Attitudes and Perspectives in Young Adults

Abstract

This study analyzed the prevalence of ageist tendencies in the millennial population. Prejudices based on age are known as ageism. Ageism is not as well studied as race-based or religious prejudices. In this study, we had participants rate the intelligence of an author based on a small writing sample. We hypothesized that those who scored high on the Fraboni Scale of Ageism would rate older individuals as less intelligent on the Author Intelligence Questionnaire (AIQ). Participants read four essays, each essay included a picture of an individual--old male, old female, young male, young female. Essays were randomly assigned to each picture condition. After rating the essays, participants completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism, which is a self-assessment on ageist tendencies. We then analyzed the author intelligence ratings and compared the result based on ageism levels. Our results demonstrated a significantly negative correlation between scoring high on the Fraboni Scale of Ageism and rating an older female lower in Author Intelligence. These results could indicate that older women in today’s society are not only being discriminated against for their age, but also viewed as less intelligent individuals.