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Chapter 6 - Perceived Age, Stereotyping, and Emotion in Intergenerational Communication

from Part II - Aging and Aging Stereotypes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2023

By
Mary Lee Hummert
Edited by
Ursula Hess ,
Reginald B. Adams, Jr.  and
Robert E. Kleck
Ursula Hess
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Reginald B. Adams, Jr.
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Robert E. Kleck
Affiliation:
Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
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Summary

Intergenerational communication occurs in relationships that range from the intimate and long term, such as parent and child, to the superficial and fleeting, such as clerk and customer. This chapter examines the critical role of perceived age and stereotyping on the communication within those relationships and the emotional experiences of the younger and older individuals involved. Drawing on models of the intergenerational communication process and age stereotype research, the chapter considers: (1) the ways that intergroup processes, age cues, and negative age stereotypes may contribute to communication with harmful consequences for older individuals; (2) the alternative potential of positive age stereotypes and their interactional cues to foster mutually beneficial intergenerational communication and emotional experiences for older and younger people; and (3) strategies to counter negative stereotyping of those in other age groups and build positive, emotionally satisfying intergenerational relationships.

Keywords

Intergenerational CommunicationAge StereotypingCommunication Process and Age StereotypingMultidimensional Age StereotypesAge Stereotype Cues
Type
Chapter
Information
Emotion Communication by the Aging Face and Body
A Multidisciplinary View
 , pp. 140 - 168
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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