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Joann M. Montepare

Joann M. Montepare

Joann M. Montepare (AB Smith College in Biology and Psychology; MA in General Psychology, SUNY New Paltz; PhD in Social Developmental Psychology, Brandeis University) is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Rosemary B. Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies at Lasell College. Her research explores life-span issues with attention to age-related social perceptions and self-experiences of aging.

Her work on social perception has examined how age-related facial, vocal, and body cues fuel impressions of people across the life span and across cultures. Her work on self-perceptions of age – in particular, subjective age identification (i.e., the age you experience yourself to be) – has shown that age identity is a dynamic construct tied to internal, personal models of development along with being shaped by age-variant social and physical experiences. This work has also taken a life-span approach and explored variations in age identification from childhood to old age -- and, across diverse cultures, most recently in sub-Saharan societies.

She is an advocate of intergenerational teaching and learning, and developed the "Talk of Ages" program at Lasell for integrating aging content and intergenerational activities into college classes (supported by a grant from the APS Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science). Also, with support from APS, she convened the "Talk of Ages" Summit, which brought together educators and community partners across Massachusetts to discuss issues around aging education and age-friendly campuses. As a result of her advocacy, Lasell became the first institution of higher education in Massachusetts (and second in the U.S.) to join the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Initiative launched by Dublin City University (DCU). In 2016 GSA's Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), endorsed the AFU principles and over 55 institutions globally have joined the network. Professor Montepare is working with AGHE, GSA, and DCU to broaden and build the AFU initiative.

Professor Montepare is an SESP, APA, GSA, and AGHE Fellow, and serves on the Executive Committees of the Massachusetts Gerontology Association and APA’s Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging). She also co-chairs AGHE's Academic Program Development (APDC) Committee and is the convener of GSA's Age-Friendly Univeristy (AFU) interest group.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Attitudes and Beliefs
  • Interpersonal Processes
  • Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
  • Nonverbal Behavior
  • Person Perception
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Self and Identity

Research Group or Laboratory:

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Age-Friendly Universities


Journal Articles:

  • Barrett, A., & Montepare, J. M. “It’s about time”: Applying life span and life course perspectives into the study of subjective age (2015). Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Subjective Aging: New Developments and Future Directions, 35, 55-78.
  • Diehl, M., Wahl, H., Barrett, A., Brothers, A., Miche, M., Montepare, J.M., Westerhof, G., & Wurm.S. (2014) Awareness of aging: Theoretical considerations of an emerging concept, Developmental Review, 34, 93-113.
  • Montepare, J. M. (2010). Cue, view, action: An ecological approach to person perception. In E. Balecitis and G. D. Lassiter (Eds.). The Social Psychology of Visual Perception (pp. 299-323). NY: Psychology Press.
  • Montepare, J. M. (2009) Subjective age: A guiding life-span framework. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 42-46.
  • Montepare, J.M., Farah, K.S., Doyle, A., & Dixon. J. (2019). Becoming an Age-Friendly University (AFU): Integrating a retirement community on campus. Journal of Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 40, 179-193.
  • Montepare, J.M., McLaughlin-Volpe, T. & Kempler, D. (2014). The voice of wisdom: Positive perceptions of aging voices. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 33, 241-259.

Other Publications:

  • Montepare, J. M. & Zebrowitz, L. A. (2002). A social-developmental view of ageism. T. Nelson (Ed.) Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons (pp. 77-129). Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Montepare, J.M., & Zebrowitz, L. A. (1998). Person perception comes of age: The salience and significance of age in social judgments. In M. Zanna (Ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, (Vol. 30, pp. 93-161), San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
  • Whitbourne, S. K., & Montepare, J. M. (2017). What’s holding us back? Ageism in higher education. T. Nelson (Ed.) Ageism: Stereotyping and Prejudice Against Older Persons (2nd Edition, pp. 263-290). Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Zebrowitz, L. A., & Montepare, J. M., (2014) Face perception and first impressions. In E. Borgida and J. Bargh (Eds.) Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition (pp. 251-276).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Courses Taught:

  • Communities by Design
  • Generations in America
  • Knowing Faces
  • Living and Learning with Dementia
  • Person Perception and Nonverbal Behavior
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Psychology and Cinema

Joann M. Montepare
RoseMary B. Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies
Lasell University
1844 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, Massachusetts 02466
United States of America

  • Phone: (617) 663-7006

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