Advisement to Take Risk: A Study of Attitudes toward the Old

Abstract

An investigation of young persons' attitudes toward older individuals was undertaken by obtaining risk scores on a modified form of the Choice Dilemmas Decision Questionnaire (CDQ). College student subjects scoring low on this measure were more risky in giving advice to a fictitious character to make a gamble on a life situation than subjects scoring high. A series of 12 choice dilemma situations were constructed so as to be interchangeable as to the age (young or old) and sex of the central character. Groups of subjects subdivided by sex (8 groups total) advised old men, young men, old women, or young women central characters. An 'ageism-sexism' dimension was uncovered among the male subjects advising old women. The relation of this finding to the literature and suggestions for further research were discussed.

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