs (i.e., age stereotypes) comes from Susan Fiske. Building on the so-called stereotype content model (Fiske et al., 2002), the social perception of old people is characterized by the combination of incompetence and warmth; somewhat belittlingly or paternalistically, the description of older people can be characterized as “doddering but dear” (Cuddy & Fiske, 2002).

This differentiating characterization may reflect key elements of widespread views on ageing; however, it is still too crude to adequately capture our actual age-related perceptions. Our views of old age include, for example, the idea that older people are experienced and wise, which is certainly an expression of competence; at the same time, older people are also perceived as strict, rigid, and stubborn, which is not easily reconcilable with a characterization as “warm.”

Prototypes of Older People

Another proposed differentiation comes from Mary Hummert, who pointed out that the many different characteristics we associate with old age and with older people are neither isolated next to each other, nor do they always all occur together. In her studies, certain subsets of these traits were shown to frequently occur together. According to Hummert, these “clusters of characteristics” represent different prototypes of older people. Hummert was able to identify several such types in her research: For example, the value-driven, traditional-minded older person (John Wayne conservative), the caring grandparent, the poor, welfare-dependent, lonely, and solitary retiree whom one encounters in the morning with a plastic bag on the way to the discount grocery store, or the severely impaired, dependent, and fragile nursing home resident (Hummert, 1990).

Context-Specific Views on Ageing

This distinction between clusters of traits that correspond to a particular prototypical pattern provides an important key to understanding views on ageing. This differentiation does not only reveal a distinction between different types of older people, who are best described by the respective characterization, but rather highlights the fact that we hold different views on ageing for specific situations and contexts. For example, we believe that the majority of older people have little experience in dealing with modern technology (computers, smartphones) and are clumsy and need support with these devices. In contrast, when dealing with their grandchildren, we think of older people as being competent, caring, and confident. When we think of contexts like a retirement or nursing home, we associate old age with frailty and lack of independence. However, when it comes to dealing with a life crisis, we expect older people, based on their experience, to see what is important and what is not, and to be able to make the right decisions, which is why we turn to them for advice and support. It is precisely this situation—and context-dependency of views on ageing—that has already been demonstrated in experimental studies (Casper et al., 2011; Huang & Rothermund, 2023). Context-dependency has been demonstrated not only for views on ageing but also for the way we think about other social groups (e.g., men vs. women, politicians, professors, or foreigners; Casper et al., 2010; Wigboldus et al., 2003; Wittenbrink et al., 2001); it is even evident in how we think about ourselves (Casper & Rothermund, 2012). In relation to age, this perspective can be summed up as follows: Not only do we have general views about old age and ageing, but for each situation, we have our own, specific views, which attribute very specific characteristics to older people in that specific situation.

These views on ageing are largely independent of one another: One can link age with negative characteristics in one area and with positive ones in another. At the same time, “negative” and “positive” also mean something different in terms of content in each context: When it comes to appearance and attractiveness, we may think of wrinkles, thinning hair, or old-fashioned clothing. When it comes to leisure activities, these characteristics are completely meaningless; here we might think of older people having more time for leisure activities than others, or even that they like to go hiking. Our views on ageing are therefore always only about those characteristics that play an important role in the respective context and are action-guiding, insofar as they influence either the behavior of the older person or our behavior toward them.

3.3 Overview of Findings

3.3.1 Assessment of Context-Specific Views on Ageing

The idea that views on ageing are context-specific was the guiding idea of our project. Therefore, right at the beginning of the project, one of the main goals of the questionnaire study was to develop a standardized survey instrument that would allow us to assess views on ageing for different life domains. For this purpose, specific contents were labelled for different areas of life, each containing possible positive vs. negative beliefs for the respective area, which were formulated as concise statements. All statements were presented in a bipolar format, with oppositely formulated content marking the positive and negative pole of the response scale, respectively (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011a; for a short version see Kornadt et al., 2020). An overview of the domains and exemplary pairs of statements formulated in this regard can be found in Fig. 3.2.

Fig. 3.2

Selected item formulations for different life domains to capture context-specific views on ageing with a bipolar response format

To assess general views of ageing, older people in general were to be assessed based on the items provided. For this purpose, the pairs of statements were headed with the phrase “Older adults…,” for instance, for the life domain of family and partnership:

A first important result of our studies was that the answers given to the items depicting one life domain showed strong intercorrelations, but hardly correlated with the items for the other life domains.²

In terms of content, this result means (a) that the various items related to a life domain can be combined into scale values with which the positivity (vs. negativity) of views on ageing in the respective domain can be quantified and (b) that these scales each depict separate views on ageing that are independent of one another. Thus, a person may have a relatively positive view in one domain (e.g., family), but at the same time have a comparatively negative view in another domain (e.g., health), or vice versa. In the same way, of course, combinations can occur in which views on ageing in two domains are either both positive or both negative. Independence implies, however, that equivalent combinations of views on ageing in different domains are no more likely than views on ageing with opposite valence in the different domains. Thus, the fact that a particular person has a more positive views on ageing in one domain does not predict what their views will be in another domain. Views on ageing coexist, each representing independent facets of the beliefs and evaluations that a person holds about the complex topic of age and ageing.

Which of these different views on ageing is activated in a particular situation and then shapes our thoughts and actions depends on the context to which the current situation is assigned and which domain-specific views “fits” this situation (Casper et al., 2011; Huang & Rothermund, 2023). In the occupational context—for example, when asking whom to invite for a job interview or which task or activity is suitable for which employee—work-related beliefs and views on ageing are retrieved (e.g., related to experience, competence, flexibility, mobility, or learning ability of older workers), which of course also depend on the respective job requirements (Diekman & Hirnisey, 2007). In the family context, on the other hand, completely different ideas are activated and then become action-guiding (e.g., regarding the caring and generosity of grandparents, their desires for closeness to their children and grandchildren, or their ideals and values regarding gender roles in family contexts).

The complexity and context-dependence of views on ageing that we were able to demonstrate with our scales is also characteristic of the views we have of other social groups (of women or men, of members of certain nationalities, occupational groups, etc.; Blair, 2002; Casper et al., 2010). However, a detailed and systematic account of domain-specific conceptions of age was not available when we started our project, just like domain-specific conceptions of other groups still is an under-researched topic. In the following sections, we describe in more detail these different conceptions that we have of older people in different domains of life.

3.3.2 Views on Ageing in Different Life Domains

The independence of domain-specific views on ageing does not yet say anything about how positive or negative these views are in each of the different life domains. However, our surveys provide clear evidence that the evaluations of older people differ significantly across contexts.

Evaluations of Older People in Different Life Domains

For this specific purpose, let us look at the results of the German core sample of the project—that is, those persons who participated in the questionnaire survey at all measurement points over a period of 10 years (see Fig. 3.3). Positive views on ageing were found for the domains of family, work, and leisure. In these domains, responses are about one scale point above the midpoint of the scale and thus clearly in the positive range (the bipolar scale had 8 response options, so the neutral midpoint of the scale corresponds to a value of 4.5). The assessments of older people in the domains of friends, finances, and fitness are less positive—here the assessments correspond almost exactly to the middle point of the scale. Slightly positive assessments of older people—about half a point above the scale middle point—are found for the domains of personality, appearance, and autonomy.

Fig. 3.3

Mean evaluations of older people on the bipolar scales for the different life domains

Note: Core sample of the German survey; first time of measurement; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

Obviously, the images we have about older people differ greatly depending on the situations and contexts in which we view them. It is hardly surprising that we find fewer positive views in the domains of mental and physical fitness and social relationships (friends and acquaintances), for example, since negative age stereotypes of decrepitude and loneliness in old age may dominate in these domains.

Perceived Age Thresholds in Different Life Domains

It is possible that our perceptions of older people in the individual domains are also shaped by the fact that we encounter different people in the respective life domains: The surprisingly positive evaluation of older people in the work context may be related to the fact that older people in the work context have typically not yet reached retirement age, that is, they are younger than the average older person in another life domain. A first indication of such selective influences is shown by the fact that perceived age thresholds in the different life domains differ strongly (Fig. 3.4; Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011a). In the work domain, the perceived age threshold in our German sample at the last measurement point is on average around 65 years, which roughly corresponds to the mandatory retirement age limit in Germany, which is more than 5 years lower than in all other life domains.

Fig. 3.4

Average age thresholds in the different life domains

Note: Core sample of the German survey; data for the last time of interview

The positive evaluations of older people in the domain of work may thus be related to the fact that we think of comparatively young-old people in this domain, since the age threshold in this area is very low. In addition, the differences between views on ageing may come about through selective conceptions of certain older people who are overrepresented in the respective contexts. For example, in the family and partnership context, we may think primarily of those older people who have close contact with their family, or who still live with their partner—and not necessarily of those for whom these close family ties do not (or no longer) exist. The health and fitness domains and the autonomy domain, on the other hand, may evoke associations with older people who are ill or frail.

Comparisons of Older With Middle-Aged Adults

Above all, however, the assessments on the domain-specific items are also influenced by the specific content of these items in each case. Thus, it is conceivable that the results also have to do with the fact that the items in the different domains were differently well balanced between the respective negative and positive pole.³ To rule out such content effects, and to be sure that the differences in domain-based ratings actually reflect different ratings of older people, we need a neutral control condition in which the same items are used to rate a person who is unspecified in terms of age. In our questionnaire project, we asked for ratings of unspecified middle-aged adults for this purpose, for instance:

For each domain, the ratings of older people are then compared with the ratings of people in middle age. In this way it can be ruled out that possible domain differences are due to the specific wording of the items because these wordings are also included in the assessment of the neutral control condition. Influences of item difficulty are thus eliminated by the comparison with the control condition. The results represent an adjusted and thus unambiguous measure of age-related differences.

The results of this comparison are depicted in Fig. 3.5. To a large extent, these analyses confirm the results shown in Fig. 3.3, but there are also important additions and deviations. In general, older people are rated less positively than middle-aged adults in all areas of life. Only in the family/partnership domain, there is no difference, which fits in with the positive assessment of older people in this domain. The differences in the domains of leisure and work are also small, which supports the results of the simple analysis of the assessment in older people (Fig. 3.3). However, similarly, small differences between older and middle-aged adults also appear in the domains of personality and finances. Older people are assessed similarly to other adults in these areas—the less positive assessments for older people in these areas are thus not specific to older people but reflect generally less positive perceptions in these areas, which are independent of age and thus more related to the items used in the questionnaire.

Fig. 3.5

Comparative evaluations of older and middle-aged adults

Note: Core sample of the German survey; first measurement point; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale)

Regarding the more negative assessments of older people, the domains of friends, fitness/health, appearance, and autonomy stand out. This result is particularly surprising for the last two domains, as it was not apparent from a simple analysis of the assessments of older people. The comparative analysis thus proves that even in these life domains, despite a positive assessment of older people, overall, rather negative views on ageing prevail in comparison to the assessment of middle-aged adults.

3.3.3 Age-Related Differences in Views on Ageing

So far, we have described views on ageing in very general terms in the different life domains, that is, we have reported average values for the total sample of all persons. However, views on ageing are not the same for everyone; they may differ systematically between different groups of persons.

In this context, a particularly interesting question is whether and, if so, how views on ageing change over the life span. Old age is special in that all people change their age group membership during their lives. We acquire views on ageing already as young people, here those views of old age still refer to other people, socio-psychologically speaking thus to an out-group. At some point, however, we ourselves belong to the group of the “old,” and our views on ageing suddenly refer to our own group, that is, indirectly to ourselves.

Rothbaum (1983) was already able to show that older people exhibit an age-related in-group bias: They evaluate characteristics and contents that are typical for older people more positively than younger people do. Heckhausen et al. (1989) reported that older people have more differentiated beliefs about age-related changes than younger people. In a study by Rothermund and Brandtstädter (2003a, see also de Paula Couto et al., 2022a), ratings of older people were found to become more positive with increasing age.

Our data also show evidence of more positive views on ageing among older people (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011a). However, this increase is not uniform across the lifespan (Fig. 3.6): In the transition from younger to middle adulthood, there is initially a trend for views on ageing to become more negative, which reverses as people enter older adulthood. In old age, we see an increase in positive evaluations of older people.

Fig. 3.6

Evaluations of older and middle-aged adults in different age groups

Note: Core sample of the German survey; first measurement point; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

The same trend can be seen if, instead of the evaluations of older people, the difference in the assessments of older and middle-aged adults is considered (see Fig. 3.6). The decreasing trend in the transition from young to middle age is even more pronounced when evaluations of old adults are compared to evaluations regarding middle-aged adults, while the subsequent increase in the relative positivity of the assessment of old people is largely parallel to the previous analysis, since the assessment of middle-aged adults no longer changes significantly at an older age. The following influences come together here: First, younger adults have a comparatively negative view of “middle-aged adults,” which may stem from the fact that these individuals occupy important social roles and positions of influence that younger adults aspire to. The more negative evaluations of middle-aged adults express that the young face this group with self-confidence and do not consider them superior at all. In the difference variable, these evaluations enter with an inverted sign, making the relative evaluation of older people more positive. On the other hand, middle-aged adults in particular show a tendency to distance themselves from old age. This is expressed in negative views on ageing, which are then used to ward off a self-categorization as “old,” as well as in a revaluation of their own (i.e., the “middle”) age group. Taken together, therefore, the most negative relative assessments of older people arise in this age group.

If we break down the age patterns in the ratings of older people again according to life domains, different patterns emerge in some cases (Fig. 3.7). Whereas in most domains the typical pattern of a more positive evaluation of the own group emerges, that is, the evaluations of older people become more positive with increasing age of the participants, in the areas of finances and leisure, on the other hand, stable or even slightly decreasing evaluations of older people are found across the age groups. We can only speculate about the reasons for this: It is possible that younger and/or middle-aged adults have quite positive images of old ageing these areas, since they attribute a lot of leisure time and at least financial resources to older people. However, these views are then not fulfilled, at least in the lives of some older people, who may no longer be able to take advantage of leisure activities or who find themselves in a precarious financial situation in old age. This disappointment of originally positive expectations is then projected onto the general views on ageing and leads to a more negative evaluation of the lives of older people in these domains.

Fig. 3.7

Evaluations of older adults in specific life domains, for different age groups

Note: Core sample of the German survey; values averaged over all survey time points; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

3.3.4 Country Differences in Views on Ageing

Views on ageing may differ not only between age groups, but also between countries (Kornadt et al., 2022). A central concern of our project is precisely to investigate the different social conditions of ageing, and these should be reflected in specific views of age and ageing in each case.

An intensively discussed topic in relation to such diverse “cultures of ageing” is the difference between West (Europe and North America) and East (Asia). Asian cultures not only generally place a greater emphasis on collective values—that is, sense of community, togetherness, and solidarity—while Western cultures are considered more individualistic (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). In particular, older people in Asian countries should be shown more respect and appreciation due to specific values of deference (“filial piety”; Ng, 1998).

However, previous research on country differences in attitudes toward age and ageing tends to paint a different picture. A highly regarded meta-analysis of almost all studies published on this topic concluded that age-related attitudes tend to be more negative in Asian countries than in Western countries (North & Fiske, 2015). However, the findings are heterogeneous, with some studies supporting the original thesis of more positive views on ageing in Eastern countries, others showing virtually no East-West differences, and still other studies, although in the majority, showing more positive views on ageing in Western countries. This is mainly associated with differences in state social provision for old age (Löckenhoff et al., 2009; see also Kornadt et al., 2022): In Asian countries, the obligation to provide for older persons, to which older people even have a legally enforceable right vis-à-vis their children, could be perceived as a burden by the younger generation under obligation, especially against the background of a rapidly increasing proportion of older people in the total population.

With our project we want to contribute to this question, which has not yet been conclusively clarified. For this purpose, we compare views on ageing in Western (Germany, the USA) and Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan). In addition, we also consider the Czech Republic as a fifth country to gain a first insight into the prevailing views of old age in an Eastern European country whose recent history is characterized by a change from a socialist state monopoly economy to a liberal economic order in which the state is at the same time cutting down its responsibilities for providing social security in old age.

In previous studies on cross-cultural comparisons, mostly global instruments were used to capture views on ageing and age-related assessments. By taking a domain-specific approach, the data from our project allow us to make more differentiated statements about views on ageing in the various countries, and this approach may also provide a key to explaining different results of earlier studies that may have unintentionally captured different aspects of views on ageing that relate to different life domains.

Country Differences in the Evaluation of the Older Adults

On the one hand, our results show important differences between the countries studied (Fig. 3.8; see also Voss et al., 2018b). In the Western countries (the USA, Germany), the most positive views on ageing occur, while the Asian countries (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) show comparatively fewer positive views on ageing, which, however, still lie in the neutral or positive range of the response scale. The Czech Republic has by far the most negative assessments of older people, which are even below the scale mean of 4.5 on average, and thus also in the negative range in absolute terms.

Fig. 3.8

Evaluations of older adults in different life domains across countries

Note: Total sample; results of the third survey time point; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

This general pattern is further qualified in an interesting way by the breakdown into domain-specific assessments. The general pattern (USA/D > HK/TW > CZ) is evident for the domains of leisure, fitness, appearance, and autonomy. Comparatively positive views on ageing in the Asian countries, however, show up in the social domains (family, friends) but also for the domain of personality. This may reflect traditional Asian values, which attribute respect, esteem, and social affection to older people based on their experience (i.e., relating to their personality). With the domain-specific assessment of views on ageing, we are thus able to clarify, at least partially, the heterogeneous results of earlier studies on East-West comparisons in age-related assessments.

The negative assessments of the older people in the Czech sample are approaching average levels in comparison to the other countries only in the area of work. At present, we can only speculate about the reasons for the otherwise significantly more negative evaluations in the Czech Republic. The markedly negative evaluations of older adults in the domains of finances and physical and mental fitness and health suggest that these evaluations may reflect the precarious situation of the older generation, which, as a result of the system change, has found itself in a situation in which state support is lacking, but at the same time there was or is no longer any possibility of improving one’s personal situation via own efforts.

Country Differences in Perceived Age Thresholds

With regard to the age thresholds already mentioned above (Fig. 3.4), we also have carried out country comparisons (see Fig. 3.9). These analyses reveal clear differences between the countries studied: The highest age thresholds were found in the USA, with Germany and the Czech Republic in the middle range, and the lowest age thresholds by far were found in Hong Kong and Taiwan. These results demonstrate a relevant East/West difference in age attributions. Between the USA and Taiwan, the difference in the age at which a person is considered to be old is almost 10 years. A person in their early 70 s would already be considered old for about 5 years in Taiwan, while they would not be counted as old in the USA for another 5 years.

Fig. 3.9

Average age thresholds in the countries of the Volkswagen Foundation’s age study for different life domain

Note: Total sample; data for the third measurement point

How can these differences be explained? A key factor for these differences is retirement age, which is used as an anchor for classifying people as old or not yet old. Interestingly, however, it is precisely with reference to the area of work that the smallest country differences in age thresholds are obtained. The Asian countries (Hong Kong and Taiwan) are at the same level as Germany and the Czech Republic. While in Western countries, however, the transition to old age in most life domains is 5 or more years above the work domain, that is, well after the mandatory retirement, age thresholds in Asian countries differ only insignificantly between the domains. The perception of age in these countries is less differentiated; a more global concept of age prevails in Eastern than in Western countries. In particular, the work domain no longer stands out clearly from the other domains. This reduced variability was already indicated in the views on ageing analyses (cf. Fig. 3.8), but it is expressed much more clearly in the age thresholds. Based on our data, we can only speculate about the background of this difference in the various life domains. However, our interview studies provide evidence that in Asia (Hong Kong and Taiwan), old age is primarily seen as an opportunity to lead a quiet and secluded life—the predominant conception of old age there is described as a “tranquil life” (Liou, 2016). In contrast, Western cultures are dominated by notions of an active third age characterized by engagement and/or enjoyment (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011b). Here, real old age does not yet begin with the exit from working life but is instead delayed to the transition into the fourth age of life (Baltes, 1997) where losses in physical and mental capacity become apparent, coupled with losses in autonomy of lifestyle. The expectation or prospect of such a phase of active old age after retirement (i.e., the “third age”; Laslett, 1987) does not seem to exist in this form in Asian countries so that there is a much closer coupling of the beginning of old age with the end of working life.

3.3.5 Views on Ageing and Self-Views on Ageing

When we speak of views on ageing and age stereotypes in our everyday language, it is clear to whom these views and beliefs refer: It is about the perceptions we have regarding older adults. Older people are a social group and views on ageing describe what characteristics we ascribe to members of this group: What characterizes older people as opposed to younger people?

What is special about old age, however, is that the group boundaries are not rigid, so that each person changes group membership in the course of their life: At some point, one is no longer young and then belongs to “the old group” oneself (Rothbaum, 1983). From this dynamic nature of belonging to the group of older adults, which affects each of us, it follows that in addition to the general views of older people, there is also a particular, personalized view on old age and ageing. This view includes the perceptions and beliefs we have about our own age and ageing, so it is a view of what it will be like when we ourselves will be old. We refer to this view of our own age and ageing as self-views of ageing. As mentioned at the beginning, self-views on ageing that are independent of general views on ageing are formed relatively late. It is true that even children have ideas about what it means to be old (Vauclair et al., 2018). However, these negative views on ageing do not yet refer to themselves and their own possible ageing, but initially only to other people, that is, to “the old.” During life, however, at some point—for some people sooner, for some later—the question arises as to what our own lives will look like when we ourselves will be old. Then we begin to form our own personal views of ourselves in old age.

In our project, we not only asked participants about their general perceptions of older people (see Sect. 3.3.1 above); in order to capture self-views on ageing, we asked exactly the same questions with reference to the participants themselves, as older persons:

Comparison of Evaluations of One’s Own Age and Old People in General

In line with earlier studies (Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a), our study also shows that the domain-specific self-views on ageing of our participants are on average significantly more positive than their general views on ageing. Statistically, this is a very large effect (partial ƞ² = 0.33). Thus, this difference is substantial. How does this difference come about?

Above all, it must be borne in mind when interpreting the results that self-views on ageing and general views on ageing ultimately refer to the same group of individuals: The sample of our study represents a—very large and approximately representative—random selection of people from the total population. How can it be, then, that the evaluation of one’s own age is on average so much more positive than the perception of older people in general? To better understand the underlying mechanisms for this difference in views on ageing and self-views on ageing, it is helpful to break down this finding in more detail. On the one hand, our data show that large differences occur primarily in domains related to the private or personal life situation (family, personality development, health/fitness, appearance, autonomy), while in the more social domains (friends and social relationships, leisure activities, finances, work), there are hardly any differences, or at least significantly smaller differences, between self-views on ageing and general views on ageing (see Fig. 3.10).

Fig. 3.10

Average evaluations of older people and oneself as an old person (“when I am older”), presented by life domains

Note: Core sample of the German survey; results of the first measurement time point; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

Equally interesting and revealing is the fact that the gap between personalized and general views on ageing becomes smaller with increasing age (cf. Fig. 3.11). While there is a clear age-related increase in the positivity of general views on ageing, particularly among those over 50, self-views on ageing remain largely unchanged and stable at a high level at older ages. Thus, there is a convergence of the general view of old age with the self-view of old age.

Fig. 3.11

Comparison of self-views on ageing and general views on ageing in different age groups

Note: Core sample of the German survey; results of the first measurement time point; range of values: 1 = negative end, 8 = positive end of the scale

Taken together, these results suggest that the difference between self-views and views of older adults in general can be explained to a large extent by an overly optimistic perception of the life situation expected for one’s own person in old age. Particularly in areas of private life, there has long been the illusion that one can live and control one’s life according to one’s own ideas, even in old age, which leads to overly positive self-views in these domains. With increasing age, however, these exaggerated self-assessments are then corrected in the light of one’s own experiences with old age and replaced by ideas that are closer to reality.

Relationship Between Self-Views on Ageing and General Views on Ageing

Let us now turn to the question of the relationship between self-views and views of older adults in general. At first glance, the difference in the evaluations of older people and the future-related assessment of oneself in old age suggests that these are separate perceptions that tend to have an antagonistic, that is, opposing, relationship to each other. In the literature, therefore, the idea prevails that general and personal images of old age function as opposites or contrasts and serve to delineate between individual and general ideas of old age (“social downgrading,” Heckhausen & Brim, 1997; “downward comparisons,” Pinquart, 2002; see also Weiss & Lang, 2012).

However, this assumption is deceptive; in particular, it overlooks the strong interdependence between these two types of views on ageing. In fact, self-views and views of others are positively related and influence each other (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2012; Kornadt et al., 2017; Kornadt et al., 2023; Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a). In the overall sample of our project, we find a correlation of r = 0.69, that is, a significantly positive relationship in which about half of the differences in self-views were can be explained by differences in views of older adults in general (the percentage of variance explained is calculated by the squared correlation coefficient, and in this case is r² = 0.49). In other words, the more negative/positive a person’s conceptions of old age in general are, the more negative/positive their conceptions of their own old age will be.

How does this correlation emerge and how can it be explained? One answer is provided by the model presented at the beginning (Fig. 3.1): The process of internalization of views on ageing (Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a; see also Kornadt & Rothermund, 2012; Kornadt et al., 2017) describes a transfer of perceptions that originally referred only to other people (to ‘the older people’) to ourselves.

This internalization of views on ageing represents a critical moment for the further development of a person. It bears the danger that we transfer negative views on ageing into our self-views on ageing. Once there, they shape our expectations and actions, influencing what experiences we have and how we prepare for our old age (Kornadt et al., 2015, 2019; Levy, 2009; Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024; Voss et al., 2017). Thus, our negative views on ageing not only lead us to evaluate other older people more negatively and possibly also to behave inappropriately toward them (Rothermund & Mayer, 2009; see also de Paula Couto & Rothermund, 2019; Rothermund et al., 2021b; Voss et al., 2018a; Voss & Rothermund, 2018). In other words, one could say that we end up discriminating against ourselves through negative views on ageing (Rothermund, 2018).

We will discuss the possible consequences of views on ageing for our own development in more detail in the following sections (see Sect. 3.3.7). For the moment, our central finding is that our personal self-views on ageing are significantly more positive than our general views of older people, but at the same time, they are decisively influenced by these general perceptions.

3.3.6 Prescriptive Age Stereotypes

Views on ageing not only refer to beliefs about what older people are like; they also refer to ideas about what older people should be like. In this case, we speak of normative or prescriptive views on ageing (Rothermund & Wentura, 2007). These age norms reflect expectations that we have of older people—or that older people have of themselves to fulfill their role as an older person. To put it pointedly, these prescriptive views on ageing are about what it means to be a “good older person” (Rothermund, 2019).

The research literature on this important topic has identified two fundamentally different types of age norms. The classic normative view of old age calls for older people to withdraw from social roles and activities, to pass on their resources to the next generation, and to stop presenting themselves as young or to try to continue to maintain a youthful identity (North & Fiske, 2013). The technical English term for this overarching norm of withdrawal from public life is disengagement.

Researchers on ageing originally promoted withdrawal from obligations and activities as a conducive element of healthy development in old age that would help prepare for the inevitable end of life (Cumming & Henry, 1961). The norm of disengagement, however, is not concerned with what is good for the older persons themselves, but what is expected of them. Previous research shows that older people are criticized and negatively evaluated when they do not conform to this norm, that is, when they do not vacate their social positions, when they use and claim their resources for themselves, or when they continue to exhibit lifestyles and appearances that are more in line with the image of younger people (Martin & North, 2021 North & Fiske, 2013).

Alongside the disengagement norm, however, a second, seemingly opposing norm has become prevalent, namely, the expectation that older people should try to remain active and fit, participate in professional and social life, and take care of themselves for as long as possible (Ekerdt, 1986; Pavlova & Silbereisen, 2016). This norm of active ageing has an important sociopolitical function: It is related to calls for postponing or increasing the retirement age, longer active participation in working life, and a concomitant easing of the burden on social welfare systems (pension insurance, health insurance) in the face of further increasing proportions of older people in the total population (Denninger et al., 2014; Kohli, 1989; see also Chap. 6 for a more detailed discussion of norms of disengagement and activation for older people). Older people themselves appear to be accepting this norm because it holds the prospect of their being able to maintain previous life activities and to continue to participate in social life. The norm of active ageing implicitly suggests that this is possible and that it is the responsibility of everyone to postpone or delay old age and to continue to pursue meaningful occupations. The underlying idea of “being old without becoming old” obviously has something enticing about it, especially for the older people themselves.

In our project, we assessed personal endorsement of both age norms, disengagement and activation, in a questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose (de Paula Couto et al., 2022a; see Table 3.1).

Table 3.1 Prescriptive age stereotypes of activation and disengagement: Sample items from the survey instrument

Age Trajectories in the Endorsement of Prescriptive Norms of Activation and Disengagement

Our data show that the activation norm is generally more strongly endorsed than the disengagement norm (de Paula Couto et al., 2022a). This is consistent with the assumption that expectations that call for a more or less unchanged, not in the stereotypical sense “old,” life —and thus also contain the prospect of such a non-old life as a possibility—are more easily endorsed than demands that ultimately imply an exclusion of older people.

Interestingly, both age norms show higher endorsement ratings among older individuals (see Fig. 3.12; see de Paula Couto et al., 2022a; Ludwig et al., 2024). Apparently, expectations that society places on older people are adopted and become internalized by them over time. Even if a new identity does not automatically emerge with the transition to older age—most older people do not explicitly describe themselves as “old,” but at least explicitly still see themselves as the adult person they used to be (see Chap. 5)—our findings nevertheless indicate that an active and intensive engagement with being old or growing older does take place. Direct self-identification as “old” is apparently difficult for many older people because of the negative connotations associated with it. Nevertheless, older people ask themselves how to fill the new social role that may be ascribed to them from the outside and how to live up to the expectations that are directed towards older people. What do I have to do to behave and live appropriately for my age? Such an internalization of age-related role expectations is not an exception; similar normative orientations emerge in the assumption of other social roles (such as parenthood, occupational roles, adopting a public role or position, etc.; Goffman, 1959; Parsons, 1951). Our data show that an orientation to and internalization of social expectations and norms is also evident for the role of an older person, even if this identity is explicitly rejected by many older adults (Fig. 3.12).

Fig. 3.12

Age trajectories in the level of endorsement of prescriptive age norms of disengagement and activation

Note: Total sample; results of the third measurement time point

The age-related increase in endorsement of activation starts early and subsequently stabilizes at a high level. The disengagement norm rises only later, but endorsement then increases until the oldest age. In addition to the processes of internalization of age-related norms, the increased endorsement of these age norms in older age can also be explained by the fact that a person’s own experiences and age-related changes in their life are experienced as appropriate and subsequently interpreted as a norm. In this case, one speaks of a transfer (projection) of one’s own experiences onto age-related, normative ideas (Krueger, 2000; Rothermund & Brandtstädter, 2003a). The fact that one has at some point retired from working life oneself—and has also somehow come to terms with this change—is assessed by the person in retrospect as “correct,” evaluated positively, and becomes a benchmark for “normal” ageing according to which other old people are evaluated. In this way, one’s own development is justified retrospectively and turns into a normative expectation that is directed at one’s own and the following generation to act likewise.

Of course, it should be kept in mind that the data on age differences in age norms reported here are based on comparisons of individuals from different birth cohorts. Such a cohort comparison reflects not only age-related changes in beliefs but possibly also different socialization experiences. It is entirely possible that higher levels of endorsement for the disengagement norm in older cohorts relate to the fact that earlier generations were more strongly socialized with this expectation.

Country Differences in Endorsement of Activation and Disengagement Age Norms

Significant country differences are also found for the endorsement of prescriptive age norms in our study (cf. Fig. 3.13). Whereas in the USA, Hong Kong, and Germany, there is significantly higher endorsement of the activation norm than of the disengagement norm, this difference is only minimal in the Czech Republic and Taiwan. The markedly high level of endorsement of the disengagement norm in Taiwan is also striking.

Fig. 3.13

Country differences in the level of endorsement of activation and disengagement age norms

Note: Total sample; results of the third measurement time point

The Relationship and Overarching Function of Activation and Disengagement Age Norms

Another intriguing question relates to the relationship between activation and disengagement age norms. At first glance, these norms appear to formulate opposing expectations toward older adults. However, a closer look reveals that possibly both age norms serve one and the same overarching function: Both the activation and disengagement norms require older people not to use scarce social resources. The disengagement norm calls for modesty or surrender with respect to financial resources and in the event of any scarcity of social role positions. However, the activation norm can also be understood as a call to take care of oneself for as long as possible and to claim as few benefits as possible from the social security systems (pension, health insurance, care system) (de Paula Couto et al., 2022a).

In fact, our study demonstrates that endorsement of the activation and disengagement norms are positively related (r = 0.42). Individuals who agree with one of those prescriptive norms tend to also agree with the other norm and vice versa. The explanation offered for this, that both norms arise from the same overarching function, is also supported by our data: Both norms show a significant positive correlation with the overarching norm that older people “should not become a burden to others and society” (both r > 0.50).

Activation and disengagement age norms are thus positively related to each other, show similar age trajectories, and have similar relations to the overarching norm of not being a burden. Nevertheless, it should not be overlooked that the two age norms are by no means identical, but cover different contents, and have different causes and/or consequences. These differences become apparent when we consider the association between these normative beliefs and the individual conditions under which their targets live (de Paula Couto et al., 2022a; see also Ludwig et al., 2024). For example, the activation norm is particularly endorsed by individuals who are healthy, have high income, are satisfied with their lives, and who attribute to themselves a high degree of control over their own lives, even in older age. People who endorse the activation norm have more positive views on ageing in all life domains and want to actively shape their own old age. The correlations with the disengagement norm are quite different. Here, endorsement is higher among people with poor health and low incomes and with rather low satisfaction and little control over their own lives. The disengagement norm also is related to more negative views on ageing, for instance, in areas such as work and physical appearance (Ludwig et al., 2024).

Of course, against this background, one might think that the activation norm favors successful ageing. However, this interpretation would be a misunderstanding. It is possible that people who are doing well and who also have a variety of health and/or material resources in old age are more inclined to expect and demand activity in old age. However, this does not necessarily mean that this age norm is the cause of their positive life situation in old age. Certainly, the aim to actively shape one’s old age is a natural striving as long as one is able to do so. However, one must not confuse the desire for having the opportunity to stay actively involved and participate in meaningful activities in old age with the normative demand that old people should generally be active.

While the activation age norm cannot be applied indiscriminately to all old people, the disengagement norm should not be completely demonized. Of course, this norm has obvious features of age discrimination when healthy and active old people are denied access to positions and participation in public life and are criticized for using their resources for their own desires and goals. In this case, the disengagement-related expectations are obviously misplaced. At the same time, however, the demand for disengagement may also be connected to an important truth or insight, namely, that mere activity and stubborn striving for an ideal of youthfulness in old age may become inappropriate and perhaps also reflect a lack of wisdom and life experience. Perhaps one should be able to expect from older people that they no longer regard money, success, and appearance as the most important things in their lives. Even in young people, such an orientation does not necessarily speak for good character. Nevertheless, we are more tolerant when a young person still wants to prove something to themselves or others and perhaps also still has responsibilities and obligations to family and children. In the case of older people, however, we have little sympathy for excessive ambition: Who, if not they, should have learned what is important in life and what is not? Behind such disengagement-related attitudes, thus, we may surmise, stands the expectation that older people should have learned one thing above all else during their lives: To be wise (de Paula Couto & Rothermund, 2022; see also Brandtstädter et al., 2010).

3.3.7 Individual Differences in Views on Ageing and Consequences for Development

In the results presented so far about views on ageing, we were mainly concerned with general tendencies, that is, with average values referring to large samples of persons. Even in these analyses, important differences already became apparent: between different life domains to which views on ageing refer, between self-views on ageing and views of older adults in general, between descriptive and normative age-related views, between different countries and cultures of age, and between age groups.

Individual Differences in Views on Ageing

In this section, we take the differentiation regarding views on ageing a decisive step further. Now we are no longer primarily concerned with group averages; instead we look at differences in views on ageing between different individuals. In technical terms, we are now concerned with the variability—the differences—in views on ageing within life domains, countries, and age groups. These differences are important. The proportion of variability that is due to differences between different individuals within groups is usually many times larger than the differences we observe between age groups, countries, or between domains. In most analyses using our data, person-related variability within groups exceeds variability between groups by more than a factor of ten, sometimes even by a factor of a hundred! Thus, although differences between age groups and countries in views on ageing and age-related attitudes are substantial and systematic in some cases, individuals within these groups differ even more markedly.

Interestingly, the differences in the views related to older people are even larger than the differences in the views we have of (middle-aged) adults. If, for the sake of simplicity, we compare views of ageing averaged over life domains with views of middle-aged adults, also averaged over domains, the variability of views on ageing is 85% larger, that is, the differences in views on ageing are almost twice as high as for evaluations of an average person.⁴ This result is surprising, because one might have expected that societal age stereotypes are shared, and should unify the beliefs we hold about older people. De facto, however, there is a polarization: Some people have rather positive views of old age, others rather negative ones, so the differences compared to the evaluation of a middle-aged adult are significantly larger.

The mere fact that age-related perceptions differ so strongly between individuals is an important and remarkable finding (not only) of our study. After all, it shows that views of old age are not merely a reflection of generally prevailing social stereotypes but are to a decisive extent shaped by one’s own experiences and reflections. In our project, however, we did not focus on the question of the origin or sources of individual differences in views on ageing. The central concern of the project was an investigation of the consequences of these differences for individual development in old age. As mentioned in the previous sections, one of the core assumptions of our study was that views on ageing influence how individuals think, feel, and act, and whether they shape the lives and development of individuals like self-fulfilling prophecies (cf. Fig. 3.1).

In Sect. 3.3.5, under the heading of internalization of views on ageing, we have already established that general age-related views have an impact on a person’s perception of their own age. A negative view of ageing in general thus casts its shadow and, in the long term, also leads to one’s own future being evaluated as threatening or worthless, whereas an overall rather positive view of ageing also casts a positive light on one’s own age. These self-views of old age then, according to our thesis, also shape the actual development of the person (Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024).

Views on Ageing and Life Satisfaction

A first, very global indicator for a successful or problematic development is the general life satisfaction of a person. In fact, there is a clear correlation between a person’s views on ageing and their life satisfaction: The more positive the views about age and ageing are, the higher the life satisfaction (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2011a). However, in this context it is unclear whether views on ageing are really the cause of life satisfaction; it is possible that the correlation is due to an influence in the opposite direction; perhaps a high current life satisfaction taints age-related expectations. Alternatively, the correlation of life satisfaction and views on ageing may simply reflect unspecific differences in the optimism/pessimism of individuals.

To determine the causal influence of views on ageing on life satisfaction more clearly, we examined the effects of views on ageing on subsequent changes in life satisfaction. Again, consistent with our hypothesis, the expected positive effect of views on ageing emerges. Specifically, self-views of ageing predict changes in life satisfaction for the subsequent 5-year interval (β = 0.22).⁵ For individuals who currently tend to have more positive self-views, an increase in their life satisfaction is found in the subsequent 5 years, whereas for individuals with initially negative self-views, life satisfaction decreases. This result represents strong evidence for the causal influence of views on ageing on overall life satisfaction. However, it is also clear that this is not an influence in a physically mechanistic sense. How can the influence of views on ageing on life satisfaction be explained psychologically? What are the mediating processes on which the effect is based?

Views on Ageing and Preparation for Old Age

In Becca Levy’s (2009) Stereotype Embodiment Theory, different pathways are outlined that make it possible to understand the influence of views on ageing on the lives and development of older people. One important mediating pathway is the behavior of the individual in question. Individuals can actively prepare for their age and for age-related changes in their life situation, they can avoid health-related or financial risks, they can make plans for how they would like to live in old age, they can pay attention to regular physical and mental activity in order to prevent corresponding functional losses, they can maintain their family and social relationships in order to remain involved in old age, they can rethink their housing situation in order to compensate for possible losses of mobility in old age, and they can stay close to relatives and friends—or they can do none of these things, avoid dealing with old age, and live in the here and now.

Many of these future-related activities can be grouped under the heading of preparation for old age (Kornadt & Rothermund, 2014; Kornadt et al., 2015; Lang & Rohr, 2013; see Chap. 4). Preparation for old age—not just in financial terms—is an essential element of successful ageing and a key predictor of a good life in old age (Prenda & Lachman, 2001). However, the willingness and motivation to actively engage with one’s own old age and to provide for old age varies greatly among different individuals (Hess et al., 2024).

In our project, we explored the question of whether the extent to which a person prepares for their old age depends on the person’s views on ageing (Kornadt et al., 2015; Park et al., 2020). Indeed, there is evidence of a positive relationship between self-views of ageing and the extent of preparation for old age (r = 0.40).⁶

As in the case of the correlations between views on ageing and life satisfaction analyzed above, however, the question arises as to the direction of the effect. Is it views on ageing that cause preparation or, conversely, is it preparation that holds out the prospect of a positive old age? We answered this question again with longitudinal analyses in which the influence of self-views on ageing on subsequent changes in preparation for old age was examined. Here, we found that positive self-views do indeed lead to a subsequent increase in the level of preparation for old age, so that the causal influence of self-views on ageing on preparatory behavior can be regarded as confirmed (β = 0.09).⁷ Positive expectations regarding one’s own age thus promote preparation, while negative expectations hinder it. The motivation to prepare for old age obviously depends on the individual’s having a positive, that is, worthwhile and desirable, image of their own old age. Further analyses revealed that part of the influence of views on ageing on life satisfaction is indeed mediated by preparation for old age (see Fig. 3.14): Positive views of old age lead to a subsequent increase in old-age preparation, which in turn leads to higher life satisfaction in old age. Conversely, however, more negative views of old age block preparation for old age, which has an unfavorable effect on life satisfaction in the long term.

Fig. 3.14

Mediation model of the influence of self-views of ageing on life satisfaction, mediated by preparatory behavior

Note: Data basis is the second and third survey time point; results are based on the subsamples from Germany, the USA, and Hong Kong

The core thesis of our approach is that individuals’ views of old age shape their actual life in old age. The preceding analyses on the association between views on ageing and preparation for old age and the resulting life satisfaction make clear how these consequences can come about. Our views of old age shape our thinking about old age, they color our emotional world when we think about our old age, and in this way, they also have an action-guiding function.

Views on Ageing and Critical Life Events

Another finding of the project illustrates the basic assumption that views on ageing are self-fulfilling prophecies that directly influence life (Voss et al., 2017). In one part of the research instrument, we asked participants in our study whether they had experienced any significant events in recent years and, if so, which ones. Each reported event then had to be evaluated, that is, it had to be assessed according to whether it was a negative or a positive event for the person. These event data were collected at the second measurement point (2014) and referred to events that occurred in the last 5 years—that is, between the first (2009) and second (2014) measurement points.

Our participants reported a large number of different events that had happened to them (e.g., reconciliation with a partner, a child, a friend; divorce; loss or regaining of faith; discovery of a new pastime or loss of a previous one; financial gains and losses; illness and recovery). Overall, more positive than negative events occurred (an average of 1.4 positive events and 0.8 negative events were reported per person). The key finding, however, is that the frequency of positive and negative events could be predicted by the views on ageing that the person had reported at the first measurement time point, that is, before the events actually occurred. Persons with positive views on ageing were more likely to experience positive events (r = 0.13), whereas the likelihood of experiencing negative events was reduced (r = −. 17). Adding the evaluative ratings to the analysis, we find that the evaluations of events reported by a person are positively related to the person’s self-views of ageing (r = 0.23).

Our analyses thus indeed show that views on ageing not only determine the actions of individuals (see above) but also influence the occurrence of important life events. Positive views on ageing entail positive events; negative views are followed by negative events. Reflecting on this finding, one may wonder how this can be at all. After all, life events are experiences that befall an individual; you cannot just pick and choose them. That is true—but only at first glance. Because, of course, we can and do influence the probability with which important events occur in our lives to a significant extent ourselves, even if only indirectly, through our behavior and through our thinking. Whether or not we maintain a happy partnership in old age depends decisively on our behavior and on our willingness to adapt to the changed family situation in old age. Whether we will be ill or healthy in old age depends —at least in part—on our behavior, for example, on health risk behavior or on our physical activity and diet (Fries et al., 2011).

Above all, however, the meaning and evaluation of events depends to a large extent on what we make of certain experiences and events. Let’s imagine that we wake up one morning and have terrible back pain. How do we interpret such an event—do we see it as proof that age has struck, that we should stop our sports activities, and that everything will only get worse from now on? Or do we interpret it as a signal that we should make some changes to our lifestyle, perhaps engage in more targeted training, or more physical activity?

Both through our behavior and our interpretations, we massively influence the occurrence of positive and negative events in our lives. Behind our behavior and thinking, however, lurk our views on ageing. What do we expect from old age? Do we see opportunities or threats? Restrictions or gained freedom? The loss of physical fitness or the gain of life experience? What do we expect from ourselves in old age—and from other old people? Do we see the need to compensate for age-related changes through targeted measures, do we react passively and surrender in the face of inevitable changes, or do we want to reorient our lives? Are we ready to embrace the stage of life of old age, to welcome it as an important phase of our lives, with completely new and unique experiences? Or do we cling desperately to the previous stage of life, which we cannot and do not want to let go, because old age has only bad things to offer anyway?

3.4 Conclusion: The Multidimensionality of Ageing

What is old age, actually? We started this chapter with this basic question—and there is no simple answer to this question. The answers differ between cultures and persons, and even within one and the same person, we find quite different views of age. Who is targeted by these beliefs (me or others)? To which life domains do views on ageing refer? Is it about views of older people as they are, or as they should be? We must keep this complexity of the concept of age in mind if we want to understand how people experience and shape their age (Rothermund & de Paula Couto, 2024).

Above all, however, it is worthwhile to present and understand the explicit and implicit views on ageing as precisely as possible. For views on ageing are not just views of old age. Views on ageing shape our actual development in old age before it has even taken place; in this sense, our views on ageing should be seen as causes of our actual ageing. They also influence which aspects of our lives we associate with old age and how we interpret those (Rothermund et al., 2021a). In this sense, our views on ageing are constitutive of what we experience as old age.

What follows from these considerations for our perspective on ageing? What practical considerations for optimizing and shaping ageing can be derived from our findings? The most fundamental insight that our study of ageing provides can be succinctly expressed as follows: Ageing is not an immutable given; it is not a biological fact; rather, ageing is the result of a construction. These constructions of ageing can vary widely. An obvious implication of this perspective is that ageing can be influenced and shaped by changing the constructions, that is, by changing our views on ageing (e.g., Wirth et al., 2023).

Just as it is important to emphasize the constructed character of age and ageing, which implies a view on ageing as being controllable and malleable, it is also important to see that our constructions of age are not arbitrary, and therefore cannot be replaced at will. Limits to the controllability and modifiability of age result from biological, social, and personal constraints. Nevertheless, we understand our perspective on age and ageing primarily as a liberation. We see our research results as a call to question apparently self-evident beliefs and “facts of old age” and to search for alternative possibilities of viewing age and ageing. What events and changes can be influenced by our individual actions? What societal changes are necessary and desirable to expand and improve life possibilities in old age (Nussbaum & Levmore, 2017)? What—perhaps unique—opportunities, freedoms and perspectives of meaning does the last stage of life offer? But also: What limitations can we expect? How do our opportunities to successfully participate in certain life outcomes shift and change? What consequences does this have for our self-views and identity as an older person?

These questions should invite creative reflection, and they should question established—especially negative—ideas about and attitudes toward old age. Our findings on the internalization and developmental consequences of views on ageing show that such a rethinking of age-related ideas has eminently important consequences for actual development in old age: Initially acquired as a stereotype of others, these views later come to color one’s own ideas of age during development, thus shaping our actions and thoughts, and thus act as self-fulfilling prophecies that shape our life in old age. More far-reaching questions, such as the appropriateness and malleability of views on ageing and their effects on actual and experienced age discrimination, are revisited in the concluding Chap. 6, in which we discuss the practical implications of our findings.