In a completely between subjects design 80 male and 80 female undergraduates evaluated targets which were male or female and 25, 45, 65, or 85 years old, on the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD; Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969). Findings indicated that older targets were rated less positively than younger targets on two of the three ASD dimensions and that Target Age × Target Sex × Subject Age interactions were significant for two of the dimensions. These results replicate the target age (between subjects) effects reported by O'Connell and Rotter (1979) but not those which involved target sex (within subjects) and subject sex. It was concluded that a) subject sex and target sex affect perceptions of targets of different ages elicited from young subjects and b) between subjects versus within subjects designs produce different characterizations of such targets.

To determine whether Reid and Ziegler's Desired Control Measure assesses locus of control of reinforcement 363 community-residing elderly individuals completed: (a) the Desired Control Measure (DCM); (b) Levenson's Internal (I), Powerful Other (PO), and Chance (C) Locus of Control Scales; (c) the Life Satisfaction Index – Form A; and (d) the Affect Balance Scale. Support for construing the DCM as an index of locus of control was not obtained: (a) DCM scores correlated only modestly with the I, PO, and C scales; (b) factor solutions indicated minimal item overlap on the two measures; and (c) regression analyses indicated that the DCM added substantially to the variance in adjustment measures accounted for by I, PO, and C. We conclude that the DCM does not primarily tap locus of control, and is more appropriately conceptualized as an index of individuals' perceptions/evaluations of their environment.

In the first of two experiments designed to investigate perceived cognitive abilities of young and old targets, 80 female undergraduates estimated the performance of either a young or an old target on several subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Wechsler, 1955). Experiment 2, with 120 respondents, extended Experiment 1 to include respondent sex and target sex variables, and additional WAIS subtests. The results of the two experiments suggest a highly differentiated view of cognitive abilities. On subtests related primarily to memory and psychomotor speed, the old targets were seen as less cognitively able than the young targets. On a subtest assessing practical judgment and common sense old targets were seen as superior to young targets. On subtests assessing computational abilities and logical abstractive thinking no reliable target age differences were found. Neither target sex nor respondent sex played a substantial role in target age perceptions. Compared to available norms estimates xvere unrealistically generous, particularly in the case of older adults. However the pattern of estimates across cognitive abilities reflected, to a substantial degree, the age-related differences in the norms.

Des estimations ont été recueillies d'un groupe de 120 sous-graduées sur le rendement d'une parmi quatre cibles féminines (àgées de 24, 44, 64, ou 84 ans) sur le test Schaie-Thurstone Adult Mental Abilities, Form A (STAMAT; Schaie, 1985). Pour examiner l'importance de la familiarité avec une tàche dans la précision de son exécution, la moitié des répondantes ont été chargées de remplir le STAMAT elles-mêmes avant d'évaluer les scores pour leur cible; l'autre moitié a pu examiner le contenu du test mais n'a pas rempli le STAMAT avant de soumettre leurs estimations. Une comparaison entre les estimations et les normes du STAMAT a indiqué que la plupart étaient exactes; certaines étaient excessivement généreuses, surtout pour les cibles les plus àgées. De très faibles différences dans les estimations ont été décelées entre celles qui avaient été chargées de remplir le test et celles qui ne l'avaient pas été au préalable. Finalement, les résultats ont confirmé que les répondantes ont une opinion différente sur l'évaluation chronologique des habiletés cognitives.