Stereotype Threat and Older Adults

对老年人的负面定型观念普遍存在。年轻人、中年人和老年人都意识到描绘老年人健忘和记忆丧失的刻板印象。刻板印象威胁（ST）是指一个人的表现会加强其所在群体的刻板印象。虽然ST已被用来研究种族/民族和性别的陈规定型观念的影响，它是不知道是否和如何ST影响老年人。 本研究将ST理论应用于年龄。老年人和年轻人将被随机分配接受测试指令，这些指令要么侧重于记忆（从而确认负面的年龄刻板印象），要么侧重于理解（与年龄无关的刻板印象）。然后将测量记忆任务的表现。初步结果表明，老年人易患与年龄有关的ST，而年轻人则不然。除了评估ST对记忆表现的影响外，这项研究还将确定ST是否影响老年人的其他刻板印象相关领域。在ST的条件下，老年人可能会远离年龄定型行为的参与。老年人将被要求改变他们对年龄定型活动的兴趣，他们使用年龄定型辅助工具的意愿（例如，助听器），以及他们在ST和非ST条件下与老年人互动的兴趣。本研究的总体目标是证明ST对老年人的影响。目的是确定：1）允许确认负面年龄刻板印象的条件是否会导致表现受损; 2）ST如何影响老年人参与年龄刻板印象活动的兴趣;以及3）ST是否与其他老年人的社交距离有关。ST的直接含义是一个人的表现受损，导致表现不足以代表一个人的能力。这项研究将为研究ST对老年人的潜在长期影响奠定基础。通过首先确定ST对记忆和对年龄定型活动和行为的兴趣的直接影响，在未来的研究中将有可能证明更大的影响，例如避免年龄相关的应对策略或同龄人的后果，这可能导致社会孤立，生活质量下降，发病率和死亡率增加。

Negative stereotypes about older adults are pervasive. Younger, middle- aged and older adults are all aware of stereotypes that portray older adults are forgetful and as experiencing memory loss. Stereotype threat (ST) is the concern that one's performance will reinforce the stereotype about one's group. Although ST has been used to study the effects of stereotypes in race/ethnicity and gender, it is not known if and how ST affects older adults. This research will apply the theory of ST to age. Older and younger adults will be randomly assigned to receive test instructions that either focus on memory (and thus allow confirmation of a negative aging stereotype) or on understanding (not an age-relevant stereotype). Performance on memory tasks will then be measured. Preliminary results suggest that older adults are susceptible to age- related ST, whereas younger adults are not. In addition to evaluating the effects of ST on memory performance, this research will determine whether ST affects older adults in other stereotype-relevant areas. Under conditions of ST, older adults will may distance themselves from participation in age-stereotyped behaviors. Older adults will be asked to rather their interest in age-stereotyped activities, their willingness to use age-stereotyped aids (e.g., a hearing aid), and their interest in interacting with older adult adults under ST and non-ST conditions. The overall objective of this research is to demonstrative effects of ST on older adults. The aims are to determine: 1) whether conditions that allow confirmations of a negative aging stereotype result in impaired performance; 2) how ST affects older adults' interest in participating in activities that are age-stereotyped; and 3) whether ST is associated with social distancing from other older adults. The immediate implication of ST is that one's performance is impaired, resulting in performance that is under-representative of one's abilities. This research will lay the groundwork for examining potential long-term effects of ST on older adults. By first establishing immediate impacts of ST on memory and on interest in age-stereotyped activities and behaviors, it will be possible in future studies to demonstrated larger implications such as ramifications of avoiding age-relevant coping strategies or same-age peers, which could lead to social isolation, decreased quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality.