Older people like readingnegative news stories about their younger counterparts because it boosts their own self-esteem, according to a new study.
German researchers said older people tend to be portrayed negatively in society. Although they are often described as wise, they are also be shown as being slow and forgetful.
"Living in a youth centered culture, they may appreciate a boost in self-esteem. That's why they prefer the negative stories about younger people, who are seen as having a higher status in our society," said Dr. Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, of Ohio State University.
Knoblock-Westerwick and her co-author Matthias Hastall, of Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, Germany, studied 276 German adults, including 178 aged 18 to 30 and 98 between 55 and 60. Their findings are published in the Journal of Communication.
All the adults in the study were shown what they were led to believe was a test version of a new online news magazine. They were also given a limited time to look over either a negative and positiveversion of 10 pre-selected articles.
Each story was also paired with a photograph depicting someone of either the younger or the older age group.
The researchers found that older people were more likely to choose to read negative articles about those younger than themselves. They also tended to show less interest in articles about older people, whether negative or positive.
But younger people preferred to read positive articles about other young people.
According to Knobloch-Westerwick, older people's preference for negative news about their younger counterparts can be explained by their place in society.
"Everybody likes a self-esteem boost. For young people though, it's almost automatic. Youth is considered important in society," she said.
After perusing the articles, the participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure levels of self-esteem. Unlike their younger counterparts, the self-esteem of older people rose after they read a negative article about younger people.
(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)
(Agencies)
根据一项新研究，老年人喜欢阅读有关年轻人的负面新闻，因为这能增强他们的自信。 德国研究者说，社会倾向于描绘老年人的负面形象。尽管老年人通常被认为是明智的，但是他们也经常被贴上迟钝、健忘的标签。 俄亥俄州立大学的西尔维娅•诺布罗克-维斯特维克博士说："年轻人在我们的社会中地位更高。生活在以年轻人为中心的文化中，老年人也许希望能增强自信心。这就是为什么他们更喜欢阅读有关年轻人的负面新闻。" 诺布罗克-维斯特维克和合著者马提亚斯•哈斯塔尔研究了276位德国成年人，其中178人年龄在18岁到30岁之间，98人的年龄在55岁到60岁之间。哈斯塔尔来自德国腓德烈港的泽佩林大学。他们的研究刊登在《交流》期刊中。 研究者让所有参与研究的成年人看一个所谓的网上新闻杂志的测试版，还要求他们在限定时间内读完10篇预先选定的文章的负面和正面版本。 每个故事还配有一张年轻人或老人的图片。 研究者发现，老年人更倾向于选择阅读有关年轻人的负面新闻。他们对有关老年人的文章也不怎么感兴趣，不管是负面还是正面新闻。 然而年轻人更喜欢阅读有关其他年轻人的正面文章。 诺布罗克-维斯特维克称，老年人对有关年轻人的负面新闻的喜好可以用他们在社会中的地位来解释。 她说："每个人都喜欢增强自信心。对于年轻人而言，这几乎可以自发产生。青春在社会看来很重要。" 在仔细阅读完文章后，参与者要完成一张测量自信心水平的问卷。和年轻参与者不同的是，在读完有关年轻人的负面文章后，老年人的自信心会有所上升。
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