Why is Aging Important to Social Psychology?
The study of aging has important implications for social psychology. The social psychology of aging can benefit greatly by understanding when, if, and how age influences our interactions with others in a social world. For example, we can investigate period effects on behavior. When we investigate period effects we look at those historical events or changes in society (e.g., the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War) that affect people’s attitudes and behavior. We can also look at cohort effects. A cohort is a group of people who were born at the same historical period in time and will travel through time together into old age. Political views, attitudes about the roles of men and women, educational differences, historical events (e.g., the depression, the Vietnam War, environmental concerns) can be investigated by looking at cohorts. Important intergenerational differences in attitude, belief, and behavior between young and old–two different cohorts–can possibly be understood by stu
