Tabuchi, M.（田渕恵）, & Miura, A. （三浦麻子） (2016). Intergenerational Interactions when Transmitting Wisdom from Older to Younger Generations. 高齢者から若者への知恵の伝達における世代間相互作用 Educational Gerontology. doi: 10.1080/03601277.2016.1205392
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of young people’s reactions on changes in older people’s generativity when wisdom is transmitted to the younger people. Participants included 48 male adults aged 63–77 years. Each participant was assigned to either the “wisdom from experiences of failure” or the “wisdom from experiences of success” condition. Participants expressed narratives to younger “listeners” or recipients, who were confederates and were instructed to respond either empathetically or neutrally. Results showed that only in the “wisdom from experiences of failure” condition, generativity was promoted when young recipients responded in an empathic manner and decreased when the young recipients responded in a neutral manner. Based on these results, the differential effects of responses from younger individuals to older persons’ transmission of stories about negative experiences are discussed.