Attitudes of Young People, Adults, and Older Adults From Three‐generation Families Toward the Concepts “Ideal Person,” “Youth,” “Adult,” and “Old Person”

The purpose of the present study was to investigate attitudes toward old age in an Israeli population, compared with attitudes toward youth and middle age, among individuals representing these same ages. Global concepts “Youth,” “Adult,” and “Old person” were rated in comparison with the “Ideal Person.” Representatives of 62 three‐generation families participated in the study. A semantic differential consisting of 21 bipolar adjective pairs in 7‐point scale format was used to measure attitudes toward the four concepts. Results indicated that the concept “Old Person” was rated lowest in relation to the “Ideal Person,” as a global concept as well as on three cut of four dimensions derived from the global concept. This pattern was found among all three groups of raters, including the elderly themselves. The elderly, however, rated themselves significantly more favorably than did the other groups.