PSY 3128 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Longitudinal Study, Stereotype Threat, Mnemonic
5 Jun 2018
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Social Cognition and Aging
Higher identity accommodation related to lower memory control beliefs.
Higher self-efficacy related to higher performance.
Higher memory control beliefs related to better strategy use leading to better memory.
Stereotype threat reduces memory performance.
- Focused on understanding how cognitive aging is influenced by individual beliefs and
social contexts
- Research clearly indicates that at least some forms of memory suffer as people get older
Identity in memory performance and aging: people who fall prey to the over the hill form of
identity accommodation are more likely to succumb to societies negative stereotypes about aging
and suffer more severe age effects than people who are able to maintain a positive view of their
abilities using identity assimilation. The over the hill believers start on a downward spiral that
causes them to be painfully aware of each instance of forgetting and to become even more
pessimistic about their memory performance in the future. We know that middle aged adults are
highly sensitive to age-related changes in memory.
Memory self-efficacy is a form of self-efficacy that refers to the confidence you have in your
memory and the degree to which you feel that you can successfully complete a memory task. The
higher your memory self-efficacy, the greater the likelihood that you will perform to your maximal
ability.
- With increasing age people are less confident and this subsequently impacts
performance.
- Holland study: individuals with a lower sense of memory self-efficacy showed poorer
memory performance over the course of the study
- Lower memory self-efficacy creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, or it might be because
of actual changes being made
Stereotype Threat
- A concept drawn from standardized testing on African American students
- Identification with negative images of aging interferes with memory performance in
older adults by lowering their feelings of self-efficacy.
- They become less able to take advantage of mnemonic strategies (systematic
procedures designed to enhance memory)
- People vary in the way they respond to stereotype threat
We might hypothesize that identity assimilation can protect older adults from the harmful effects
of believing that aging is associated with inevitable memory loss. Conversely, identity
accommodation about memory performance, known to be higher in mid-life adults (Whitbourne
& Collins, 1998), could also account for the finding that stereotype threat regarding memory
performance on the basis of age is higher among middle-aged adults than older adults (O’Brien &
Hummert, 2006).
Memory Controllability
- Refers to beliefs about the effects of the aging process on memory, such as the extent
to which the individual believes that memory decline is inevitable with age
- Older people who rely heavily on identity accommodation are more likely to hold
negative beliefs about their ability to control their memory as they age
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Document Summary
Higher identity accommodation related to lower memory control beliefs. Higher memory control beliefs related to better strategy use leading to better memory. Focused on understanding how cognitive aging is influenced by individual beliefs and social contexts. Research clearly indicates that at least some forms of memory suffer as people get older. The over the hill believers start on a downward spiral that causes them to be painfully aware of each instance of forgetting and to become even more pessimistic about their memory performance in the future. We know that middle aged adults are highly sensitive to age-related changes in memory. Memory self-efficacy is a form of self-efficacy that refers to the confidence you have in your memory and the degree to which you feel that you can successfully complete a memory task. The higher your memory self-efficacy, the greater the likelihood that you will perform to your maximal ability.
