![mastin labs pushed exe mastin labs pushed exe](https://kylesford.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/MastinLabsPortraPushed-8002-edited.jpg)
Notwithstanding an overall lack of research on the subject, evidence does indicate age-prejudice to potentially complicate older people’s quality of life ( Butler 1969 Nelson, 2004 Ng, 1998). Whatever the reason, age-based prejudice remains drastically under-investigated, despite the salience of age in interpersonal judgments. Some researchers have attempted to explain this lack of research focus by citing the socially-condoned nature of ageism, causing it to be overlooked altogether as a form of prejudice ( Nelson, 2005 Palmore, 1999). Indeed, a quick PsycInfo search (February 2012) yields 8491 entries with the keyword “racism” and 2836 for “sexism,” but only 750 for “ageism.” Bugental and Hehman (2007) demonstrated the problem to be even more apparent when restricting the search to two of the premier social psychology journals in the 20 years prior to their search, only one article on ageism appeared, compared with 50 and 33 respectively for racism and sexism. Despite this universality, surprisingly scant research examines age-based prejudice, compared with racism and sexism ( Nelson, 2004 2005). Though age, gender, and race are the three primary dimensions of interpersonal categorization (e.g., Fiske, 1998 Kite, Deaux, & Miele, 1991 Kunda, 1999), only age encompasses categories that every living person potentially joins. We conclude by suggesting future avenues for ageism research, emphasizing the importance of understanding forthcoming intergenerational dynamics for the benefit of the field and broader society. Presenting both sides of this incipient issue, we review relevant empirical work that introduces reasons for both optimism and pessimism concerning intergenerational relations within an aging society. We then identify a crucial gap in the literature: potential intergenerational tensions, speculating how a growing older population-and society’s efforts to accommodate it-might stoke intergenerational fires, particularly among the younger generation. This paper systematically reviews the literature on ageism, highlighting extant research on its consequences and theoretical perspectives on its causes. Despite this, and despite the well-known growth of the older population, age-based prejudice remains an under-studied topic in social psychology. Age is the only social category identifying subgroups that everyone may eventually join.