POPULAR IMAGES OF GRANDPARENTS - EXAMINING YOUNG-ADULTS VIEWS OF THEIR CLOSEST GRANDPARENTS

Young adults (N = 171) first judged the extent to which 13 stereotyped images of grandparents typified their perceptions of their own closes t grandparent and then judged the extent to which they believed the av erage other viewed these same stereotypes as characteristic of his or her closest grandparent. Compared to those whose relationships with th eir closest grandparent were emotionally distant, participants who fel t close to their closest grandparent reported significantly more favor able own grandparent attitudes. In addition, stereotypes that portraye d the grandparent as loving and supportive were especially diagnostic of the emotional quality of respondents' relationships with their clos est grandparents. Comparing judgments of own grandparents with judgmen ts of the average other's grandparent, there was no evidence of own-gr andparent superiority among not-close participants' responses. In cont rast, close participants demonstrated own-grandparent superiority in t heir judgments of negative, but not positive, stereotypes.