Popham Lauren E, Hess Thomas M
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2015 Mar;70(2):225-34. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbt093. Epub 2013 Sep 28.
The goals of the present study were to (a) examine whether age differences exist in the mechanisms underlying stereotype threat effects on cognitive performance and (b) examine whether emotion regulation abilities may buffer against threat effects on performance.
Older and younger adults were exposed to positive or negative age-relevant stereotypes, allowing us to examine the impact of threat on regulatory focus and working memory. Self-reported emotion regulation measures were completed prior to the session.
Older adults' performance under threat suggested a prevention-focused approach to the task, indexed by increased accuracy and reduced speed. The same pattern was observed in younger adults, but the effects were not as strong. Age differences emerged when examining the availability of working memory resources under threat, with young adults showing decrements, whereas older adults did not. Emotion regulation abilities moderated threat effects in young adults but not in older adults.
The results provide support for the notion that stereotype threat may lead to underperformance through somewhat different pathways in older and younger adults. Future research should further examine whether the underlying reason for this age difference is rooted in age-related improvements in emotion regulation.
本研究的目标是：（a）检验在刻板印象威胁对认知表现产生影响的潜在机制中是否存在年龄差异；（b）检验情绪调节能力是否可以缓冲威胁对表现的影响。
向老年人和年轻人呈现与年龄相关的积极或消极刻板印象，从而使我们能够检验威胁对调节焦点和工作记忆的影响。在实验环节开始前完成自我报告的情绪调节测量。
老年人在威胁情境下的表现表明其采用了以预防为重点的任务处理方式，表现为准确性提高而速度降低。年轻人中也观察到了相同的模式，但效果没那么明显。在检验威胁情境下工作记忆资源的可利用性时出现了年龄差异，年轻人表现出下降，而老年人则没有。情绪调节能力调节了年轻人的威胁效应，但对老年人没有作用。
研究结果支持了这样一种观点，即刻板印象威胁可能通过老年人和年轻人中有所不同的途径导致表现不佳。未来的研究应进一步检验这种年龄差异的潜在原因是否源于与年龄相关的情绪调节改善。
