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Updated: Oct 26, 2026

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Repetitive negative thinking moderates the association between self-referential thoughts and cognition amongst older
Abstract:
Natural language processing has been examined as a possible biomarker for cognitive decline and dementia, but it has also been associated with components of well-being and psychological distress. Additionally, there are psychological variables that may influence contents of thoughts during spontaneous speech. We aimed to explore whether self-referential thoughts, emotional tone and time orientation, measured during a think aloud paradigm and analyzed using natural language processing, were related to cognitive performance in older adults, and whether psychological characteristics influenced these associations. In total, 110 cognitively healthy adults aged 65 years and above were recruited. Cognitive assessment included tests of episodic memory and executive functions, and participants completed psychological questionnaires of depressive and anxiety symptoms, personality traits, repetitive negative thinking, and purpose in life. Increased proportion of self-related words, used as a proxy for self-referential thoughts, was associated with poorer episodic memory and executive functions. These associations were moderated by levels of rumination and worry, respectively, two components of repetitive negative thinking reflecting cognitive debt and previously related to reduced cognitive resilience. We concluded that self-referential thoughts measured through natural speech represent an ecological marker related to suboptimal cognitive performance when linked to high levels of repetitive negative thinking, even beyond the influence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and we highlight the need to consider psychological factors when addressing natural speech studies with a focus on aging and cognition.
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