title: [Caricatures of aging in German newspapers and magazine cartoons. Historical comparison between the 1960s and the present].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The focus of this study was the collective images of aging that were unconsciously used despite rationally led social discourse on aging. Hypothesized was that despite changes in aging over the last 50 years these images went unaltered and thereby negative stereotypes of previous generations were maintained. In an effort to verify this hypothesis images of aging in cartoons were empirically examined, a first in the field of German language.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a social scientific operationalization of age stereotypes and culturally historical topoi as a basis, a content analysis was conducted on 2,546 cartoons (with 8,882 characters) from the years 1960-1964 and 2007.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In general both young and old age are equally encoded with negative connotations by deficient characteristics and acknowledged stereotypes partially significantly more often in the cartoons from 2007 than from 1960-1964.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The last 50 years have seen no substantial changes in the images of aging as depicted by magazine and newspaper cartoons. Humor requires more frequent analysis as it often unconsciously reveals socially unacceptable images of aging, even those embedded in science.
authors.affiliation: Marsiliuskolleg, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Deutschland, polanski@uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Polanski
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D063506:Ageism / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends*; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D002325:Caricatures as Topic / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends*; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends*; D011639:Public Opinion / Q000266:history*; D013240:Stereotyping