Age-based stereotype threat mechanisms: Evidence from a working-memory task

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Gerontology

Background:

• Age-based stereotype threat (ABST) is a phenomenon where older adults fear negative judgment based on ageist stereotypes.
• ABST can negatively affect cognitive performance, but the precise mechanisms are not fully understood.
• Two main theories, the integrated process model and the regulatory focus account, offer competing explanations for ABST's effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying age-based stereotype threat in older adults.
• To differentiate between the predictions of the integrated process model and the regulatory focus account regarding ABST's impact on cognitive tasks.
• To examine how ABST influences working memory, arousal, affect, self-monitoring, and decision-making parameters.

Main Methods:

• Older adults performed a 2-back working memory task under either control or ABST-inducing conditions.
• Performance metrics included hit rates, omission errors, response times, false alarms, and drift diffusion model parameters (drift rate, boundary separation).
• Practice-related gains in performance were analyzed to assess learning and adaptation under different threat conditions.

Main Results:

• Participants under ABST conditions showed reduced practice-related improvements in hit rates compared to controls.
• A significant increase in omission errors was observed in the ABST condition.
• No significant effects of ABST were found on response times, false alarms, drift rates, or boundary separation.

Conclusions:

• The findings partially support the regulatory focus account by showing increased omissions, but ABST did not consistently lead to more cautious responding.
• The observed increase in omissions may also indicate reduced working memory efficiency under ABST.
• ABST can impair correct responding in older adults through mechanisms that do not necessarily alter fundamental decision-making parameters.