Ageism. Causes and ways to reduce age prejudice in relation to Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Communications - Interpersonal Communication, grade: 1,7, http://www.uni-jena.de/, language: English, abstract: In this term paper, age discrimination is analyzed in terms of Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis. The aim was to explain essential aspects and to provide a rough, general overview of the topic, since age discrimination is less researched and present than other forms of discrimination. In a first step, the terms discrimination and age discrimination were defined. It was then determined that the causes of age discrimination could be explained by Social Identity Theory, and with the help of the Contact Hypothesis, ways were found to reduce negative attitudes towards older people. On this basis, recommendations and strategies for action were developed to reduce age prejudice and thus minimize age discrimination.