The ample social psychological literature agrees that the effects of descriptive stereotypes on the physical and mental health of older adults are underpinned by two distinct general mechanisms: the activation of stereotypes by the situation, also called stereotype threat, and the internalization of stereotypes (see, e.g., Chasteen et al., 2022).

There are conceptual and methodological challenges surrounding well-being and the way it is measured (see Ryff et al., 2021a). Indeed, well-being is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon (Butler and Kern, 2016; Ryff et al., 2021a). Well-being relates both for to the realization of personal potential (i.e., the eudaimonic conception) and positive life experiences (i.e., the hedonic conception; Pancheva et al., 2021). While research on well-being has long focused on the hedonic aspect (i.e., by focusing attention on happiness, satisfaction with life, positive emotions, and the absence of negative emotions), more recent research has stressed the need to consider its eudaimonic side (i.e., with attention being given to autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, or positive relationships; Ryff and Keyes, 1995; Disabato et al., 2016; Ryff et al., 2021a).

Due to the high degree of inter-individual variability, the results of research on the impact of older age on well-being remain inconsistent (see Ryff et al., 2021a,b for an ample discussion). The impact of age on well-being results from various factors and not just their chronological age (Steverink, 2019). These include psychosocial factors, such as age-related stereotypes. Despite this, there are various reasons accounting for the small volume of research on the impact of stereotypes on well-being. First, the concept of well-being itself has rarely been measured directly. Instead, it is often inferred from other indicators, such as the absence of mental disorder (e.g., depression; Lu et al., 2010). For instance, a recent systematic review evaluated ten age stereotype-based interventions (Knight et al., 2022). It appears that three of them measured “psychological well-being” as an outcome measure, but two of them used depression scales. Two studies measured “generativity,” i.e., psychosocial features of people who consider it important to provide for the next generation (McAdams et al., 1993), or “self-esteem,” both of which are correlates, but not direct measures, of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Second, when well-being is measured directly, it almost always relates to the hedonic component of well-being (e.g., satisfaction with life and positive affects; Steverink et al., 2001; Zhang et al., 2018). Nevertheless, some studies do show an impact of stereotypes on well-being and these are reviewed below.

Research exists showing that ages stereotypes impact hedonic well-being. For instance, holding positive age-related stereotypes predicts better life satisfaction and more positive affects (Kornadt and Rothermund, 2011; Söllner et al., 2022). However, due to the measure employed, it is difficult to pinpoint the distinct influence of self-stereotyping independently of that of other closely-related processes—such as the stereotyping of other adults or age-independent self-perceptions—is challenging (see text footnote 3).

Nevertheless, research into stereotype threat provides some answers. Broadly speaking, stereotype threats impairs well-being (Lewis and Sekaquaptewa, 2016). In the workplace, age-based stereotype threat has negative implications for (hedonic) workplace well-being (von Hippel et al., 2019). Although this effect is particularly great for older workers, the entire sample of this study was under the age of 66, thus making it difficult to interpret the results in terms of a general impact of age-based stereotype threat on the well-being of older adults.

There are variations according to the type of prescriptive stereotype. It appears that prescriptive stereotypes of active aging are positively related to hedonic well-being (i.e., life satisfaction), with the reverse being observed for prescriptive stereotypes of altruistic disengagement (De Paula Couto et al., 2022a). In sum, this research suggests that self-directed age-related stereotypes do not always impair hedonic well-being, depending on the nature of the stereotypes (i.e., whether they value or disparage older adults).

While these positive experiences of life have made it possible to draw at least some inferences about older adults’ hedonic well-being, the extent to which the realization of older adults’ personal potential (or eudaimonic well-being) is directly influenced by positive vs. negative stereotypes is still largely unknown. There are nevertheless some studies showing effects similar to those on hedonic well-being. Thus, holding positive age-related stereotypes also predicts having a meaning in life (Söllner et al., 2022). In the workplace, age-based stereotype threat also has negative implications for eudaimonic workplace well-being, impairing functioning and future time perspective in relation to work (Manzi et al., 2019). Again, this study concerned older workers who were not necessarily elderly adults.

One study suggests that self-directed (rather than other-directed) age stereotypes play an important role in eudaimonic well-being. Kim et al. (2019) investigated the impact of perceived ageism on the sense of purpose in life. They revealed that this effect was fully mediated by self-perceptions of aging. All these results are promising but limited because they are few in number and do not concern all the sub-dimensions of well-being.

It appears crucial to make at least some distinction between the two types of well-being. For instance, when discussing prescriptive stereotypes, we referred to research showing a beneficial impact of prescriptions of activity on hedonic well-being (De Paula Couto et al., 2022a). Other research suggests that such stereotypes may have a harmful effect on eudaimonic well-being (Kitayama et al., 2020). More precisely, it appears that the prescription of activity varies according to the culture (i.e., true for Western cultures but not Eastern ones). Thus, failure to meet these cultural expectations concerning activity—as well as those relating to independence and positivity—could explain why western older adults (but not eastern older adults) experience a decline in eudaimonic well-being during the later stage of their lives (Kitayama et al., 2020).

Not all individuals experience the harmful effects of stereotyping depicted above (see sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2.). Indeed, some older adults are more successful than others in developing strategies to mitigate or even counteract the negative impact of old-age stereotypes, as the following examples show.⁴ First, some individuals seek to dissociate themselves from their age group by emphasizing a younger self-identity (Weiss and Lang, 2012; Weiss et al., 2013; Wurm et al., 2017; Weiss and Kornadt, 2018). Even without having to dissociate themselves from their group, older adults can protect their self-esteem by engaging in downward social comparison (i.e., comparison with worse-off others) resulting in better mental health (Stewart et al., 2013). Second, just as the endorsement of negative stereotypes is associated with negative outcomes, the endorsement of positive stereotypes is likely to be associated with positive outcomes (Wurm and Schäfer, 2022). Accordingly, research has shown that positive self-perceptions of aging positively influence preventive health behaviors (Levy and Myers, 2004) and their consequences, including a reduction in the risk of developing later obesity (Levy and Slade, 2019). Third, research suggests that older adults who adopt a non-essentialist view experience better memory performance and less stress in stereotype threat situations than older adults who adopt an essentialist view of aging (Weiss, 2018; for a review, see Weiss, 2022). These findings suggest that instilling a growth mindset (i.e., a lay theory about the malleability of individual characteristics; for a review, see Chasteen et al., 2022) could help counter negative old-age stereotypes. Finally, older adults also cope with age-related stereotypes by countering them directly. For instance, the existing evidence suggests that the prevalence of various psychiatric disorders is lower among military veterans who resist negative age stereotypes (Levy et al., 2014b). Resistance to stereotypes is rooted in the ability to associate old age with positive concepts and to overcome negative associations (Gonsalkorale et al., 2014). Engagement in active coping (i.e., taking action to eliminate or reduce the stressor) reduces the impact of negative stereotypes of old-age on psychiatric conditions (Levy et al., 2019).

Although this list of factors and/or strategies that mitigate the negative impact of age-related stereotypes on physical and mental health is far from being complete, it nevertheless shows that these strategies have considerable potential for protecting and even improving older adults’ well-being (see text footnote 4). There is, however, little evidence illustrating this idea directly. For instance, perceiving the aging experience as continuous growth predicts life satisfaction and positive affect. Moreover, the more positive age-related changes that are perceived, the fewer the perceived negative age-related changes and the more expansive the view of the future and the better psychological well-being are likely to be (Brothers et al., 2016). By contrast, older subjective age is associated with poorer life satisfaction and higher negative affect (Westerhof and Barrett, 2005), with positive attitudes towards aging moderating this negative impact (Mock and Eibach, 2011). In the same way, perceiving the aging experience as physical decline predicts less positive and more negative affect (Steverink et al., 2001). In sum, any given factor that influences the impact of age-related stereotypes should, in principle, influence not only the hedonic aspect (i.e., with attention focused on happiness, satisfaction with life, positive emotions, and the absence of negative emotions) of well-being, but also its eudaimonic component. However, future research needs to tackle this unresolved issue directly.

It is also noteworthy that the aforementioned self-defense strategies have been incorporated into interventions and programs designed to lower the burden of age-related stereotypes outside of the lab. For instance, intervention exist that try to change descriptive stereotypes. Typically, participants exposed to implicit positive age stereotypes are found to be more likely to display positive age stereotypes, positive self-perceptions of aging, and improved physical function than participants exposed to explicit positive age stereotypes (Levy et al., 2014a). There are also interventions targeting the pathways of internalized stereotypes (for a full review, see Steward, 2022) or age-related stereotype threat (for a meta-analysis, see Liu et al., 2021). However, as far as we are aware, there is still some uncertainty regarding the specific benefits of these interventions for enhancing the well-being of older adults.

The above-mentioned research suggests that well-being—not just physical and mental health—may be impeded by age-related stereotypes. Since well-being predicts a range of health variables (for a review, see Ryff, 2018) that are also impacted by age-stereotypes, well-being may play a role in mediating the influence of these stereotypes on health. For instance, internalized age stereotypes influence longevity (Wurm and Schäfer, 2022), as does well-being (Boyle et al., 2009). Internalized age stereotypes influence physiological stress response (Levy and Bavishi, 2018) in the same way as well-being (Friedman and Ryff, 2012). Internalized age stereotypes predict biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (Levy et al., 2016), just as well-being does (Boyle et al., 2010). Again, these research examples make it highly plausible that well-being helps mediate the influence of the stereotypes on both mental and physical health. However, the kind of well-being involved here (hedonic vs. eudaimonic) is as yet unknown—opening avenues for future research.

Moreover, both internalized age stereotypes and well-being influence preventive health behaviors—albeit different ones (Levy and Myers, 2004; Kim et al., 2014). Thus, well-being may mediate the effects of internalized age stereotypes on health, at least via some of the pathways. However, the reverse may also be true, with well-being turning age stereotypes into something positive. Previous research has already documented how health and well-being can improve views of aging (for a review, see Kornadt et al., 2020). For instance, it is now acknowledged that life experiences shape what it means to age. As such, it is possible that the greater the well-being, the more positive the age stereotypes are. In line with this assumption, one study found that older adults who were enthusiastic volunteers (i.e., an activity known to give a greater sense of purpose to life and that is a dimension of eudaimonic well-being) had a better self-perception of aging (Huo et al., 2021). It is thus possible that fostering the well-being of older adults (and perhaps specifically eudaimonic well-being) might contribute to a virtuous circle by overcoming age stereotypes and their detrimental impacts. Again, more empirical evidence is needed to reliably answer these as yet unresolved issues.

One of the goals of the present commentary is to emphasize the fact that despite the wealth of literature on the consequences of age-related stereotypes (e.g., Rothermund and De Paula Couto, 2024 for recent reviews), and also on the consequences of age-related stereotypes of mental and physical health (e.g., Chang et al., 2020), little research, whether into stereotype threat or internalization, has as yet studied the direct impact of negative stereotypes of aging on the well-being of older adults. Far more research of this type is therefore needed and should make use of direct measures of well-being, conceptualized as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon encompassing both hedonic and eudaimonic components (Butler and Kern, 2016; Ryff et al., 2021a). This is especially true for research concerned with the implications of well-being for the impact of self-directed age stereotypes on health.

However, we believe that measuring self-stereotypes in such research also raises a number of problems. Indeed, it is difficult to separate the impact of self-stereotyping from other closely related processes, such as the stereotyping of other older adults or age-independent self-perceptions (see above and text footnote 3). Even so, there is experimental evidence of these self-stereotypes. Based on the assumption that age stereotypes are internalized across the life span and that they can operate even unconsciously, Levy and Leifheit-Limson (2009) demonstrated in an ingeniously designed study that older people primed with negative stereotypes underperformed on a stereotype-congruent task (e.g., Levy and Leifheit-Limson, 2009). More generally, one meta-analysis found that age priming had an impact on behavior, with negative having a greater effect than positive priming (Meisner, 2012). Nevertheless, to provide better evidence of the effect of self-stereotypes on well-being (and its dimensions), future research should address the issue of how to measure self-directed stereotyping.

This is all the more true with regard to the distinction between descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes. For the latter, the problem is rendered even more complex because there is less empirical evidence of the effects of prescriptive stereotypes than there is for those of descriptive stereotypes. Future research on the link between age stereotypes and the well-being of older adults therefore needs to consider the distinction between descriptive and prescriptive stereotypes. It also needs to look closely (and directly) at the influence of each of their sub-categories, as they might have contrasting impacts on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (and therefore potentially explain the currently mixed results on the well-being of older adults).

We have primarily focused on the positive effects of well-being, reflecting the considerable body of evidence demonstrating its beneficial impacts—whether hedonic or eudaimonic—on various health outcomes (see Hernandez et al., 2018). Nonetheless, it seems reasonable to acknowledge that well-being may, to some extent also have adverse effects on health. For instance, research has demonstrated that positive emotions such as joy may encourage risk-taking behavior by fostering overconfidence (Koellinger and Treffers, 2015). Consequently, it is possible that hedonic well-being could lead to carelessness (e.g., the persistent feeling of being fine might discourage people from going for regular health checkups), thus potentially impairing the health of older adults. This aspect merits further attention.