Age and forgetfulness: absolute versus comparison decisions about capability

Perceivers were assigned to one of two decision conditions. In an absolute decision condition, perceivers rated how likely they would be to allow a young or old highly forgetful, slightly forgetful, or nonforgetful target to perform a challenging task. In a comparison decision condition, perceivers rated two targets, one young and one old, who had a similar level of forgetfulness. Separate Decision Type x Target Forgetfulness analyses of variance were conducted on ratings of the two target age groups. Young targets received higher ratings in the comparison than in the absolute condition, whereas old targets were rated the same in the two conditions. There was some preference for young targets in a comparison situation, but it was concluded that forgetfulness was a more important factor than age in perceivers' ratings.