The Elderly's Reactions toward the Dying: The Effects of Perceived Age Similarity

A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the elderly's feelings about and willingness to help (by telephoning or visiting) a similar (old) or dissimilar (young) aged dying patient versus a non-dying patient. Based on reasoning from experimental and clinical research, it was predicted and confirmed that elderly respondents would exhibit less positive affect and greater avoidance (decreased willingness to volunteer) towards a patient dying of cancer compared to a patient with a broken leg. In addition, it was predicted, based upon the social-psychological research findings of the sometimes negative effects of perceived similarity, that elderly respondents would exhibit less positive affect and greater avoidance towards a similar aged dying patient, while no such differences would be expected for the non-dying patient. No support was obtained for this prediction. However, data from supplementary analyses and explanations from the Just World Model were provided as to why this prediction was not confirmed.