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However, individuals may have complex set of stereotypes available to them with
regards to any outgroup. The multiple stereotype theory describes how individuals can
have both positive and negative stereotypes of older adults. Hummert (1994), in the
Stereotype Activation Model, discusses several factors that affect the valence and
activation of stereotypes: characteristics of the perceiver, characteristics of the target, and
contextual factors.
Characteristics of the perceiver. A number of characteristics of the perceiver,
including age, cognitive complexity, and the quality of previous interactions, have been
shown to influence the activation of stereotypes available to the perceiver. The age of the
perceiver is an important element in stereotype activation because as the age of the
perceiver increases, there is a corresponding increase in the identification of some
positive traits associated with age (Brewer & Liu, 1984; Hummert 1999; Hummert,
Garstka, Shaner & Strahm, 1994).
Cognitive complexity measures an individual’s ability to differentiate, abstract and
integrate, social constructs about another person (O’Keefe & Sypher, 1981). Hummert
(1994) concludes “…individuals with high cognitive complexity should be less likely to
activate negative stereotypes than should those of lower cognitive complexity” (p. 173).
The quality of previous contact affects which type of stereotype will be activated. Fox
and Giles (1993) reported that the quality of contact (not frequency) is important in
stereotype activation. Individuals who experienced high quality contact with older adults
in the past had more positive attitudes than did individuals with low or no quality past
interactions with older individuals. Pecchioni and Croghan (2002) supported the
Convention