The Attractiveness Halo Effect and the Babyface Stereotype in Older and Younger Adults: Similarities,Own-Age Accentuation,and Older Adult Positivity Effects

Background/Study Context: Two well-documented phenomena in person perception are the attractiveness halo effect (more positive impressions of more attractive people), and the babyface stereotype (more childlike impressions of more babyfaced people), shown by children, young adults (YA), and people from diverse cultures. This is the first study to systematically investigate these face stereotypes in older adults (OA) and to compare effects for younger and older adult faces.

Methods: YA and OA judges rated competence, health, hostility, untrustworthiness, attractiveness, and babyfaceness of older and younger neutral expression faces. Multilevel modeling assessed effects of rater age and face age on appearance stereotypes.

Results: Like YA, OA showed both the attractiveness halo effect and the babyface stereotype. However, OA showed weaker effects of attractiveness on impressions of untrustworthiness, and only OA associated higher babyfaceness with greater competence. There also was own-age accentuation, with both OA and YA showing stronger face stereotypes for faces closer to their own age. Age differences in the strength of the stereotypes reflected an OA positivity effect shown in more influence of positive facial qualities on impressions or less influence of negative ones, rather than vice versa.

Conclusion: OA own-age biases, previously shown in emotion, age, and identity recognition, and OA positivity effects, previously revealed in attention, memory, and social judgments, also influence age differences in the strength and content of appearance stereotypes. Future research should assess implications of these results for age-related differences in susceptibility to appearance biases that YA have shown in socially significant domains, such as judicial and personnel decisions.     

Age- and Gender-Related Variations of Emotion Recognition in Pseudowords and Faces

Background/Study Context: The ability to interpret emotionally salient stimuli is an important skill for successful social functioning at any age. The objective of the present study was to disentangle age and gender effects on emotion recognition ability in voices and faces.

Methods: Three age groups of participants (young, age range: 18–35 years; middle-aged, age range: 36–55 years; and older, age range: 56–75 years) identified basic emotions presented in voices and faces in a forced-choice paradigm. Five emotions (angry, fearful, sad, disgusted, and happy) and a nonemotional category (neutral) were shown as encoded in color photographs of facial expressions and pseudowords spoken in affective prosody.

Results: Overall, older participants had a lower accuracy rate in categorizing emotions than young and middle-aged participants. Females performed better than males in recognizing emotions from voices, and this gender difference emerged in middle-aged and older participants. The performance of emotion recognition in faces was significantly correlated with the performance in voices.

Conclusion: The current study provides further evidence for a general age and gender effect on emotion recognition; the advantage of females seems to be age- and stimulus modality-dependent.     

Seeing eye-to-eye: do intergroup biases operate similarly for younger and older adults?

Because of their relatively temporary group memberships, age groups represent an intriguing test of theories of intergroup relations. In spite of this unique feature, virtually no research has examined age group relations from an intergroup perspective. The present study investigated the role of two influential intergroup factors, degree of group identification and threats to group status, in younger and older adults' evaluations of their ingroup (own age group) and the outgroup (other age group). Participants were placed in situations in which their ingroup was either superior or inferior to the outgroup. Several measures of bias were then assessed, including ingroup favoritism, perceived similarity, social distance, outgroup homogeneity, and self-stereotyping. The results support the notion that age groups are unique from other groups, as age influenced all forms of bias. In particular, young adults exhibited more biases than older adults by perceiving less similarity and distancing themselves more from the outgroup. These findings suggest that older adults' greater familiarity with the outgroup might attenuate their age-based biases compared with younger participants.     

Age Differences in the Underconfidence-With-Practice Effect

In two verbal learning experiments, the authors examined the accuracy of memory monitoring and the underconfidence-with-practice (UWP) effect in younger and older adults. Memory monitoring was operationalized as judgements of learning (JOL). An open issue is whether UWP can also be found in older adults. In the first experiment, both younger and older adults overestimated their memory performance in the first trial, but the older group differed from the young group in the second trial. The JOLs given by older participants matched, on average, their recall performance. In fact, the UWP effect was not observed in any of several conditions in older participants. In the second experiment involving five study-test cycles and two age groups, the same basic pattern of results was present: Older adults did not show an UWP effect. These findings appear to fit into a framework of dual factors affecting JOLs, which posits that the magnitude of JOLs derives both from an anchoring point and from on-line monitoring of items.     

Differences in the way older and younger adults rate threat in faces but not situations

We compared young and healthy older adults' ability to rate photos of faces and situations (e.g., sporting activities) for the degree of threat they posed. Older adults did not distinguish between more and less dangerous faces to the same extent as younger adults did. In contrast, we found no significant age differences in young and older adults' ability to distinguish between high- and low-danger situations. The differences between young and older adults on the face task were independent of age differences in older adults' fluid IQ. We discuss results in relation to differences between young and older adults on emotion-recognition tasks; we also discuss sociocognitive and neuropsychological (e.g., amygdala) theories of aging.     

Cultural differences in the relationship between aging and the correspondence bias

Previous work suggests that older adults show a stronger correspondence bias than do young adults. In the present study we examine whether age differences in the correspondence bias are universal or if they differ across cultures. A sample of young and older adults from China completed an attitude-attribution paradigm. We compared these data with an existing American data set. We found cultural differences in the extremity of the ratings. Chinese participants reported less extreme attitude ratings than did the participants in our American sample. Furthermore, we found cultural differences in the correspondence bias only in the older adult samples, with older Americans displaying a greater bias than older Chinese. We discuss our findings from a life-span developmental perspective as well as from an acculturation perspective.     

Long-latency enhancement of quadriceps excitability from stimulation of skin afferents in young and old adults

This study examined the role of cutaneous input on spinal excitability in young and old adults. Patellar tendon reflexes were elicited in 15 old adults (M = 75 yrs) and 25 young adults (M = 26 yrs) at intervals ranging from 15 to 175 ms following cutaneous stimulation to one of four skin sites: (a) ipsilateral calf, (b) contralateral calf (old adults only), (c) ipsilateral anterior thigh, and (d) contralateral anterior thigh. The younger adults had a more vigorous reflex response than the older adults, as indicated by peak force. Force latencies were also faster for the younger adults than the older adults. However, both age groups showed a long-latency facilitation of quadriceps excitability regardless of cutaneous stimulation site. Thus, it seems that low threshold cutaneous afferents contribute an excitatory input to the extensor motoneuron pool that is maintained with age.     

Attitudes toward aging: a comparative analysis of young adults from the United States and Germany

Social and cultural attitudes toward aging provide a framework for assessing one's own aging experiences as well as one's attitudes toward older men and women. Ageism, or prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory practices toward older adults (Butler, 1980), has been found to be widespread around the world. This study focuses on a comparative analysis of the attitudes of young adults from Germany and the United States. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to evaluate similarities and differences in the anxiety associated with four measurable dimensions associated with ageism: fear of old people, psychological concerns associated with aging, concern over changes in physical appearance as a result of aging, and fear of losses associated with aging. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the age at which young adults from these two countries might consider themselves to be "old." The findings indicate significant country and gender differences across the dimensions. German participants tended to view aging much more negatively than American participants did. However, Americans considered themselves to be "old" at a much younger age than Germans. Gender differences indicated that women in both countries were more concerned with age-related changes in their physical appearance than were men. Analyses of the results are discussed in relation to the influence of ageism and negative cultural stereotypes of aging on people's self-image across the life span.     

Age-related differences in response preparation: the role of time uncertainty

This study explored the ability of younger and older participants to use a variable preparatory interval (PI) to enhance reaction time (RT) performance. In Experiment 1, 30 seniors and 15 young adults completed simple and choice RT tasks with short and long variable PIs. RT decreased with increasing PI duration in both younger and older adults, but the PI effect was larger in elderly individuals. The results of Experiment 2 (20 seniors and 20 young adults) showed an equivalent preparatory effect in older and younger adults when the probability of the shortest PI was increased. These findings suggest that older adults do not prepare as well as younger adults for unlikely events and that time uncertainty affects age-related differences in response preparation.     

The effects of context and feedback on age differences in spoken word recognition

We investigated the hypothesis that age differences in speech discrimination would be reduced by enhancing the distinctiveness of the speech processing event in terms of both the context of encoding and the response outcome. Younger and older adults performed an auditory lexical decision task in which the degree of semantic constraint (context) and type of feedback were manipulated. Main effects of age indicated that older adults generally showed lower discriminability (D) and greater bias (B) toward reporting signals to be words. Consistent with the environmental support hypothesis, older adults were differentially facilitated in discriminability by feedback, but only when semantic context was provided. Also, for both younger and older adults, feedback and context each had the effect of reducing bias and facilitating the speed of rejecting nonwords. Contrary to one suggestion in the literature that aging brings an insensitivity to environmental contingency, older adults were at least as capable as the young in taking advantage of feedback to normalize the speech signal so as to increase discriminability and decrease bias.     

Age-related differences in the ability to perceive sad facial expressions

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research has shown that the ability to label negative emotions displayed by facial expressions declines with age. Such studies, however, have tended to adopt the Ekman and Friesen (1976) Caucasian faces as their emotional stimuli. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether the age differences in identifying negative emotions are also found using the more recent Japanese and Caucasian Facial Expressions of Emotion (JACFEE). METHODS: In Experiment 1, 29 younger and 29 older individuals performed a verbal labeling emotion identification task (happy, sad, angry, frightened, disgusted, surprised, contemptuous). The ability to identify each emotion as a function of ethnicity across the age groups was examined. In order to reduce the verbal decision-making load on the task, a second experiment was conducted in which 60 younger and 60 older participants performed an emotion-matching task (sad, angry, contemptuous). RESULTS: In Experiment 1, older adults showed a significant decrement in the ability to recognize sad faces compared with younger adults, but no age x face ethnicity interaction was found. In Experiment 2, age differences were found when making same/different judgments regarding two sad faces or a sad and a contemptuous face. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that aging has an impact upon perceiving sad facial expressions, that this effect is not mediated by own-race versus other-race faces, and that age effects are not attributable to differences in verbal decision-making.     

Different effects of elastase on dermal elastic fibers with age. Ultrastructural studies with the conventional and tannic acid stain

The effect of elastase on dermal elastic fibers from three age groups (children, young and old adults) has been investigated using ultrathin sections embedded in Epon. There were significant differences in the effect of elastase among the age groups; younger elastin was more rapidly digested by elastase than older elastin. In children and young adults, digested areas by elastase were first recognized as tiny round holes scattered in the amorphous material of the elastic fiber, extending to the large part of the fiber except for microfibrils. In old adults, digested areas were limited to the only small part of the elastic fiber.     

Age Differences in Outdated Information Processing During News Reports Reading

In two experiments, the authors explored whether there are any age differences associated with the ability to process outdated information during news reports comprehension. Younger and older participants (mean age: 70 years old) read passages in which a cause was first said to be responsible for the occurrence of a news event. New elements emerged from the investigation in progress and revealed that the original cause was incorrect. Inference response times indicated that older adults more than younger ones took advantage of an alternative cause mentioned in the text to put the outdated information in the background, whereas younger readers probably kept both causes activated. The research tested the concepts involved with age differences in updating situation model.     

Age differences in depicting and perceiving tridimensionality in simple line drawings

Twelve young adults (M = 21 years) and twelve elderly adults (M = 67 years) were asked to draw a solid cube. The depictions produced by elderly adults were rated by judges as less accurate than the depictions produced by young adults. Both age groups were also asked to evaluate cube drawings that were deliberately distorted in ways characteristic of the depictions produced by older adults. Compared to younger participants, the elderly were more likely to accept distorted drawings as accurate. Control tasks demonstrated that older adults were able to draw and evaluate simpler two-dimensional patterns on par with younger adults. Apparently the mental representation of tridimensional information deteriorates with age leading to deficits in both production and recognition.     

Does negative information about aging influence older adults’ physical performance and subjective age?

This study investigated the way negative stereotypes influence older adults’ physical performance and how old they feel mentally and physically. Sixty-four older adults aged 65 years and older performed different physical tasks using a 3D optoelectronic system under a low or high stereotype threat condition. Self-perceptions of aging were considered as a moderator of the effects of threat. Overall, the effects of threat on physical performance were mostly not significant across tasks. However, threat condition influenced older adults' mental subjective age after they had performed the physical tests; people in the high-threat condition felt closer to their chronological age. Threat also influenced participants' physical subjective age, and this effect was moderated by self-perceptions of aging. More precisely, participants in the high-threat condition felt 7% physically older than their chronological age when they had more negative self-perceptions, while participants in the low-threat condition felt 13% younger. No differences emerged for participants who had more positive self-perceptions. The present findings suggest that performing physical tests under stereotype threat might worsen older people’s subjective experience of their own aging by making them feel older.     

The locus of age x health-related physical fitness interactions in serial choice responding as a function of task complexity: central processing or motor function?

The extent to which health-related physical fitness (HRF) attenuates age differences in psychomotor speed as a function of task complexity was examined in a sample of 48 men. Physiological measures were used to assign participants to fitness group (n1-4- = 12): young less fit (mean age = 25.83 years), young fitter (mean age = 25.08 years), old less fit (mean age = 71.83 years), old fitter (mean age = 66.75 years). A serial choice reaction time (RT) task was used in which three conditions of two, four, or eight choices were administered. RTs for the choice and motor components of the task were recorded separately. A significant Age x HRF interaction was found in relation to choice RT but not motor time; older less fit individuals underperformed older fitter participants, and younger adults regardless of fitness level. This interaction remained significant having statistically controlled for motor function, suggesting benefits to central processing. The strength of this interaction did not increase as a function of task complexity. The findings suggest an association between HRF and psychomotor speed, and support the view that physically active lifestyles should be encouraged among older adults.     

The Locus of Age × Health-Related Physical Fitness Interactions in Serial Choice Responding as a Function of Task Complexity: Central Processing or Motor Function?

The extent to which health-related physical fitness (HRF) attenuates age differences in psychomotor speed as a function of task complexity was examined in a sample of 48 men. Physiological measures were used to assign participants to fitness group (n 1-4 = 12): young less fit (mean age = 25.83 years), young fitter (mean age = 25.08 years), old less fit (mean age = 71.83 years), old fitter (mean age = 66.75 years). A serial choice reaction time (RT) task was used in which three conditions of two, four, or eight choices were administered. RTs for the choice and motor components of the task were recorded separately. A significant Age 2 HRF interaction was found in relation to choice RT but not motor time; older less fit individuals underperformed older fitter participants, and younger adults regardless of fitness level. This interaction remained significant having statistically controlled for motor function, suggesting benefits to central processing. The strength of this interaction did not increase as a function of task complexity. The findings suggest an association between HRF and psychomotor speed, and support the view that physically active lifestyles should be encouraged among older adults.