Expectations for Active Ageing: When and How Do They Influence Old-Age Outcomes?

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Maria Pavlova; Professor Dr. Klaus Rothermund
• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology ; General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 438229063

Against the backdrop of demographic ageing, older adults are increasingly expected to take on more responsibility for their health and welfare and to make productive contributions lest they become a burden for the younger generations. This drastic change in the societal expectations that are directed at older adults – from disengagement to active engagement – has hardly been reflected in research on views on ageing. Many studies focus either on descriptive views on ageing and their consequences or on ageist norms that prevent older adults from participating in societal activities.In the present project, we propose that societal expectations for active ageing may influence old-age outcomes via the mechanisms of internalization and embodiment. A number of psychosocial factors, such as characteristics of social environments, individual resources, mindsets, and age identification, may regulate the exposure to societal expectations and modulate the processes of their internalization and embodiment (as opposed to reactance and rejection). We assume that, although older adults’ reactions to societal expectations for active ageing are highly individual, they may be systematically predicted from key background, individual, and situational variables. Moreover, we argue that perceived expectations for active ageing and their effects on outcomes are domain specific.Our proposal combines two research designs: survey and experimental. In the survey part, we will analyse available data from two longitudinal surveys in which perceived expectations for active ageing have been assessed: the Jena Study on Social Change and Human Development and the Innovation Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel. These surveys include rich information on potential moderating factors and outcomes. In the experimental part, we will conduct a series of experiments with young-old and old-old participants to test the psychological mechanisms of internalization and embodiment of expectations for active ageing, which will be contrasted to expectations for disengagement. In both parts, we will compare the effects for two selected domains: health and social engagement.Project findings will inform both theory and practice. For theory, they will bring knowledge on whether and how the basic psychological mechanisms may be used to explain individuals’ perceptions of and reactions to a complex societal phenomenon. Of practical relevance will be the findings on the conditions that promote desired (or undesired) changes in older adults’ willingness to engage in a healthier lifestyle and to participate in social activities.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants