INTERGENERATIONAL INTERVENTION TO COMBAT AGE-BASED STEREOTYPE THREAT AND PROMOTE SELF-REGULATION

摘要

Concerns about confirming negative stereotypes about memory and aging can impair actual memory performance of older adults–an example of age-based stereotype threat (ABST). Older adults’ memory performance is particularly vulnerable to ABST, which are more pronounced when individuals identify strongly with their group or feel anxious about their performance. This research aimed to (1) to test a replication of the ABST manipulation used by Mazerolle et al. (2015) with a different memory test and (2) evaluate whether the ABST effect on older adults’ memory is moderated by task-related anxiety, age-group identification, or participation in a discussion group with younger adults focused on topics relevant to aging. Research participants were 21 healthy, community-dwelling older adults (M=75.43, SD=7.72) recruited from a local lifelong learning institute. All participants were randomly assigned to a high stereotype threat (n=9) or a null stereotype threat condition (n=12). Some participants (n=13) self-selected to participate in three intergenerational discussion groups with university students. As expected, performance on an episodic associative memory test was poorer for participants in the high threat condition (M=17.41%, SD=19.13%) than those for in the null threat condition (M=35.28%, SD=23.80%), t(19)=1.85, p=0.40, η2=0.15. The ABST manipulation did not impact memory self-efficacy, self-reported anxiety related to the memory test, or closeness to one’s age group. Participation in the discussions groups was related to lower self-reported anxiety related to the memory task, but did not moderate ABST. Results of this study may inform design of interventions to reduce the impact of ABST.