Müller Anna C, Kornadt Anna E, Notthoff Nanna
Faculty of Sport Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
Institute of Psychogerontology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Eur J Ageing. 2025 Aug 25;22(1):46. doi: 10.1007/s10433-025-00874-w.
Age-related stereotype threat-the fear of being judged based on negative age stereotypes-can affect physical performance in older adults. This study postulated that stereotype threat influences sports motor performance and that self-perceptions of aging (SPA), specifically subjective age (SA) and awareness of age-related change (AARC), reinforce this relationship. A total of 86 adults aged 65 and over participated in the study (65-85; M = 72.10, SD = 5.94). Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group with stereotype threat or a control group. Physical performance was assessed using the advanced version of the sports motor test for adults. SPA (SA, AARC losses and gains) were measured by self-report. The results indicated that compared to the control situation, stereotype threat did not result in lower performance in individual sports motor domains (coordination, mobility, strength, endurance), but only in total performance. Greater AARC losses predicted lower performance in the strength domain. No moderating effect of SA was observed, but a moderating effect of AARC gains was identified in the coordination domain. Stereotype threat only led to lower performance in interactions with AARC gains and in tasks that required both cognitive and physical components. Our findings show that compared to SA, AARC appears more relevant to stereotype threat and physical performance. Finally, the impact of stereotype threat on motor performance is not universally detrimental, but rather domain-specific and only partially moderated by individual differences in SPA.
与年龄相关的刻板印象威胁——即担心因负面的年龄刻板印象而受到评判——会影响老年人的身体表现。本研究假设，刻板印象威胁会影响运动表现，而对衰老的自我认知（SPA），特别是主观年龄（SA）和对与年龄相关变化的认知（AARC），会强化这种关系。共有86名65岁及以上的成年人参与了这项研究（年龄在65 - 85岁之间；M = 72.10，标准差 = 5.94）。参与者被随机分配到有刻板印象威胁的实验组或对照组。使用成人运动测试的高级版本评估身体表现。通过自我报告测量SPA（SA、AARC的减少和增加）。结果表明，与对照情况相比，刻板印象威胁并没有导致个体运动领域（协调性、灵活性、力量、耐力）的表现降低，而只是导致总体表现降低。更大的AARC减少预示着力量领域的表现更低。未观察到SA的调节作用，但在协调性领域发现了AARC增加的调节作用。刻板印象威胁仅在与AARC增加的相互作用以及需要认知和身体成分的任务中导致表现降低。我们的研究结果表明，与SA相比，AARC似乎与刻板印象威胁和身体表现更相关。最后，刻板印象威胁对运动表现的影响并非普遍有害，而是特定领域的，并且仅部分地由SPA的个体差异调节。
