Researchers have increasingly turned theirattention from younger individuals who hold age stereo-types to older individuals who are targeted by these ste-reotypes. The refocused research has shown that positiveand negative age stereotypes held by older individuals canhave beneficial and detrimental effects, respectively, on avariety of cognitive and physical outcomes. Drawing onthese experimental and longitudinal studies, a theory ofstereotype embodiment is presented here. It proposes thatstereotypes are embodied when their assimilation from thesurrounding culture leads to self-definitions that, in turn,influence functioning and health. The theory has fourcomponents: The stereotypes (a) become internalizedacross the life span, (b) can operate unconsciously, (c) gainsalience from self-relevance, and (d) utilize multiplepathways. The central message of the theory, and the re-search supporting it, is that the aging process is, in part, asocial construct.
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