ABSTRACT
Chapter 2, beginning with a historical look at how age categories have been created, legitimized, and institutionalized, discussed intergenerational contact and its frequency and nature in various contexts. This chapter takes the next step and examines how, once age categories are established, they become associated with particular traits and stereotypes, which can lead to discrimination–agism (for recent reviews of agism, see Pasupathi, Carstensen, & Tsai, 1995; Williams & Giles, 1998). Recall from chapter 1 that stereotyping and age prejudice are fundamental inputs to the communication predicament and the stereotype activation models, as well as components of intergroup behavior and potential precursers to some of the communication adjustments discussed by CAT.
