2026-05-23T22:02:15Zhttps://keep.lib.asu.edu/oai/requestoai:keep.lib.asu.edu:node-2004572025-04-21T23:54:58Zoai_pmh:alloai_pmh:repo_items200457
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.200457
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
2025-05
46 pages
McAuley, Grace
Thorsen, Ella
Giasson, Hannah
Guest, Aaron
Barrett, The Honors College
School of Life Sciences
Aging is a complex social construct that can be understood through various measures, yet existing research often relies on a single measure: the number that is associated with age. Relying on a single measure may limit the depth of analysis for aging research. This study investigates how positive and negative connotations of different aging measures influence individuals' perceptions of their relevance to aging. Conducted by Arizona State University students, this research examines how young adults (ages 18-24) rank different aging measures when framed with positive or negative connotations. Participants completed a survey ranking the relevance of six aging measures: Cultural Consumption, Psychological Age, Life Stage, Physical Age, Experience, and Responsibilities. In the first condition, the measures were defined with positive associations. The measures were defined with negative associations. By comparing rankings across the two conditions, this study aims to characterize how connotations may shape perceptions of aging. Additional aging measures explored in this study (chronological age, subjective age, and generational age) were asked in a question-and-answer format rather than a ranking format. The findings from this work contribute to a broader understanding of age-related beliefs and inform future research on societal views of aging, potentially highlighting how these perceptions may influence the aging process itself.
Age
connotation
Social construct
Cultural consumption
Psychological age
Subjective Age
Aging
Ageism
Life Stage
Physical Age
Experience
Responsibilities
Functional Perspective Theory
Terror Management Thoery
Measurements of Age
Beyond Chronological Age: Exploring Age Measurement Relevance Through Connotative-Based Analysis