Introduction
Societal challenges often arise from tensions between different social groups, including age groups. With the global population and workforce aging, it is crucial to identify ways of fostering more positive intergroup relations. Friendships across age groups—defined as socioemotionally meaningful relationships between individuals with at least a 10- to 15-year age difference—offer a promising pathway. Such friendships foster learning about the other group through empathic concern and perspective-taking, leading to prosocial behaviors and innovative problem-solving across group membership and beyond.
Purpose
This presentation aims to introduce a new taxonomy of the psychological and behavioral effects of age-diverse friendships. We focus on the workplace as a central context where people of different ages regularly interact, while recognizing the broader relevance of our model for educational, community, and family contexts.
Method
Building on established theories of social categorization and identity, intergroup contact, and transfer effects, we developed a conceptual taxonomy to describe how the influence of age-diverse friendships extends beyond the dyad to different-aged outgroup members, other non-involved groups, and all humans. We also derive critical boundary conditions and outline a future research agenda, pointing to initial empirical insights.
Results
The taxonomy outlines three levels of influence: (1) member-to-group (primary transfer), (2) group-to-group (secondary transfer), and (3) liberalization (tertiary transfer). Each level reflects distinct affective and cognitive mechanisms by which a single age-diverse friendship can generate broader behavioral effects. Age distance and semantic distance are described to shape these effects.
Conclusions
Age-diverse friendships represent a powerful form of intergroup contact with the potential to reduce group-based divides and foster mutual understanding. Our taxonomy and research agenda offer a framework for advancing theory and guiding future empirical work. Practical implications highlight how organizations and communities can support high-quality interactions that may grow into age-diverse friendships, ultimately benefiting individuals, workplaces, and society.