Perceptions of ideal and typical middle and old age

An investigation of attitudes toward typical and ideal old age was carried out with seventy-eight undergraduate students. Half of the participants responded to semantic differential scales for typical and ideal old age and half to middle age stimulus objects. The scales were analyzed in terms of three dimensions produced in previous research. No difference was found between the middle and old age conditions for the personal acceptability dimension but differences were found for both the autonomous-dependent and instrumental-ineffective dimensions. The old and middle age objects were rated alike at ideal but the old age objects was rated less autonomous and less instrumental at typical.