Hess &
Hinson, 2006
This study
examines how age and stereotype threat interact to
affect memory performance. Adults between the ages
of 24 to 86 were recruited from a community to
participate in the study. Before completing a test
of memory, individuals
read newspaper-type reports
that either reinforced the inevitability of memory
decrements with old age or negated the inevitability of
stereotypical decrements.
Participants
then were allowed to study a list of 30 words for two
minutes and later wrote down all the words they could
recall. Recall performance of the youngest and oldest
participants was not affected by stereotype threat.
Stereotype threat effects emerged for adults in their
60s, but participants in their 40's showed a
stereotype-contrasting effect with better memory
performance in the stereotype-confirming compared with
the stereotype-disconfirming condition. Beliefs about
the controllability of memory increased and
aging-related concerns about memory decreased for
participants who read the stereotype-disconfirming
information. In the stereotype-confirming
condition, controllability decreased and aging-related
concerns increased. Changing beliefs moderated
memory performance, with older adults whose beliefs
became more positive following the stereotype
manipulation showing better recall than those whose
beliefs became more negative. Although stereotype threat
effects occurred for some age groups, the activation of
positive and negative stereotypes had different effects
depending on age. These findings highlight the
importance of group identification in producing reduced
memory performance under stereotype threat. Back to top | Previous
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