The proposed meta-analysis will examine whether older people are evaluated less positively than younger people. A previous meta- analysis showed an age-related bias, with older individuals being evaluated more negatively. The review also showed that this overall bias was diminished when moderating variables were considered. Since that review was conducted, the literature on this topic has more than doubled and the scope of the questions addressed has expanded considerably. Moreover, meta-analytic techniques have themselves improved. The proposed research synthesis will capitalize on these advances and the results will render an increased understanding of people's age-based beliefs. It is expected that there will be an age-related bias in favor of younger individuals. Yet this effect should be diminished under theoretically specifiable conditions. Predictions derived from social role theory suggest that role information should be of primary importance; age of target differences should decrease as information provided about the target increases. The age-related bias should also be moderated by type of attitude assessed and by researchers' methodological decisions. Results of this study will elucidate weaknesses and gaps in the research literature on this topic and point to new, programmatic research on attitudes toward older adults.
