Not all older adults are viewed alike: feeling thermometer ratings toward older-adult subgroups in Japan

This study examined whether feeling thermometer ratings toward older adults vary across older-adult subgroups and how such ratings are positioned relative to other common prejudice targets. Using an online sample of 520 Japanese adults aged 18-64, we assessed feeling thermometer ratings (0 = coldest, 100 = warmest) for 14 targets: nursing-home, on-deathbed, handicapped, solitary, senile, on-welfare, and grumpy older adults, as well as immigrants and refugees, foreign tourists, sexual minorities, racial minorities, and persons with mental, physical, or intellectual disabilities. We also tested whether these evaluations differed by participants' age group (younger and middle-aged adults).

Feeling thermometer ratings differed significantly across targets, indicating that older adults were not evaluated as a homogeneous category. Relatively lower ratings were observed for some subgroups, particularly on-welfare and grumpy older adults, suggesting that evaluations of older adults may vary depending on the specific attributes associated with the target. Ratings also differed by participant age group: middle-aged adults tended to report warmer evaluations than younger adults across most of the targets, including all older-adult subgroups, although these differences should be interpreted cautiously given the small interaction effect.