Intergenerational Communication Beliefs Across the Lifespan: Comparative Data from Ghana and South Africa

摘要

This paper examines (for the first time) young adult American, Ghanaian, and Black South Africans’ perceptions of communication and aging. Irrespective of cultural background, as age of target increased, so did trait attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; however, attributions of personal vitality and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. Young adults’ reported avoidant communication with older people negatively predicted their conversational satisfaction and enjoyment of it. In addition, communicative respect was more strongly predictive of Africans’ satisfaction while certain age stereotypes had contrastive effects for the Ghanaian and South Africans’ enjoyment of intergenerational communication.