Celebrate or derogate? Reactions to older adults who feel young at heart.

Abstract

A younger subjective age is often associated with positive health and well-being outcomes among adults over the age of 65. However, it is possible that those who attempt to look or act younger than their chronological age may face backlash, given that this behavior is in violation of prescriptive stereotypes that serve to maintain hierarchical age group boundaries and mitigate threats to younger people's social and economic resources. The degree to which younger and middle-aged adults perceive violations of prescriptive age stereotypes (i.e., that older adults should act their age) may predict negative evaluations of older adult targets who feel "younger than their years." Across two studies, we examined younger and middle-aged adults' attitudes and evaluations regarding older adult targets who varied by gender and felt age. Perceptions of older targets' counterstereotypical behavior and demeanor mediated the relationship between older targets' younger felt age and participants' ratings of targets' warmth, competence, overall liking, and interaction intentions. Specifically, older targets who felt younger than their chronological age were perceived as violating prescriptive stereotypes, which in turn decreased ratings of targets' warmth, competence, and likeability, and lessened participants' willingness to interact with targets. Consistent with affordance management theoretical approaches, older adults who defy stereotypicality may be appraised as a threat to younger perceivers' goals and, in turn, face backlash. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).