Open AccessBeyond Stereotypes: Using Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to Improve Messaging to Older Adults
Author(s) -
Laura L. Carstensen,
Hal E. Hershfield
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
current directions in psychological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.638
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1467-8721
pISSN - 0963-7214
DOI - 10.1177/09637214211011468
Subject(s) - socioemotional selectivity theory , psychology , psychological resilience , population , grounded theory , market segmentation , social psychology , developmental psychology , marketing , qualitative research , sociology , demography , business , social science
The tremendous heterogeneity in functional and demographic characteristics of the over-65 age group presents challenges to effective marketing and public health communications. Messages grounded on tacit assumptions that older people are frail, incompetent, and needy risk being overlooked by most of the older population; on the other hand, ignoring age-associated vulnerabilities is problematic. We argue that while traditional approaches to market segmentation based on chronological age often fail, reliable age differences in motivation can inform the types of information that older people typically prefer, attend to, and remember. Socioemotional selectivity theory maintains that as future time horizons grow limited - as they typically do with age - emotional goals are prioritized over goals that focus on exploration. As time left becomes more limited, positive messages are remembered better than negative, and products that help people savor the moment are preferred over those that benefit the long-term future. Relatedly, acknowledging individual strengths and personal resilience are likely to be especially appealing to older people.