Stereotypes, warnings, and identity-related variables influence older adults’ susceptibility to associative false memory errors

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Activating ageist stereotypes can impair older adults’ ability to remember information. This effect has been shown to be strongest for older adults who possess certain characteristics (e.g., young–old, highly educated). The present study extended this line of research to investigate the relationship between stereotyping and false memory susceptibility in older adults. Research Design and Methods: We first presented older adults with lists of associated words in an incidental learning paradigm. Afterward, we manipulated whether participants were presented with stereotypes about aging and whether they were given warnings about the associative nature of the lists. Participants then completed a yes/no recognition test and answered demographic questions. Results: Older adults in the stereotyped group were more likely to falsely recognize non-presented theme words than older adults in the control group. Further, those who were highly educated and/or retired were most likely to experience this false memory susceptibility. Discussion and Implications: Similar to the research on veridical memory, these findings suggest that the effects of ageist stereotyping on older adults’ false memory susceptibility may be best understood in terms of the individual differences that older adults possess. Identifying the types of people who are at risk of experiencing stereotype threat is an important step toward helping older adults avoid memory impairment in the presence of common stereotypes.