Our Perceptions of Older Adults Who Do Not Act Their Age |
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Some people feel much younger than they actually are.
A new study investigated the public's perception of older people young at heart.
Older people young at heart are seen positively, as long as they do not violate age stereotypes too much.
Does the public have a good or bad opinion of people who act younger than their biological age?
In psychological research, different forms of age can be distinguished. On the one hand, there is the objective biological age, defined as the time passed since the person was born. On the other hand, there is the subjective or felt age. Two people with the same birth year do not necessarily need to have the same felt age. Sometimes people in their 30s say things like “I feel like a 70-year-old,” but there are also older adults who feel much younger on the inside than their biological age would suggest. While research has shown that staying young at heart at age 65 or older is great for both health and psychological well-being, it is less clear whether the public has a positive or negative view of people who feel much younger than they are. While younger people may celebrate older adults who stay young at heart, there may also be backlash because these people do not “act their age.” Younger adults may feel that some behaviors typically associated with being younger may be “cringeworthy” for someone over 65. Therefore, more research is needed on how younger people perceive........