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Two cross-cultural studies compared beliefs in Asia and Canada about communication in later life. With an expanded version of the Language in Adulthood Questionnaire, respondents rated a young or old adult target on communication skills selected to elicit both negative and positive stereotypes. Chinese, Chinese-Canadian, and Canadian participants were compared in Study 1 while younger and older respondents from South Korea and Canada were contrasted in Study 2. All groups showed negative beliefs about hearing and memory in old age. Positive communication beliefs were also evident for empathy, storytelling and social skills. Participants in Asia showed less stereotyping overall, for both negative and positive beliefs. Significant age interactions in Study 2 reflected positive communication beliefs only for the older participants. In line with recent investigations of the multidimensional impact of Eastern traditions, greater positivity toward older adults was not observed in Asia. This work highlights the importance of assessing both positive and negative age beliefs in cross-cultural comparisons.

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Studies in the West have demonstrated that more everyday memory problems are expected for typical older adults than for typical young adults. In order to examine memory beliefs about aging in Asia, we conducted a study in Korea which parallels that of Ryan and Kwong See (1993). We used the three self-efficacy scales of the Metamemory in Adulthood instrument (Dixon & Hultsch, 1983) to determine whether age changes are anticipated for oneself as well as for typical adults. Young adults (N = 468; mean age = 21.0 years) rated the memory of either typical adults (aged 25, 45, or 65 years) or themselves at one of these ages. As in Ryan and Kwong See (1993), anticipation of decline was obtained on two of the three self-efficacy scales (i.e., capacity and change). In addition, beliefs about everyday memory decline (i.e., capacity and locus) were weaker for the self than for typical others. Hence, support was obtained for negative stereotypes about memory and aging in Korea as well as a self-protection bias indicating stronger anticipation of age-related decline among others.