A review of ageism research and its integration with aging research: From ageism to successful aging

Abstract

Ageism, negative attitudes toward elderly individuals, is the third great “ism” in society. Compared to other prejudices, it is unique because most individuals will become elderly adults through aging. Therefore, the phenomenon of ageism is inherently linked to aging. However, ageism and aging studies have previously been conducted in different contexts—the former primarily in psychology and the latter in gerontology. In this paper, we classify and organize ageism research from the perspective of aging. First, we show how ageism appears in workplace, medical, and nursing care situations and in psychological research settings. Second, we present several theories explaining the occurrence of ageism, including those focusing on aging, highlighting the physical characteristics of elderly individuals, and explaining prejudice in general. Third, we present from a gerontological perspective the problem of elderly people’s adaptation to old age: we argue how ageism hinders the acceptance of old age and successful aging. Finally, we describe ageism from an aging perspective by discussing the possibility of eradicating ageism and show how ageism and aging affect each other.