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Perceptions of Forgetful and Slow Employees: Does Age Matter?

Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami.

Address correspondence to Joan T. Erber, Department of Psychology, Florida International University, University Park Campus, Miami, FL 33199. E-mail: erber{at}fiu.edu

Participants (perceivers) read a vignette describing a young or older employee (target) in a young-relevant or old-relevant work context who is either forgetful or slow. Regardless of work context, perceivers attributed older targets' forgetful and slow behavior more to internal stable causes but the identical behavior of younger targets more to internal unstable causes. Perceivers also felt less anger and greater sympathy and were more likely to recommend a promotion and raise for older than for young targets. Perceivers' anger for young and older targets was mediated by their internal unstable attributions, but their sympathy was not mediated by their internal stable attributions. Perceivers' promotion and raise recommendations were associated with the degree of sympathy they felt more for young than for older targets.

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