Age differences in self-appraisal motivation

One hundred and eight young (mean age 29 years) and 108 older adults (mean age 69 years) participated in a laboratory investigation of self-appraisal motivation. Participants were recruited via media advertisement to take part in a study of two novel and different thinking abilities and randomly assigned to either a similar others, dissimilar others, or temporal-self comparison referent condition. Each participant was administered two tests purported to measure different thinking abilities and received experimenter-controlled test feedback intended to manipulate participants' level of uncertainty about these abilities. Motivation to self-appraise was assessed via behavioral choice measures collected following the inducement of uncertainty about ability status. Results indicated that older adults were less likely than the young to initiate behaviors that would reduce uncertainty about ability. Subsequent post-hoc analyses suggested that self-appraisal motivation in young adulthood is not moderated by level of perceived efficacy, while in later adulthood an attenuation of self-appraisal motivation occurs as a result of low efficacy or heightened uncertainty about one's capabilities.