The end is (not) near: Aging, essentialism, and future time perspective.

Publisher: American Psychological Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0260564 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1939-0599 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00121649 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Dev Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Washington DC : American Psychological Association
Original Publication: Richmond, Va., American Psychological Assn.

Culture* ; Time Perception*; Aging/*psychology; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Psychological Tests ; Regression Analysis ; Social Perception ; Young Adult

Beliefs about aging influence how we interpret and respond to changes within and around us. Essentialist beliefs about aging are defined as views that link chronological age with inherent and immutable properties underlying aging-related changes. These beliefs may influence the experience of aging-related changes and shape people's outlook of the future. We hypothesized that people who endorse essentialist beliefs about aging report a more limited future time perspective. Two studies provided correlational (Study 1, N = 250; 18-77 years) and experimental (Study 2, N = 103; 20-77 years) evidence that essentialist beliefs about aging affect people's future time perspective. In addition, Study 2 and Study 3 (N = 174; 34-67 years) tested the underlying mechanism and provided evidence that perception of aging-related threat explains the effect of essentialist beliefs on a reduced future time perspective. These findings highlight the fundamental role of essentialist beliefs about aging for the perception of time horizons in the context of aging. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Date Created: 20160527 Date Completed: 20170821 Latest Revision: 20180215

20221213

10.1037/dev0000115

27228453