Age categorization and stereotyping at work

Abstract

AbstractAge stereotyping at the workplace can lead to discrimination. We investigated stereotype influence on recall. In the who‐said‐what paradigm participants studied older and younger speakers making stereotypical and counterstereotypical statements about their work, followed by memory tests for the statements and speakers. Statements were more likely attributed to a speaker from the same age category than the other age category, replicating earlier findings. Stereotypicality had no effect on statement recognition but participants were more likely to guess a stereotypical speaker even though speakers made equal numbers of stereotypical and counterstereotypical statements (Experiments 1 and 3). When speakers made more counterstereotypical statements (Experiment 2) this bias was reduced but less so than the actual proportion of stereotypical statements warranted. Speaker judgments were also influenced by prior stereotypes. We conclude that participants used prior stereotypes to supplement recall from memory. Measures to reduce stereotypes should include procedures to improve memory accuracy.