This research investigates processes underlying selective self-stereotyping in the context of a future group membership. In two studies a narrative coding methodology allowed us to investigate the spontaneous use of positive and negative stereotypic content in young adults' descriptions of future aged selves. In Study 1, young adults relied more on positive than negative age stereotypes to construct older possible selves. In Study 2, participants asked to describe a feared aged self continued to evidence a positivity bias, such that their descriptions were more often characterized by concerns about missing out on or failing to attain positive age-related experiences than by concerns about negative events stereotypic of older adulthood. This pattern suggests that positivity biases underlying selective self-stereotyping operate at both stereotype activation and application stages of information processing.
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