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Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Age-related changes in cognitive biases during adolescence
Rachel J M Slavny1, Catherine L Sebastian2, Helen Pote2
1Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18B Trumpington Road, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.
Adolescent cognitive biases, including threat interpretation and negative attributions, increase with age. Understanding these normative changes is crucial for comprehending psychopathology development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychopathology
Background:
- Age moderates the link between cognitive biases and psychopathology.
- Adolescence is a critical period for changes in negatively biased information processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate normative age-related changes in cognitive biases during adolescence.
- To examine the effect of age on seven specific cognitive biases in typically developing youth.
Main Methods:
- A diverse community sample of 540 UK adolescents aged 10-17 years participated.
- Self-report measures were used to assess seven cognitive biases.
Main Results:
- Age showed a positive linear association with threat interpretation bias.
- Age was positively associated with negative attributions.
- Overgeneralizing scores demonstrated a positive linear association with age.
Conclusions:
- Adolescence involves significant changes that can heighten negative cognitive biases.
- Empirical data on normative age-related cognitive bias changes are needed for theoretical models of information processing and psychopathology.
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