Reducing Ageism With Brief Videos About Aging Education, Ageism, and Intergenerational Contact

With an increasing older population, ageism continues to be a significant social issue. Interventions to reduce ageism and improve intergenerational contact are needed.

Building on the Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences (PEACE) model, undergraduates in an online experiment were randomly assigned to watch videos that provided education about aging, ageism, and positive intergenerational contact (experimental condition) or education about wallpaper (control condition).

In Part 1, 845 undergraduates in the experimental condition (vs. control condition) reported lower levels of ageism, less negative age stereotypes, more positive age stereotypes, and more aging knowledge in an immediate post-test. In Part 2 (1-6 weeks later), undergraduates in the experimental condition (vs. control condition) reported more positive age stereotypes in a delayed post-test.

These findings highlight the promise of providing information about aging and positive intergenerational contact to reduce ageism. Brief online educational videos based on the PEACE model hold promise as an effective tool to reach a wide audience and reduce ageism.