An Examination of Age-Based Stereotype Threat About Cognitive Decline

Subjective Age Moderates the Relationship Between Global Cognition and Susceptibility to Scams

This study examined the interactive effect of subjective age on the relationship between global cognition and susceptibility to scams. Sixty-five participants underwent an assessment of global cognition (Mini Mental State Examination; MMSE), reported their perceived age (i.e., subjective age), and responded to a self-report questionnaire assessing scam susceptibility. A main effect of global cognition on scam susceptibility was found (p = .028); there was no main effect of subjective age (p = .819). An interaction between global cognition and subjective age was found (p = .016). Examination of conditional effects demonstrated that the relationship between cognition and scam susceptibility was not significant amongst those with subjective ages below one standard deviation of the mean, but was significant for those whose subjective ages fell around or above the mean. Findings suggest that individuals with older subjective ages may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of lower cognition on scam susceptibility.

Perceptions of task difficulty predict cognitive effort for older adults

This study examined age differences in effort devoted to completing cognitively demanding tasks. Fifty-two younger adults ages 18-30 years (Mage = 21.19) and 57 older adults ages 61-93 years (Mage = 76.56) completed a series of memory tests. Following each test, participants rated the test's difficulty and had their blood pressure measured. Effort was indexed by systolic blood pressure response (SBP-R) with greater increases in SBP-R reflecting more effort. Multilevel modeling was used to examine age differences in the intraindividual association between trial-level subjective task difficulty and trial-level effort. Results showed that increases in task difficulty were significantly related to decreases in SBP-R for the older but not younger adults, suggesting the older adults disengaged from the tests they perceived as highly difficult. Findings support Selective Engagement Theory (Hess, 2014), which suggests the perceived cognitive costs of completing difficult tasks may reduce older adults' motivation to engage in the tasks.

What do we really know about age-related stereotypes and well-being of older adults? A commentary on the state of the art

There is a considerable body of literature on harmful consequences of age-related stereotypes-including consequences on physical and mental health. However, this commentary critically argues that the current state of the art disregards consequences of these stereotypes specifically for the well-being of older adults (i.e., outcome that is not to be confounded with mental health). To this end, the content of age-related stereotypes and the mechanisms through which they operate on physical and mental health are first outlined. The commentary then focuses on the very scarce evidence documenting how and when the well-being of older adults (as assessed directly and not as inferred from other indicators) is influenced by self-directed stereotypes. After setting out possible ways well-being may be involved in the relationship between self-directed stereotypes and physical and mental health of older adults, the present commentary argues that a better understanding of well-being would benefit strategies targeting the reduction of age-related stereotypes. Overall, this commentary on the state of the art highlights that future research is still needed to better understand both the direct and indirect relationships between age-related stereotypes and well-being that is not reducible to positive experiences of life (or hedonic well-being) but also comprises an eudaimonic component.

Effects of age-based stereotype threat on time-based prospective memory

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a blatant activation of age-based stereotype threats (ABST) on time-based prospective memory (TBPM) in older adults. A sample of 74 adults from Hong Kong was randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: the stereotyped condition (n = 36) or the neutral condition (n = 38). Participants were asked to read fictitious news reports related to dementia (stereotyped condition) or the importance of English oral skills (neutral condition). After, all participants performed a TBPM task using the Chinese lexical decision task as an ongoing task block. The results indicate a main effect of ABST on TBPM accuracy. Specifically, older adults under a blatant activation of ABST demonstrated lower TBPM accuracy (p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.08). Further analyses based on age groups demonstrated that TBPM accuracy was only impaired in older participants (aged 70-80 years) (p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.19). The study, for the first time, provides evidence that ABST can disrupt TBPM performance in older adults, especially when cues are blatantly activated.

Overcoming age differences in memory retrieval by reducing stereotype threat

Very little is known about whether and how socioemotional factors influence age differences in associative memory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that reducing the threat induced by age-based stereotypes can reduce age differences in learning performance and strategy. Using an associative learning task, we replicated the classic finding of age differences under a high-threat condition: older adults had longer reaction times than younger adults and were much more reluctant to use memory retrieval. However, age differences were greatly diminished under a low-threat condition. These findings demonstrate that memory retrieval is an ability not entirely lost as individuals age because merely reducing stereotype threat helped restoring it. We conclude that socioemotional factors, such as stereotype threat, should be considered when evaluating younger and older adults' memory performance.

Examining the Utility of a Multiple Group Membership Intervention for Alleviating the Effects of Age-Based Stereotype Threat on Older adults' Memory Performance

This study examined the effectiveness of a multiple group membership intervention for reducing the negative effects of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) on older adults' objective memory performance and subjective memory concerns. Healthy older adults (N = 68) were randomly allocated to an ABST + threat-removal (ABST+TR) or ABST + active-control (ABST+AC) condition. After activating ABST, the ABST+TR condition completed a group-listing task and the ABST+AC condition completed a meal-listing task. Participants then completed the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Everyday Memory Questionnaire - Revised. One significant difference was found in memory performance between conditions; specifically, after controlling for age, gender, and number of items listed, those in the ABST+TR condition performed significantly better on the RAVLT memory interference trial. Further, listing a greater number of group memberships was associated with better memory performance in the ABST+TR condition. No significant difference was found in subjective memory concerns between the ABST+TR condition and the ABST+AC condition. Overall, the current findings indicated that raising the salience of multiple group memberships offered limited protection for older adults' cognitive test performance in the context of ABST.

Does stereotype threat influence age-related differences on directed forgetting tasks?

Objectives

The Directed Forgetting paradigm has proven to be a powerful tool to explore motivated forgetting in the lab. Past work has shown that older adults are less able to intentionally suppress information from memory relative to younger adults, which is often attributed to deficits in inhibitory abilities. Instructions in traditional Directed Forgetting tasks contain terms that may elicit stereotype threat in older adults, which may negatively impact memory. Here, we tested whether the instructions in a Directed Forgetting task affected older adults' ability to appropriately control the contents of memory.

Methods

In two experiments that differed in the number of words presented (30 vs. 48 items), younger and older adults were randomized into one of four crossed Conditions of a Directed Forgetting task. At encoding, participants were either instructed to remember/ forget items, or to think about/not think about items. At test, they were either asked whether the memory probe was old or new, or whether they had seen it before (yes/no). Each experiment contained data from 100 younger (18- 40 years) and 98 older (60+ years) adults, with ~25 participants per Condition. All participants were recruited from Prolific and tested online.

Results

In neither Experiment 1 nor Experiment 2 did we find evidence of a stereotype threat effect, or age-related effects of directed forgetting. We did find that performance for to-be-forgotten items was worse in conditions with encoding instructions that contained words that might trigger stereotype threat relative to conditions that did not contain such words: when explicitly told to forget items, both older and younger adults forgot more items than did participants who were cued to not think about the words and put them out of mind. However, we found no such difference across the two different remember instructions: regardless of whether participants were told to remember or to think about items, recognition memory for to be retained items was high. The pattern of results across the two experiments was similar, except, not surprisingly, participants performed worse in Experiment 2 than Experiment 1. Interestingly, we found that higher accuracy for to be remembered items was associated with a more positive outlook of one's own memory relative to others.

Discussion

These results suggest that directed forgetting may not always be impaired in older adults.

Long-Term Effects of a Real-World Multi-Skill Intervention on Older Adults' Growth Mindset

Although there have been interventions to increase growth mindset, little is known about their effectiveness over a longer period, especially for older adults. This study with older adults investigated the long-term effects of a learning intervention that included growth mindset lectures and discussions on growth mindset. In Study 1 (n = 27), participants were tracked for one year after a 12-week intervention. We found that an increased growth mindset did not last beyond the intervention. In Study 2 (n = 71), the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the intervention after only two months. Participants were followed up for two years, and their growth mindset at one year was greater than at the pretest (Week 0) but declined from the 1- to 2-year follow-up. Taken together, interventions incorporating growth mindset messages can increase growth mindset in the short term but may require booster sessions to retain effects, especially during disruptive life events.

Contextual variation in cognitive performance of older adults: Demonstration of an age-of-examiner effect

Objective: Consistent with research on stereotype threat, when examiners' characteristics make a stereotype of the participant group salient, it can hamper participants' performance. We hypothesized that younger examiners represent a subtle element activating age stereotypes, leading older people to perform worse as examiners' age decreases. Method: We analyzed data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; NParticipants = 32768) and Vivre-Leben-Vivere studies (VLV, Nparticipants = 960), wherein older people were tested at home by examiners of different ages on eight cognitive tasks. Results: Our results indicate that participants' performance on five tasks was positively linked to examiners' age, showing that the older the examiner, the better the participants' performance. Conclusions: These findings could have implications for the current assessment of memory performance among older adults.

Impact of educational attainment on time to cognitive decline among marginalized older adults: Cohort study of 20,311 adults

BACKGROUND

The effect of years of education on the maintenance of healthy cognitive functioning may differ by race and ethnicity given historical and ongoing inequities in educational quality.

METHODS

We examined 20,311 Black, Latinx, and White adults aged 51-100 from the Health and Retirement Study (2008-2016). Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-27 data was used to measure cognitive functioning. Generalized additive mixed models were stratified by race and ethnicity and educational attainment (≥12 vs. <12 years). Selected social determinants of health, all-cause mortality, time-varying health and healthcare utilization characteristics, and study wave were included as covariates.

RESULTS

On average, Black and Latinx adults scored lower at baseline compared to White adults regardless of educational attainment (p < 0.001), with a significant overlap in the distributions of scores. The rate of cognitive decline was non-linear for Black, Latinx, and White adults (p < 0.001), and a period of stability was witnessed for those with higher educational attainment irrespective of race and ethnicity. Compared to Black, Latinx, and White adults with lower educational attainment, higher-educated White adults received the greatest protection from cognitive decline (13 years; 64 vs. 51), followed by Latinx (12 years; 67 vs. 55), and Black adults (10 years; 61 vs. 51). Latinx adults experienced cognitive decline beginning at a later age.

CONCLUSIONS

The extent to which higher educational attainment protects adults from cognitive decline differs by race and ethnicity, such that higher-educated White adults received a greater benefit than higher-educated Black or Latinx adults.

The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

The natural learning experience from infancy to emerging adulthood, when considerable cognitive and functional growth is observed, mandates learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously. The present studies investigated whether learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously is possible in older adults and also whether it improves both their cognitive abilities (working memory, episodic memory, and cognitive control) and functional independence.

METHODS

Over two studies (15 and 27 participants), older adults learned at least three new skills (e.g., Spanish, drawing, music composition) simultaneously for 3 months. Participants completed cognitive and functional assessments before, during, and after the intervention in both studies. Participants were recruited sequentially for an intervention or no-contact control group in Study 1, and Study 2 included only an intervention group, who also completed assessments 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the intervention (i.e., they served as their own control group).

RESULTS

Results from both studies show that simultaneously learning multiple skills is feasible and potentially beneficial for healthy older adults. Learning multiple skills simultaneously increased cognitive abilities in older adults by midpoint of the intervention, to levels similar to performance in a separate sample of middle-aged adults.

DISCUSSION

Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential of conducting a real-world skill-learning intervention involving learning three novel skills with older adults. Our multiskill intervention may provide broad cognitive gains, akin to the benefits experienced earlier in the life span.

Differences in Social Determinants of Health Underlie Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Psychological Health and Well-Being: Study of 11,143 Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

The authors sought to determine the impact of selected social determinants of health (SDoH) on psychological health and well-being (defined as depression, cognition, and self-rated health) among Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults relative to White adults 51-89 years of age.

METHODS

Disparities in depressive symptomatology, cognition, and self-rated health were measured among 2,306 non-Hispanic/Latinx Black, 1,593 Hispanic/Latinx, and 7,244 non-Hispanic/Latinx White adults who participated in the Health and Retirement Study (N=11,143). Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition was used to examine whether differences in selected SDoH explained a larger share of the disparities than age, sex, measures of health, health behaviors, and health care utilization. Selected SDoH included education, parental education, number of years worked, marital status, veteran status, geographic residence, nativity status, income, and insurance coverage.

RESULTS

Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults reported worse depressive symptomatology, cognition, and self-rated health than White adults. Selected SDoH were associated with a larger proportion of the Black-White disparities in depressive symptomatology (51%), cognition (39%), and self-rated health (37%) than were age, sex, measures of health, health behaviors, and health care utilization. SDoH were associated with a larger proportion of the Hispanic/Latinx-White disparity in cognition (76%) and self-rated health (75%), but age and physical health correlated with the disparity in depressive symptomatology (28%). Education, parental education, years worked, income, and insurance parity were SDoH associated with these disparities.

CONCLUSIONS

Differences in SDoH underlie racial/ethnic disparities in depression, cognition, and self-rated health among older adults. Education, income, number of years worked, and insurance parity are key SDoH.

Age-based stereotype threat and neuropsychological performance in older adults

The current study investigated the effects of age-based stereotype threat on neuropsychological assessment outcomes in an older adult population. Community volunteers (n = 49) age 65 and older were screened for cognitive impairment, depression, and anticholinergic medication use. Screened individuals were randomly stratified into either an ABST or a Control group. All participants were administered a broad range of neuropsychological measures of cognition as well as a self-rating measure assessing subjective concern about cognitive ability. A main effect of ABST on subjective concern about cognitive ability was supported. Specifically, individuals in the ABST group were significantly more likely to attribute their memory errors to the onset of dementia (F(1,41) = 5.334, p = .026). However, results showed no significant difference between groups on objective neuropsychological performance measures. The current study discusses the importance of considering ABST effects in the context of neuropsychological assessment in older adult populations.

Toward a New Approach to Investigate the Role of Working Memory in Stereotype Threat Effects

Stereotype threat arises when the activation of negative stereotypes about a group impairs performance of stigmatized individuals on stereotype relevant tasks. There is ample evidence that stereotype threat leads to performance detriments by consuming executive resources. Several studies indeed showed that working memory (WM) mediates stereotype threat effects among young adults. More recently, researchers have sought to understand whether the same mechanisms underlie age-based stereotype threat, but findings are mixed regarding the role of WM and some authors rather favor a motivational explanation based on regulatory fit. The present review critically appraises the empirical support for distinct forms of stereotype threat effects mediated by distinct mechanisms. We propose a novel approach based on one of the most recent WM models, the time-based resource sharing model, to evaluate the impact of stereotype threat on attentional resources in WM among both young and older adults.

"People are more afraid of a dementia diagnosis than of death": The challenges of supporting advance care planning for persons with dementia in community settings

Improving early uptake of advance care planning (ACP) for persons with dementia and their families requires that staff in community-based settings feel armed and equipped to encourage and support this process. Yet few studies have explored whether staff within non-medical environments feel prepared to support early ACP engagement for persons with early-stage dementia and their families. Our qualitative interpretivist study aimed to fill this gap by facilitating, transcribing and thematically analyzing deliberations from three focus groups with 17 community-based staff. Our findings revealed four key barriers to ACP activation in community settings: (1) the stigma associated with the condition; (2) lack of knowledge about end-of-life concerns for persons with dementia; (3) uncertainties about managing complex family dynamics and (4) worries that opening up conversations about future care may lead to the expression of wishes that could not be actualized (e.g., dying at home). Our findings further revealed that ACP engagement was facilitated when staff expressed confidence in their capacities to gauge readiness, viewed themselves as guides rather than experts and had access to resources to supplement their knowledge. Reflexive training opportunities and access to materials and resources around end-of-life care for persons with dementia, could equip staff in these non-medical settings with the skills to engage in ongoing dialogue about future care issues with persons living with dementia and their families.

Health practitioner beliefs regarding the impact of age-based stereotype threat on performance in the cognitive assessment of older adults

OBJECTIVES

Health practitioners' understanding of the impact of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) on the cognitive test performance of older adults is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate health practitioners' ability to recognize the influence of ABST in the cognitive assessment of older adults and their perceptions of its impact in practice.

METHODS

One-hundred and twenty-nine health practitioners (86% female; M age = 39.75, SD = 11.50) with experience in conducting cognitive assessments with older adults (mainly psychologists and occupational therapists) completed an online survey assessing demographic and practice characteristics, aging beliefs, a hypothetical cognitive assessment scenario, and perceived impact of ABST on practice.

RESULTS

Overall, health practitioners rated ABST factors in the assessment scenario as less detrimental to cognitive performance than internal and external factors. In a hierarchical regression model, lower recognition of ABST and negative aging beliefs significantly accounted for lower perceived impact of ABST on older adults' cognitive test performance in practice (R² = .37, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Health practitioners may not recognize the influence of ABST on assessment findings, especially if they hold negative aging beliefs. The findings highlight the need to improve health practitioners' knowledge of ABST to increase the validity of cognitive testing in older adults.

Impact of stereotype threat on brain activity during memory tasks in older adults

We report the first neuroimaging experiment to investigate the impact of explicitly activating aging stereotypes (i.e., stereotype threat) on brain activity during cognitive tasks. Cognitively normal older adults read about aging stereotypes or a control passage prior to taking episodic memory, working memory, and a non-demanding control task during fMRI. At the group level, stereotype activation did not impact cognitive performance or measures sensitive to stress and anxiety (physiological or self-report), but like prior work, highly educated and retired adults exhibited greater stereotype effects on episodic memory. At the neural level, stereotype activation did not impact brain activity in executive control or emotional regulation regions previously linked to stereotype threat effects in younger adults, suggesting that stereotype threat operates differently in older adults. Instead, on each task, the stereotype group showed more brain activity than the control group in parietal midline regions (e.g., precuneus, posterior cingulate). Although activity in these regions can arise from many processes, they have previously been associated with self-referential thinking and error-prevention focus, and in our study, brain activity in these regions was associated with slower responses and lower false alarm errors on the episodic memory task. Collectively, these findings are more consistent with the regulatory fit hypothesis than an executive control interference hypothesis of stereotype threat effects in older adults, whereby older adults adopt an error-prevention mindset in response to explicit stereotype threat.

Regulatory focus and perceptions of ageing: exploring the connections

Objectives:Perceptions of ageing can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for older adults, with those who hold more negative views of ageing experiencing more negative consequences of the ageing process, including poorer health and cognitive declines. Exposure to negative stereotypes about their group can also affect older adults performance in cognitive tests, as they are more likely to adopt a prevention focus to avoid mistakes, therefore, performing poorly in tasks requiring them to adopt a gains-oriented focus. Based on regulatory focus theory, we hypothesised that negative perceptions of ageing and stereotype threat may be connected, specifically we hypothesised that those with more negative perceptions of ageing would also have a stronger trait prevention focus.Method: Two hundred adults aged 60+ took part in an online questionnaire examining their perceptions of ageing and their trait regulatory focus.Results and Conclusion: Results indicated that negative perceptions of ageing were predictive of a stronger trait prevention focus in a hierarchical multiple regression model. This provides evidence that older adults with more negative perceptions of ageing may adopt a stronger prevention focus, potentially influencing psychological attitudes to everyday tasks and behaviours. Perceptions of ageing and regulatory focus can have implications for the efficacy of health messaging for older adults.

Insights into the millennial generation of nurses

Recommendations for developing and retaining younger workers.

The Challenge of Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Executive Functions in Middle-Aged Adults as a Preclinical Stage of Dementia: A Systematic Review

Subjective cognitive complaints correspond to a heterogeneous construct that frequently occurs in the early stages of older adult life. Despite being a common source of worry for middle-aged people, it can be underestimated when clinical and neuropsychological assessments discard any underlying pathological processes. Negative age stereotyping but also self-stereotyping can contribute to doing so. Although its diagnosis is a challenge, its implication as a possible predictor of mild cognitive impairment or dementia increases the interest in its early diagnosis and intervention. The present systematic review analyzes the empirical data on the relationship between these complaints and early executive dysfunction with possible predictive value for preclinical stages of dementia. The sixteen papers obtained from the PubMed and Embase databases were exploratory, cross-sectional and prospective in scope. The studies corroborated the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints and some executive processes, which is noteworthy since many people with subjective executive complaints progress to dementia. The relational studies confirmed that impaired executive performance is associated with CSF biomarkers and reduced cortical volume in specific brain regions. However, the heterogeneity of reports in these studies demands stronger efforts in future research with specific tools applied in clinical and neuropsychological assessments and analyzed under a gender perspective.

Association Between Self-Perceived Stigma and Quality of Life Among Urban Chinese Older Adults: The Moderating Role of Attitude Toward Own Aging and Traditionality

Background

Ageism is a global challenge, which leads to a range of adverse outcomes for elderly people worldwide, which maybe more severe among urban older adults in a competitive society. However, how self-perceived ageism influences the quality of life in a sample of urban older adults remains inconclusive.

Objectives

The current study aims to assess the status of self-perceived stigma among urban Chinese older adults, identify its relationship with quality of life, and further explore whether both attitude toward own aging and traditionality moderate this relationship.

Materials and Methods

Primary data were collected through cross-sectional surveys among urban older adults in three provinces of China from October 2019 to December 2020. A total of 764 urban older adults were valid participants (effective response rate = 81.28%) and completed questionnaires via anonymous face-to-face interviews. Socio-demographic factors, self-perceived stigma, attitude toward own aging, traditionality, and quality of life were assessed using questionnaires that included the Self-perceived Stigma, Attitude Toward Own Aging, Traditionality, and SF-8 Scales.

Results

For urban Chinese older adults, the average score of self-perceived stigma was 2.041 ± 0.726. Self-perceived stigma (β = −0.391, p < 0.05) and attitude toward own aging (β = −0.211, p < 0.05) both influenced quality of life. Additionally, attitude toward own aging (β = −0.530, p < 0.05) and traditionality (β = −0.525, p < 0.05) moderated the association between self-perceived stigma and quality of life. Simple slope analysis revealed that when the level of negative attitude toward own aging and traditionality was higher, the strength of the influence of self-perceived stigma on quality of life was stronger.

Conclusion

Urban Chinese older adults were aware of the self-perceived stigma, which contributes to decreased quality of life. Attitude toward own aging and traditionality could moderate the association between self-perceived stigma and quality of life. When negative attitudes toward own aging and traditionality are higher, self-perceived stigma has a greater effect on the quality of life. More interventions related to relieving self-perceived stigma, traditionality, and negative attitude toward own aging should be considered to build a new modern society that emphasizes health, friendliness, well-being, and dignity for all ages.

Predicting others' knowledge in younger and older adulthood

Our beliefs about aging affect how we interact with others. For example, people know that episodic memory declines with age, and as a result, older adults' memories are less likely to be trusted. However, not all aspects of remembering decline with age; semantic memory (knowledge) increases across adulthood and is relatively unaffected in healthy aging. In the current work, we examined people's awareness of this pattern. Participants estimated the knowledge of hypothetical younger and older adults; in some studies, they also predicted and demonstrated their own knowledge on the same measures. Across studies, both younger and older adults estimated that older adults would perform better on a knowledge test, demonstrating awareness that knowledge is not impaired with aging. Furthermore, people's beliefs about their own knowledge influenced the predictions they made about others' knowledge. We discuss how this work informs theories of metacognition and contributes to positive self-perceptions in older adulthood.

Managing a positive impression: Self-presentation among octogenarians

This paper addresses self-presentation among home-dwelling octogenarians living in the Faroe Islands. The purpose was to examine how older adults make meaning of ageing in interaction and examine the possible impact of social and cultural norms on this meaning making practice. The study is based on social constructionism. Interviews were conducted with both married couples and individual men and women during the spring of 2019. The interviewees projected a positive impression of life as older adults. They used humour to cover up health problems, and downward social comparison with others to enhance their own active lifestyle. They included third-party compliments to enhance the impression of appearing 'younger' than their chronological age, thus reconciling the misalignment between age norms and lived experience.

Effects of Counter-Stereotypes Cognitive Training on Aging Stereotypes in 12- to 13-Year Olds

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescents' aging stereotypes and to further investigate the best training method to intervene in aging stereotypes by comparing the effect of single and multiple intervention training methods on aging stereotypes and their retention effects. Three experiments examined the different intervention outcomes of different counter-stereotypes cognitive training on adolescent aging stereotypes. The study used a randomized block group experimental design and recruited a total of 183 middle school students for testing. Experiment 1 verified the effect of counter-stereotypes cognitive training by taking a single training task (evaluative conditioning technique), randomly assigning subjects to different conditions (training task or unrelated drawing task), and administering a follow-up test 24h after the posttest. Experiment 2a compared the effects of multiple versus single cognitive training, where we took multiple (adding the counter-stereotypes situational storytelling method) versus single training tasks and administered a follow-up test 72h after the posttest. Experiment 2b increased the number of training sessions based on Experiment 2a, with a second intervention training 72h after the end of the posttest and a follow-up test 72h after the second training. Experimental results suggest that evaluative conditioning techniques are effective in weakening subjects' aging stereotypes, but are less effective in maintaining them. Compared to a single training task, multi-tasking is more effective and the effects of the intervention are maintained for up to a week by increasing the number of training sessions.

The Framing Effect of Intergenerational Comparison of Technologies on Technophobia Among Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Sharing similar negative age-stereotypes (e.g., outdated, unfashionable), older adults and older technologies are stereotypically associated with each other. This also was found to be internalized by older adults. Recent research has suggested that internalized negative age-stereotypes may be one of the reasons for technophobia among older adults. Therefore, considering the pervasiveness of intergenerational comparison of technologies (e.g., computer vs. tablet) in which older-generation technologies are negatively portrayed, we aim to investigate whether a mere intergenerational comparison of technologies would affect technophobia via negative self-stereotypes activation among older adults. Specifically, two commonly-seen framings of intergenerational comparison of technologies are examined: contrast framing, which describes opposing intergenerational relationship of technologies; and connect framing, which describes continuous intergenerational relationship of technologies.

METHOD

We designed three advertisements for a made-up new technological product using contrast framing, connect framing, and neutral framing (where intergenerational comparison was absent). A sample of 284 participants (age 27-83) was gathered online and randomly assigned into the three experimental conditions. Self-perception of aging (SPA), technophobia, and potential covariates were measured.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant framing×age×gender effect on psychosocial loss dimension of SPA and technophobia. Men were significantly affected by the framing effect as they age, but women were not affected. Contrast framing (vs. connect vs. neutral framing) led to significantly higher technophobia via psychosocial loss dimension of SPA among older men aged 49 and over.

DISCUSSION

The findings have important implications for how to better convey persuasive information to promote new technology adoption among older adults.

Under threat: emotional and behavioral responses to occupational identity threat

Research on identity threat has predominantly focused on the consequences of threat to some ascribed or involuntary identities, while overlooking individuals' responses to occupational identity threat. Integrating identity theory with identity threat literature, we argue that encountering occupational identity threat promotes negative emotion and feedback-seeking behavior, and negative emotion further mediates the relationship between occupational identity threat and feedback-seeking behavior. Moreover, individuals' performance self-esteem strengthens both the direct effect of occupational identity threat on negative emotion, and the indirect effect of occupational identity threat on feedback-seeking behavior through negative emotion. The results from two experimental studies and one field study provide support for these predictions. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

How Negative Is Negative Information

Daily, we face a plenty of negative information that can profoundly affect our perception and behavior. During devastating events such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, negative messages may hinder reasoning at individual level and social decisions in the society at large. These effects vary across genders in neurotypical populations (being more evident in women) and may be even more pronounced in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Here, we examine how negative information impacts reasoning on a social perception task in females with breast cancer, a life-threatening disease. Two groups of patients and two groups of matched controls (N_TOTAL = 80; median age, 50 years) accomplished a psychometrically standardized social cognition and reasoning task receiving either the standard instruction solely or additional negative information. Performance substantially dropped in patients and matched controls who received negative information compared to those who did not. Moreover, patients with negative information scored much lower not only compared with controls but also with patients without negative information. We suggest the effects of negative information are mediated by the distributed brain networks involved in affective processing and emotional memory. The findings offer novel insights on the impact of negative information on social perception and decision making during life-threatening events, fostering better understanding of its neurobiological underpinnings.

Cultural Differences in Susceptibility to Stereotype Threat: France versus India

OBJECTIVES

Negative aging stereotypes make older adults perform below their true potential in a number of cognitive domains. This phenomenon, known as Age-Based Stereotype Threat, is currently viewed as a powerful factor contributing to an overestimation of cognitive decline in normal aging. However, age-based stereotype threat has been investigated almost exclusively in Western countries. Whether this phenomenon is universal or culture-specific is unknown.

METHOD

Here, we first ran a pilot study (N = 106) in which we assessed French and Indian participants' attitudes towards aging. Then, we assessed stereotype threat effects on arithmetic problem-solving performance and strategies in French and Indian older adults (N = 104).

RESULTS

We found that French older adults have more negative implicit attitudes towards aging than Indian older adults. We also found that culture modulates age-based stereotype threat effects. Whereas French older adults experienced stereotype threat on both selection and execution of strategies on all arithmetic problems, Indian older adults experienced this threat only in their strategy selection on harder problems. Most interestingly, cultural differences emerged on arithmetic problems under stereotype threat condition, where otherwise no cultural differences were found in the control condition.

DISCUSSION

Our findings have important implications for understanding how cultural contexts change aging effects on human cognition and age-related difference in cognitive performance.

The ironic effect of older adults' increased task motivation: Implications for neurocognitive aging

Recent work suggests that most older adults who volunteer to take part in cognitive experiments are more motivated to do well than are undergraduate students. This empirical evidence is echoed by the impressions of cognitive aging researchers. We surveyed a large group (N = 88) of researchers asking about their perceptions of younger and older adults' motivation to take part in lab-based research. Not only were older adults seen as more motivated than younger adults, but researchers thought that the two groups participate for different reasons: younger adults to obtain course credit or monetary compensation, older adults to get a sense of their cognitive health, to further science, and out of curiosity. However, older adults' greater motivation to do well on cognitive tasks may leave them vulnerable to stereotype threat, the phenomenon by which individuals underperform when they are put in a position to either confirm or deny a negative stereotype about their group. In this opinion piece, we argue that most cognitive experiments, not just those designed to measure stereotype threat, likely induce some form of performance-related anxiety in older adults. This anxiety likely leads to greater task-related interference, or thoughts about how one is doing on the task, resulting in poorer performance. We discuss some of the potential implications for our understanding of neurocognitive aging.

Ageism in COVID-Related Newspaper Coverage: The First Month of a Pandemic

Objectives

Media sources have consistently described older adults as a medically vulnerable population during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, yet a lack of concern over their health and safety has resulted in dismissal and devaluation. This unprecedented situation highlights ongoing societal ageism and its manifestations in public discourse. This analysis asks how national news sources performed explicit and implicit ageism during the first month of the pandemic.

Method

Using content and critical discourse analysis methods, we analyzed 287 articles concerning older adults and COVID-19 published between March 11 and April 10, 2020, in 4 major U.S.-based newspapers.

Results

Findings indicate that while ageism was rarely discussed explicitly, ageist bias was evident in implicit reporting patterns (e.g., frequent use of the term “elderly,” portrayals of older adults as “vulnerable”). Infection and death rates and institutionalized care were among the most commonly reported topics, providing a limited portrait of aging during the pandemic. The older “survivor” narrative offers a positive alternative by suggesting exceptional examples of resilience and grit. However, the survivor narrative may also implicitly place blame on those unable to survive or thrive in later life.

Discussion

This study provides insight for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners exploring societal perceptions of older adults and how these perceptions are disseminated and maintained by the media.

Smartphone Applications Designed to Improve Older People's Chronic Pain Management: An Integrated Systematic Review

(1) Background: Older people’s chronic pain is often not well managed because of fears of side-effects and under-reporting. Telehealth interventions, in the form of smartphone applications, are attracting much interest in the management of chronic diseases, with new and evolving approaches in response to current population demographics. However, the extent to which telehealth interventions may be used to promote and effect the self-management of chronic pain is not established. (2) Aim: To provide an objective review of the existing quantitative and qualitative evidence pertaining to the benefits of smartphone applications for the management of chronic pain in older people. (3) Methods: A literature search was undertaken using PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, the Cochrane database, Science Direct and references of retrieved articles. The data were independently extracted by two reviewers from the original reports. (4) Results: This integrative systematic review identified 10 articles considering smartphone applications related to self-management of chronic pain among older adults. (5) Conclusions: It is important for future research to not only examine the effects of smartphone initiatives, but also to compare their safety, acceptability, efficacy and cost–benefit ratio in relation to existing treatment modalities.

Understanding Older Adults' Memory Distortion in the Light of Stereotype Threat

Numerous studies have documented the detrimental impact of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) on older adults' cognitive performance and especially on veridical memory. However, far fewer studies have investigated the impact of ABST on older adults' memory distortion. Here, we review the subset of research examining memory distortion and provide evidence for the role of stereotype threat as a powerful socio-emotional factor that impacts age-related susceptibility to memory distortion. In this review we define memory distortion as errors in memory that are associated with gist-based errors or source misattributions. Whereas, some of the reviewed experiments support the conclusion that ABST should be considered in the context of age-related differences in memory distortion, others reported little or no impact of stereotype threat. These discrepancies suggest that the role of ABST, and socio-emotional processes generally, in age-related changes in memory distortion are less clear. In this review, we argue that ABST does play an important role in age-related changes in memory distortion. We present evidence suggesting that discrepancies in the reviewed literature may be reconciled when evaluated in the context of the leading theories about stereotype threat: the Executive Resource Depletion hypothesis and the Regulatory Focus theory. We also discuss how differences in methodology and participant characteristics can account for a priori contradictory results in the literature. Finally, we propose some recommendations for researchers and practitioners when assessing memory in older adults.

Effects of prior-task failure on arithmetic performance: A study in young and older adults

Effects of prior-task failure (i.e., decreased performance on a target task following failure on a prior task) were tested in young and older adults. Young and older participants (N=120) accomplished a computational estimation task (i.e., providing the best estimates to arithmetic problems) before and after accomplishing a dot comparison task in a control or in a failure condition. Both groups decreased their performance on the target computational estimation following failure on the prior dot comparison task. Also, prior-task failure led young and older adults to select the better strategy less often and to use the easier strategy more often. Our findings show, for the first time, impaired performance after experiencing failure in both young and older adults. We discuss implications of these findings for further our understanding of effects of task transitions (i.e., prior-task success and failure) on cognitive performance.

Learning as an Important Privilege: A Life Span Perspective with Implications for Successful Aging

Research has demonstrated the cognitive and mental health benefits of learning new skills and content across the life span, enhancing knowledge as well as cognitive performance. We argue that the importance of this learning – which is not available equally to all – goes beyond the cognitive and mental health benefits. Learning is important for not only the maintenance, but also enhancement of functional independence in a dynamic environment, such as changes induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological advances. Learning difficult skills and content is a privilege because the opportunities for learning are neither guaranteed nor universal, and it requires personal and social engagement, time, motivation, and societal support. This paper highlights the importance of considering learning new skills and content as an <i>important privilege</i> across the life span and argues that this privilege becomes increasingly exclusionary as individuals age, when social and infrastructural support for learning decreases. We highlight research on the potential positive and negative impacts of retirement, when accessibility to learning opportunities may vary, and research on learning barriers due to low expectations and limited resources from poverty. We conclude that addressing barriers to lifelong learning would advance theories on life span cognitive development and raise the bar for successful aging. In doing so, our society might imagine and achieve previously unrealized gains in life span cognitive development, through late adulthood.

The Moderating Role of Education on the Relationship Between Perceived Stereotype Threat and False Memory in Aging

Studies regularly show that an age-based stereotype threat impairs older adults' performance on memory tasks. Results regarding stereotype threat effects on false memories are less clear. Some studies suggest that education may moderate the relationship between an age-related stereotype threat and episodic memory performance in older adults. The present study aimed at examining the moderating role of education on the relationship between perceived stereotype threat (PST) and false memories in older adults. With this aim, 82 adults between 60 and 70 years of age performed a Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task followed by a free recall test and completed questionnaires assessing both their perception of an age-based stereotype threat and their education level. Regression analyses showed no effect of PST on the production of critical lures. However, as was expected, our results showed that in higher educated older adults, as the perception of stereotype increases, the production of critical lures increases. These results confirm the moderating role of education and highlight its key role in the relationship between the age-based stereotype threat and older adults' susceptibility to false memories.

Older Adults' Emotion Recognition Ability Is Unaffected by Stereotype Threat

Eliciting negative stereotypes about ageing commonly results in worse performance on many physical, memory, and cognitive tasks in adults aged over 65. The current studies explored the potential effect of this “stereotype threat” phenomenon on older adults’ emotion recognition, a cognitive ability that has been demonstrated to decline with age. In Study 1, stereotypes about emotion recognition ability across the lifespan were established. In Study 2, these stereotypes were utilised in a stereotype threat manipulation that framed an emotion recognition task as assessing either cognitive ability (stereotypically believed to worsen with age), social ability (believed to be stable across lifespan), or general abilities (control). Participants then completed an emotion recognition task in which they labelled dynamic expressions of negative and positive emotions. Self-reported threat concerns were also measured. Framing an emotion recognition task as assessing cognitive ability significantly heightened older adults’ (but not younger adults’) reports of stereotype threat concerns. Despite this, older adults’ emotion recognition performance was unaffected. Unlike other cognitive abilities, recognising facially expressed emotions may be unaffected by stereotype threat, possibly because emotion recognition is automatic, making it less susceptible to the cognitive load that stereotype threat produces.

Overcoming Age-Based Stereotypes to Optimise Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Methodology and Existing Evidence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Age-based stereotype threat (ABST) poses serious risks for the cognitive screening of older adults. This review aimed to identify and critically appraise the methodology and existing evidence of studies investigating the use of threat-removal (TR) strategies to overcome the effects of ABST on the cognitive performance of older adults. The types of strategies, their effectiveness in optimising cognitive performance, and factors influencing their effectiveness were examined.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from 1st January 1995 to 6th November 2019. Two authors independently assessed article eligibility and appraised methodological quality of eligible articles using an adaptation of the STROBE guidelines. Narrative synthesis was used to summarise results.

RESULTS

Thirty articles, reporting on 36 studies, were eligible and included. Overall, evidence for the effectiveness of TR was mixed and varied according to the explicitness of strategies and comparison conditions used. Studies examining blatant TR strategies, and those using a combination of blatant and subtle TR strategies, provided limited support for their effectiveness in overcoming ABST. However, studies evaluating subtle TR strategies provided preliminary support for their effectiveness in overcoming ABST.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Existing studies provide limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of TR strategies in overcoming ABST due to methodological limitations. Recommendations are made for the design of future studies to differentiate the benefits of TR strategies from the detrimental effects of ABST, thus potentially informing their use in clinical practice.

Confucian Values as a Buffer Against Age-Based Stereotype Threat for Chinese Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Research has shown that stereotype threat can impair older adults' memory in Western cultures. We tested whether this also occurs for older adults from the East Asian Chinese culture. We also tested whether an intervention that highlighted Confucian principles would protect Chinese older adults from stereotype threat's detrimental effects.

METHOD

Culturally-Chinese older adults residing in the United States completed a memory test either under age-based stereotype threat about cognitive decline or not. Prior to this, some participants were also reminded of Confucian traditions of filial piety and were assured these values had been transmitted to the younger generation.

RESULTS

Stereotype threat impaired Chinese older adults' memory performance. However, our intervention was effective in eliminating this deficit. When the Chinese participants were reminded of the Confucian principle of filial piety they did not exhibit stereotype threat effects.

DISCUSSION

Confirming that younger adults have an obligation to respect their elders can eliminate the social-evaluative pressure of stereotype threat for Chinese older adults. These findings are noteworthy since population aging is happening at an unprecedented pace in East Asia. Although our results suggest that stereotype threat can adversely affect older adults' cognitive performance in these societies, we also identify a culturally-based intervention to alleviate this impairment.

True performance: reducing stereotype threat effect in older adults' clinical assessment of memory

Empirical studies suggest that memory loss with age is based not only on biological, but also on contextual factors. In line with the stereotype threat (ST) theory, it is argued that the features of the standard clinical situation may contribute to an underestimation of memory performance in older adults (OA). To prevent these shortcomings, we proposed and tested two different interventions that are easy to implement in clinical settings: individuation and self-handicapping. Results indicate that the individuation intervention appears to be a promising solution to alleviate the ST burden in clinical assessment of memory.

Pathways From Social Activities to Cognitive Functioning: The Role of Physical Activity and Mental Health

Background and Objectives

One of the greatest challenges of old age is the risk of cognitive decline. Engagement in social activities has been identified as a possible protective factor. However, it is not yet clear what are the mechanisms underlying this association. This study aims to elucidate the pathways through which social activities impact cognitive functioning, focusing on physical activity and mental health as possible mediators.

Research Design and Methods

The study utilized 3 waves of data-the fourth, fifth, and sixth waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, collected in 2011, 2013, and 2015, respectively. It focused on respondents aged 60 and older. Cognitive functioning was assessed via immediate recall, delayed recall, and fluency. Social activities were measured by volunteering and attending social clubs. Data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach.

Results

The results indicated a significant direct effect of social activities on cognitive functioning. That is, being socially active at baseline was related to better cognitive function 4 years later. The results also indicated the existence of indirect effects. Engaging in social activities was related to better mental health and more physical activities 2 years later, which were related to better subsequent cognitive performance.

Discussion and Implications

These findings highlight the mediating roles of physical activity and mental health in the effects of social activities on cognitive functioning. Understanding these mechanisms can help optimize social activity interventions to improve cognitive aging.

Multiple Sources of Aging Attitudes: Perceptions of Age Groups and Generations From Adolescence to Old Age Across China, Germany, and the United States

Emerging evidence suggests that people not only categorize themselves and others based on age but also in terms of their generational membership. This cross-cultural study compared attitudes and stereotypes toward age and generational groups across the life span in China, Germany, and the United States including 1,112 participants between 18 and 86 years of age. We asked younger, middle-aged, and older respondents to rate either six age groups (e.g., adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, young-old, older, and old-old adults) or six matching generational groups (e.g., Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomer, Silent Generation, and Greatest Generation) on various characteristics (e.g., happy, competent, selfish). Consistent with our hypotheses, the results demonstrate that across all three countries older generations were perceived consistently more positive, whereas older age groups were perceived as less positive. These findings suggest that generations represent a source of positive regard and high social status in later life across different countries with different historical backgrounds and cultures.

The Impact of Learning Multiple Real-World Skills on Cognitive Abilities and Functional Independence in Healthy Older Adults

Objective

The natural learning experience from infancy to emerging adulthood, when considerable cognitive and functional growth is observed, mandates learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously. The present studies investigated whether learning multiple real-world skills simultaneously is possible in older adults and also whether it improves both their cognitive abilities (working memory, episodic memory, and cognitive control) and functional independence.

Method

Over two studies (15 and 27 participants), older adults learned at least three new skills (e.g., Spanish, drawing, music composition) simultaneously for 3 months. Participants completed cognitive and functional assessments before, during, and after the intervention in both studies. Participants were recruited sequentially for an intervention or no-contact control group in Study 1, and Study 2 included only an intervention group, who also completed assessments 4–6 weeks prior to the start of the intervention (i.e., they served as their own control group).

Results

Results from both studies show that simultaneously learning multiple skills is feasible and potentially beneficial for healthy older adults. Learning multiple skills simultaneously increased cognitive abilities in older adults by midpoint of the intervention, to levels similar to performance in a separate sample of middle-aged adults, 30 years younger.

Discussion

Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential of conducting a real-world skill-learning intervention involving learning three novel skills with older adults. Our multiskill intervention may provide broad cognitive gains, akin to the benefits experienced earlier in the life span.

The effects of stereotype threat on older adults' walking performance as a function of task difficulty and resource evaluations

Stereotype threat occurs when people are concerned about confirming a negative stereotype about their social group, and this often leads people to underperform within the threatened domain. Although this is well-documented, the majority of prior studies examining stereotype threat in older adults have focused on cognitive outcomes and comparatively less research has focused on how stereotype threat affects physical outcomes. In this study, we examined whether negative age-based evaluations invoke stereotype threat and adversely affect older adults' gait, and whether this depends upon the difficulty of the gait task and upon participants' evaluations of their own resources to cope with the demands of the gait task. To test this, we recruited 163 healthy, community-dwelling older adults and asked them to complete either an "easy" gait task (i.e., walking at their own comfortable pace) or a "difficult" gait task (i.e., walking within a 15 cm narrow base of support) along a 24' temporospatial-measuring walkway. This was done in either the presence or absence of a negative age-based evaluation. Results showed that the adverse effects of stereotype threat (i.e., walking slower, with relatively more variability in speed, and with more step errors) were generally limited to participants completing the difficult gait task who were not confident that they had sufficient resources to cope with the demands of the task. Thus, stereotype threat can impair older adults' physical performance, but the magnitude of this effect depends upon the task's objective difficulty and on participants' subjective evaluations of their own resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Age, cohort, and period effects on metamemory beliefs

Questionnaires like the Metamemory in Adulthood Questionnaire (MIA; Dixon, Hultsch, & Hertzog, 1988) have been used to examine longitudinal changes and cross-sectional age differences in multiple metamemory facets (e.g., memory self-efficacy). This study used 3 independent cross-sectional samples (N = 1,555; ages 55-85) from the Victoria Longitudinal Study collected in 1986, 1992, and 2000 to evaluate period and cohort effects on 8 MIA scales. Alternative general linear models analyzed age, cohort, and period effects, while subsequently assessing gender differences in metamemory beliefs. Period effects were detected on the MIA Internal Strategy and External Strategy scales; self-reported use of internal strategies decreased while use of external memory aids increased over the historical period. Reliable cohort (generational) differences were found for MIA Change, with the lowest levels of perceived change in individuals born between 1916 and 1925. MIA Task, measuring knowledge about memory, produced small age and cohort effects. Gender differences emerged in metamemory, especially for the Internal Strategy and External Strategy scales (women reporting higher strategy use). Gender differences were also seen for the Capacity, Locus, Anxiety, and Achievement scales, with women reporting higher perceived memory efficacy, control, memory anxiety, and greater motivation to have better memory, respectively. The historical trends in metamemory beliefs should be replicated with other measures and other populations; however, the results generally confirm conclusions from earlier cross-sectional studies regarding age sensitivity of metamemory beliefs from middle age to old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).