Ageism Towards Oneself vs. Ageism Towards Others in the Context of Views of Aging

This chapter examines the concept of ageism, which represents prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination towards people because of their age, against the cognitive concept of views of aging, which represents thoughts regarding older people and the aging process. As this chapter is contextualized within the larger context of views of aging, the focus is mainly on the cognitive aspects, the stereotypes of ageism, as they are manifested in relation to our own age-based self-perceptions and others’ perceptions of age and aging, called here, self- and other- directed ageism. Both self- and other-directed ageism can broadly represent views of aging. The chapter starts by outlining major theories that account for the relation between self- and other-directed ageism. It then moves to demonstrating how ageism is manifested in various spheres both in relation to oneself and in relation to others. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges and future directions of the field. The chapter stresses the need for conceptual clarity and psychometrically sound measures to advance the field forward.