The Role of Stereotypes in Age Discrimination in Hiring:

Dr Eyal Gringart is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Social Science, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. He is a member of the Oxford Round Table and of the Australian Association of Gerontology. His research interests include ageing and employment; the psychology of terrorism; attitudes; and human rights issues.

One strategy to address challenges related to the ageing of the population is for older adults to remain in paid employment longer. However, older workers are discriminated against due to ageism. A progressive two-stage research project was conducted to address this issue. Study One explored the stereotypes held about older workers and Study Two tested psychological interventions to promote positive attitudes toward older workers. Study One verified the existence of systematic stereotyping. Study Two found that combining cognitive dissonance induction with a counter-stereotypical fact sheet was most effective. Employers in the combination condition had significantly more positive attitudes toward older workers overall and indicated that they were more than likely to hire older workers whilst all other conditions were less than likely to do so. These findings make a case for using the cognitive dissonance and fact sheet combination method in combating hiring discrimination against older workers. The results emphasise the potential of psychological interventions to bring about social changes and to enhance compliance with legislation.