Perceptions of Age-Typed Occupation: A Preliminary Investigation.
Abstract
An important influence on age-discrimination in employment settings may be the occupation for which a candidate is evaluated. Some occupations may be seen as age-appropriate for young workers, while others are seen as age appropriate for older workers. In this study, several preliminary questions about the existence and processes of occupational age-typing were addressed. When subjects were asked to provide information about their perceptions of a wide variety of occupations, two classes of findings emerged. First, there was consenses at the group level about the age-appropriateness of certain jobs. One-third of the 22 occupations presented were consistently perceived as either 'older worker' jobs (14%) or 'younger worker' jobs (18%). Another 18% of the occupations presented were consistently perceived as non-age-typed. Second, when age-typing was examined at the individual level, it was found that respondents' perceptions about the average age of incumbents and the relative importance of three classes of work skills were predictive of their decisions to age-type occupations as 'older worker' jobs or 'younger worker' jobs. These relationships were reduced, but not eliminated, when job level was introduced as a covariance. The implications of these findings for the viability of a matching hypothesis of age discrimination are discussed, and suggestions about the direction of future research are provided.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA128736
Entities
People
- Daniel R. Llgen
- Janet L. Barnes-farrell
Organizations
- Purdue University