Levy Becca R, Pilver Corey, Chung Pil H, Slade Martin D
Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, School of Public Health, Yale University
Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University.
Psychol Sci. 2014 Dec;25(12):2127-35. doi: 10.1177/0956797614551970. Epub 2014 Oct 17.
Negative age stereotypes that older individuals assimilate from their culture predict detrimental outcomes, including worse physical function. We examined, for the first time, whether positive age stereotypes, presented subliminally across multiple sessions in the community, would lead to improved outcomes. Each of 100 older individuals (age=61-99 years, M=81) was randomly assigned to an implicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, an explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, a combined implicit- and explicit-positive-age-stereotype-intervention group, or a control group. Interventions occurred at four 1-week intervals. The implicit intervention strengthened positive age stereotypes, which strengthened positive self-perceptions of aging, which, in turn, improved physical function. The improvement in these outcomes continued for 3 weeks after the last intervention session. Further, negative age stereotypes and negative self-perceptions of aging were weakened. For all outcomes, the implicit intervention's impact was greater than the explicit intervention's impact. The physical-function effect of the implicit intervention surpassed a previous study's 6-month-exercise-intervention's effect with participants of similar ages. The current study's findings demonstrate the potential of directing implicit processes toward physical-function enhancement over time.
老年人从其文化中吸收的负面年龄刻板印象预示着有害后果，包括更差的身体机能。我们首次研究了在社区中多次阈下呈现的积极年龄刻板印象是否会带来更好的结果。100名老年人（年龄61 - 99岁，平均年龄81岁）中的每一位都被随机分配到阈下积极年龄刻板印象干预组、阈上积极年龄刻板印象干预组、阈下与阈上积极年龄刻板印象联合干预组或对照组。干预在四个为期1周的间隔期进行。阈下干预强化了积极年龄刻板印象，这又强化了对衰老的积极自我认知，进而改善了身体机能。在最后一次干预 session 后的3周内，这些结果的改善持续存在。此外，负面年龄刻板印象和对衰老的负面自我认知得到了削弱。对于所有结果，阈下干预的影响大于阈上干预的影响。阈下干预对身体机能的影响超过了之前一项针对相似年龄参与者的为期6个月的运动干预的影响。当前研究的结果表明了随着时间推移引导阈下过程以增强身体机能的潜力。
