Abstract
Older adults hold complex, yet predominantly negative, beliefs about aging. When experimenters emphasize negative stereotypes about aging, it can be a threat, affecting older adults’ physical performance, self-perceptions of aging, and memory. Reactions to stereotyping may vary with the situation or the individual. This study examines the impact of stereotype exposure for the first time with common everyday materials and evaluates the impact of stereotype exposure on personal beliefs and memory. A priori personal beliefs (e.g., sense of control over memory) may promote resilience to stereotypes, and beliefs may change after stereotype exposure. Participants were 34 men and women (ages 50–75; M=62). Everyday stimuli were newspaper cartoons, “jumble” puzzles, and word searches. A stereotype group saw stimuli with embedded age (e.g., weak, inept) and memory (e.g., dementia, forgetting) stereotypes. A control group saw similar stimuli without stereotype words. We controlled stereotype exposure, level of negativity, number of words, and stimulus size. Two-thirds of the stereotype group later reported awareness of the stimulus characteristics (“aware” group). Multiple measures of beliefs and memory were examined before and after stimulus exposure. The control and stereotype groups were comparable on beliefs and memory before working with the familiar materials. After exposure, 1) the stereotype group had higher story recall scores, and 2) the aware group showed the lowest perceived memory threat and the highest general memory evaluation. These results show that those who noticed the stereotypes counteracted their influence. Focusing on how to train stereotype awareness and response would be useful in future research.