Exposure to Memory-Relevant versus Memory-Irrelevant Aging Stereotypes Differentially Affects Memory Self-Perceptions and Memory Test Scores of Young, Middle, and Older Age Adults

ABSTRACT

This study examined the combined influence of assimilation and contrast effects on the memory self-efficacy and objective memory of young (ages 18–25, n = 114), middle-age (ages 26–59, n = 48), and older (ages 60–98, n = 59) adults. We reminded participants that they matched positive, not negative, memory-relevant or memory-irrelevant stereotypes of aging either before (experimental conditions) or after (control condition) they completed a memory self-efficacy questionnaire and took a memory test. Participants exposed to memory-relevant aging stereotypes prior to other measures reported higher memory self-efficacy than those exposed to memory-irrelevant stereotypes; this effect did not depend on age group. In contrast, the effect of stereotype exposure on memory performance differed with age. Young and older, but not middle-aged, adults showed differences in their memory scores depending on whether they were exposed to memory-relevant, memory-irrelevant or no aging stereotypes. In general, exposure to stereotypes (particularly those relevant to memory) had a negative influence on memory that contrasted with its positive effect on memory self-efficacy. Together, these results indicate that exposure to aging stereotypes can have opposing effects on the memory self-efficacy and objective test performance of adults of various ages and that the relevance of the stereotypes to the cognitive domain being assessed matters.

Acknowledgments

Annie Wetli is now at Marian University. Coty Nicoson is now at Universal Health Services. Ashley Tucker is now at East Leyden High School in Leyden High School District 212. Christopher Hertzog is an Emeritus Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

Analytic methods and study materials will be made available to other researchers through requests to the first author. Participants did not consent to share their data, and this study was not pre-registered.