Does Age Group Identification Differentially Influence Younger and Older Adults' Intergenerational Perceptions?

Abstract

People's knowledge that they will change age groups over time likely makes relations between age groups function differently from relations between racial or gender groups. We tested this possibility by examining whether people's identification with their current age group influenced their responses to threats to the status of their current age group. We found that age group identification was a good predictor of responses to status threat, particularly among young adults. Specifically, young adults who were strongly identified with their age group showed patterns of bias typically found in strongly identified members of other groups, whereas older adults did not. These results provide further evidence that age groups function differently from other group memberships and that models of intergroup conflict need to be tested in groups for whom memberships change over time.