TITLE:
What will I be like at eighty? How human values contribute to expected real and ideal self-images in old age in a Germanic/Austrian cultural context
AUTHORS:
Walter Renner, Brigitte Jenull, Irene Strasser
KEYWORDS:
Old Age; Real vs Ideal Self-Image; Stereotype Content Model; Human Values; Consistency Theory
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
17,
2014
ABSTRACT: According to Grawe’s Consistency Theory, congruence between an
individual’s aims and reality is fundamental for psychological health. We examined
the real and ideal self-images of N =
440 participants in a Germanic/Austrian cultural context as perceived in
presence and as anticipated for an age of 80 years and examined their relationship
to value orientations as a coping resource. From adjective ratings on the
Semantic Differential for the real self-image at presence, two dimensions were
extracted, one representing Warmth (W) and one representing Competence (C)
in the sense of the Stereotype Content Model. Cluster analysis yielded one type
of respondents with a cautiously optimistic, and one with a moderately
pessimistic view of the present and the future. A third cluster devalued W
and C in favor of Religiosity and Conservatism and had the highest degree of
congruence between real and ideal self-images. Thus, hypotheses with regard
to Religiosity and Conservatism as coping resources were confirmed.