Gender, Race, and Age: The Content of Compound Stereotypes Across the Life Span

Abstract

While stereotypes about gender, race, and age (particularly old age) have been studied independently, few have examined the content of compound stereotypes that consider the intersection of gender, race, and age. Using a within-subjects design, we examined stereotypes as a function of target gender (male, female), race (Black, White), and age across the life span (adolescent, young adult, middle-aged, young-old, and old-old). Participants rated 20 target groups on 10 attributes representative of either an agentic (e.g., ambitious) or communal (e.g., considerate) orientation. Participants were presented only with categorical information (e.g., Black, 85-year-old, males), and ordering of categorical information and target groups was counterbalanced across participants. We hypothesized differential effects of target gender and race as a function of age. Multivariate analyses of variance on each attribute revealed significant main effects that supported traditional stereotype research, but significant interactions revealed a more complicated picture. Overall, results showed that while gender stereotypes about agency and communion generally hold up across the life span, they are more applicable to White than Black targets. Results also supported the notion that we hold unique stereotypes based on multiple social categories rather than simply perceiving one social category as more salient than another, which was best exemplified in the case of Black female targets that were less likely to be perceived in gender stereotypic ways across the life span. We suggest stereotype research needs to shift to accommodate for the complexity and diversity of real people.

Keywords: ageism; ethnic differences; life course; midlife; older adults; social constructs.