Older adults consistently report young subjective age and provide high ratings of their subjective health. The current research examined which social comparisons older adults make when they assess their subjective age and health, as well as the effects of experimentally manipulated social comparisons on these assessments. In Study 1, 146 participants (aged 60 and over) reported to whom they compared themselves when assessing their subjective age or health. In Study 2, 100 participants (aged 60 and over) reported their subjective age and health after receiving feedback that compared them to younger adults or to their peers. Study 1 shows that participants compared themselves primarily to their peer group. Yet, individuals who selected a younger comparison group when assessing subjective age reported a younger subjective age, better self-rated health and more positive expectations regarding ageing relative to those who selected their peers as a comparison group. No equivalent differences emerged in any of the measures when participants were divided by their selection of comparison group after providing their self-rated health ratings. In Study 2, feedback that emphasised the performance of younger people led to reports of younger subjective age relative to feedback that emphasised peer performance, with no equivalent difference for self-rated health. These findings help explain why older adults feel younger and healthier than they actually are. We suggest that older adults use social comparisons as a strategy that protects them from the negative effects of ageing on self-perception.

老年人始终报告年轻的主观年龄，并对其主观健康给予很高的评价。当前的研究调查了老年人在评估他们的主观年龄和健康状况时进行哪些社会比较，以及实验操纵的社会比较对这些评估的影响。在研究1中，有146位参与者（60岁以上）在评估主观年龄或健康状况时与他们进行了比较。在研究2中，有100名参与者（60岁及以上）在收到反馈后将其与年轻人或同龄人进行比较，报告了他们的主观年龄和健康状况。研究1显示，参与者主要将自己与同龄人进行比较。但是，在评估主观年龄时选择较年轻比较组的人表示，主观年龄较年轻，与选择同龄人作为比较组的人相比，自我评估的健康状况更好，对衰老的期望更高。在提供参与者自我评估的健康等级后，将参与者除以他们选择的比较组后，在任何一种测量方法中都没有出现同等的差异。在研究2中，强调年轻人表现的反馈导致相对于强调同伴表现的反馈而言，主观年龄相对较年轻，自评健康状况无显着差异。这些发现有助于解释为什么老年人比实际年龄更年轻，更健康。我们建议老年人将社会比较作为一种策略，以保护他们免受衰老对自我感知的负面影响。