Negative Aging Stereotypes Disrupt both the Selection and Execution of Strategies in Older Adults

Lemaire, Patrick; Brun, Fleur; Régner, Isabelle

doi:10.1159/000486756

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…That older adults used the better strategy less often and executed available strategies less efficiently under threat here are consistent with previous proposals or empirical findings (e.g., Hess et al, 2003;Lemaire et al, 2018). Indeed, like Hess et al who found some indirect evidence that threat reduced the use of more efficient memory strategies, we also inferred from our data (Experiment 1) that threat disrupted the use of more efficient arithmetic strategies.…”

Section: How Does Stereotype Threat Impairs Older Adults' Performance?supporting

confidence: 93%

When and how stereotype threat influences older adults’ arithmetic performance: Insight from a strategy approach.

Nicolas¹,

Lemaire²,

Régner³

2020

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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In three experiments, we investigated how age-related differences in cognitive performance are exacerbated by age-based stereotype threat. We adopted a strategy approach and investigated a domain, namely arithmetic, where age-related differences in participants' performance are either non-existent or very small and where effects of age-based stereotype threat have never been investigated. In two types of tasks (problem verification in Expt. 1 and computational estimation in Expts. 2 & 3), we found that age-based stereotype threat led older adults to obtain poorer performance, to adopt less systematically and less often the better strategy on each problem, to repeat the same strategy across trials even when it was inappropriate, and to execute available strategies more poorly. We also found that poorer strategy use mediated threat effects and that individual differences in processing resources moderated individuals' sensitivity to effects of stereotype threat. Our results establish that agebased stereotype threat effects are independent of the cognitive domain or tasks in which they are studied and of pre-experimental differences in young and older adults' performance. They deepen our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying age-based, and other, stereotype threat effects. They also document how domain-general and domain-specific processing resources moderate individual differences in age-based stereotype threat effects. Our findings have important implications to improve our understanding of how and when age-based (and other) stereotype threat effects occur, and, more generally, how psychosocial factors modulate agerelated changes in human cognition.

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Section: How Does Stereotype Threat Impairs Older Adults' Performance?supporting

confidence: 93%

When and how stereotype threat influences older adults’ arithmetic performance: Insight from a strategy approach.

Nicolas¹,

Lemaire²,

Régner³

2020

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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“…The main predictions of this hypothesis are interactions between culture and effects of stereotype threat on participants' performance and strategy choices. Effects of stereotype threat on participants' performance (i.e., more accurate estimates and faster speed in control than in stereotype threat condition) should be found in French participants, replicating previous findings (e.g., Nicolas et al, 2020;Lemaire et al, 2018). Moreover, these effects should be smaller, or even non-existent, in Indian participants who, relative to French participants, would obtain smaller performance differences, or even no differences, between stereotype threat and control conditions.…”

Section: Hypotheses and Predictionssupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Participants under stereotype threat and control conditions received different instructions (see Supplementary Material). These instructions were adopted from previous studies ( Lemaire et al, 2018;Mazerolle et al, 2012;Nicolas et al, 2020), and were used here as they proved effective in manipulating stereotype threat in these past studies.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Differences in Susceptibility to Stereotype Threat: France versus India

Nicolas

Régner

Lemaire

2020

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

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Abstract 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. Methods 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.

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“…La literatura internacional documenta que la vejez se relaciona con estereotipos negativos (Bustillos-López & Fernández-Ballesteros, 2012;de Oliveira Moreira, 2011;Lasagni et al, 2013;Lemaire, Brun, Régner, & Régner, 2018;Mariluz, 2011;Melero, 2007;Menéndez, Cuevas, Pérez, & Lorence, 2016;Monchietti & Sánchez, 2008;Rello, López, & Muñoz, 2018). Butler acuñó el término ageism o edadismo para referirse al conjunto de estereotipos, discriminaciones y segregaciones que se aplican a los viejos, en función de su edad (Butler, 2008;Rice, 1997;Salvarezza, 2002).…”

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Imaginarios de Vejez: ¿Cómo Perciben la Vejez las Mujeres en Chile?

et al. 2019

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El creciente envejecimiento de la población ha generado nuevas interrogantes respecto al proceso de envejecer y a las expectativas sobre la vejez. Este estudio cualitativo explora los imaginarios de vejez de mujeres chilenas y problematiza la (in)visibilidad de la heterogeneidad en la vejez. Se utilizan entrevistas semi-estructuradas a una muestra de 50 mujeres entre 24 y 88 años, profesionales y no-profesionales, de Santiago de Chile. Los resultados muestran imaginarios de vejez diferenciados cuando se trata de los demás (imaginarios sociales de vejez) respecto de aquellos referidos a la propia vejez (imaginarios individuales de vejez). Los imaginarios sociales de vejez tienden a ser negativos por: (a) las bajas pensiones, (b) mala atención en salud y (c) pérdida de autovalencia. Esto se contrapone con los imaginarios individuales de vejez, donde se articulan atributos positivos y negativos, resaltando la salud, los vínculos familiares y estrategias para mantenerse saludable y activa. Se concluye que las diferencias entre los imaginarios sociales e individuales de vejez darían cuenta de: tensiones en la definición de vejez, heterogeneidad en la vejez, cambios en las expectativas para la vejez de mujeres chilenas, cuestionamiento de las instituciones de previsión social, y la importancia de la familia y los cuidados en la vejez. AbstractThe increasing ageing population has generated new questions regarding the process of getting older and the expectations about old age. This qualitative study explores imaginaries about old age of Chilean women. It problematizes the (in)visibility of the heterogeneity of old age people. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 professional and non-professional women from 24 to 88 year-old living in Santiago de Chile. The results show differences between social imaginaries of old age (referred to other old people) and individual imaginaries of old age (own old age). Social imaginaries of old age are negative due to: (a) economic precariousness and low pensions, (b) bad quality of the health system, and (c) the loss of autonomy. This contrasts with individual imaginaries of old age, where there are both positive and negative attributes, highlighting health, family ties and strategies to keep healthy and active. The paper concludes that the differences between social and individual imaginaries of old age show: tensions on the definition of old age, heterogeneity within adulthood, changes on the expectations of Chilean women about old age, the questioned role of social security, and the relevance of family and caring at old age.

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Negative Aging Stereotypes Disrupt both the Selection and Execution of Strategies in Older Adults

Cited by 13 publications

References 41 publications

When and how stereotype threat influences older adults’ arithmetic performance: Insight from a strategy approach.

When and how stereotype threat influences older adults’ arithmetic performance: Insight from a strategy approach.

Cultural Differences in Susceptibility to Stereotype Threat: France versus India

Imaginarios de Vejez: ¿Cómo Perciben la Vejez las Mujeres en Chile?

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