Tabuchi, M.（田渕恵）, & Miura, A.（三浦麻子） (2015). Young people’s reactions change elderly people’s generativity and narratives: The effect of intergenerational interaction on the elderly. 若者の反応が高齢者の世代性と語りを変える：世代間相互作用の効果 Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 13(2), 118-133. doi: 10.1080/15350770.2015.1026298
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the young listener’s reaction on the development of generativity and narratives of elderly people. Thirty-four males between the ages of 60 and 82 participated in this experiment in which the listener generations (young/elderly) and listener reactions (empathic/neutral) were controlled. The participants shared and taught their wisdom gained from their past experiences through narratives. Results showed that many elderly people spoke about “lessons from experiences of failure” when there was an empathic reaction from young people, and such narratives were promoted by an increase of generativity. These results suggested the impact of the younger people’s reaction on the elderly people’s psychological development and behavior.