Aging and memory distortions: the impact of aging stereotypes

The reliability of our memories is of crucial importance, both in extraordinary situations (e.g. court testimony) and in everyday life (e.g., when a person must take medication on a regular basis). To address these issues, numerous studies documented the conditions under which false memories emerge. Research clearly demonstrated that memory distortions are a normal and frequent phenomenon in the general population, but greatly accentuated in aging. Here, we review studies that documented age-related impact on memory distortions in the DRM and misinformation paradigms. Next, we examine the factors that underlie false memory susceptibility, with a focus on socio-emotional factors, and in particular aging stereotypes. We present recent results that highlighted the way negative age-related stereotypes might threaten older adults’ and influence false memory susceptibility. Importantly, we also demonstrate that older adult’s memory distortions can easily be reduced when taking into account tasks’ characteristics and participants’ motivation. Finally, we discuss the implications of age-related stereotypes when older adults’ memory is evaluated, both from a theoretical and an applied perspective.