Abstract
Very little is known about whether and how socioemotional factors influence age differences in associative memory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that reducing the threat induced by age-based stereotypes can reduce age differences in learning performance and strategy. Using an associative learning task, we replicated the classic finding of age differences under a high-threat condition: older adults had longer reaction times than younger adults and were much more reluctant to use memory retrieval. However, age differences were greatly diminished under a low-threat condition. These findings demonstrate that memory retrieval is an ability not entirely lost as individuals age because merely reducing stereotype threat helped restoring it. We conclude that socioemotional factors, such as stereotype threat, should be considered when evaluating younger and older adults’ memory performance.
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Notes
Overall accuracy was close to the instructed 95% level, but slightly lower for older than for younger adults (.92 vs. .96), F(1, 76) = 34.12, p < .001, ηp2 = .31. Threat condition and practice did not influence accuracy, nor interacted with age group.
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This research was supported by a grant from the Institut Universitaire de France awarded to François Maquestiaux.
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Mazerolle, M., Rotolo, L. & Maquestiaux, F. Overcoming age differences in memory retrieval by reducing stereotype threat. Mem Cogn 52, 622–631 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01488-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-023-01488-2