The idea of the “forgetful senior” is a common stereotype. Unfortunately, being reminded of that stereotype when under pressure can make it come true, a new study finds.
In a series of memory exercises, a group of seniors were reminded of the stereotype. Seniors who were also told they could gain money from each correct answer performed worse than those told they would lose money with an incorrect response, according to the study, which is scheduled to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science.
The research could have an impact on how the nation’s growing number of senior adults are screened for memory-related diseases, such as dementia, the study said. The number of U.S. adults ages 65 and older will more than double to 71 million people by 2030, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Future diagnostic tests that focus more on losses rather than gains ensure screenings are free from stereotype threat, according to Sarah Barber, PhD, one of two study authors and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology.
“I think this emphasizes that older adults shouldn’t be buying too much into these stereotypes,” Barber told The Nation’s Health. “I misplace my keys all the time. I think as people get older they tend to attribute every single memory failure to their age instead of thinking that forgetting things is very common.”
Stereotype threat is defined as knowing that performing poorly will reflect a certain stereotype. As a result, people may perform worse on a task than they normally would and therefore confirm the stereotype.
The study looked at two theories of stereotype threat. One theory is the stereotype creates stress and takes a senior’s attention away from a certain task. The second is that a senior focuses more on avoiding losses rather than on gaining rewards.
Two groups of 56 senior adults were tested on how well they could remember words from a series of sentences. Half of the seniors read fake news articles linking memory loss to aging before they finished the test.
For the second theory, seniors who could gain 5-cent chips for every correct reply performed worse compared to those who were told they would lose chips from a total of 100 for every incorrect reply.
“The take-home from the results is that threat makes people very loss averse,” Barber said. “So if older adults find themselves in a situation where they are confronted with ageist attitudes they may find themselves becoming very cautious and vigilant to avoid mistakes and losses. This can lead them to remember less. What they should try to do in those situations is stay eager to do their best and not just be vigilant to avoid being their worst.”
For more information, visit www-scf.usc.edu/~barbersa/InPress_Barber_&_Mather.pdf.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association